Dorsett Hotel Hong Kong

Normally, when I visit Hong Kong, I stay in various different hotels or with friends, but this time, none of my usual ones had any availability, and yes, they even included one of the higher-end ones.

Not a good sign, and procrastinating before diving into the "find a hotel" on booking.com, I was talking to a work colleague who suggested the Dorsett, but warned me it was a little out of the way, and dated.

After checking the location, sure it was a little out of the way, being right by the Happy Valley Race Course, but close enough to Causeway Bay, an area I know very well.

More digging showed no one in the reviews had anything too bad to say about it, the main comment being that it was dated. Again, after my really good experience with the dated Jen in George Town, no real issue.

During my research, a few things stood out, the first being that the hotel offered a self-service laundry, which is a new one for me, never seen this before in a hotel, hostel, yes, hotel no.

Interesting, the second is the free shuttle bus from the International Finance Centre (IFC), which, while not unusual, is for one in this price range. A good sign?

For this trip, I decided to take the fast train from the airport to the IFC, which, as mentioned all over the Hong Kong travel pages, is impressive, quick and very comfortable.

My original plan was to get a taxi from the IFC to the hotel, but then it hit me, what about the free shuttle bus the Dorsett offers? How's this for perfect timing, I got off the train, and the shuttle was just arriving across the concourse.

Given the nightmare Hong Kong traffic, getting from the IFC to the hotel took a while, not that it was unexpected, as it was a Saturday afternoon in Hong Kong.

On reflection, the decision to use the free shuttle bus was a very good move, as the taxi would have been expensive given how long the trip took.

Arriving at the Dorsett, the bus dropped me at the side of the hotel in some sort of service area, where staff helped me move my bags inside.

Getting to the front desk, the check-in process was no different to any of the other hotels I have stayed at in Hong Kong, er well other than the deposit, which they use for any incidentals.

This is not new to me, but what is new is that they take the money from the card, rather than just pending the transaction. They told me they will refund it after I check out. Not good as the deposit was around AUD$500, which could be a nasty surprise to some visitors.

Another thing to note, is as I was checking in, they told me not to drink the water, and there was a filter on each floor to get drinking water from, as they did not provide bottled water. Not really a problem, and they do tell you, which I am sure others will not.

This is interesting, as while living in Hong Kong, no one ever told me not to drink the water, nor did any other hotel. Best guess is it's something to do with the older plumbing system in this building.

Anyhow, heading up to my room on level 21, the lifts were also dated; they even had the ancient mechanical safety bars on the doors. Interesting but again not unusual, as the Jen Hotel had the same thing.

What was different was no need to use the key card to access the floor, which, while the lift has no street access, is still a security concern, a minor one, but still something to note.

Getting to my room, which they tell me was a Causeway Bay view one, opening the door, the first thing that got me was how bright it was. A really good sign.

My initial thoughts were that it was well laid out, with everything I would need, other than the super cold AC. But more on the AC later. Anyhow before unpacking, time to see what the Causeway Bay view from the window was like.

Not bad, and yes, it's Causeway Bay with Times Square in the middle and part of the Happy Valley Race course on the right. While on the subject, the decorations in the hallway are all horse-related, not that that should be a surprise given the race course over the road.

My thoughts after a few days are: The bed is very comfortable, the mini fridge is ideal for my habit of stocking up on snacks from a local supermarket.

Then comes the bathroom, which I normally do not include in these reviews, but this one needs it. First, it's tiny, more of a cupboard than a real room; the shower is so small that turning around in it can be interesting, and I am not exactly massive.

By small, I mean it makes some Japanese hotel bathrooms look spacious, yes, that small. On the plus side, the shower water pressure is excellent, and the hot water is about as good as I have seen in a hotel in Hong Kong.

Remember, I mentioned this Hotel has a self-service guest laundry service, which, to me anyway, is a big plus given how much hotel laundry usually costs. Well, I used this, and it works very well, with the only comment being that there are no laundry bags in the room, but rather plastic baskets in the laundry room.

As for why I really like the self-service laundry, well, it lets me pack very light, and for a longer visit, that reduces the chances of getting hit with the insane costs of airline excess weight. I would really like to see this service at all hotels.

First and only real issue: a few days after arriving, it was way too cold in my room, which, to be honest, is not unusual for Hong Kong hotels, so I just figured I would turn it down to chill rather than deep freeze/absolute zero.

Nope, turned it down as far as it would go, but made no difference. Not a good sign.

Down to the front desk I go, figured I would get the AC fixed or move to another room with a working AC. Should be easy, right?

Talking to the front desk, the response was far from good; they asked if I wanted an extra blanket or a space heater. Yes really.

Me being me, I pushed it, and they agreed to get someone to look at the AC, and yes, after I showed them the thermal camera image. The result, it's fixed, seems there was something bad with the controller.

Yes, I have a thermal camera; it was one of the first things I bought after arriving. Good price as well as timing.

Anyhow, the temperature readings were scary, just look at the photo on the right. Yes, that's 9.3C with the AC temperature set to > 30C.

Remember I said this hotel was out of the way, well, I have the advantage of having worked in Causeway Bay for years, so I was more than a little familiar with the area. Leaving through the front door of the hotel, there is a subway that takes you across the street, which is about a 10-minute easy walk to Times Square, which is right in the middle of everything you could possibly want: trains, buses, taxis, shops, food, etc.

Then comes the dated state of the hotel. Well, while it's dated, it seems to be fairly well-maintained, and everything works. The only downside would be that it looks old, and the corridor on my level is very dark. It's a case of the 1990s calling and wants their hotel back.

Final Thoughts top

If you understand that this is not really a full-service hotel, with no room service, laundry service, etc. Then I cannot say anything bad. The location may be a little out of the way, but close enough for that not to be a problem. It's dated, but who cares about that? In short, it's comfortable, has everything needed if you need someplace to sleep.

As for me, would I stay here again? Yes, and given the insane prices of full-service hotels in Hong Kong, it's very attractive.