What a serviced apartment is here
The unit comes furnished and ready to live in, with linen and towels and a cleaning service, weekly at most places and more often at some. Internet is included, and there is normally no agency fee.
Lease terms are more flexible than an ordinary tenancy. Some operators quote nightly rates, others start at one month.
Kitchens are where units differ most, from a hob and a fridge to a full kitchen. Otherwise the promise holds: you arrive with a suitcase and you can live in it that night.
Why the minimum stay is so often 28 days
Under the Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance, premises that let for less than 28 consecutive days need a hotel or guesthouse licence. Lettings of 28 continuous days or more fall outside the Ordinance.
So an operator holding that licence can take you for a single night, and one without it starts at 28 days. The minimum stay you see quoted usually reflects the licence, not the operator being difficult.
If you need somewhere for less than a month, ask which buildings are licensed for short stays. There are fewer of them, and it is worth knowing early.
What all-inclusive covers
It depends on the operator. Most cover water and internet. Electricity is where they differ.
Some include electricity outright. Others put an electricity credit into the rent and bill usage above it, which keeps the headline rate lower for people who are out all day rather than having every tenant subsidise the heaviest user.
Ask which of the two it is, and if it is a credit, how much and what the rate is above it. A Hong Kong summer with the aircon running is what tests that number.
Deposits
Usually one to two months of rent, depending on the operator. Ask what it covers and the conditions for getting it back before you pay it.
The building matters more than the street
An older walk-up and a newer block with a lift can sit a hundred metres apart on the same road at very different rents. The address tells you less than you would expect.
Good value in Hong Kong usually comes with a trade-off attached: an older building, a smaller window, a walk uphill. Deciding early which of those you personally do not mind opens up a lot more of the market.
It is also worth asking where the entrance sits relative to the station, and whether that walk is uphill. "Five minutes from the MTR" is often measured from the furthest exit by someone walking quickly.
What to check inside
Most Hong Kong kitchens have no oven, so ask what appliances come with your kitchen.
Ask whether there is a washing machine in the unit, or shared laundry facilities in the building, which some serviced apartments provide instead. Ask whether the air conditioning is split type or window-mounted.
Photographs of a unit tell you very little about the building it sits in, or about the walk to reach it.
If you would rather not ask all of that yourself, tell us what you need and we will ask on your behalf.