The Ibis is a very modern, very clean, but rather modest 3-star hostelry that offers excellent service and spotless bathrooms -- but direct Internet connection, hair dryer, and bath. The problem was that the room, which was meant to be a double, was too small for two people to move past one another alongside the bed. Indeed, the only way we could create any extra space for ourselves was to push the bed back against the wall, which at least allowed us to turn the chair around.
As for the mattress, it was orthopedic "hard" and barely larger than a North American single -- yet this was supposed to be a double! Another caveat: there are both standard and deluxe rooms; however, you don''t get a larger room for the extra money, just a splendid view over the harbor towards Tsim Sha Tsui.
Where service was concerned, though, the staff were superb: they bent over backwards to see that we were absolutely satisfied. Service was fast, the restaurant, though spartan, served excellent food. Even the buffet breakfast, which was included in the rate, was good, unlike some that have been foisted off on us in other hotels. A further selling point is that guests are given access to two computers in the small business center behind the front desk. For a nominal fee, you can check your e-mail or surf the ''Net.
To give you some idea of how concerned they were about keeping us happy, shortly after getting to our room at about 11pm, we discovered that the telephone didn''t work. I went down to the desk, told them about it, and was told that they would send someone up. I thanked them, figuring the guy wouldn''t appear until the next morning. Not a bit of it! Within 5 minutes of my arrival back in the room, there was a discrete knock and all was resolved in minutes. You simply can''t fault that!
As for the location, it is a little farther along the northern shore of Hong Kong Island that one might like and does not appear on the free maps that most people use. That said, you are only five and six MTR stops (10 - 12 minutes) away from all the action in Admiralty and Central respectively. Since the entrance to the Java Road metro stop is a mere 30 meters from the door to the hotel, getting to and from the place is effortless.
Were it not for the size of the rooms, I would give it a "highly recommend." As it is, it''s fine for one person, but for a couple with even minimal carry-on luggage such as ourselves, the rooms are just too small for more than two or three nights.