Travel Tips
Travel Tuesday: Novotel Citygate Hong Kong Hotel Review
A couple of weeks ago, for the first time since 2019, my wife and I had a chance to return to Hong Kong. As these plans were coming together, I knew exactly where I wanted to stay: the Novotel Citygate Hong Kong. I’d actually stayed here twice before and was more than pleased with my experiences. Seeing as we’d once again be covering an event at Hong Kong Disneyland, booking the Novotel Citygate was a no brainer for us.
So what is it about the Novotel Citygate Hong Kong that keeps me coming back? Let’s take a closer look at the property and what it has to offer.
Novotel Citygate Hong Kong Review
Novotel Citygate Hong Kong: A Perfect Option for Staying on Lantau Island
Book Your Stay
4.5
Location
Tung Chung on Lantau Island
Dining
In-lobby options plus several restaurants in the attached shopping center
Airport shuttle
Complimentary shuttle offered
Novotel Citygate Hong Kong offers a prime location for those visiting Hong Kong Disneyland or who want to stay close to Hong Kong International Airport. Being attached to a large shopping center, the hotel is near a bevy of dining locations. Plus, with that shopping center being attached to an MTR station, it’s easy to travel to anywhere in Hong Kong from this location. That said, some travelers may prefer to be closer to Kowloon or Hong Kong Island rather than stay on Lantau. Additionally, the room layout at Novotel Citygate offers a less-than-private bathroom experience for those sharing a room. Nevertheless, Novotel Citygate Hong Kong is a hotel I’ve returned to again and again.
Pros
- Located near HKG (and offers a free airport shuttle)
- Attached to a large shopping mall and an MTR station
- Perfect for visits to Hong Kong Disneyland, Tian Tan Buddha, and more.
Cons
- Bathroom layout doesn’t offer much privacy for those sharing a room
- Traveling to Kowloon or Hong Kong Island can take 30+ minutes on the MTR from the location
Novotel Citygate Hong Kong Superior Room Review
Booking and price
The Novotel Citygate Hong Kong is an Accor property and can be booked directly on their site. However, the hotel is also featured on numerous other travel sites. For this trip, I elected to use Amex Travel so that I could earn 5x points with my American Express Platinum Card.
Booked only a couple of weeks before arrival, our stay in a “Superior Room” was $160 per night plus tax. For six nights, our total was $1,121.24.
Location and attractions
Zooming in, the Novotel Citygate Hong Kong is located on Lantau Island in Tung Chung at the Citygate Outlets. All of this info comes together when I tell you that the hotel connects directly to the outlet mall, which then connects to the Tung Chung MTR station. What’s more, just outside of this station is the Ngong Ping cable car station, where you can board a gondola to Ngong Ping — home of the Hong Kong Big Buddha.
In addition to those attractions, Novotel Citygate is relatively close to Hong Kong Disneyland. To get to the resort, travelers can hop on the MTR, go one stop to Sunny Bay station, and transfer to the Disneyland Resort Line (which only has one stop). With an Octopus card, the journey is around $15 HKD each way, which is about $2 USD. For that reason, if you’re not staying at one of Hong Kong Disneyland’s three resort hotels, Citygate may be a good alternative.
Transportation
Given the proximity to Hong Kong International Airport, the Novotel Citygate Hong Kong offers a free airport shuttle, with departures every 20 minutes. We’ve only taken this from the hotel to the airport — but apparently you can catch it from the airport as well. These shuttles also run fairly late into the night (11 p.m. or so), which was great for our midnight flight. So, this was a great added bonus for our stay.
Elevators
I almost always have an elevator section in my reviews — and I’m happy to report that Novotel Citygate’s elevators get a passing grade from me. For one, I love how available cars in the lobby leave the doors open so they’re easy to spot. Second, there are six elevators that service the guest room floors, which seemed perfectly sufficient. In fact, during our six-day stay, we only shared a lift with other guests on one occasion. For me, that’s a big sign that the elevator situation at this hotel is optimal.
The room
Although the rooms at Novotel Citygate aren’t exactly large, they do make good use of the space. When you enter, a bathroom area is located to the side, including what I’ll call an “appliance column.” Here you’ll find some of the room’s great practical amenities. These include an electric kettle, a mini refrigerator, and more.
Beyond that is the bedroom, which includes a king-sized bed (in our case), built-in shelving on either side of the bed, a television, and a nice-sized desk. By the window, you’ll find blackout curtains that worked quite well.
