Today Business Traveller took a first look around the new Ibis hotel in the Sheung Wan area of Hong Kong Island.
Soft opened since late August, the hotel will have its official opening on October 24. It is one of the first hotels in the region to present the new Ibis brand identity which promises a bright and fresh design.
There are 550 rooms. Standard rooms measure 17 sqm (183 sqft), with the city view rooms (198 double and 124 twin) looking out at the surrounding buildings and the harbour view rooms (142 doubles and 61 twin) offering views across Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour.
Harbour view queen room
There are also 25 larger studio rooms, measuring 25 sqm (269 sqft) with more room around the bed and a more spacious bathroom. These all have city views.
Studio room
All of the rooms have cream walls, pale-coloured timber floors and three-metre-high ceilings, along with large windows that reach almost the length of the wall. They also have a desk stretching along the window. The beds have Simmons mattresses.
The rooms also have complimentary bottles of water and slippers – standard at all Ibis brand hotels. Rooms at this hotel also feature a mini fridge and safe, along with a larger 32 inch flat-screen television.
Wifi is complimentary throughout the hotel. There is also a small computer corner near the lobby with two desktops offering email and basic office software.
The hotel's restaurant, Taste, is the same style as most of the Ibis brand hotels across Asia. It emphasises local cuisine, offering dim sum, baked rice and noodles as well as western food such as burgers. It provides a buffet breakfast between 6.30am and 11am.
Taste dining area
There is a bar and lounge area across from the lobby on the fifth floor. LE BAR serves drinks and snacks between midday and 11pm, but the lounge will be available 24 hours a day.
The hotel aims to have food and drink available round the clock, so from 4am onwards this bar offers early risers pastries and hot and cold drinks, while after 11pm it provides snacks and a microwave.
LE BAR
The hotel is located about five to ten minutes walk west of the Sheung Wan MTR station, from where it is one stop to Hong Kong’s central business district. It is also a ten-minute walk from the Macau Ferry terminal.
To reach the airport from the hotel, guests can take the MTR or a taxi to Central (15 mins) to use the Airport Express service. Alternatively, the Cityflyer A11 bus stops nearby the hotel and provides transport to the airport in about an hour. The hotel also provides an airport shuttle bus service costing HK$140 (US$18) per person.
The addition of this hotel brings Accor's room total in Asia to 100,000 (see story here).
For more information, visit www.ibis.com
Nicholas Olczak
