Just had another stay at Centric, but going to post here, because we’re having the ongoing "what's better" discussion in this thread. Let me preface this by saying that I understand from your posts in various threads that you are spending almost the entire year in hotels (as am I), and I’m aware that there are differences in preferences. I just find some of these assertions grossly misleading, and want to provide appropriate guidance to someone who only comes to HK once or perhaps a few times and is trying to choose a hotel.

First, your assertion about breakfast. I have never received restaurant breakfast at either hotel as a club guest, and I just asked again at Centric – breakfast is not given as a standard club or Glob benefit. If you are allowed restaurant breakfast at Centric, you are either special in some way, or it’s included in your rate.

As for the lounges. In terms of physical appearance of the lounge, I love the high ceilings and views at HR, and importantly, there’s space to walk around. The food service area at the Centric lounge is incredibly cramped, an island and counters separated by a very narrow walkway (less than 4ft), and people are constantly blocking each other. The lounge is ridiculously overstaffed, with 4 attendants mostly standing around and adding to the congestion of the food service area.

I would rank the lounge breakfast at Centric ahead of HR, with a live cooking station and lots of tasty items including edible dim sum (a rarity at hotel buffets). But evening happy hour is much stronger at HR. In fact, happy hour at Centric is one of the worst in Asia. In four nights, there was no change at all in cold items (the exact same cold cuts, salad, soba noodles, maki). Minimal rotation in hot items and desserts (same stuff -Korean beef noodles/chicken/spring rolls- made an appearance three times). The hot items are frequently cold, or run out (nobody seems to notice or care, despite the grotesque overstaffing). On the second night, the Centric lounge ran out of Pellegrino, and on the third night out of soda water. Apparently hard to procure these items in HK, because once gone, they never came back, for days -- ridiculous! In contrast, HR is on a 5-night rotation (afaik), and while there are some stronger and some weaker nights, the stuff is always edible and decent quality (some nights, delicious).

The staff at Centric seem nice enough, but as a repeat guest with dozens of stays, I am much happier with Loretta and her team at HR – they’re highly professional, I’m addressed by name, my preferences are known. Centric has one shift with three unusually bubbly/outgoing women (including Katie, who seems to be mentioned in lots of reviews), and one shift with guys that are rather typical HK hotel staff (kindof disinterested).

In terms of upgrades, you must be exceptionally lucky to have gotten suites at Centric so frequently. AFAIK they only have 8 suites, and I’ve never seen them for sale/DSU on any of my stay dates. I suspect they sell some, and have a fair number of Globs competing for them, so I’d be shocked if suite upgrades were as common as you insinuate. The 32sqm-ish rooms (that are the likely upgrade) are fine, but IMO not spectacular. I had a 6am arrival this time and was given one of the 23sqm standard rooms for my first day. Boy, are those snug. Someone complained upthread about the 28sqm rooms at HR being smaller than stated (due to HK’s interesting ways of measuring rooms by including your share of the corridor), but those “23sqm” rooms at Centric are really to be given a miss.

I guess my main criterion for choosing a hotel is sleep quality. At Centric, there’s a lot of noise from the freeway that runs right outside the hotel. Soundproofing is inadequate, and you will hear the constant stream of buses/cars/trucks, plus the occasional idiot on a motorcycle or sports car revving their engine. I knew this from my first stay last month, and came prepared with a noise machine app on my phone, as well as ear plugs. Still, it was some of the worst sleep I ever had in HK. Never had any problems with noise at HR.

It’s ridiculous to describe the HR as old. It was opened in 2009, and there have been continued light upgrades (e.g., bathrooms). There’s some wear and tear, but it’s no comparison to truly old Hyatts like the ones in Perth, Fukuoka, Tokyo (HR). As you say, the Centric is new, but there are a lot of features I don’t like, including the two towers setup, which (depending on where your room is located) may mean having to take an elevator down, walk through the lobby, take an elevator to the club. The pool gym area at Centric is very nice indeed, but I don’t think the HR pool is a “joke” (it’s an above-average pool by HK hotel standards).

I’m really flabbergasted by your comments about the views. Yes, the view of the harbor and HK skyline from HR is “obstructed by other buildings,” but that’s true from almost every hotel in TST. I’m guessing that 9 out of 10 people would consider the views from the HR lounge and high-floor rooms pretty spectacular. In contrast, the Centric overlooks a boring part of the harbor, oh, and perhaps it bears repeating, there’s a freeway built into the water right in front of the hotel. Pictures don’t do justice to the sweeping views from the HR, but guess I’ll use some visual aids here:


Harbor view from HR (20th floor).


Harbor view from Centric (17th floor).

Finally, location. You (and a number of other posters on FT) seem to have a somewhat irrational dislike of the Kowloon side. I don’t get it. Yes, if you walk around, there are touts (“tailor, copywatch”) and it’s crowded, but you don’t have to deal with any of that when staying at the HR. It’s right on top of a MTR station, no need to go outside. TST station is one stop from Admiralty, two from Central, so it's quicker to get to those places from HR than from Centric. Unless you need to be east of Wan Chai, it’s at best a wash when taking the MTR. During the ongoing protests (which will presumably end at some point), MTR shuts down early (10 or 11pm), and there have been a handful of instances of it shutting down altogether. I hang out in Sai Ying Pun a lot, and took a taxi to Centric twice this week, it’s in the HK$70 range. Getting to HR (via the Western Harbor Tunnel) costs around HK$120 and perhaps takes a few extra minutes. So in practical terms, no difference.

As for getting to the hotel with luggage, I carried two heavy suitcases, and it’s an ordeal from North Point station. The platform level is very deep underground, so getting to street level (A1 exit) entails three escalators and two flights of stairs where you’ll have to carry your luggage. The hotel is close to the exit (maybe 100 meters), but the walk is not covered, so you’d need an umbrella if it rains. The K11 Mall (where HR is located) has its own MTR exit, and you can enter the hotel without taking escalators or having to carry your bags up stairs.

To be fair, I was aware of the weaknesses of the Centric before this stay, but had a rate of HKD600 locked in (via Citi 4th night free reservation made before the devaluation). Rates in HK are ridiculously low right now due to protests, so I could have changed to HR (HKD1050) or a number of decent Marriotts (HKD800-1000). I decided to stick with the Centric due to the low rate. Big mistake. I have three more Citi 4th night free bookings coming up in the next few months, but I will be cancelling them. Spending a few hundred HKD more is well worth it if it means having a hotel where you can actually sleep without constant freeway noise.