After my stay at Butterfly on Morrison at Hong Kong Island, I moved to their sister Hong Kong Hotel on Prat Avenue. I was elated with Butterfly on Morrison. And had expected good things from the Prat branch. But sadly, I was disappointed. Here, I share with you – Hong Kong Hotels Review – Butterfly on Prat Boutique Hotel Tsim Sha Tsui.
Hong Kong Hotels Review – Butterfly on Prat Boutique Hotel Tsim Sha Tsui – The Overview & Rankings:
Hotel: Butterfly on Prat Boutique Hotel Tsim Sha Tsui
Room Rates: Deluxe Room with 4G Pocket Wi-Fi Device – SGD 170 (USD109.4) per night
Cheapest Place to Book: Agoda
Location: No. 21 Prat Avenue, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
Rooms:
- Superior Room
- Superior Room with 4G Pocket WIFI Device
- Deluxe Room with 4G Pocket WIFI Device
- Pure Air Signature with 4G Pocket WIFI Device
- Triple with 4G Pocket WIFI Device
- Executive with 4G Pocket WIFI Device
- Family Room with 4G Pocket WIFI Device
- Deluxe Family Room with 4G Pocket WIFI Device
Service: Not so good as the sister hotel, Butterfly on Morrison. They are cordial but not warm. And were so hesitant when I requested for late check out.
Value: For the price, I would not say this boutique hotel offered great value. At most, the value is very minimal.
Sleep Quality: It was all right. Though the bed and pillows could be better.
Cleanliness: Clean but not the highest quality level. Again, just the bare minimum.
Asia Travel Gems Rating: 2.0 out of 5.0
Butterfly on Prat Boutique Hotel Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong Review
Summary
Butterfly on Prat Boutique Hotel Tsim Sha Tsui was disappointing. Don’t book until you read my review. I gave this boutique hotel 2 out of 5 stars rating. Read my review to find out why?
Booking.com
Hong Kong Hotels Review – Butterfly on Prat Boutique Hotel Tsim Sha Tsui – The Video:
A word of caution. Especially if you have seen the Butterfly on Morrison video. This hotel, part of the Butterfly franchise, does not impress. The video does not lie.
Sadly, the hotel looked old and in need of a fresh coat of paint. It irks me that they sell it online as ‘young and vibrant’. Not!
See the video and decide for yourself.
About Butterfly on Prat Boutique Hotel Tsim Sha Tsui
Like Butterfly on Morrison, this hotel is part of the Butterfly Group of Hotels. Unfortunately, it does not measure up to the Morrison.
What this has going for it is the location. It is at the heart of vibrant Tsim Sha Tsui. All the shopping, museums, and famous attractions are within walking distance. A few MTR stations are close by. So, that makes traveling around Hong Kong an easy task.
While looking tired, they do try to be updated. So, they offer 4G Pocket Wi-Fi Device. I am not impressed. And I explain why further down this review.
Rooms
This small boutique hotel boasts 158 spacious rooms. And they also seem to be proud of their strong colors that they claim are young and vibrant in style. To me, the colors look dated and a bit gaudy. The paint does not look fresh, too.
This is a smoke-free hotel, and the rooms offered are as follows:
- Superior Room
- Superior Room with 4G Pocket WIFI Device
- Deluxe Room with 4G Pocket WIFI Device
- Pure Air Signature with 4G Pocket WIFI Device
- Triple with 4G Pocket WIFI Device
- Executive with 4G Pocket WIFI Device
- Family Room with 4G Pocket WIFI Device
- Deluxe Family Room with 4G Pocket WIFI Device
I chose the Deluxe room mostly because I booked the same for Butterfly on Morrison. And I wanted to compare.
The photos on their website made me a little hesitant. I almost wanted to book another hotel. And I wished I did.
One of the saving grace is that the room is quite spacious. In Hong Kong, it is not easy to get a room with so much space. I had the good fortune to stay at the top floor. And the ceiling was high. So it made the room looked more spacious.
*Travel Tip: If you really must stay here, ask for rooms on the top floor. At least you get high ceiling that makes it look spacious.
