This is a great hotel for the traveler in need of a place to stay for a layover.

I stopped in Hong Kong for an overnight layover on my way to and from Kunming, China this past November. In my research before I leaving I read many positive reviews of this hotel - and it was $100 USD cheaper than the hotel directly at the airport.

Getting to Novel Citygate is so easy. You simply have to stop at either counter A16 or B16 and you can take the FREE shuttle to the hotel. The shuttle runs about every 15 minutes so you never have to wait long - the driver is very helpful with loading and unloading heavy luggage! And the shuttle ride is literally 5 minutes long.

I booked the room directly through the website - it seemed to be the best rate. Because I waited until the last minute, I did have to spring the extra few bucks for my first stay and have an executive room - I had the superior room (or whichever is the basic room) on the layover on the way home.

It turns out the extra few dollars was worth it - I was greeted to private, express check-in on my actual floor (the "biz" floor) as well as access to the "biz" center - which included free use of the computer and internet until 11pm.

The room itself was beautiful! It was larger than I had personally expected (reading these reviews made me think it was a little closet) so I was pleasantly surprised with the size. The big wood/glass pillar/artwork in the middle of the room was a bit awkward to move around - but I was happy to find it contained all the mini-bar amenities including a great little teapot that boiled water very quickly!

The best part of the whole room was the bed and the shower. After 16 hours on a plane - that big, comfortable bed was a sight for sore eyes and the large, walk-in shower had an amazing rainfall-showerhead that was just what the weary traveler needed.

The deluxe room also included breakfast in the morning - at the restaurant Essence. It was your typical buffet style spread and was a decent selection.

The basic room on my layover home was the same exact room - and check in on the main floor was fine. I was able to use the main business center for $40 HKD an hour (which is about $5 USD).

On my way home I also had a chance to walk around the Citygate Outlet Mall (which the hotel is connected to) and enjoyed all the great people watching!

That last night, I was a bit under the weather and had room service instead of going down to the restaurants. I just had some won ton soup and a fruit platter to munch on in the morning - it was a little overpriced (but isn’t most room service?) but the meal was very good.

If you are looking to visit the city itself - I would not recommend this hotel as it is a good 30-40 minutes outside the city by train or taxi. But if you need a clean, friendly, comfortable place that is very tourist friendly to stop for the night - I highly recommend Novotel Citygate. I plan on staying here again the next time I visit China!

Like other reviewers, our 5am wake up call didn't happen. Lucky we had set the alarm in the room, so no harm done.

Otherwise we highly recommend this hotel for its 5 minute free shuttle to the airport, and its proximity to the big buddah. Ideal for the last day or two of your stay in HK.

We thought the glass column in the room that a previous reviewer complained of worked quite well, and we agree that the shower is great.

No need to eat at hotel prices, fantastic and cheap food court in the adjacent centre.

Would stay there again, and much cheaper than the airport hotel.

A great hotel for a stop over, exhibiting at the nearby exhibition centre or if you don't need to stay in the city.

Very impressed with the service and the room, with one very slight criticism, why is there no movie channel on the television.

The buffet restaurant was very good, but as previous reviewer had commented it does get very full with locals and shopper. On two evening, even though I tried to book a table at breakfast, the restaurant was full. However there is a very good seafood restaurant in the shopping centre called Easterngate, top of the escalator and turn right and it is about 100 metres on the left, and it is very reasonably priced.

Will definitely stop here again.

It's a shame to let the secret out but this hotel is fabulous!

We stayed a total of 10 nights in October split into 2 and 8 days, with a short trip to Singapore inbetween. Its a modern, clean hotel in a great position, 45 minutes from the city on the MTR (which is immaculate and makes for interesting people watching) but is also very close to all the attractions Lantau has to offer. It is built as part of the Citygate shopping centre wiith some great shops. There is also a spa right at the top of the escalator if you fancy a massage after a long haul flight. The courtesy bus is very handy and the porters at the hotel are super quick and efficient. The reception staff are very pleasant and capable. If they don't know the answer they soon find it out for you.

Both rooms we had were spotless and very well presented with lovely bathrooms and very comfortable beds. Everything you needed was in the room from tea and coffee to ironing board etc. We booked room only so didn't bother having breakfast, so we can't comment on that. We did have two dinners (one a set menu with choices and the other a la carte) in the Olea restaurant. The food, staff and service were excellent for both. Well done to Lewis the manager. The Creme Brulee was my wifes favourite. Yes I know there is great food outside the hotel but we appreciated having a change from Asian food and not having to go far especially after long days out. We also tried the weekend BBQ one evening (this is fairly new I think) set beside the pool. Again tasty food, a really pleasant Swiss manager and lovely staff. It was very popular with (it seemed) lots of local people as well as hotel guests. Definately worth trying if you're like me and enjoy your meat! All three hotel dinners were very reasonably priced for the quality and service. Whilst on the subject of food, we asked the concierge about dimsum restaurants locally and there is a very good one in the shopping centre. Up the escalator, turn right, straight on. Eastern seafoods I think it's called. It looks very small from the outside with fishtanks etc but it is massive once you go through. The dimsum was very good, traditional, tasty and cheap. We had six choices and the bill came to just under £10. They will offer you a fork if you can't manage chopsticks. Just remember that once you've ticked your choices to hold the paper up in the air, then they will take the order. We didn't know this until we watched others doing it. We wished we had known about this place on our previous trips.

The swimming pool is beautiful, colurful tiles and a dramatic waterfall and rocks. The water is chilly at first but very refreshing. There are lots of comfy loungers and seating both beside the pool and at various levels around it. It was so relaxing lying in the sun listening to the sound of the waterfall. They also have a small childrens pool and there was always a lifeguard on duty. There is a gym which looked fairly large and modern but we didn't use it.

This is our third stay at the Novotel and we would highly recommend it, be it for a quick stopover or a longer stay. In fact we're intending to go back next May/June time. We feel it's as relaxing as a resort hotel with all the buzz and excitement of the city not far away. The MTR and buses are a few minutes walk away and you can travel easily by buying an Octopus card which you swipe as you enter buses and trains and as you leave the platform. We took a bus journey to Mei Wo which took us over the hills with beautiful views. Also a ferry trip to Tap Mun Chau, again stunning scenery across Tolo Harbour. The Novotel citygate is one of our favourites. If we had to complain about anything it would be that housekeeping called us occasionally to clean our room as we were late up, but that was no problem really and fairly minor overall. We would certainly recommend this hotel to our friends and family and will be staying there again.

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