We stayed here while on a business trip. 2 days in Hon Kong on our way into the Mainland and 1 day on the way back to the States. The location of the Hotel is great. Easy access to shopping, business meetings and great areas for going out. The breakfast buffet was only o.k. The rooms were TERRIBLE---they smelled of mold. I changed rooms twice and all the rooms smelled the same. I checked with my colleagues and they had the same experience. The hotel was also packed with young people in town to have a party and the staff wasn't inclined to ask the drunkards running up and down the hall at 3am to be quiet. Spend $40 more per night and get a better hotel.

We were a group of eight traveling together. 5 adults and 3 toddlers - a 3yr-old and 2 2yr-olds. Upon arrival at the "back entrance" of the hotel, we were greeted by helpful bell service who took care of our bags right away and even assisted us by holding the door for me as I was carrying my sleeping daughter.

*LOCATION - can't be beaten! As the weather was cloudy with light rain showers when we were there, it was so convenient for us to stay here. Wellcome supermart & City Super is a few steps away on the 3rd floor of Ocean terminal where Gateway is located. With toddlers and nannies with us, very convenient.

Along the opposite end near Marco Polo HK Hotel is a Toys R' Us & children's specialty shops. The kids had fun here. There was a light drizzle outside and this area is child-friendly. There's also a KFC & Pizza Hut here. Dreyer's ice cream too.

A few steps away down Haiphong Road is a currency exchange booth, Suntek Electronics, a Paris Station(pre-owned designer bags store), Watson's. If you cross Nathan, you get to Miramar where in there is a Uniqlo inside.

MTR is at the end of Haiphong Rd, about 3-5 minutes walk from the hotel front door. Across the street along Canton Road is where our huge favorite Happy Garden Noodle House is. Cantonese dishes and roast items, congee, noodles, best fried rice! Some service crew have been around since when we first dined here in 1994! Another good restaurant is the Taiwan Beef Noodle a few steps away. Excellent white chicken and hot & sour soup! Late at night when the supermarts are closed, there is a 7-11 along this street.

Designer brands are all within easy reach. Louis Vuitton, D&G, Gucci, Tod's, MiuMiu, Salvatorre Ferragamo & Chanel. Also, middle of the road Marks & Spencer. You would love it even if you have no plans to shop. Great for window shopping. Helps also if you decide on the last minute to get that LV purse you want. Some say this is the "sanitized", touristy part of Kowloon. Yes, I want the area because it is so clean & orderly.

*STAFF/SERVICE - check in was no problem but I have this impression that some on the reception desk is new on the job. Check-out was a bit of a hassle as they are charging us with the breakfast that is already included in the upgrade charge. It is really best to review your bill before paying.

*CONCIERGE - this is one of the most competent and helpful concierge I have encountered in staying at hotels. They are 5-star! So helpful. When I mentioned that I want to request that the boxes delivered to me be tied around so it was easy to bring into the taxi when we checked out, they did so. I thought they forgot but they did not. They were friendly too and knows all the answers to questions. I saw a lot of hotel guests asking concierge and I still see the staff smiling.

*ROOM/SUITE - We were booked 2 rooms and I upgraded upon check-in to a suite. My sister took the superior room next to it. There was an hallway & main door that we use since we are together so that makes our a 2 bedroom corner suite. The huge space was good for the 3 kids. We had a spacious living room with TV. The suite's sink is separate from the bath. Inside the bathroom is a separate tub & shower. Good water pressure. Room is very clean when we got in. We were offered the non smoking 10th floor but we opted the 4th floor.

The upgrade comes with a breakfast for 2. Breakfast was just so-so. Would not pay for this if not included in the upgrade. Not too many choices. I would rather go to Cafe de Coral on the 2nd floor if I had to pay. But I must say the chocolate croissant is good :)

The housekeeping staff is good. They thoroughly clean the room every day. They were happy to provide us with extra pillows. Always with a smile.

It is true the hotel looks a bit dated. It looks the same since we started checking in here in 1994. That's why I said this is my home away from home because this is such a familiar place that I am so comfortable to stay in. It's dated probably because the tv is not LCD. That's the only thing I want to change in this hotel. The rest is fine with me. Most importantly, the hotel is very clean.

Very convenient to get a taxi at the back entrance. The bell guy is always helpful. Will even speak to the driver to assure he understood where we want to go.

We went to Victoria Peak by taking Star Ferry then taxi. The kids enjoyed the sky terrace. But it was so cold & windy brrr. About 8-9C I think.

When we checked out on the 3rd day, it was just me, my sister, 2 nannies & 2 toddlers, the bell guy Parshan was sooo helpful that instead of 2 taxis, he got us all together with all our huge suitcases in 1 taxi to go to Hongkong Disneyland Hotel. We did not even lift a finger to carry any of our personal belongings.

Overall, I am happy with our stay here. Truly our home away from home.

Nice hotel along Canton Road.

For an additional sum, you can be upgraded to a suite with buffet breakfast.

Comfortable place to stay and shop.

Basically, there's nothing really extraordinary about this hotel, and i do not mean that in a bad way. it's not a grand luxury hotel, but it's really great, comfy and worth the money you paid for.

The rooms are big, we were a party of six but we only needed two rooms which were even beyond the space we needed. The beds were adequate for us; big, spacious and comfy. After a whole day of shopping till we dropped, three people could even curl up in just one bed. Since we're so tired we no longer moved while we slept. the beds were really comfy and catered to our tired bodies, like a reward after a whole day of walking and sightseeing. A cute thing i even noticed about Marco Polo's nocturnal services is that they even provided a pillow menu for the needs of different people. as i was reading through the menu I felt like sleeping. This pillow menu, I'm not sure if it has a charge for it, but i just found it to be really amusing.

The bathroom is ok too, a bathtub, a big mirror and a toilet is already enough for me, especially that they're clean and tidy. There were no suspicious gunks or dust bunnies or dirt we saw in the bathroom, but the showers are mounted onto the wall. The showers were my biggest problem because i was used to using the movable type, and this 'new' habit seemed to disrupt my habits of bathing.

There was free tea bags and a thermos for us to use. I have a tip though, they have complimentary water, but it is in the fridge, you've gotta be nosy to find it. I think they kept the free water in the fridge because hotel refrigerators connote expenses, and they were overcharging us to buy Evian water worth 68 HK$ before having the free water.

I really liked the location of this hotel, just go down the elevator and get out of the lobby you're already in a mall. it's the Ocean Centre, but if you're looking for bargains this posh mall does not have those things for you. But, if you got out of the hotel there's a lot more stores and malls, this time not all of them are posh anymore. This hotel is not that close to the MTR station though, but a few minutes of walking will already do.

I'd really like to stay here again, it was a great experience to stay in this marco Polo, just open the fridge for the free water!