Hong Kong: Novotel CityGate Hong Kong (March 2014)

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.