Cosmopolitan Hotel, Hong Kong

This was the first hotel on this summer's epic tour and a continuation of my recent upgrade luck. We didn't really know what to expect from a hotel in Hong Kong (other than small rooms, according to everything I read), but we were very pleasantly surprised. Hong Kong hotels aren't cheap, especially when trying to find a family-sized room, but the Cosmopolitan Hotel was pretty reasonable (relatively). It was a good place to stay with children, and I'd definitely recommend it to anyone visiting Hong Kong. The only thing missing, really, is a pool, but you can't have everything...

Anyway, here is my cut-and-paste review from Trip Advisor, along with a couple of photos and a video if you scroll to the bottom.

We stayed at the Cosmopolitan for a total of five nights, either side of a trip to Australia. We booked a family quad room but, on arrival, we were told we had been upgraded to one of the recently refurbished rooms which was, apparently, slightly larger than the room we’d booked. The room was by no means huge (especially in comparison to the rooms in Australia), but it was large by Hong Kong standards and perfectly spacious enough for the four of us plus all our luggage. The room had clearly been newly done-up – everything was clean, new and had a luxurious feel to it. The beds were very comfy and we slept well, despite both children sleeping in the same double bed. There was a large-screen TV with a few English-speaking channels, a mini-bar (not cheap but not astronomically priced), complimentary bottled water, tea- and coffee-making facilities, a hairdryer, a free-to-use safe, an alarm clock with an iPod/iPhone docker and an iron and ironing board. Robes and slippers were provided – both adult and child-sized. Another nice touch for the children was the soft toy and snack box they were given on arrival (the nice lady at reception even gave me one too!). The bathroom was small (especially the bath!) but smart and clean, with a lovely hot shower, plenty of towels, and toiletries and other bathroom goodies provided. The air-con was very efficient, and a blessing after the temperatures outside, although it did get a little cold in the room sometimes. We were on the nineteenth floor (although there are a few floors missing due to cultural reasons – 4, 13 and 14), so the view was amazing. We could see part of Happy Valley racecourse and out over Causeway Bay, which looked beautiful when lit up at night.

The best thing about the room, though, was the handy smart phone, free to use during your stay. You could use this for the internet when you were out and about or to make free international calls to selected countries (including the UK, USA and Australia). You could also use it as a Wi-Fi hub to hook your own phone up to, which negated any issues of chargeable Wi-Fi in the hotel (although this was free anyway in the restaurant and reception area).

Away from the room, the hotel has a few facilities – a small bar area in reception and a tour desk, and there is a gym, apparently, although we didn’t see it, but no pool. It has a restaurant, but we only used this for breakfast. The breakfast itself was very nice – a mix of Chinese and Western dishes, and plenty even for fussy eaters. The reception staff were friendly and helpful, and they were very efficient in arranging a taxi to the airport for us. They remembered us on our return visit, and even put us in the same upgraded room, which was a nice touch. The location of the hotel was very good – it’s a ten-to-fifteen-minute walk to the nearest MTR station, Causeway Bay, although there are plenty of shops and restaurants in the nearby area and a bus stop right outside. The hotel also offers a free shuttle bus to various locations, although we didn’t make use of this. On a side note, with regards to transport, I would highly recommend purchasing Octopus cards, similar to the Oyster cards in London, which can be used to pay for all forms of transport (except taxis!), including the ferries and the peak tram, and make travelling much easier. I would also recommend getting a taxi to and from the airport if you are a family – it probably works out cheaper than the train (around HK$350), and is much more convenient!

All in all, we had a lovely stay in Hong Kong, and the hotel was very much a part of it. We would definitely return – especially if we got upgraded again!

Here's a video of our room in the Cosmopolitan. You can visit my YouTube channel (Holiday obsessive) for more holiday-related videos (with more to be uploaded soon...).