Crowne Plaza Hong Kong Kowloon East

Cleaning quite sloppy as there's hair on the wall of shower cubicle and hair on sheets when I first checked in. The hair in the cubicle was never removed during my entire stay. The corridor is dark and narrow. There's construction work going on on the same floor right next to the room I stayed, and at one point the electric drills got really loud. The hotel shouldn't have even let guests stay in that room in the first place. Neighbourhood is quite remote and sad. There's nothing around except a nondescript mall and you have to take a metro to go anywhere. Tea bag was the worst I've had in any hotel. I mean, how bland can an English breakfast tea get and they managed to do that. And Maxwell instant coffee in a five star hotel??? Staff tend to talk back. Not the kind of attitude and service you'd expect from a five star hotel. The curtains were also annoying, requiring manual manipulation every time, and that the cottons are placed on the inside rather than outside, meaning that you'd have to fiddle with them in order to draw the ones that really matter. It's no big deal but you would have thought that a five star hotel from IHG had better design. The view deck was close, the pool was close. There's nothing to recommend.

Stay: mid-November 2025 (exactly when the 15th National Games were being co-hosted in Hong Kong and Guangdong) I chose this hotel for its convenient location (right above East Point City and PopCorn mall, only 20 minutes by MTR to Tsim Sha Tsui) and because Crowne Plaza usually delivers consistent quality. Unfortunately, the entire hotel was practically taken over by mainland Chinese sports delegations, provincial teams and officials, for the National Games. It was 100 % full and felt more like an athletes’ dormitory than a regular hotel. The elevator situation was a nightmare There are only four guest elevators. With hundreds of athletes, coaches, and staff moving around at the same times every day, waiting 5–10 minutes (sometimes 15) for a lift became completely normal. Twice I ended up squeezed into an absolutely packed elevator with mainland competitors who were wearing single-ear headsets (the kind security and team staff use). Fifteen-plus people crammed in, barely able to breathe, total awkward silence the whole ride. Dining was even worse Breakfast buffets turned into a free-for-all with large groups of athletes in tracksuits. I tried having dim sum at the hotel’s Chinese restaurant, Cest La Vie, I found myself competing with dozens of athletes for tables and food. Queues for everything, dishes emptied the moment they came out, and the replenishment speed simply couldn’t keep up. As a paying guest, it felt like I had accidentally walked into a private team canteen. Rooms were clean, the view from higher floors (Tseung Kwan O bay) was nice, and the usual IHG amenities were all there. The staff were clearly trying their best, but they were completely overwhelmed by the sheer volume of people. Bottom line Under normal circumstances, Crowne Plaza Kowloon East is probably a solid, comfortable choice. But when the hotel is effectively block-booked by massive mainland sports delegations during events like the National Games, the experience for regular travelers is miserable. Next time there’s a big mainland Chinese event or competition using this hotel as official accommodation, I’ll happily pay extra to stay in Tsim Sha Tsui or Central instead. Word of advice: if you see this hotel fully booked during any major Chinese sporting or government event, think twice!