I stayed at the Harbour View for 8 nights in May 2008, and all up I was very pleased. I'd searched long and hard for a reasonably priced hotel in a good location, and the Harbourview was certainly the best option.
First up, the location is fantastic - it's right across the road from the Grand Hyatt, and about 100m from the waterfront. Terrific if you like jogging along the water. It was also only a short walk (~5 mins) into Kowloon, and a 5-10 minute cab ride to SoHo and Lan Kwai Fong - plus cabs are everywhere in HK. It's also a 2 minute walk from the Convention Centre, which is where I was attending a conference. There are a couple of good coffee shops across the main highway, about a 3-4 minute walk, which have free wifi and free computers.
The staff were excellent, and always very attentive to needs. I was checked into the hotel promptly when I arrived, and with a few thigns I needed help on during my stay the ywere always ready and available. I stayed in a premier double room, and the room was quite large, with all the mod cons you'd want. The bathroom was clean and new. The only bad thing was the bed was absolutely rock solid, but housekeeping put a pillowtop on the mattress for me which helped quite a bit. The room was cleaned everyday, and I was never disturbed whilst in the room. I wasn't in a Harbour view room unfortunately, so the view was of an grey office block, but this isn't something that really bothered me.
All up, the hotel was in an excellent location, and since it's about half the price of other hotels in the same location, I think it's an unbeatable deal.

Was referred to Harbour View by someone who had lived in Hong Kong. Didn't realise it was a YMCA until after I had booked however based on the reviews here i had booked. Had low expectations but was suprised.

the foyer is not the most stylish however my room was great and clearly had been refurbished in the past year or so. Bathroom was tiny but refurbished as well.

Staff were pleasant and helpful when I needed anything especially directions.

Breakfast buffet was average fare but if you are early enough the chef will cook your eggs for you.

Didn't have a harbour view however would ask for one next time. Definately stay here again, great location and just out of the noisy area in wan chai but close enough to be there in 5 min walk.

This is definitely a hotel with 2 personalities. All the rooms are the same small size (smallest I've had in HK - maybe I've been lucky up till now) but the "standard" rooms are tired and worn out where as the "premier" rooms have been renovated in the last few years. It seems that the rooms up to the 11th or 12 floor are the ones that haven't been renovated recently and as I said are quite grubby (scuffed wallpaper, stained worn carpets, threadbare furniture, poorly set out tiny plastic bathroom which requires you to step up and over approx 18" into the shower/bath (etc) ie. generally worn out) and have less facilities that the "premier" rooms eg. no in room safe . All rooms types I experienced had the same rock hard beds often found in budget hotels. Not a problem for me but may be an issue for others.

I got to see 4 different rooms in this hotel (2 standard and 2 premier) so I feel I have a good picture of what they offer.

Facilities...

They have wireless Internet available for a fee HK$40 for one continuous hour or HK$100 for 24 continuous hours. It is 802.11b so performance is not great. The "premier" rooms also appear to have wired access available but I did not try that so can't comment.

As mentioned above, the "standard" rooms don't have an in room safe but do have plenty of signs telling you that it isn't safe to leave things in your room. There are safes are reception but this is not very convenient for all things.

I used the restaurant for breakfast (buffet) and it was ok but as with all these things if you know where to go there are undoubtedly better cheaper options available elsewhere.

Convenience...

Yes it is about 5 minutes walk from the nearest MTR exit (Wan Chai A5) mostly along an elevated pedestrian walkway but 5 minutes in summer humidity can be a challenge for some people. Also there is a requirement to descend via stairs after hours which may be an issue for those with some mobility issues.

It isn't too far from a A12 Cityflyer bus stop (Stop 5 Academy of Performing Arts) for people coming in from the airport. It cost HK45 as opposed to HK$100 for the Airport Express train but it also takes a bit longer.

I did not use the Airport Express bus so can't comment on the convenience of its location. That said the taxi/cab fare including luggage fee to the HK Airport Express station was about HK$22 so the bus may well not be an issue.

There is a bus stop right outside which will get you to Central and beyond. Get the 18 not the 18P as it has more stops in tourist areas. The stop for the return journey is less convenient but still not too bad.

Staff...

Friendly and efficient for the most part but generally not willing to go too far out of their way to deal with complaints or make the guest happy.

In summary...

Speaking personally I'd recommend that unless you need easy access to the convention center or must have a view of the harbor and aren't prepared to pay too much for it, other similarly priced options have bigger rooms with better facilities. If you must stay in this hotel make sure you get a renovated room.

I trawled long and hard through Tripadvisor before booking the Harbour View International House. Everything else that looked decent or had a harbour view was at least twice the price but boy am I glad I picked this gem. Staff were lovely, really attentive. Room was everything you need - smart, clean, good shower, complimentary toiletries etc, modern, harbour view, coffee/tea making facilities, complimentary bottled water, flat screen TV with BBC, CNN etc - actually beyond what you get in a lot of 4 star places (I know, in Kyoto the 4* Hotel Granvia which was twice the price and had the surliest receptionist ever had the cheek to charge for the tea/coffee facilites in the room - who does that?). Approx. 5/10mins walk from either Star Ferry terminal which worked out very handy for us. All in all a great little find at half the price.