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Originally Posted by kwk200  Thank you for your advice. Do you have any idea what 65k may get at Pacific View in terms of the floor and the view? And how easy to shop and take care of daily needs etc.
I heard the American club is next door to Pacific View, is there any need for joining the club (given the facilities at the building) and how expensive is it?
Many thanks for your help. |
When we were looking for appartments (last November)our realtor did show us places in both Pacific View and Bamboo Grove (our budget was 75k). Both places have very nice facilities and both have free shuttle bus services to central. Bamboo Grove is much closer to Central as it's located in Mid-Levels (although its somewhat closer to Wanchai / Causeway Bay). The views from these places will be much different. The Bamboo Grove will largely have Mountain or City View depending on the location of the appartment. While Pacific Place will offer sea/mountain views. The size of the appartments are nice but prices can vary greatly depending upon what upgrades the landlord have done to the appartment since the last tennants (new bathrooms, kitchen countertops/appliences, Central A/C, etc.) and what floor it is located on. Higher floors typically have better views and will go for some premium.
Both of these developments are very popular with Ex-pat families and the places are full of kids and organize many family type activities (game nights, BBQ, etc.) We really liked Bamboo Grove because of the nice mix of convinience and facilities (in the end we chose to live closer to Central as we have no kids yet).
As far as the American Club....there are 2 primary types of membership there... American Individual Membership and a Debenture Membership.
See link
AIM membership (used to have a waiting list..not sure anymore) and applicants need to be sponsored by 2 active voting members. Need to pay entrance fee (not sure how much that is) and a monthly fee (not sure how much that is). Plus whaever other costs you incur on your account (dinners, drinks, spa, personal trainer, golf/tennis lessons, etc).
The Debenture Membership is typically owned by the company and can be transferred to multiple members. My company provided me with the debenture membership. For the debenture there is a one-time nomination fee (HKD 15,000) which my company paid. Then the monthly membership fee is HKD 2,200 (which is split 50/50 between me and the company).
There are two locations of the club....One in Central (Exchange Square...which contains a Causal Restarant, Sports Bar, Piano Bar, Gym, Two Upscale restaraunts (one Western / One Chinese). The second location is the Country Club, which is the one right next to Pacific View in Tai Tam. The Country club is very casual (i.e. does not require a business casual dress code) and is more geared for families. The facilities include a Pool, Tennis / Squash Courts, Gym, Indoor Basketball Court, Grand Ballroom, Country Store (This is where you can buy many food products specifically imported from the US and which are tough to find in regular grocery stores, such as Costco items, etc.), Spa, several bars/restaraunt, Crows Nest (Childrens play area...kind of similar to Discovery Zone), Teen Area (Air Hockey tables, arcade, TVs, etc.).
Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions.
