Keith009

W Hong Kong
1 Austin Rd West, Kowloon Station, Kowloon

NB: Hotel was in soft opening phase so several details might well have changed in due course.





W Hotels have rocked up to Hong Kong! Finally. I'd been waiting anxiously for a rather long time for the new W Hong Kong to open in one of my favourite party towns. And it didn't disappoint. Bringing its special blend of magic WorldWide with a vengeance, the brand new W experience in Hong Kong is nothing short of WoW. It uplifts. It redefines. It inspires. It possesses. More flash, more bling, more glamour and, above all, more forward looking and edgy than ever before, it's Whatever/Whenever on OD.

But first things first: the slightly awkward location. The W is not in the best location for hanging out in TST as it's a fair bit away. The MTR line it's on didn't appear to be that convenient for getting around Kowloon, however cabs in HK are cheap. On the other hand, the hotel is only a stop away from Hong Kong/Central station, and it's then a 10mins or so stroll to nightlife in Lan Kwai Fong and SoHo. Getting back can be a bit dear however, as the MTR shuts rather early at about 1am or so. It's about a HKD120 (including HKD50 toll) cab ride via the faster way, or HKD80 (including HKD20 toll) cab ride via a less direct but not more significantly inconvenient route.

For those of you into views of the HK Island skyline, the W's location means you don't get much of that. My suite had views of Victoria Harbour, but of ships and container ports and not skyline. The Living Room had partial views of said skyline but it's obstructed by the ICC next door.




Views of the harbour from suite

So the location might not be the best, but for my purposes the only time I head to TST is to drink at Felix and I didn't find the proximity to Lan Kwai Fong all that inconvenient. So if location is the only downside of the W, it's doing pretty well as that's not too onerous a downside at all! At least IMO.

Many cab drivers don't really know where or what the W is, so if you're coming in via a cab - simply ask for Elements Mall at Kowloon station. Though I must say that I had 2 drivers who knew of the W, thanks to an aggressive marketing campaign they'd had run amongst taxi drivers in Hong Kong. If you're coming in via the Airport Express, the way to the W isn't clearly signposted. But simply go up 2 floors to Elements, navigate your way to HMV (there are maps along the way), and it's less than a 3 mins walk. When you get to HMV/Shanghai Tang, you'd see sidedoors with the W logos and I was pleasantly surprised to find them staffed. Or if you want to make a more dramatic entrance, simply head out of the mall and turn right where the main entrance to the W is.

Entering the W is like entering an upscale club in WeHo or MePa, every entrance is like a grand entrance and every new entrant is treated as such with much enthusiastic welcomes from the Welcome Ambassador. Though beware for now as the New Hotel Syndrome mean you could be greeted by up to 5 people in succession, which no doubt gets a bit weary, like trying to catch up with Energiser Bunny on steroids.

I entered via the side door and was immediately met by a Welcome Ambassador who insisted on helping me with my suitcase. The W assembles its Talent Team with much attention paid to the personalities and dedication of potential candidates, rather than prior hotel experience. With the trademark W touch, my Welcome Ambassador was the epitome of the unique W approach and clearly looked like he was having fun with his job as much as I was enjoying my experience. I was treated like a best friend rather than someone he has to kiss a*s off, which made me feel all the more welcome and at ease.

One of their inhouse restos FIRE (serving modern European cuisine) was also on this floor, as well as the bar Liquid. Though sadly I didn't get to try either during my stay.

As I ascended the elevator to the Living Room (oops - unfortunately for you MAN Flyer they do have the double lift situation ala Westin Bangkok!), I noticed that instead of the usual 'Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening' carpets, they had LCD screens on the floor. Kool aid!







The LCD theme continued at the Welcome Desk with a gigantic LCD panel behind the Desk. It was a bit blinding at first, but when I got used to it I thought it was a pretty cool feature. Those used to extremely dark Ws (Union Square for instance) might be in for an initial shock though. I was also met at check in by Alison, the W Insider - some kind of guest relations role. She's the first Insider I've ever met. She introduced herself and mentioned that she already knew all about me from the emails I'd sent to the hotel bugging them about their opening date. Throughout my stay, Alison seemed omnipresent and was ever ready with her wide smiles and that trademark glint in her eyes. She was a fresh college graduate in her first ever job and seemed not only to have taken to her role with ease, but actually seemed to be having heaps of fun with it.







