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| Submission date: 2006-06-12 - Date of Stay: June 2006 |
| Submitted by: David - From: Australia |
| Type of Traveller: Business Traveller - Age Group: 41 - 50 |
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| Great harbour View. Bad attitude! |
| I booked this hotel because it was close to the water, close to the bars I intended visiting, and at a price that was still something short of being a telephone number in length. My hotels are inevitably on the discount side, though this one is still on the upper side of Aus$100 a night - I like a view that is not counted in the number of bricks on the opposite wall, and in the hotel world a view costs money.
I see that the price I paid for this room was at the discount seasonal price of 50% off - so my comments are based on this and not the ridiculous full price.
I certainly wouldn't be here for either the amount of space, or the service. The taxi driver was friendly, even speaking some English, and drove me right into the undercover carpark of the hotel and pointed me to the 'secret' way through to Reception which didn't involve swimming through the downpour to the front entrance. The Ass. Manager (her badge told me this) certainly didn't give a stuff, and a more unwelcoming manner from a city centre hotel employee I have not encountered for a long time.
Maybe it was because I reconfirmed my request for a harbour view room, and one preferably on a higher floor - I had read that the rear facing rooms had a lovely view only of the neightbours' airconditioners. The Ass. Manager let me know that this was an inconvenient request, that the booking agency hadn't requested this, and that it might not be possible. I let her know that this had been requested on the Internet booking. In disdain, the lady passed me over to someone less senior, but hovered in order that she might ensure I didn't receive a pleasant experience.
Her chance came when I checked that there really was wireless Internet in all the rooms, and the younger girl told me yes, and here are the rates. Having chosen 4 hours of access, 'Her Superiority' gleefully informed me that this was 4 hours of continuous access from the moment I first logged on (obvously a great inconvenience to most, but wonderful in maximising the hotel's profits). I chose 24 hours' access, and bit my tongue about both the price and the idea that this was advertised as a feature of the hotel rather than an 'extra'.
Here are the Internet access prices:
1hr........HK$40
4hrs.......HK$60
24hrs.....HK$100
7 days....HK$300
14 days...HK$400
30 days...HK$600
Remember that this is 'non-stop' service, and that the clock is ticking no matter whether you stay connected or not. My 24hr time stopped at about 22 hours.
I believe the room in which I was is one of the unrenovated, and thus discounted. I still think that, as they provide a jug in which to boil water, that they could have also managed some sachets of tea or coffee and a couple of cups. But they didn't. The water was complimentary. Wow!
The MiniBar had 2 cans of coke and 4 cans of beer.
This is obviously a hotel trading on its one and only asset - the harbour view. If this is important to you, then you have an excuse for staying here - but the whole time I felt unwelcome, and that I was 'doing it on the cheap'.
That this hotel is run by the YMCA is evident in much of their branding, and particularly in their service level and attitude.
Next time I'll pay just a few more dollars to stay in one of the other hotels that has the same view, but a quality of room and service that denotes value for money.
I'm a reviewer for the karaoke website www.where2sing.com
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