Gay Macau

[colmx]

Anyone been to Macau recently?

Having seeing a documentary on Discovery Channel on the creation of the Venetian Macau.. I have had it on my list of places to go. Have been to their LV counterpart... but never to Macau

Any tips for gay Macau? Would be travelling with my Thai BF and the choice is between Macau or heading to HK (or maybe a mix of both!)

[aussie_]

I went to Macau last year for 3 days. Two days with an overnight stay is probably enough but i enjoyed my visit. The Venetian is amazing and i used the free shuttle service to travel between the many casinos. The Macau tower has great views and a stunning looking guy was training tourists for the sky walk when i was there.

St Paul's Cathedral area and Senado Square are nice places to hang around at night. If you visit St Paul's ruins in the day time go before the hundreds of photo hungry Chinese tourists arrive around midday. The street behind St Paul's has a famous shop selling the best Macau pork buns and very cheap. You will see people lining up but they serve quickly.

I did hookup with two guys from the apps who work in hotels. There was many younger Asian tourists but getting them away from their friends for a meet may be difficult. A few money boys on Grindr but i did not use.

[colmx]

Thanks for the post Aussie_
I was going to book there for 3 nights, but from reading what you say we may reign it in to something shorter...
Although BF declared last night that he thinks he would like to go back to Phnom Penh again... despite only being 2 months since we were there in Jan... it seems he quite taken with the Khmer boys!

[fountainhall]

As aussie_ suggests there is a lot more to do in Macao than just seeing the large casinos. I wrote a piece on some of my early experiences here - http://www.gaybuttonthai.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=8356

No sex info. But on the apps I have met a couple of very nice Macao boys studying in Taipei.

[colmx]

Thanks for the link to your Macau Post on GB Fountainhall, I must have missed it first time around....

Well looks like its all change again!
Have booked direct flights on Emirates Bkk-Hong Kong for 3 nights Mon-Sun

€174 = 6500 THB return per person on emirates was a pretty good price for me - especially on a full service airline and with a nice 14.00 departure from BKK instead of smelly old DMK

Even better its on an a380 instead of a cramped old Air Asia A320

Have booked the third night in the venetian using hotels.com reward night and will spend the Fri/Sat night in HK

Now its time to find a central + reasonable priced hotel in HK!

[colmx]

BTW I just read Fountainhall's excellent HK report over on GB too
http://gaybuttonthai.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=8291

Glad to see that the 6500B flights I chose on Emirates are also chosen by our HK expert!
I looked at the mini hotel earlier (recommended on travelgayasia) - but the idea of having the loo right beside my bed doesn't appeal to me!

I previously stayed in Butterfly on Wellington, which was excellent, but very pricey on our dates (April 21-23)
Also stayed in the Cosmopolitan ad whilst my Happy Valley views were nice... it was a little off the beaten track


Can you suggest any other reasonably priced alternatives?
Like all Thais, my BF doesn't do walking... so we need to stay near to LKF area!

[fountainhall]

I expect Hong Kong hotel prices are higher than usual as there will be a tourist hangover from Easter the previous weekend. I'm sorry I don't know of any reasonably priced hotels in or close to the LKF area. The best bet is to find one close to a subway station or tram/bus stop. Personally, I love the trams as long as it's not the height of summer! After it stops, there are the night buses.

I'm not sure of your budget. I have stayed at the excellent Holiday Inn Express Soho which has breakfast built in to the price and is just a short 2-minute walk from Zoo and Wink gay bars and the FLM gay Club in the Bonham Strand East/Queen's Road area. This is close to a subway station and just one stop to Central. A little further away is the Ibis Central & Sheung Wan. It's on the tram system and a short taxi ride to Central.

[aussie_]

BTW I just read Fountainhall's excellent HK report over on GB too
http://gaybuttonthai.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=8291

Glad to see that the 6500B flights I chose on Emirates are also chosen by our HK expert!
I looked at the mini hotel earlier (recommended on travelgayasia) - but the idea of having the loo right beside my bed doesn't appeal to me!

I previously stayed in Butterfly on Wellington, which was excellent, but very pricey on our dates (April 21-23)
Also stayed in the Cosmopolitan ad whilst my Happy Valley views were nice... it was a little off the beaten track


Can you suggest any other reasonably priced alternatives?
Like all Thais, my BF doesn't do walking... so we need to stay near to LKF area!

Good decision not to stay at the Mini shoebox hotel. Noisey and tiny rooms. My credit card also got hacked. Worst hotel ever in my experience.

My friend loved I CLUB SHEUNG WAN hotel. Not that close to LKF but near the metro station and the gay club with great views with a harborside room.

[fountainhall]

I had totally forgotten about the new I Club Sheung Wan. It is less than 100 meters from my office and I watched it go up! A bit closer than the Ibis I mentioned and looks nicer. Also very near a tram stop. And across the road is the Sohotel which I hear is also good.

[colmx]

Actually I had been looking at the iClub - but it seems that the rooms there are pretty small...
They have one side of the bed up against a wall in a lot of cases... and even against a window(!) in some of their pics

I am seeing great pricing on the Courtyard by Marriott Hong Kong, location wise its not great... but at $110USD per night seesm steal... especially as the rooms are a lot bigger than iClub/Ibis/HI Express and seems to be on a tram line?

The other place I am looking at is the Citadines Mercer Hong Kong, it seems to be very well located and the rooms are quite large compared to the local competition. Any experience of this hotel?

[fountainhall]

I am seeing great pricing on the Courtyard by Marriott Hong Kong, location wise its not great... but at $110USD per night seesm steal... especially as the rooms are a lot bigger than iClub/Ibis/HI Express and seems to be on a tram line?
I stay at the Courtyard by Marriott on most of my visits and really like that hotel. Very large beds and great showers (plenty of room for two - but no baths). The coffee shop is a bit bright but not really expensive. Yes, it is on the tram line - both stops are only 50 meters away. Another good point is that one of the airport buses has a stop just across the road. HKU (Hong Kong University) subway station is about 12 minutes walk away. There is also a small Starbucks and 7 11 by one tram stop. And they have a free shuttle bus to the Airport Express Terminus which goes on to Admiralty (Pacific Place). If you arrive by the Airport Express train, you can get the free Courtyard shuttle on the half hours (but double check with the hotel in case the schedule has changed). That bus can sometimes be a life saver as taxis will be hard to get from the Terminus around 5 - 7 pm.

[colmx]

Have booked the Courtyard Marriot. Price, TA reviews and room size trumped location in the end!
If it's a bad trip I will blame you Fountainhall!

Thanks to you and _Aussie for advice on this trip... will post an update once I get back!

[fountainhall]

A small piece of advice. The Courtyard only has 10 rooms on each floor. Try to avoid Room 10 - the one of the left of the lifts. It is the only one that has the air con vent facing the head of the bed. I was only once put in that room and did not like the cold air on my face. They always give me a different room now!