Amenities
- 24-hour front desk
- 24-hour security
- Free WIFI at hotel lobby
- iMac corner at hotel lobby with free internet access
- Air conditioning
- Daily housekeeping
- En-suite bathroom
- Towels
- Toiletries
- Hair dryer
- Free toiletries; e.g. toothbrush and toothpaste
- Mini-refrigerator
- Electronic in-room safe box
- Electric kettle with cups, with complimentary instant coffee and tea bags
- Laundry and dry cleaning service
- 2 Free bottled water every day
- Free Internet access via WiFi
- Pocket WIFI (depends on which room you book)
- iPod docking station
- TV (flat screen)
- Free and pay TV – satellite and cable channels
- Work desk
- Telephone
- Alarm clock
- Wake up service
- Luggage storage
- Airport limousine and shuttle service
- Doctor on call 24 hours
- Sightseeing tour arrangement
Facilities
None that I know of.
4G Pocket WIFI Device
It seems all Butterfly hotels offer this device. It is very handy. In the sense that you get Wi-Fi via the device everywhere you go in Hong Kong. Supposedly.
The down side is that it needs constant charging. So, if you do not have a battery charger with you, you can kiss the Wi-Fi goodbye. And I can tell you that happened most of the time. The battery life of their devices are so short!
In addition, the Wi-Fi connectivity was not reliable. So many times I noticed my phone not getting the Wi-Fi access. In the end, the pre-paid SIM I purchased at the airport served me much better.
Service Quality
The service quality at Butterfly on Prat was not so good as the service quality at Butterfly on Morrison. And this surprised me.
I am a marketer, who is also a lecturer on marketing. And branding is very important to me. As such, brand consistency is something that I believe brands should uphold.
It was not that the Butterfly on Prat staff were rude or disrespectful. They were just cordial. Rarely a smile. And they answer like a robot. Might as well be a robot behind the front desk.
At one point, I requested for late checkout. My flight back to Singapore was in the late evening. As such, checkout at 12 pm would have left me too much time to spare.
But when I asked, the staff did not even check if it was possible, and just told me no. I had to explain my reason before another staff came along and offered checkout at 1 pm.
It was not great but at least it was something. So, I thanked them and accepted it. I thought I would stow my luggage at the baggage area, and explore the city a bit more for the afternoon.
But the bad aftertaste of bad service was too much. Eventually, I left in a cab around 12.30 pm. I would rather spend the afternoon in the airport then within the vicinity or at this hotel.
Sleep Quality
It was not great. The bed was not very comfortable. The pillows were too soft.
And for some reason, the panel with a latch at the top of the ceiling had me wondering if someone would open it late at night and creep down into my room. Took me a while to fall asleep. Urgh!
Services Near the Hotel
For convenience, for all your needs like drinks such as orange juice, top up of Octopus card, or even an umbrella for the rainy season, there are a couple of convenience stores nearby. One of them is 7-11. The other is a local version of this franchise.
There is also a supermarket. I did not notice it at first. But a lot of free time in the evening enabled me to spot it. It was in the basement. So, you have to look down as you walk along Prat Avenue to see the entrance of the supermarket.
Along the same road and the roads further down, you can find all types of stores selling clothing, electronics and even herbs and spices.
Good Food Nearby
You will never starve in Hong Kong. And in Tsim Sha Tsui, even more impossible.
There are so many cafes and restaurants almost every few meters. The only thing you need to do is to make a choice. There are local Hong Kong food, dim sum, Korean food, Japanese food, Italian food, and even fast food. Watch the video above, and you will see a MacDonalds.
For more info about where to enjoy good food, check out my Hong Kong Food section.
Attractions Nearby
Kowloon has lots of interesting sights to see. And Butterfly on Prat excels in being at the right location. There are many attractions nearby.
There is the Avenue of Comic Stars, The Avenue of Stars, the many museums, Victoria Harbour, the Clock Tower, plus many more.
And if these are not enough, you can always take the MTR to Hong Kong Island for Victoria Peak, Lan Kwai Fong, Golden Bauhinia, Hollywood Road, Street Art, Man Mo Temple and many more attractions.
Also, the MTR can get you to Lantau Island where you can ride the Ngong Ping 360 Cable Car to see the Big Buddha, Po Lin Monastery, Ngong Ping Village, and Wisdom Path.