As far as access to plugs go, there are some pros and cons. On the one hand, I love how there are both standard and USB plugs available both on the main desk and on the appliance column. However, finding a plug closer to the bedside proved more difficult. Still, overall, I think the setup worked well-enough. By the way, I once again used my FOVAL power converter for this trip, but brought an adapter to turn the EU plug style that the device came with into one that would work in Hong Kong (which, as you may have guessed, resembles the U.K.’s plugs).
One downside of the Novotel Citygate’s “superior room” layout is how the bathroom integrates into the main room. Instead of having a door that leads to a separate restroom, the toilet and shower are right off the bedroom area. And while each does have a large, glass door, it still doesn’t offer the highest level of privacy.
On the bright side, the shower is roomy and offers both a handheld head and a rainfall shower head (you can use a knob to switch between them). There’s also a bench that may be useful. Then again, while it is relatively spacious, I wouldn’t recommend keeping any clothes in there with you — which once again speaks to the privacy issue as you’ll likely need to exit the shower and be in view of the bed in order to retrieve clothes and change in a dry area.
Being close to the airport, you might worry about the level of sound coming into your room. Amazingly, despite being able to literally see the airport from my window, I never so much as heard a plane or even any traffic sounds from below. Furthermore, we never even heard any of our neighbors during our stay (maybe we heard someone in the hallway for a few seconds but that was it). To be honest, this wasn’t something I even realized until well into our stay — but I guess that’s how it should be, right?
Overall, the Novotel Citygate’s superior rooms are unique and fit our needs well. This is especially true of the electric kettle and fridge inclusions. I also really liked the desk, seeing as this was a business trip. Of course, with Hong Kong being a humid climate, you may notice higher-than-usual moisture in your room. But, the A/C should help keep things nice and cool, making the humidity less noticeable.
Dining
Being attached to a mall, there are a ton of dining options within steps of the Novotel Citygate. In fact, there are a few restaurants inside the hotel itself — although I haven’t actually eaten at any of them. Meanwhile, one of my go-tos during my stay is the Starbucks, which is just one floor down in the mall. Incidentally, since my last visit in 2019, this location has converted to a Starbucks Reserve location, meaning that customers can try specialty roasts brewed via pour over, Chemex, or even siphon in addition to your regular Starbucks menu.
Speaking of Western-style foods, there’s also now a Shake Shack in the mall. Even better, as I learned, there are kiosks in the location that you can set to English, punch up your order, grab a pager, and pay using your credit card. This worked quite well — but the Hong Kong location didn’t qualify for my Amex Gold Card dining credit (not that I expected it to). There’s also a McDonald’s if that’s more your speed.
Of course, for those looking for more localized cuisine, there are plenty of options located throughout the mall. I’d recommend checking a directory, the Citygate site, or one of the large walls they have highlighting all of the options. While most of these seem to be table service, there is a food court on the upper upper upper upper upper floor of the shopping center.
Lastly, on the bottom floor of the mall is a grocery store. Here, you can find quick service items as well as regular prepackaged items. As a reminder, since there’s a kettle in your Novotel room, it’s easy to prepare ramen and some other items in your room. Thus, stocking up on some of these tasty and cost-effective selections can be a great way to make sure you’re fed on the cheap.
Final Thoughts on Novotel Citygate Hong Kong
Ever since I first visited in 2017, I knew that Novotel Citygate Hong Kong would be a hotel I wanted to return to. Not only is the location perfect for those visiting Hong Kong Disneyland (but want to save money by staying off property) but it is also super convenient in terms of dining, shopping, and accessing the MTR. Plus, the free airport shuttle and proximity to HKG make it easy to get to before or after what is often a long travel day.
As for downsides, the layout of the room may not be great for platonic travel partners as the separation between the bathroom and bedroom is near non-existent. Also, while I personally love staying on Lantau, many visitors will likely prefer a location on Kowloon or Hong Kong Island. Sure, it isn’t that long of a train ride to those areas — but I understand wanting to be closer to the heart of the city.
Whether you’re visiting Hong Kong Disneyland, plan on checking out Big Buddha, are looking for a place to stay on a short visit to Hong Kong, or just want a convenient hotel with easy access to transit, I’d definitely recommend the Novotel Citygate Hong Kong.
Per FTC guidelines, this website may be compensated by companies mentioned through advertising, affiliate programs or otherwise. (Note: advertising relationships do not have any influence on editorial content. Advertising compensation allows Money@30 to provide quality content for free. All editorial opinions are those of Kyle Burbank.)
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