I'd been upgraded to a Fantastic Suite, however it wasn't yet ready as the previous guest was also an SPG PLT who'd taken advantage of his 4pm check out privilege. I was given the choice of waiting for the Suite to be ready or downgrading a room category or two. I decided to wait it out for my Suite - being my first stay I wanted the WoW experience all the way. Alison then gave me a mini tour of the Living Room, starting with Kitchen, one of the 2 restaurants at the W. I'd dined there later that evening. It features 'home styled' cooking, both pan-Asian and international delights. One of the signature dishes I had, beef in a spicy sichuan sauce (said to be mild but it did push my envelope a little!) with rissoto as a side felt v Mod Oz which has a heavy Asian fusion element, and it turned out that their chef is indeed Australian. You'd have a choice of either sitting at the chef's table and watch the food get cooked, or in the Dining Room.









I then had a few drinks on the house at the Living Room. Perhaps reflecting the time of the day, the music played was more mellow but no less upbeat. Tried 2 of their cocktails from the expansive menu, the Honey and Basil Daquiri, and the Honeycomb Martini. The beverage consultant has obviously done a v good job as these were yum! At this point, Alison presented me with my own customised birthday cupcake! She lit a candle and was just about to launch into song, when I'd made a wish and blown out the candle as I didn't know she was going to sing. The cupcake was yummy, but unfortunately not on the regular menu as it was customised for me and had been freshly organised that day with the pastry chef.








Living Room by day


Private Room which is available for private functions




impromptu belated bday celebration

I was led to my Fantastic Suite on the 21st floor after I'd eaten the cupcake and finished my drink. The hallways were a bit brighter than usual, and Alison mentioned that some W fans had complained that they were too bright. I thought they were alright and represented a compromise between W Fans and those not yet familiar with the W concept. Plus, they were not blindingly bright like the W SF which really represented a significant departure from the signature sensual and mysterious hallways of the W experience. The hallways here are uniquely designed to simulate a reading room, with a faux bookshelf at the elevator foyer. Soft dance music was piped through which ensured the sensory Living Room experience doesn't end even after one has retired for the night.











The rooms come in 2 different schemes, one designed by Australian design company G&A and the other one designed by a Japanese designer. I got the former, name of which escapes me now. The latter scheme is themed 'Glamourous.' Imagine making special requests asking for a 'Glamourous room please.'



On entry, you walk into the v large lounge room with v comfy chaise lounge. The room is almost framed by a huge B&O LCD screen, with v impressive speakers to boot. The speakers are also connected to a dvd player Ipod dock, meaning if you've got an Ipod and are sick of the Wonderlust CD, you can party to your own Ipod music. Alison proudly declared that because the walls built with the partying needs of W guests in mind (as well as some other needs no doubt... as the 'Intimacy Pack' in the Munchie Box would suggest), every room is extremely well-insulated no matter how much we put the B&O speakers to work. There is also a generous sized desk if you actually need to do some work, though I've met a few people who decided that the Living Room is a nicer space to work in, including Matt the Director of Marketing himself.









In addition to the choice of welcome amenities (I'd gone for the 500 points), SPG PLTs get a Welcome Gift of tasty munchies - macaroons, a blueberry jello, chocolates, and a green apple. In addition, I got handwritten cards from Damon (the GM, one of the people who patiently responded to my impatient "when?!" emails), Andrew (the Head of Concierge), and a note from Kent (Manager of Bliss Spa) all welcoming me to the hotel. And a gift from Andrew - a Luxe travel guide to Bangkok as he'd somehow heard that I was possibly going there in December. Noice! I am also the proud parent of 2 more yellow duckies (though they're a lot smaller than the ones born of the LH FCT).



The bedroom is dominated by the v comfy signature Wonderful Bed. Prior to this I did wonder if the bed would be up to brand standard as IME these things do vary when the brands get exported overseas. However I need not fear, the Wonderful Bed was every bit as comfy as the other Ws in the US. Alison advised that the bed and its bedding were all brought in from the US. As with the lounge room, the bedroom has a large LCD screen with the same gizmos attached as outside. There was also a rather generously sized closet.







Connected to both the bedroom and lounge area with sliding doors is the rather stylish and functional bathroom with a huge sink and separate bath and showers. SPG PLTs who are fans of Bliss toiletries are in for a real treat here. The famous Lemon&Sage Sinkside 6 at the W Hong Kong are bigger and bolder than ever before - 120ml bottles for PLTs! A complete set is available by the sink, whilst a partial set (sans Fabulous Foaming Facewash) sits on the bathtub.









Lighting in the room is entirely electronically controlled. There are 3 preset modes for the lighting - Day, Night, and Dreams. Pretty self-explanatory. You are of course also able to adjust the lighting out of these modes should you so desire.