Where is Butterfly on Prat?
As mentioned above, Butterfly on Prat is at the heart of pulsating Tsim Sha Tsui. It is situated along Prat Avenue, and near Nathan Road.
Booking.comAddress: No. 21 Prat Avenue, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
Phone: +852 3962 8888
Email: info.bop@butterflyhk.com
How To Get There?
By Train
From the airport, you can reach this hotel with the Hong Kong Airport Express train – Quickest Way to the City. When you reach Hong Kong station, walk over to the Central terminal. Then take the red line towards Tsuen Wan.
Alight at Tsim Sha Tsui station. It takes about 5 minutes to walk from the station to the hotel.
*Travel Tip: Do this only if you have 1 small luggage or backpack. The walkways from the station to the hotel can make lugging any larger luggage difficult.
By Road
A ride from a cab from the airport to the hotel is quite easy to get. And so is a ride from the hotel to the airport.
At the airport, look out for the cab counter. They can assist you. Just make sure you inform them whether you are going to Kowloon or Hong Kong Island. Read more about how to hail the right taxi in my article about Hong Kong.
For your info, Butterfly on Prat offers limousine service or transport arrangement to and from the hotel. When you book online, contact them for more information. Take note that travel fees apply.
By Bus
Butterfly hotels offer shuttle bus from airport to hotel and from hotel to airport. This hotel is no exception. When you book your room online, contact them for help to arrange for shuttle bus. Remember to check the price as current bus fees apply.
Getting Around Hong Kong
It is easy to get around in Hong Kong. You can do it by bus, taxi or MTR. Click on the image below to read more about this.
Butterfly on Prat Boutique Hotel Tsim Sha Tsui – Asia Travel Gems Final Word
Asia Travel Gems Rating: 2.0 out of 5.0
What a world of difference these two are even though they are part of the same group. The staff at Morrison is so warm, friendly and helpful. The ones at Prat are just cold.
In addition, the entire hotel needs a new look. I don’t know what year the concept is from but to claim it is young and vibrant is misleading.
The paint on the walls look tired. The colors are gaudy. Really bad choices of colors. Have they heard of Pantone Color of the Year? Or at least the latest trends in colors?
While they do win with spacious rooms, they really need to upgrade and update the rooms. The bathroom looks so old and outdated. Where is the rain shower that is at Morrison?
Watch the video above to see what I mean. And I am sure you will agree that, sadly, they only get 2 stars rating.
Booking.com
We have come to the end of this article. I hope you enjoyed reading this.
If you have ANY questions about Hong Kong Hotels Review – Butterfly on Prat Boutique Hotel Tsim Sha Tsui, ANY at all, please submit your questions as comments below. I will be happy to help you out.
Wishing you and your loved ones safe and happy travels.
Timotheus
Hey everyone, I am Timotheus. When I am not giving lectures, I love traveling and visiting cities and towns all over Asia. It is a thrill for me to find and share awesome places to see, great tasting food to eat, and restful rooms to get a good night’s sleep.
I want to thank you so much for the honest review of the Butterfly on Prat and if I ever make it to Hong Kong, I think I would definitely plan to stay in the Butterfly on Morrison as it seems so much nicer. I do have to agree with you that a brand should be consistent and I can see with these hotels that is not the case. I know many times that management has a big impact on the differences and the atmosphere, so that may be something that plays a part in the temperament of the staff.
You’re welcome, Dena.
I too will stay at Butterfly on Morrison because I had so much better experience there. I just had dinner with a colleague who is visiting from Hong Kong, and I mentioned about these two hotels. He acknowledged that most hotels at Tsim Sha Tsui can be kind of dodgy. But then again, the Butterfly Hotel Group should know better.
Good point about the colors and design of the place affecting the staff. Could be. Could be.
This is such awesome information for anyone visiting Hong Kong, you are saving so many people time by sharing the hotels in Hong Kong and all the valuable information about each hotel.
Jeff
Thanks Jeff for recognizing what I am doing here at Asia Travel Gems. Yes, I eat, explore and stay at all these places so that I can share my experience. And by doing that, I hope to save people time.
Most visitors have only a few days in a city. And knowing what are the best a city has to offer can save much time and headache. 🙂