Thursday, July 21, 2016

HK Hotel: Best Western PLUS Hotel

Address: 308 Des Voeux Road West, Sai Ying Pun, Hong Kong

The decision to choose this hotel had everything to do with its location being near the University of Hong Kong, where my brother's conference was held. My brother couldn't have picked a better place to accommodate us during this engagement. Not only was the hotel just a few minutes walk from the school, but it's also very near two MTR Stations namely Sai Ying Pun and HKU Stations. Plus, you could never go wrong when there's a nearby Mc Donalds, 7-Eleven, Starbucks (if you're a coffee drinker) around.

In front of the hotel is a TRAM stop for West-bound locations and a 2-minute walk is a TRAM stop for East-bound locations.

green tram stopping at 78W stop (west-bound) diagonally across the hotel is 11E stop (east-bound)(in front of 7-Eleven)
Lastly, A10 and A12 buses from the airport also have a STOP near the hotel. In getting to Best Western PLUS Hotel, my brother and I got separated. He got on the A12 bus without realizing that I didn't get in. The bus had left, and his call to the Chinese driver to "WAIT" was ignored!!! (Haha, I was supposed to be his tour guide, this being my 3rd time while it's his first time. Unsaunz, nahablin ang guide, haha!) Thankfully, prior to getting out of the airport we each managed to buy a local SIM. So, I was able to send him an SMS to get off at the 4th STOP of A12's route: Water Street. I followed suit in the next A12 bus that came along the airport's bus terminal. When I got to the 4th STOP, I was thrilled to know that the hotel is practically within sight of the bus stop. Simply amazing location!!!


A10 BUS from the airport about to make a left turn to its designated BUS stop (middle picture). Hotel is just a few steps away and within view from the BUS stop. Fare is fixed at 44HKD from the airport.
For the duration of the conference, we stayed in one of the hotel's Superior Twin Rooms on the 12th floor, Room 1215.

Two-seater table. Two Single Beds. The beds have been slept in. Thus, the linens are wrinkled. The room above is about 23 to 27 square meters in size. This is normal size in most hotels, but I believe by Hong Kong standards, this is a pretty good sized room. What I love most about this place is its VARIOUS storage. It has a fairly-sized closet with a safety deposit box. The dresser table have layers where you can place your footwear and other stuff.



The hallway leading to the room is another love. It has storage after storage. One of the compartments hid a personal refrigerator. Along with the cups and saucers is an electric kettle. Instant coffee, tea, sugar, and cream are replenished each day. Two 500 mL bottled water are also provided daily.


Across the hallway above, is the toilet and bath. It is another love. The room has one big mirror at the center and two on the sides positioned in a slanted way. The mirrors generally reflect one's image in all angles.


Right next to the toilet is the bath. The shower area is a bit small, but surely big enough than most standard HK bath. It has glass sliding doors to maximize space. Water is hot and cold. What I dislike with the shower is that water takes time to warm, but when it does - it easily turns hot, too. So one needs to be careful when showering. The flooring used is some kind of hard plastic - the kind used in bathtubs. Right across is a dresser with a hair blower. Usual toiletries are given; shampoo, bath gel, disposable toothbrush/toothpaste. Towels are replaced daily even if you follow hotel instructions NOT to dump the towels on the floor. Placing towels on the floor is the staff's cue to put new towels. Toiletries were replenished as needed, not daily during our stay.
The toilet and bath didn't have rubber slippers. Disposable slippers in the room are provided daily. Flooring of the entire room, except the hallway in the room is carpeted. The entire 12th floor hallway is also carpeted.

Check-in time like in any other hotels is at 2 P.M., while check-out time is at 12 noon. My brother and I arrived at the hotel around 11 A.M. The staff asked us to wait for another hour so they can clear and prepare a room for us. We left our bags at the concierge and went out for lunch before heading to Macau. We didn't mind waiting for an hour to check-in because we were there much earlier and they didn't charge us for checking-in early. So, it's all great. Upon check-out, I had to wait for my brother as it was his credit card that was used during check-in. I checked-out for the both of us around 12 noon. However, the manager on duty required the presentation of the credit card used during check-in. My brother's conference was yet to finish at 1:30 P.M. at that time, so I was just given the printout of the bill pending his return to the hotel. So, I just waited at the lobby. Good thing the entire hotel provide free WiFi. Our room also has access to WiFi all day. Breakfast was NOT included. For breakfast to be included, an additional 85 HKD is charged.



The above accommodation was booked through booking.com in the amount of HKD1422.4 for 4 nights, excluding 10% service charge. Below is the actual bill in the amount of HKD 1,564.64. I don't know how the breakdown was done, but the amount paid here is exactly the same as the amount quoted by booking.com, plus the 10% service charge. Hong Kong Dollars to Philippine Peso exchange rate at that time was 1 HKD to PhP6.25. Thus, hotel accommodation for 4 nights and 5 days was PhP9,779 or PhP 2,444.75 per night.

Given the time and budget, I won't mind returning to this hotel in future travels to Hong Kong! This hotel is also very near Shun Tak Center, where the HongKong-Macau Ferry Terminal is located. From the tram stop 11E, Shun Tak is at 19E (just 4 stops away!)

If you want to be near the Night Market, perhaps the Evergreen Hotel in Kowloon is more suitable for you (check the REVIEW here). But if you find yourself in the Kwun Tong area, perhaps the Dorsett Kwun Tong is best for you (check the REVIEW here). I hope this review helps you decide where to stay when you find yourself in the lovely city of Hong Kong.

Happy Travels!!!

2 comments:

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