Ozo Wesley Hong Kong has opened its doors in Wanchai. The property was formerly The Wesley, managed by locally based Hang Lung Properties, but Thailand-based hospitality group Onyx took over last year to rebrand it into a design-oriented limited-service hotel (see story). The property is the global debut of the Ozo brand, with more to follow in Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
Peter Henley, president and chief executive of Onyx, said that the three-star limited-service hotel concept is often mismanaged and, as a result, travellers associate these properties as just cheap in price and nothing else. Ozo aims to inject some lifestyle elements into the concept as a "smart, simple and savvy" brand.
Perhaps the most valuable asset of this particular property is its location on Hennessy Road, one of the thoroughfares running through Wan Chai and Causeway Bay business districts. It is within a walking distance from Pacific Place, a major retail-office-hotel complex atop the Admiralty MTR station. Wanchai station is about 10-15 minutes' walk eastwards. The fast-changing Queen's Road East is half a block away, providing many new trendy dining hotspots to go. For more on the area, see "The buzz on the streets of Hong Kong" from the June issue of Business Traveller Asia-Pacific here.
Ozo Wesley features 251 guest rooms and suites, which make up the "Snooze Zone". As typical of Hong Kong, rooms here are small, starting from 20 sqm for a Sleep room or a Dream room (on higher floors), to slighly bigger "Dreamspace" (22 sqm) to the 34 sqm Ozo suite, which offers a living area. That means having to make sure of all corners of the room, including the window sill for seating. But the design is cleverly done, with all light colours to create a sense of airiness.
Artworks inspired by the city are placed throughout, including on the wall above the headboard, where a deliberately pixelated image of Hong Kong's skyline offers an extra "window".
The property makes technology one of its selling points, with each room offering IPTV (which, other than the usual channels, also offers a "counting sheep" cartoon featuring the hotel's fluffy mascots) and a multimedia connectivity panel allowing guests to play music from their iPod/iPhone from the TV. Wifi is free throughout the property and for guests who have not brought their laptops with them, there are four iMacs at the lobby for them to use without cost. Check-in is paperless, with the whole process done through iPads at the reception.
You can book the room with or without breakfast, and according to the online booking engine, breakfast for two costs HK$220 (US$26, a Western buffet breakfast served at Zaan, which serves Cantonese food the rest of the day). Or you can choose to buy your breakfast at the "grab and go" outlet O2Go by the reception area. And this is probably where you would need to go for a decent cup of coffee as there is only the instant variety in the room. There are also sandwiches, including rather quirkly recipes such as kimchi BBQ pork, and others like peanut butter and jelly, and banana with Nutella that, according to the general manager Simon Dell, help you "reclaim the inner child".
Visitors need advice from a local from time to time, and in four- to five-star hotels one would turn to the concierge, but here, there is only one place to go - The Spot. It is the reception desk, but it serves other functions as well, and according to Dell, every staff member has their expertise and knowledge. Ask any question - what are the latest dining spots, the best hiking trail or even where to play squash - and someone will have the answer. If you are the shy type or not in the mood to talk to anyone, just go to one of the two electurns (pictured below) at the lobby, downloaded with information about the city.
The gym on the second floor, called "Tone", is rather big for a limited-service hotel, and it features a range of cardio equipment, weight bench, as well as leg press and resistance training machines.
Finally there is one meeting space, Talk (also on the second floor), that can be set up for a small boardroom meetings of up to 12, in classroom or theatre style for up to 40, or cocktail for up to 60.
In future Ozo properties, a concept called "Chill" will be introduced as the relaxation and socialising area for guests. But due to space constraint, Chill is not available at Ozo in Hong Kong.
The opening rates start from HK$1,100 (US$142) per room per night (not including tax and service charge), but currently, it is offering a special opening rate of HK$750 (US$97).
Visit www.ozohotels.com
Reggie Ho