In Night mode - though I'm not sure if my camera is depicting it accurately

There was turndown service nightly, when they'd turn the lights to Night mode as well as prep your bed. And cover the room up in the v thick curtains and sheer. Those work v well, when I woke up at noon one day it still felt like dusk.

After having explored the Suite to my heart's content, it was time to raid Bliss Spa. I needed sufficient quantities of Lemon&Sage to last me for the next couple of months, so taking stock of my toiletry supplies at home, I'd relieved them of 3x Supershine Shampoo, 3x Soapy Sap, and 1x Conditioning Rinse. One of the Bliss Spa staff mentioned that they ship in everything from the US and usually in rather small quantities, and I'd singlehandedly relieved them of half their stock!

I'd also tried the Blissage75 treatment, pretty good if a little pricey. The masseur Edward had electric hands, and I also got to try the Bliss mint rub which I hadn't had before. I wasn't game enough to try the waxing though despite Alison raving about it, even if they'd guaranteed that it's pain-free!

W Living Rooms turn into party and glamour central come nightfall, and the W Hong Kong's Living Room is no exception. On Friday nights I'd even skipped Felix and simply stuck to the Living Room. There is DJing on Friday and Saturday nights. The DJ on Saturday night was pretty predictable and stuck to typical W House and Funk the whole way through. But DJ Angus on Friday night really stood out. Apart from being rather easy on the eye, Angus had a amazingly wide playlist that even extended to indie music, which in some ways is rather un-W but variety is the spice of life. Currently I have the pretty cool Blake Jarrell remix of Linkin Park's Shadow Of the Day (though a sad song otherwise!) stuck in my head and on repeat in my Ipod. For all that great DJing, it seems almost a crime not to have a space for dancing - whether it's a W thing or not it was obvious that quite a few patrons were dying to shake some moves. I reckon a small space for dancing over the weekends wouldn't hurt.

Despite reports on FT to the contrary, the Living Room was v happening when I was there on both Friday and Saturday nights. Sunday was surprisingly busy, probably due to the typhoon which kept people indoors. The crowd was typical W and rather sharply dressed. There was also a staff party on Saturday night to farewell one of the beverage consultants, and it was pretty fun getting an insight on the ins and outs of running a hotel especially one which has carved out such a niche for itself.




DJ Angus





I'd also tried quite a few of the signature cocktails. I wished I'd stayed longer so I could try everything on the list - the ones I tried were sensational and the others I'd not tried all looked wonderously tempting!




one of my faves - passionfruit and tomato based, and topped with Veuve Clicquot

WET opened on the 2nd day I was there. Located on the 76th floor, the pool comes with a bar (though they've yet to obtain a liquor license for the bar when I was there, it'd be so rad when everything finally's set) and has a v nice view of the harbour and surrounding buildings.





The great standard of service I experienced at check in was maintained and even exceeded throughout my stay. Every member of staff I'd interacted with had an enormous sense of fun, dedication and proactiveness. Most were happy to share an insight or 2 about the work that's gone into the W, and how much fun they're having - in particular those who've come over from working for stiff and stuffy hotels. I'd heard some of Matt's rather exciting plans for the official launch party (which has been indefinitely delayed since Sep 26th as the final touch ups were still being applied), and alas I can't reveal any details but suffice to say it'd be The Mother of All Launch Parties - the flashiest, most glamourous and yet naughtiest W launch ever. I'm now trying to schedule a trip to Hong Kong as soon as the party date is confirmed!

I almost didn't want to leave! Leave I must though, but not before I got a farewell gift from Alison, along with a rather sweet note. Quoting her partially if she doesn't mind:

"You like travelling and meeting people, staying in different Ws and seeing the world's most beautiful things - just like a kaleidoscope."


I am now the proud owner of my own "Wish" kaleidoscope.

After checking out, I was escorted all the way to the intown check in counters at Kowloon AE station. The Welcome Ambassador was most cheerful in doing so despite my insistence that i knew my way.

Charging approximately AUD500/night (BAR for a Wonderful Room when I'd last checked), the W Hong Kong is top drawer finishing all the way and doesn't skimp on even the tiniest detail. And at 12 000 Starpoints/night on an SPG5 redemption, your stay at this uber luxe property becomes practically a steal! Especially with such amazing service to boot, even pre-stay service as exemplified by the efforts of Damon and the Director of Revenue Management Sorel in keeping future/potential guests up to date about the progress of the hotel.

The W Hong Kong - more than just a hotel. Like other Ws, it's an experience in its own right. And the people behind the W Hong Kong have succeeded in making it a WoWtastic sensation. The best part? It's only going to get better.

Next: ^QF30 HKG-MEL J^