My spouse and I spent one night at the Novotel Hong Kong Citygate in
late March 2014. Parent company Accor owns the Novotel brand, and we
booked our room on-line using their website. We were offered a
promotional rate of 40% off if we pre-paid our stay (which was then
non-cancellable, non-changeable, and non-refundable), but it was worth
the approximate $80 savings.
We booked only a Standard Room
because we would be in residence less than 18 hours, but we should have
spent a little more money for a different category, such as an Executive
Premier Room or an Executive Premier Suite. The hotel also offers a
Superior Room, but the on-line photos look exactly like the Standard
Room, and the descriptions are also the same. The hotel offers 440
rooms, only 13 of which are suites.
The property is located
adjacent to the Citygate Outlet Mall; ride the escalator one floor up to
access the mall. Visitors can also take the MTR train to the Ngong Ping
Cable Car, Downtown Hong Kong (30 minutes), Kowloon, Hong Kong
Disneyland, and many other places. Complimentary transportation is
provided to / from Hong Kong International Airport on the Novotel
shuttle bus; be sure to wait at door B16 in the Arrivals Halls. The ride
takes approximately five minutes and operates 24 hours, with departures
every 15 minutes.
The Novotel lobby is spacious and modern. A
water feature is located outside of the main hotel entrance that lends a
calming effect. The outdoor swimming pool area looked expansive and
relaxing: a great place to spend your afternoon layover. Regrettably, we
arrived late in the afternoon, and the weather was a bit drizzly to
make use of the pool.
The hotel is located in a high-rise
residential area, but we spotted a few restaurants that may have been
within walking distance. A playground is located outside the main lobby,
although it was difficult to discern whether it was for nearby
residents or for hotel guests. Several restaurants are on-site:
Mediterranean (called Olea), Asian (called Essence), the lobby bar
(called Andante), and coffee and dessert (called Moccato). Room service
is available 24 hours a day. An executive lounge is present if access is
included with your room rate. We did not see the on-site fitness
center, but the spa looked inviting. In the lobby, electronic flight
boards display the status of arriving and departing flights.
Our
Standard Room was small (although it is described on-line as
“spacious”), with only a queen-size bed and two tiny nightstands aside
it, oversize desk and chair, and closet system that held the electronic
safe. The bathroom was open to the rest of the room with little
frosted-glass cubicles that enclosed the shower and toilet. The design,
while modern and trendy, was too open and not private enough for our
taste. A free-standing pedestal located near the middle of the room (but
more a part of the bathroom) holds the mini-bar. The Novotel provides N
by Mobas toiletries (combination shampoo / conditioner, one kind of
body wash, and soap), which is just a small subset of the complete
toiletry products available at other Novotels (including the one that we
stayed at it Halong Bay just a few days prior). Internet is
complimentary for Accor members.
We would stay at the Novotel
Hong Kong Citygate again when traveling through Hong Kong; however, next
time, we would upgrade to a larger room.