Tai O Heritage Hotel — Hotel in Hong Kong

Stayed here 2 months ago.

Admin stuff: Quick check-in. They require all guests to provide their identification or passport, not just adults and not just the booking person. This includes children and infants strangely. I am weary of their data collection management and policies if they have any. We were showed rooms quickly and efficiently.

Rooms Bed and linen: clean, slight odour of bleach, though not excessive or unpleasant. Beds in good order, no creaks or noises. No flex from bouncing or movement. Mattress is a Simmons brand, slightly soft. Unsure of exact model. Some are Japanese and some are Chinese made. Felt OK to sleep on. No evidence of bed bugs.

Amenities Sufficient power outlets throughout. One near my bed had a crackling electrical sound which indicates poor wiring behind. Sufficient selection of ambience and general lighting. Room has small workstation with lamp and writing pad. Small bar fridge, kettle, Nespresso capsule machine (clean externally but has not been flushed well. Water coming out was brown without capsule in place). Capsules are $25 each. Fridge and kettle was clean. Usual selection of tea and coffee. Windows have 2 layers of blinds. One allows light in and another blocks light. The first will allow you to be seen from the outside of the room with lights on. Because the area outside of the room is open to public, you will also see and hear people walking by outside of your room. It is closed to public after dark and until late morning though. Air conditioning is sufficient for the room size and worked well.

Bathroom Quite spacious. Standard toilet and sink to the left. Appear in great condition and working. Mirror is heated. Water pressure good. 2 toilet paper holders. Shower area spacious also, includes standing shower area and adjacent to that is a bathtub with second shower head. Standing shower had vertical 5 jet spray which worked ok. Shower head had poor pressure. Head fitting was of the low cost chromed plastic type. Fittings leaked slightly. Faucets and fittings appeared a bit worn and lacking maintenance. Vertical jets shot water across the room onto a steel window frame, causing it to rust. Water flows well into the drain and does not pool. Provided with a few squeeze bottles of shampoo-bodywash and conditioner. Of acceptable quality but weren't premium or boutique products. Towels were fresh and well dried and white.

Issues 3 dead large German cockroaches appeared in our bathroom in the morning. They were dying or dead. This suggested a surface level pest control program rather than a comprehensive one. It also suggested cockroaches were living nearby to the rooms and making their way into the bathrooms overnight when they're active and then dying upon contact with pesticides. I could not see any clear points of entry except perhaps the toilet piping area. For the price of the stay, completely unacceptable and disgusting. If there are 3 roaches, there are many more.

Restaurant Quite a disappointment. Likely understaffed in the kitchen and front of house. Our water was not refilled for the entire 2 hour dinner. Mains took quite long to arrive, perhaps about an hour after ordering. The medium-rare filet mignon arrived rare, all 5 of our orders. For the cost, unacceptable. Entree, soups, and dessert was acceptable, though quality and taste did not reflect the cost of the stay and menu price. Breakfast was a similar experience of stale coffee, cheap sausages, and poorly executed "western" style dishes.

Overall the Tai O has a lot of potential to be a fantastic stay, though it is extremely let down by the kitchen and the pest issues. The restaurant is a place I'd happily never eat at again in my life. There are many more local street eats that are magnitudes better.

Overall, difficult to recommend a stay here for...

On April 27th, we booked a suite on the 2nd floor at the Tai O Heritage Hotel for one night on June 22nd. My wife and I took the Ngong Ping 360 to Po Lin Monastery in the morning, and after having an exquisite lunch at the Monastery’s vegetarian restaurant, we took bus No. 21 to Tai O. Arrived at the hotel at about 3 pm and completed the check-in procedure within 10 minutes. We were very happy to receive a lucky bag for the 10th anniversary of the hotel. A hotel staff warmly brought us upstairs to our room. We were told that it was a little bit difficult to unlock the door because the hotel wants to preserve the original structure and appearance of the wooden door of the Old Tai O Marine Police Station (120 years ago). Although a very skilful demonstration was given, it was a hard job for us to unlock the door because of the handicap of our age. In the end, we had to trust the security system of the Hotel and didn't attempt to lock the door at all. After the opening hours for public visitors at 6 pm, the environment of the Hotel was very quiet and relaxing. We like very much the rustic continental style glass-roofed restaurant: sitting at a small table facing the Tai O Bay, we had a feeling of enjoying the harvest of our lifework. We know that Tai O Heritage Hotel is a non-profit organization with a mission to protect cultural relics and historic sites in addition to providing hotel services, and because there are only 9 rooms (6 on the first floor and 3 suites on the second floor), it is a big constraint to run the business successfully, we also understand that the cost-effective of room charges and meal prices must not be on par with the 5-star Hotels in the city. We will be...

Overpriced for what it is: a poorly executed hotel with little genuine authenticity in its renovated state.

The hotel is an open thoroughfare for the mainland tourists who arrive by the coach load each day, marching through the hotel’s common grounds and guests seating areas. On three separate occasions I saw tourists attempting to open guest rooms to take a peek inside. Needless to say this is completely unacceptable.

Rooms are spartan, with basic fittings and finishings - almost utilitarian - stained sofa covers and only the most basic of amenities.

The hotel’s promotional items are cheap and tacky and serve to distract attention away from the beautiful surroundings. Why cello tape cheap Easter items bought from a 7-11 over the windows of the only restaurant - who is making these decisions in a hotel that charges between USD250-450 for a room?

Had high hopes for a tranquil, relaxing weekend away from Hong Kong but was left entirely disillusioned by the Tai O Heritage Hotel. Someone let the professionals take over? How the operator tender was awarded this project baffles me.

The restaurant menu serves local basics like deep fried peanut butter toast and egg waffle balls at hugely inflated prices and Western classics such as fish & chips and Spaghetti Bolognese but is completely underwhelming and disappointing.

To be fair and highlight the positives: the architecture is gorgeous and is the setting and location. Come during the week away from the hordes of ignorant, loud tourists and find some solitude walking in the beautiful village in the mornings...