Ibis North Point, Hong Kong

Author's product rating:   

Value for Money	Good
Quality of Rooms	Average
Standard of Service	Good
Quality of Facilities	Average

Advantages:	Great transport links, reasonably priced
Disadvantages:	Dirty, rather soulless

Recommend to potential buyers:

no

Full review

One of the most annoying things about the fact that my parents left Hong Kong is that now I have nowhere to stay for free when I pop up there. Of course, there are always friends to stay with, but considering that the average HK flat is the size of an average English bathroom (OK, I'm exaggerating. But not by much.) that option is pretty much unavailable. So, on my recent travels, I found myself having to book accommodation. I was only going to be there for 30 hours, so all I needed was a place to sleep for 2 nights, as I'd be out and about during the day.

THE HOTEL- AN OVERVIEW:

The hotel is a part of the Ibis chain, and it's got a pretty clear ethos- clean, comfortable, and budget. They provide basic rooms with ensuite bathrooms without such amenities as tiny soaps, shoe shining kits, and other superfluous items. This helps to keep costs down, whilst giving you what you need and want. Overall, it's a pretty good strategy, although I have stayed in a few Ibis hotels and I have to say that quality does vary dramatically from place to place.

The Hotel Ibis North Point is located in North Point on Hong Kong Island. It has 275 rooms over 31 floors (Some facing the harbour, others not). Eleven of those floors are non-smoking. There's a business centre and a restaurant and Laundry service if needed.
I paid HK$ 550 a night, so a total of HK$ 1100 for two nights (About £69). Price-wise, this is a budget to mid-range price for Hong Kong.

LOCATION:

The location is slightly out of the major tourist areas, but in a place like Hong Kong, public transport is so efficient and quick that nowhere is really far from anywhere else. Bear in mind that just because it's not in major parts of town doesn't mean that it's not a noisy and bustling area. Everywhere in Hong Kong is noisy, so you just learn to tune it out, although I didn't really notice much noise when I was in my room.

It has excellent bus and subway (M.T.R) links. I flew in late at night and got a bus from the airport terminus. Bus A11 cost HK$ 40 (£2.50) and it took about 50 minutes to get to the hotel (This was rather late at night, so I can imagine it might take longer if you have to deal with traffic snarls). Getting off is easy; just stay on until the very end. The final stop is at the North Point ferry pier. If you get off and look away from the harbour to the road, you'll see the hotel all lit up and shiny; it is literally just across the road. For getting back to the airport, I just did the reverse. I noted what time the bus left (about every half hour or so) and checked out of the hotel 10 minutes before that.

The hotel is also incredibly easy to get to from the M.T.R. Just take the Island line (Blue line on the map) to North Point, take exit A1, turn right and walk about 50 steps and you're there!

THE STAFF:

I checked in quite late at night, but the Ibis chain promise that there is always somebody on reception, 24 hours a day. There was a lady on the desk who checked me in. She wasn't particularly friendly, didn't crack a smile, but she wasn't rude either. Her English was fine as she asked me for my reservation details and my passport.

The next day I got back to the hotel after a day out and my key wouldn't open my door (It was one of those swipe keys which I think were made just to make me feel like an incompetent fool when I have to go down to reception and piteously say "I can't open my door!!") There was a young man on the desk who was lovely and made me confirm my name and room number before he put my key in the machine and did some magic on it. After that, it worked fine.

Checking out at about 6:30 in the morning, I didn't see anyone at the reception desk. However, I peeked through an open door just next to the check in area and saw a staff member sitting in a small office using a computer. She straight away got up and dealt with me, so that was fine. I can't imagine the graveyard shift is very much fun.

THE ROOM:

I had a room on the 12th floor, facing away from the harbour. It was small, very small, but I thought very well laid out. As you entered, the bathroom was on the right with a toilet, shower and sink. It was small but perfectly fine for my needs (Showering, toilet and teeth.) It had two full-sized towels and two hand towels, one of which I used as a shower mat. There was a squeezy bottle of bodywash/shampoo affixed to the shower wall and two water glasses. There was no soap rack or small ledge in the shower, which was annoying as I had nowhere to put my shampoo or personal soap bar, so they just kind of sat on the floor of the shower.

