City Loft and Empire Studio

[hannskis]

Hi I've heard a lot of bad reviews about City Loft but none were specific as to the exact City Loft branch.

I am currently deciding between City Loft and Empire Studio (in Causeway Bay). I'm looking at the City Loft at Cannon Street in Causeway Bay and the City Loft at Elgin Street in Central. Any views?

I've heard several good reviews on Empire Studio but just a bit concerned by the deposit payment method. The "studio owner" just asked me to deposit HKD 2000 into his personal bank account - is this normal practice?

I'll be working at Central so my preference, location wise, would be City Loft at Elgin. Only issue is I'm not sure about the hygiene, cleanliness etc so please let me know your views!

Thanks so much!!

[Hidori]

Hi, I had previously stayed at Empire Studio for almost 6 months. The owner also asked me to make the deposit to his bank account as I was arriving from outside of HK. I had no problem with deposit, it was returned back to me in full on the last day of my stay. I enjoyed the studios very much, the location is great!

The owner is a nice guy and very honest. We had referred some friends and relatives to Empire and all have no trouble with getting back the deposit. The owner explained to us that the reason they use a personal bank account is simply because they do not take credit cards.

Hope this helps.

[shri]

>> The "studio owner" just asked me to deposit HKD 2000 into his personal bank account - is this normal practice?

Not normal by any means. If cash is to be deposited, it should be into a company account which matches the receipt which is issued.

[Hidori]

It may not be normal by conventional standards...but I think the reputation of the operator (by word of mouth is quite important). All my friends and myself included that have stayed at Empire all had no problems with getting back their deposit 100% in full immediately when they checked out.

I have heard that some other studios operators (those with company accounts) are not as honest. Of course, most are honest, but there are always some that are not. Heard bad stories about some larger operators with company accounts that delay or withhold a significant portion or all of the deposit and some don't even return it. Unless you are under a company lease, these larger studio operators with company accounts sometimes use their company leverage to take advantage of the tenants without company leases.

I guess their are good and bad studio operators, apt owners, and etc., out there, both big and small. My experience is that good word of mouth is the best measure of an operator's honesty.

[shri]

It may not be normal by conventional standards...but I think the reputation of the operator (by word of mouth is quite important). All my friends and myself included that have stayed at Empire all had no problems with getting back their deposit 100% in full immediately when they checked out.

BUT ... given that ALL your posts are about one establishment, how can one jump to conclusions based on your feedback and your feedback alone?

All I am saying is that it is extremely dodgy from a business perspective to be taking cash on a personal account. If you're serious about your business (and note .. this has nothing to do with paying deposits back on time or not) you should not be taking money from clients into your personal accounts. There are all sorts of legal issues that could come into play, should something go wrong.

I know I am probably hitting a nerve here.... but given your posting history, I have to challenge how you could vouch so strongly for a person who after all said and done has merely rented you a room for a short term. I would not vouch so strongly from landlords who I had multi-year leases with....

[london_monkey]

hey,

i dont know whether you have taken any decisions yet but im living in a city loft apartment at the moment. its in sheung wan, even though i dont think they will be that different.

i can only say: DONT DO IT!

i am paying 6500 for a shoe box where nothing works. the shower and sink arent draining properly, the tv is broken, the internet on my floor doesnt work (i always log into another one), the cleaning is useless and the cleaning crew snoops around your stuff.
also, u cant reach anyone when something is worng after hours. the other day, we had a power cut and i couldnt reach anyone. so, i had to live in the dark, have a cold shower in the morning etc etc since the offic eonly opens at 10am.

so, ya, im definitely moving out soon.

[Football16]

Shri and those suggesting not to do that are right. It is highly unusual if it is a business and not a flat owner leasing it to you.

Our pre-employment screening business files are rife with situations where very smooth talkers got customers to deposit their money into personal accounts and not their employers only to have the guy disappear. We see this when they are looking for work and we are doing reference checks only to find this blue ribbon candidate on paper is a serial fraud artist.

Not sure of these businesses but it seems unusual to me.

[George-sensei]

Hi, I am a current temporary resident of Empire Studios. I think I might shed some light into this nebulous situation you are gazing at by telling you what I am currently experiencing here.

I have gotten to know the landlord who happens to be a very amicable and kind person. Not only this, but if you are after for an intellectually stimulating discussion and he happens to be around -- he is the man to get in touch! His impeccable educational background will shine through. Now, if you dont have the time for this, you are definitely missing something out ... (and I won't be responsible for this).

Now let's get to the more delicate part: what if something goes astray or needs to get fixed ? The landlord lives closeby and is reachable 24/7 *i.e. 24 hrs per day unlike most others who work 24 hrs over the duration of 7 days*. This landlord genuinely cares a lot about the well-being of his tenants.

Overall points, Location is fabulous, rooms are super clean and tidy and each room is equipped with a japanese imported ACs (japanese = good quality) unlike other ACs that are normally noisy these ones do not make any noise.
Bed, carpet and everything else are super clean ...

Oh, and did I tell you about the in-house DVD selection -- a very splendid choice of DVDs.

Ok, there is one thing that I do want to point out and that was somewhat hidden away on the official website, namely, laundry facilities not on this floor. (oh, the really awesome thing is you will reside on the top floor of the bldg)!!

Also, dont stress out on the security deposit; rest assured, once you hand back your keys, the landord will reimburse you 100%.

[dannykhk]

I stayed in the empire studio for the 6 months ending in april of this year. The location is great - which you must already know. So I'll just speak to my experience with the apartment operators.

I was given the option of a cash security deposit, which of course i hesitated at. For me, I was already in hk and didnt have much to do in the week coming up to when i would be moving in. So I went for it. The way I saw it, it was a 1 week "hold" to keep the apt available. I called a couple times during the week to make sure everything was good and even walked past a few times to see that it was legit. A week went by and I showed up when they told me to show up (to move in) and everything worked out. I moved in exactly when we had discussed, and at that time I gave them the balance of the security deposit and they gave me keys.

In the past I've had issues with landlords keeping security deposits so of course I was nervous. This landlord is such a gentleman about the whole experience, he let me use my security deposit towards my final month of rent (like many considerate landlords would). We decided to let him keep a small piece of it in case i ruined the place, and bright and early on the day of my departure, i was given the balance of my security deposit back.

If you don't feel comfortable wiring him hk$2000, just wait until youre ready to move in and hope the room is still available. Then you can give him cash - although I don't think it makes a difference. The hk$2000 is just to hold the room. And honestly, if this person was trying to rip you off, wouldnt he ask for more than hk$2000? and wouldnt there be writeups all over this websites to stay away?

It seems you are really questioning the landlords integrity -- which is totally expected -- I hope I can help vouch for that.

[Claire ex-ax]

How touching. First-time posters going to all the trouble of signing up just to commend an establishment. Awwwwwww... [got...something...in...my...eye]