Novotel Citygate Hong Kong

When I was planning my trip to Japan, I purposely picked a flight that would give me a 21-​hour layover in Hong Kong. I wanted to take this chance to experience the city where my mom came from before committing to a longer trip. What if I didn’t like it? Or what if it wasn’t all that I thought it would be?
After some discussion, it seemed the best idea would be to rent a hotel for one night so I could explore the city and then take a nice shower and have a good night’s sleep before the 15 hour flight back home to NYC.
There are two airport hotels by HKG — Novotel and Regal Airport Hotel. Both of them had their pros and cons — Regal was actually next to the airport and was only a 5 minute walk; but Novotel was a 5 minute shuttle bus ride away from the airport but was more centrally located to the MTR and Citygate Outlets. Both were around the same price — give or take a few dollars. What sold me was the Novotel’s proximity to the cablecar to the Big Buddha. We didn’t end up going, but it’s location cannot be beat.
We were able to take the MTR — with help from our front desk at Novotel — into the city and explore it a bit. The return trip on the MTR was just as easy. The room was huge — a luxury we didn’t have during the 2 weeks of our Japan trip. We could put our luggage anywhere! The bathroom was also very brightly lit and the shower was quite large. You can easily fit 5 people in the shower room!
We were given free breakfast with my room (last day of the promotion!). The breakfast buffet was very efficiently equipped and I was able to have a very nice mixed-​English-​and-​Chinese breakfast before our shuttle to the plane. Bell services were extremely helpful and nice — English speaking too (even though we both spoke Cantonese anyways).
At about $ 150 per night, Novotel cannot be beat. The location is great — especially for those who want to go to Disney or the Big Buddha.

What I loved about the Hotel
They gave me a free upgrade and the hotel room was the size of my apartment back home… the bed was super comfortable, the room had a lovely bath with a TV so you could relax and catchup on the news you missed over the last day while travelling. The hotel was just near the hotel so after a long trip you could be relaxing in no time. They had an amazing gym area which was quite impressive. The breakfast was extra but certainly worth the money!
What could be improved
The shuttle transfer from the hotel was a bit confusing they could improve the communication there but this didn’t cause any issues it just was a bit stressful after a long flight.

When I stay near the airport in Hong Kong I always enjoy coming here. It’s only a few minutes away and the hotel itself has beautiful views in several directions.
The rooms are clean and modern with a cozy bed. Sound levels are also ultra quiet.
The free wifi is surprisingly fast. I usually don’t put those words into the same sentence but wifi speeds here seem to consistently run much faster than the mainland.
The building is not heated so I f you’re here during winter months and like a warm room I’d recommend having them bring a heater which they’re happy to accommodate.
The staff here speak English very well and communication is easy.
The workout room is accessible ²⁴⁄₇. There are a couple of decent treadmills, two ellipticals, and a few stationary cycles one of which is a recumbent. There are some free weights including dumbbells up to 50 pounds but it could use a bit more resistance equipment. My recommendation with the extra floorspace would be a multistation machine.
When you get here I’d make two recommendations. First, walk out of the lobby and into the Cutygate shops area where you can find the ATM. It’s good to have some Hong Kong dollars since not everyone accepts credit cards. Secondly, go through the outlet area to he rail station and get an Octopus card — you’ll need that cash since they don’t accept credit cards.
The octopus card is your ticket to the city and works nearly everywhere — trains, ferries, even convenience shops.
All good here at the Novotel! I definitely recommend this place.

Great rooms. Very close to the airport, about a $ 7 cab ride/​15 minutes (take the ladue cab line). Friendly and helpful staff. All in all a very modern, nice hotel.

Comfortable beds, free wifi & bottle water. The views from the hotel are great. Walk down both hallways to see each side of the view. Pool is wonderful & gym is 24 hours. If you are airline crew mention your discounts. Staff is friendly and always willing you help you

Very nice and accommodating staff, will try to get you what you want with reasonable request

I have stayed here several times now and really enjoyed this hotel. Rooms are clean and comfy, and it’s in a nice quiet area but well connected via Tung Chung MTR stop at the mall below. The mall is only so-​so but has a good food court to avoid the high hotel food prices. Staff fine, but not overly helpful. All in all I would stay here again, it was quite nice.
Pool area excellent, I loved it and the views of the hills around.
Take the Ngong Ping cable car next door, it’s a great little adventure with some beautiful scenery.

Decided to go here for a Saturday afternoon tea buffet at Essence because the special promotion was hard to ignore — $ 138 on Saturdays and Sundays. I had already snuck in some seaweed shake shake fries from McDonalds so I wasn’t too hungry. Good thing, because the selection was somewhat limited: included chicken tenders, chicken skewers, breakfast sausages, potatoes, sandwiches, fried noodles, fried rice, a pasta station that does red and white sauces, and desserts and coffee/​tea. Everything was very mediocre quality, and the pasta tasted more like noodles dunked in a bit of cream with some cheap ham.
I definitely felt like you get your money’s worth with the dessert and coffee– there was a waffle station with a white chocolate fondue fountain, that I abused with pleasure.
Probably would not return for afternoon tea, but did see a sushi bar and noodle soup station out-​of-​service, so maybe this place is better for lunch/​dinner.