There was a small niche which held a safe (Used it, liked it), and two clothes hangers for hanging up essentials. It also had a small pull-out cupboard which contained a kettle and teacups, as well as a couple of packets of anonymous tea, and a small bar fridge. Hong Kong water is safe to drink, and I certainly drink my fair share but each night I would boil the kettle and leave it in the fridge in order to have some nice cold water in the morning.

The rest of the room had a bed. It was certainly big enough for me to sleep comfortably and to stretch out, but if there had been two full-grown adults in it, it would have been very uncomfortable. Unfortunately, small beds are a fact of life in Hong Kong; space is at a premium, and you pay more if you want more space. Matresses tend to be very very thin, often just a foam matress on top of a wooden ledge (Which was the case here) so beware for anyone with back problems. There was a TV set into the wall next to the bed, so you pulled in out on casters and then tilted it so that it was facing you. It made for quite comfy viewing when all tucked up in bed.
The windows pointed out and created a triangular window seat, so a custom made desk fitted into that space. There was a wooden desk chair, a telephone and a few vouchers and brochures to read about Hong Kong. There were a couple of hooks on the wall to hang clothes, and enough space to walk around the bed and possibly leave a suitcase on, but that was it.

Like I said, it was a very, very small room, but the people responsible had made a good use of space. It was fine for one person, but I can imagine it would be tough going for a couple if you want to spend a significant amount of time in the room. On the other hand, it's Hong Kong! What are you doing sitting in your room? I'll pardon a severe illness, loss of limb, or accidental decapitation, but that's it.

UNFORTUNATELY, the room was pretty filthy. I don't mind a bare and Spartan room, but I like my rooms (superficially at least) to be clean. The walls were papered with a cheap dirty white wallpaper which appeared to be peeling in many places. The bottom foot or so of the wallpaper had obviously been attacked by a toddler wielding an impressive rainbow of crayons. It really didn't look as if the cleaning staff had made much effort to scrub it off, and I have to say that this kid was no Van Gogh.

The carpet was absolutely filthy. Obstensibly a light grey colour, there were numerous stains all over it, and some of those stains really freaked me out. The carpet felt clammy underfoot and so whenever I was in the room I would wear my flip-flops, just because I didn't want to expose my bare feet to whatever bodily fluids were festering in the carpet.

The sheets, as far as I could see were clean and freshly laundered, as were the towels. However, I noticed quite a bit of dirt and hair in the corners of the bathroom. I just got the impression that the cleaning staff would do the basic room servicing, but what my room needed was a thorough deep clean, if not a revamp, using materials that were more stain-resistant. I may have just been unlucky, but the building as a whole looked a bit tired and worn, which was sad, as other Ibis' I have stayed in are very clean and well-maintained.

FACILITIES:

The hotel had a restaurant, which is apparently open every day from early morning until reasonably late at night. However, I really don't see any need to eat there. There is a 7-11 practically next door, so I bought myself some juice and muesli bars to eat first thing in the morning and then went out. For your information, there are 2 national activities in Hong Kong: Shopping and eating. So you'll never go hungry, and you won't need to resort to eating in scummy hotel restaurants unless you're in exceptional circumstances.

There were also some tables and chairs in the reception area with some powerpoints scattered around, and I saw quite a few people on laptops. Apparently, the hotel has WiFi, but I think you have to pay. I also noticed a couple of computers in the corner of the lobby but I never got the chance to use them. I think the deal was that they were free, as long as you asked reception for the log in details. There is also a business centre, which I believe had the rudimentary elements necessary for business people, but I didn't have a look there.

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS:

Overall, I wouldn't recommend this hotel. This is because I feel that is doesn't adequately fill the gap between budget hostels and guesthouses, and luxury hotels. If you're looking for cheap accommodation, then you'd be better off staying in a hostel or a guesthouse. You'll pay less, and you can use the money to go shopping or have a nice meal at a nice restaurant. On the other hand, if you like luxury and price is not too much of a consideration, then I would stay somewhere nicer. This is a shame, because I really wanted to like the hotel, I really did. If it's ever upgraded, or given a thorough spring clean, then I will be back. But at the moment, I'm still fighting off nightmares about those carpets.

Hotel Ibis North Point, 138 Java Road, North Point, Hong Kong.
Tel: (852) 2588-1111 Fax: (852) 2588-1123
www.ibishotel.com