one good, one poor stay

1   Not Recommended
January 8, 2020 by EXPERT

 Map | 4 Reviews | 75% Recommended
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Novotel Century Hong Kong
 Map | 4 Reviews | 75% Recommended

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Liked:
Location
Service
Food
Amenities
Room
Stats

I stayed twice in recent times at this hotel. The first stay was pleasant, the second not.

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Check In

Check in was easy enough in both cases as the reception was empty, as was most of the hotel, not exactly a lot of tourism business currently in Hong Kong.

The second arrival was a bit strange, the bellhop was busy with his mobile and could not be bothered to help with the luggage.

 

Room

The first room was a renovated room, with a decent sized bed. The second stay was a not-renovated room which clearly showed its age: watermarks on the wood, mold in the bathroom, smaller bed. Very unpleasant. And yet they they claimed I was "upgraded", from what? The storage cupboard?

You can see the pictures in the previous reviews.

View from the first room:

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Service

Service was very underwhelming throughout. Staff were not the most friendly or engaging, except for the lounge staff who were excellent (they remembered my drink).

Dining

Breakfast was decent with a good choice in the main restaurant. It should be noted that the lounge no longer serves breakfast (possibly due to low occupancy) and guest can use the main buffet.

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Snack at the bar

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Dinner at the Italian restaurant was poor. The place was empty but staff were keen to point out that they close at 10pm and that we better be out by then. Not exactly a winning strategy.

The lounge was small but pleasant. The nibbles are few and will not cover you for a light meal but this is a Novotel and not Sofitel.

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Loyalty

The first stay was fine: Nice welcome amenity with handwritten note. The second stay I got the standard apple and orange only with bland note (maybe Platinums in 2020 got downgraded....).

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Welcome drinks: Highly restricted list

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Overall

Overall while pleasant during the first stay the second stay convinced me not to return. Lacklustre service, lack of upgrade and a half decent welcome are enough to say never again. It was as if they had given up the second time. Odd given the dire state of tourism in HKG at the moment.

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