Although we had had a wonderful stay at the Harbour View Hong Kong in 2006 we decided in 2007 to stay in a different location, somewhere closer to the centre of town, and based on reviews on this site we chose the Regal Kowloon. We negotiated a really great price for a suite by dealing with the hotel direct, and found them excellent to deal with.

When we arrived in Hong Kong, our transfers were all in order and first impressions of the hotel were great. Then, oh no, it was the little things that nagged. Okay, the bed was a lovely big, very comfortable, king size, and the bathtub positively huge. The lounge furniture was comfortable, and we did actually score a room with a good view.

However, then the little things started counting. For instance, during our stay I don't think there was one single night when both sides of the bed were turned down or when a chocolate was left for both of us - usually one side turned down and only one chocolate. The cupboards in the lounge area and the drawers in the bedroom all smelled strongly of damp. If we left the towels on the rail to say "don't bother changing them" they would be changed, whereas if we put them in the bath to indicate they should be changed this was ignored. The hotel boasts a choice of pillows, and we found that the ones in our room were so soft that it was almost as though you had no pillows at all, but it took about three requests from room service to get replacements. With the mini bar, sometimes things would be topped up, sometimes they wouldn't. When we asked for more tea bags we were given about a year's supply of tea but no coffee. Yes, there are freebies from the mini bar when you're in a suite, but oftentimes they simply weren't there, such as the crisps/Pringles. For the first two days of our stay we enjoyed these munchies with our drinks, but then the supply wasn't stocked up. After a couple of days I rang room service to ask about this and was told that no Pringles were available anywhere in Hong Kong. This sort of left me speechless, so I just accepted it and gave hubby the bad news, "No Pringles in Hong Kong" - almost as bad as the pub with no beer.

I think the hotel has fantastic potential, and these are problems which an overhaul of housekeeping would iron out - oh, and the trouble we had explaining that we just wanted something ironed, not dry cleaned - and so they really are a management issue. Sure, the hotel is a bit dated, and, yes, in places the wall paper looks as though it wants to make a get-away, and, yes, the carpet could do with replacing, but the rates are great and the location is really fantastic, with superb restaurants like the Red Stone just over the road (to die for!!!!), and, as someone mentioned in an earlier post, that wonderful harbour walk just a minute away.

If I was to go back to Hong Kong again I really don't think I'd go back to the Regal but would certainly check out some of the others in close proximity.

In a word this hotel was great! We had an Executive suite on the 14th floor which gave us access to private dining room for breakfast, morning and afternoon teas, as well as free cocktails in the evening. The cost was around HKD2000.00 per night but you got your money's worth. The room was good with all the amenities you expect king size bed, no balcony and with the mini bar on the house for some items. Bathroom was large with a bath and power adapters were available free of charge. Check out was easy with a reception desk on the same floor. Late check out was no problem with us checking out at 6pm. The view is the only thing that let the hotel down but in Hong Kong unless you are on the water there is bound to be a building in front of you. All the train stations are within easy walk and there are many places to eat and drink in the hotel and within a 10 minute walk. Nathan Road is a good 30 minute walk with more shopping on the way. If you are looking for good accommodation at a good price look no further.

We've just returned from a 5 night stay at the Regal Kowloon, and rated it very highly. In response to a recent review, it certainly isn't on the island, but if you want to stay on the island don't stay on Kowloon - pretty obvious really. Whether you think the island or Kowloon is better is personal preference, we prefer Kowloon. That said, the Regal is about a 10 minute walk from Nathan Road, so if you want to walk out straight into the heart of the area, look elsewhere. On the other hand, cross the square outside and go up onto the raised bridge, follow it to the harbour, and enjoy the 20 minute walk to the Star Ferry with one of the world's best man-made views all the way, and not a single road to cross.

We opted to pay extra and got a 'Club' room. This turned out not to be an extra cost at all, as the included extras (at least at the rate we got) were worth more to us than the higher rate. You get a bigger room, transport to and from the hotel, breakfast, evening drinks and snacks, a selection of drinks and snacks from the minibar, tea and coffee at any time, wifi in the room and access to a couple of internet PCs in the lounge, late check out and a few other things - quite a bargain, really. From memory (I last stayed at this same hotel on my first trip to Hong Kong about 25 years ago when it was a Meridien), even the standard rooms are bigger than many on Hong Kong.

Service can be polite but unsmiling, but I would guess that's how the staff are trained and what some travellers like. We found ALL of the staff on the Club floor to be very pleasant and helpful, and also good fun when they knew the guests didn't expect excessive formality. Mabel and Queenie were particularly good.

The heating was turned off (due to outside temperatures on the mid 20s C) and the aircon left on so we found the room a bit cold when we arrived, but staff responded to a request to have cleaners not turn the aircon on when making up the room, and provided a couple of blankets, which worked fine. The beds are a little hard. There are several English channels on the LCD TV, but we only used it to check the weather. The in-room billing display didn't seem to work. We had a meal at Zeffirino's, the most expensive in the hotel. They're trying to regenerate this restaurant and have an Italian chef in at the moment, and he's pretty good. Factor in the 30% discount for Club room guests and the result is good value and great quality.

We would certainly stay here again.

I had booked the hotel because of the mileage I can earn for my Asia Miles membership. It's my first time staying at the hotel and I would say that it was a rather pleasant stay generally speaking.

The bellboy/porter was efficient and friendly. The frontdesk staff were generally approachable though they could have put on more smiles. Chambermaids were efficient and amiable.

Room size was pathetic. I was staying in a standard room and I can tell you that it's one of the smallest standard rooms by Hong Kong standards. Nevertheless, room amenities made up for the small room size. The courtyard view was generally pleasant (probably because of the Lunar New Year decorations in the courtyard).

Hotel facilities were aplenty although the decor looked a bit dated. The lifts were extremely slow and I find this totally unacceptable given that this is a 4-star hotel.

Location of the hotel is good as it is within a 10-min walk from two MTR stations (Tsim Sha Tsui and East Tsim Sha Tsui). If you want to get to Shenzhen in China, the East Tsim Sha Tsui station has regular train services to the border at Lo Wu.

Plenty of good restaurants and eateries scattered around the hotel vicinity. Convenience stores, such as the 7-11, are also within a stone's throw.

The room deposit policy is horrible. Why is there a need to hold as much as HKD2800 (approx USD360) for a short period of stay (2 nights)? I have stayed in many other hotels of the same standard in Hong Kong and all of them earmarked a sum of between HKD500 and HKD1000. This is the first time I am charged a deposit that is MUCH more than the amount I paid for my 2 nights stay! On top of that, as usual, the hotel will take donkey days to release the earmarked amount from the bank account.

Overall experience: a decent hotel located in a good location, suitable for businessmen and single travellers.