Just saw the IC GS master thread pop up and thought I would write a review of the Crowne Plaza. FWIW, most of my HK stays these days are at Hyatt Regency TST, although I’ve spent a few hundred nights all over the city in the past decade. I had an expiring 40k IHG credit card free night and had a choice of all hotels except the Regent. I deliberately didn’t choose IC GS, because I prefer the Crowne Plaza. IMO, the racecourse views are even more spectacular than the part of the harbor one can see from IC GS, and Causeway Bay is far more lively and better connected than the somewhat awkward East TST location of IC GS (which is still ok if one is comfortable getting around by bus).
Arrived just after 15:00 and noticed pretty quickly from the mad typing and whispering that the Racecourse view room the app had been showing as an upgrade wasn’t available just yet. I was thus given an Executive Suite. These are probably 80-90 square meters, very large and well appointed, with a very pleasant view over Happy Valley. Back when the hotel opened, I commented that I didn’t understand why they didn’t turn it into an IC, it certainly had the hardware. That hardware has now aged quite a bit, but it’s still a great hotel. What’s new is that rooms now are equipped with a water station rather than plastic bottles.
There’s no dedicated lounge, but drinks and snacks are available on the 28th floor next to the rooftop pool from 17:00 to 20:00. There is some daily variation in the menu, but regrettably it skews American — mini hot dogs, fries, chicken drumsticks. Decent selection of drinks.
There are two areas where the CP is clearly inferior to IC GS. First is late checkout, which is obviously not guaranteed, but they generously offered 14:00 despite being full. The second and perhaps more important inferiority is the breakfast. It’s offered in the first floor restaurant, which is a little cramped, and the selection is rather limited unless you want Western stuff. Despite this, this is an excellent CP, which I’ll continue choosing over IC GS in the rare event I don’t find myself at Hyatt or Regent.
Executive suite bedroom
Executive suite bathroom
Nespresso machine and water dispenser
Executive suite living room
Club menu
Happy Valley / Racecourse view