Apartments over Elements Mall...opinions? Other suggestions

We will be moving back to Hong Kong soon and as such I have been looking at the apartments over the Elements Mall (Arch, Sorrento, Culinan, Harbourside, etc...) I would appreciate any insight regarding living in these buildings. Previously lived at Bel Air on Hong Kong Island but that was in 2008. My husband will be working on the Kowloon side. No children (all grown) ample budget for 3 bedroom/2 bath based on what I have seen online.


I would appreciate any recommendations for Kowloon side living. Convenience to MTR, shopping etc... is primary concern.

You've named one of the best places...just bring lots of money and your set.

Avoid Harbourside if you have friends. The security is a nightmare to get through.I had to get through 4 checkpoints last time and each time I had to show my ID and pass badge (I was a guest). This happened again when I left. Even people who live there complain. I like the Waterfront clubhouse best. I dont live there but work there a fair bit at all the buildings. I think the Olympic, next door, has more to offer in far as variety of shopping , location and people. Elements is high end and very sterile.

my husband's office moved to ICC and we seriously considered moving there but in the end we resisted and we are happy we did not gravitate towards West Kowloon. We stayed in the Southside. The mall is huge and keeps going and going. Food there is not cheap. There is only 360, no Parknshop, no Wellcome. Once you go outside, the area is really average. But my thing was the people. There is a bus depot for mainland tourists and it is packed with them. They squat, shout, etc. The security guards do send them away but during lunch you might see some lcoal business people but mostly you see the mainlanders. The new Kowloon terminus will be completed soon and it is supposed to handle 100K mainlanders a day (from the high speed rail system). so it was a "no thankyou" for us. Pokfulam is actually well positioned to west Kowloon. you just take Pokfulam road then the western tunnel (but $50 a trip if you drive!) - travel time 15 mins.

My opinion:


Nothing unacceptable about the ICC apartments, but they are not very good. If you look at a satellite map you will realize that ICC is boxed off from the rest of Kowloon - other than the grass on top of the mall, there is no where else to walk unless you want to take the subway to get out. It just looks and feels really isolated but not in a good way - it is not isolated like a peaceful forest cottage, it is isolated by a wall of towering apartments and blocked off by highways and railway stations.


Sorrento interiors look old, the arch to a lesser extent. Cullinan interiors are nice and the ceilings very high, but it looks and feels like an office building (+obligatory gaudy HK chandeliers). I have not been in the other apartments at ICC.


Elements is big and nice but it is all luxury shops and expensive restaurants - good for a 30 minute visit or a dinner once a year, but not a place you want to visit every day as the sole outlet for a stroll.


I second the above recommendation to check out Olympic which is only one stop north from ICC. Olympic mall is much more standard - good cheap eats, daily use stores etc. High end luxury apartments in The Hermitage and The Imperial Cullinan. Hermitage has excellent views, great lobby and very convenient MTR access. Imperial Cullinan is like the Cullinan but better - better kitchens, better community space on lobby. Views from IC are lousy though and the prices are way too expensive. IC's singular strength are its large open kitchens (a rarity in HK).


Olympic area (Tai Kok Tsui) is in my eyes superior to ICC because there is much more to do - tons of places to walk to, lots of convenient and useful shopping, and easy access to Mong Kok and Nathan Road (less than 10 minute walk from Hermitage).


So all in all, if you are looking at West Kowloon then I'd skip ICC and look at Olympic instead.

I agree that ICC can be easily reached from Pok Fu Lam via Western tunnel. I recently saw a nice 3 bedroom newly renovated flat in Pok Fu lam via a friend so PM me if you would like to know more.