The main segment of the four day conference was a two day series of keynote speeches, talks and presentation of the papers – and hosted at the Hong Kong Science Park, which was right at the end of the Sha Tin district and beside the Chinese University of Hong Kong. The conference organizer proposed a selection of hotels for foreign attendees to stay in, with the Hyatt Regency Sha Tin the closest to the Park and just a short 5 minute bus ride away.
My stay is five days. And I reckon I’ve experienced this stay enough on the fourth night that I can present a summarized version of my comments of this Hyatt: functional and business-like.
And for more detailed comments:
The hotel is well away from the usual tourist places. In fact, there’s apparently no significant entertainment or leisure spots in the immediate vicinity, and the only restaurant nearby for me to grab a bite was a small eatery in the MTR subway station just beside the hotel. Still, the hotel is situated facing Tolo Harbour, a pretty scenic spot in itself, and the HK Science Park itself is a marvel of modern architecture.
The name of the room itself – marked as a Double/Twin Room with Mountain View – is a bit of a stretch. The large windows that run the full width of the room faces a hill (狗肚山 I think), and not nearly a mountain. The class of room is spacious, and for the most part well-anointed with a large double-bed, a reclining sofa, another two seater sofa, business workspace and a relatively large 42″ flat-screen TV though it was displaying non-HD content. The shower and long bath was a little more special, with the bath tub unit facing the bedroom with a full sized glass panel – even with blinds drawn down, not really complete privacy for those just sharing a room LOL. Sound proofing is solid too. When in the room, I felt isolated from the rest of the world. There was no noise heard from other guests, nor from the rail line that runs beside the hotel. The mini-bar comprised of the usual fizzy drinks but no snacks. Not that I consume them anyway, but I reckon guests who were stuck in the room during the recent Super Typhoon might have benefited from room snacks!
This Hyatt hotel didn’t strike me as a family-centered hotel, though not for its absence of such amenities – there was a outdoor small children playground on the ground floor. But I saw zero families with young children over the five day stay. And even more specifically, no children of any age. On the second morning, there were three separate wedding parties gathering in the lobby for events. So, this hotel might be a real consideration if you’re deliberately trying to avoid a family-centered hotel, or you just like observing or gate-crashing wedding gatherings!
The general decor feels rather early-90ish and presenting nothing in it that strikes me as memorable. The room is clean, though the general furnishing is shows its age. I reckon the hotel could use some minor refurbishment in a few years.
The workmanlike atmosphere also showed in the general staff attitudes. Greetings from staff were a real rarity, and I observed that the staff member – whom I’ll call Ice Lady – receiving guests every morning for breakfast sulked at guests checking in across all the four mornings I dined. A daily good morning greeting from and thank-you from me to her each morning did not break her icy-cold demeanor. Maybe she was having a bad entire week?
I’ve yet to come across a hotel breakfast that I don’t get tired of by the third or fourth morning. But this Hyatt’s buffet beat that already low expectation even. The spread was ordinary and in my opinion not prepared nor presented with the kind of finesse or care I’ve come to expect from 4 star and higher establishments, let alone that the range did not change every morning. I didn’t look forward to breakfast after the first morning, and would have gladly tried to find somewhere else to eat were it not for the fact that I had few other options in the immediate vicinity – that little eatery beside the University MTR Station withstanding – and as the conference programme started early each morning at 8:30AM.
There were also some not particularly pleasant observations of specific guests. On the first morning, one Chinese national guest – one can tell from their accent – calmly transferred a full plate of dumplings onto his plate. He looked like he was going to empty the plate, before realising there was a queue behind him. And so, he magnanimously decided to leave just a few pieces for everyone else. Yes, it’s a buffet and you expect staff to immediately observe and replenish. But in my worldview, it’s also a lack of basic courtesy on the part of guests. On the next morning, a lass in her mid-twenties in an oversized T-Shirt, in bedroom slippers and a sleep mask stumbled to the restaurant reception. When curtly told by Ice Lady that her stay didn’t include breakfast, she fished out a 500HKD note (about 87SGD) and waved it at Ice Lady’s face, who told her the bill will be bought to her whereupon she can pay after the meal.
Still. I reckon the best bit of the hotel is really its convenient location. It’s situated right beside the University MTR Station and also a major bus station with numerous bus services. And while Sha Tin district is well out of the central area, there is a large mall two stops from University MTR Station that has the usual range of eateries, restaurants, take-outs, electronic gadgets and appliance shops, and also boutiques.
So, in all: it was a pleasant and peaceful stay, cool staff attitudes aside and a forgettable complimentary breakfast served every morning. Could had been worse for sure!
Edit on 21 Sep: on the day of check-out, I bumped into Ice Lady and she managed to a nice ‘hello’ this time!
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