In November my wife and I brought our 1-year-old son to Hongkong. We have stayed in the T-Hotel for three nights. Unfortunately our overall experience with the hotel was only OK, but not "excellent" (as claimed by many other posters here). Here is why --
* Location * Sort of cast away in the southwestern part of the Hongkong island, a hilly area occasionally reminding you of what Hongkong might look like many decades ago. A cab ride from the airport takes 40 minutes and sets you back HKD350 (including HKD60 for taking the Western Harbour Tunnel); also available is airport bus A10, get off at the Pok Fu Lam Village stop (HKD48 one-way), from there it's a five-minute slightly uphill walk to the hotel. A bus ride to Central takes about 15~20 minutes. By the way, the actual hotel is located on the sixth floor (or maybe the seventh, depending on how you count them) of the Chinese Cuisine Training Institute (CCTI or in Chinese 中華廚藝學院) building. Rating: 3.0 out of 5.0.
* Facilities * The reception, located in the lobby on the ground floor, appeared some kind of make-shift setting, though the lobby itself well decorated and appeared nice. Sizeable (250~350 sqf or about 30 sqm) and well-appointed rooms. Our bathroom came with a separate tub from the shower cabin. A small LCD TV set mounted on the wall above the tub ensures no miss on news or shows while enjoying a bath. Lights can be controlled through a wireless panel on your night stand. Free in-room Wi-Fi, also available was a mini Panasonic stereo. Didn't try the gym, while the business center was small yet functional. Two minor complaints during our stay: 1) Quite large gaps (about half an inch or near 1.5 cm) between the shower door and the walls, frequently causing water leakages on the bathroom floor. 2) The hair dryer blew either too hot or too cold, had a hard time for both my wife and the baby. Rating: 4.0 out of 5.0.
* Dining * Tried the breakfast only. The breakfast had a medium-sized spread, choices including both Chinese (rice congee, fried noodles, preserved-vegetable buns, etc) and Western (bacon, baked beans, grilled tomatoes, hash browns, cook-to-order omelet, etc.). Add on top was the run-of-the-mill stuff like cereals, bakery, salads, cheeses and fresh fruits. No Cantonese-styled dim sum, though. Quality-wise all reasonable, though nothing to write home about. Rating: 3.5 out of 5.0.
* Service * Many folks here have posted a great deal of glaring words about the hotel. However, I want to apologize to everyone first before I beg to differ somehow. Service is probably the area which has set the T-Hotel apart from many other hotels but also clearly shown that, compared to a real four- or five-star hotel, it’s still got quite some room to catch up. As mentioned by some peer travelers, there are usually several trainees on duty/in training at the same time, so you will find yourself frequently being escorted and served by a group of bodies. The enthusiasm was obvious, so was the positive attitude; but from time to time we have found that the skills, especially the professional manners, due diligence and the language skills, were the part missing, critically.
Example 1: Our evening flight arrived at Hongkong at eight something. By the time we got to the hotel it was late at night (around 10:30) and we had two tired adults carrying a sleeping baby. After checking in, a group of five or six trainees escorted us to our room and insisted that we be shown around everything. The whole show took about 15~20 minutes while my wife hiding in the hallway just so the baby able to sleep uninterrupted. I understood that this was a part of the standard training process for the trainees, however only wished they could have been a little bit more considerate and maybe flexible given the time and situation.
Example 2: In the very morning following our arrival, at shortly after eight we woke up to some persistent yet increasingly heavy knocking on our door. I rushed to the door, only to realize that it was some trainee there asking us if any laundry for him to pick up. Oh well, I’m sure he all meant well but…*sigh* With the baby awakened, my wife was certainly not impressed, needless to say.
Example 3: As my wife was on a special diet plan, she had to bring some her own food with her when going to breakfast. Ten minutes into the meal, while she went to pour herself some juice, a waiter came to the table, not consulting anyone, simply and swiftly wrapped up her personal food, along with other garbage, and sent straight to the trash bin. This time we were not only unimpressed but actually shocked.
Example 4: As traveling with a baby, upon check-in we’ve requested a late check-out, which was granted on the spot. Then on the following day, just to be on the safe side, I went to the reception to double-check with the manager on-duty, who quickly re-assured me again. On the check-out day, someone came to knock on our door at 10:30 am, and once again, in a VERY heavy and hasty manner. Upon opening the door, I was “greeted” by three trainees, “Sorry, are you ready to check out?” Speechless was probably the best word to describe myself of that moment.
Example 5: One night, around nine, we happened to run out of drinking water entirely (even those in our mini-bar). We thought we might just ask some more from the hotel as opposed to going out to find a convenient store. So I called the reception asking for two bottles of water. Ten minutes passed, nothing happened. So I had to call again. Another ten minutes, finally a lady trainee came with two bottles of water. Anyway, once again I managed to keep the unease to myself.
Example 6: We needed to print a copy of our flight boarding pass on the day we were leaving. I explained it (in both English and Cantonese, even though a bit broken) to the lady working in the Business Centre and requested a regular black-white printout. She nonetheless still sent the file to the colour printer, which made no sense but only cost us extra money. The few extra bucks would certainly not break us one way or the other, but the lack of professionalism and diligence was unacceptable.
Many of the hotel staff were indeed professional and dedicated, or at least tried very hard to be so, and I have never doubted that for a second, nor wanted to take anything away from their hard work. Meanwhile, I however still need to point out the issues we’ve encountered during the stay. The fact is, positive attitude and great enthusiasm alone neither mean nor necessarily guarantee high standard of service. Those people on this forum who might have drawn an equal sign between the two risks being emotionally charged therefore potentially misleading other fellow travelers. That said, at least based on my personal experience and in my humble opinion, contrary to what some of the other posters have claimed here, I consider the T-Hotel being only a training hotel with a focus on providing the students with an opportunity to practice what they have learned in the classroom; it is however definitely NOT a four- or five-star operation, at least not in terms of the inconsistent service standard demonstrated by some of the trainee staff during our stay. Rating: 3.0 out 5.0.
Overall our stay at the T-Hotel was an acceptable experience, with the highlights being the nice room and ocean view and tranquil setting while lowlights due largely to the sub-par services provided by some of the trainee staff. It probably remains as an option for us in future visits to Hongkong, however we'll for sure look beyond it as well. And for fellow travelers, I will recommend this hotel but not without reservation. And in my humble opinion, it’d probably best suit single travelers and/or couples/families without small kids. Families with small children or even business travelers may also want to consider elsewhere.
While trying hard to be as objective as possible and speak only out of fact, I’m sorry if my review on the T-Hotel has gone against the seemingly overwhelming “mainstream” on the forum therefore raised a lot of eyebrows. However, I feel strongly about it and will firmly stand behind my comments. Overall rating: 3.0 out 5.0.
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