Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong
Apr 4, 2011, 11:17 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: SFO
Programs: AA EXP 3 MM
Posts: 4,576
Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong
I was very hesitant to stay at this hotel on only its third day of operation. The location is a bit remote. And I've had mixed experiences with RC properties in the the U.S.
However, my wife really does not like classical old world style hotels so the Peninsula and the MO were out. The rooms at the LMO have unremarkable views. And my stay last year at the IC was very disappointing. And while we considered the FS, my wife found the novelty of staying at a new hotel very appealing.
Luxury who is now a RC STARS agent made the booking for me. I booked a club deluxe room which offers a city view. He was able to confirm a one-category to a club harbour view room a few weeks before arrival date (Thanks so much, Luxury!)
Some highlights:
- While there were a few minor shortcomings (all of them probably due to the hotel being new), overall our stay was fantastic and we are eager to return this hotel for another stay.
- We received a corner room. Based on the floor plan, corner rooms are classified in the deluxe room category but appear to be larger than other deluxe rooms. Corner rooms also have bay windows. Though our room category was supposed to be harbour view (but not Victoria Harbour view), because of the corner position, we had a partial Victora Harbour view. We were able to see the Conrad and Island Shangri-La and buildings to the east but not the west (Bank of China, MO, FS, etc.).
- This 24-hour club lounge was the best club lounge of any hotel I've been to. Excellent food selection. Eight types of wine plus Billecart-Salmon Champagne available 24 hours a day. I could easily spend a few hours here reading, eating, and drinking. Herve who is the Club Manager and his team really went above and beyond to make our stay special. Herve in particular really is a gifted individual who was eager to please without being obsequious.
- Health club was very nice with spectacular views from the excercise machines and pool. There are two cold plunge pools and semi-covered outdoor jacuzzi. There is also a large semi-covered outdoor terrace with lounge chairs for those who want some fresh air (despite the pollution coming from the mainland factories).
- Service throughout the hotel was outstanding, especially since it was in its first week of operation.
- Toiletries in the deluxe rooms are from Asprey. I'm guessing the suites get better toiletries.
Here are some photos:
Corner room views
Lounge chair
Floor plan of floor 115
Shower
Closet
Club letter
Welcome amenity
Bathroom sink
View from our corner room
Club lounge
Club lounge
Club lounge
Club lounge egg station
Club lounge
Club lounge buffet
Club lounge buffet
Club lounge buffet
Sorry I'm not posting any picture of the bed. I took photos of the room in the morning and the bed was messy. The desk was also cluttered with my stuff.
Let me know if you have any questions.
However, my wife really does not like classical old world style hotels so the Peninsula and the MO were out. The rooms at the LMO have unremarkable views. And my stay last year at the IC was very disappointing. And while we considered the FS, my wife found the novelty of staying at a new hotel very appealing.
Luxury who is now a RC STARS agent made the booking for me. I booked a club deluxe room which offers a city view. He was able to confirm a one-category to a club harbour view room a few weeks before arrival date (Thanks so much, Luxury!)
Some highlights:
- While there were a few minor shortcomings (all of them probably due to the hotel being new), overall our stay was fantastic and we are eager to return this hotel for another stay.
- We received a corner room. Based on the floor plan, corner rooms are classified in the deluxe room category but appear to be larger than other deluxe rooms. Corner rooms also have bay windows. Though our room category was supposed to be harbour view (but not Victoria Harbour view), because of the corner position, we had a partial Victora Harbour view. We were able to see the Conrad and Island Shangri-La and buildings to the east but not the west (Bank of China, MO, FS, etc.).
- This 24-hour club lounge was the best club lounge of any hotel I've been to. Excellent food selection. Eight types of wine plus Billecart-Salmon Champagne available 24 hours a day. I could easily spend a few hours here reading, eating, and drinking. Herve who is the Club Manager and his team really went above and beyond to make our stay special. Herve in particular really is a gifted individual who was eager to please without being obsequious.
- Health club was very nice with spectacular views from the excercise machines and pool. There are two cold plunge pools and semi-covered outdoor jacuzzi. There is also a large semi-covered outdoor terrace with lounge chairs for those who want some fresh air (despite the pollution coming from the mainland factories).
- Service throughout the hotel was outstanding, especially since it was in its first week of operation.
- Toiletries in the deluxe rooms are from Asprey. I'm guessing the suites get better toiletries.
Here are some photos:
Corner room views Lounge chair Floor plan of floor 115 Shower Closet Club letter Welcome amenity Bathroom sink View from our corner room Club lounge Club lounge Club lounge Club lounge egg station Club lounge Club lounge buffet Club lounge buffet Club lounge buffetSorry I'm not posting any picture of the bed. I took photos of the room in the morning and the bed was messy. The desk was also cluttered with my stuff.
Let me know if you have any questions.
Last edited by francophile; Apr 4, 2011 at 11:49 pm
Apr 4, 2011, 11:18 pm
#2
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: SFO
Programs: AA EXP 3 MM
Posts: 4,576
Club lounge
Club lounge living room
Club lounge board room
Club lounge computer room
Club lounge
Club lounge
Hotel restaurant
Lobby
Hotel restaurant
Hotel restaurant
Last edited by francophile; Apr 4, 2011 at 11:27 pm
Apr 5, 2011, 12:10 am
#3
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: IAD/DCA
Posts: 31,797
wow ^ glad it went well 
such as?
did you check-in at club lounge?
floor plan suggests you were in club jr suite?
did you visit floor 114?
***
$500 dlx 50m2
>
$1675 73m2 prem
........ 73m2 prem island
........ 115m2 prem exec
........ 180m2 specialty
........ 365m2 ritz carlton
hotel on 102-118 incl 312 rooms on 106-117
114 (2 categories - club harbor island, specialty)
116 860m2 spa, club lounge, (3 categories - club harbor island, prem exec, specialty)
117 (club dlx, club dlx harbor, club harbor island, club jr, ritz carlton)
seems likely to be 18 club room, 7 club jr, 1 ritz carlton
118 pool, gym, 1 restaurant
did you check-in at club lounge?
floor plan suggests you were in club jr suite?
did you visit floor 114?
***
$500 dlx 50m2
>
$1675 73m2 prem
........ 73m2 prem island
........ 115m2 prem exec
........ 180m2 specialty
........ 365m2 ritz carlton
hotel on 102-118 incl 312 rooms on 106-117
114 (2 categories - club harbor island, specialty)
116 860m2 spa, club lounge, (3 categories - club harbor island, prem exec, specialty)
117 (club dlx, club dlx harbor, club harbor island, club jr, ritz carlton)
seems likely to be 18 club room, 7 club jr, 1 ritz carlton
118 pool, gym, 1 restaurant
Last edited by Kagehitokiri; Apr 5, 2011 at 12:35 am
Apr 5, 2011, 5:39 am
#5
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Jakarta
Programs: Krisflyer PPS, SPG, Hyatt GoldPassport, Shangri-la Golden Circle, British Airways ExecClub
Posts: 1,245
Looks swanky! I have been wanting to try out this hotel since it was first annouced ( I'm a sucker for high-rise hotels with great views ). From the photos you took, the place looks first class. But kinda deserted?
Not quite like the layout of the lounge, a bit too "restaurant" like. I prefer lounge with spacious sitting areas. But still very nice. The food servings do looks generous. How's the service?
Regardless, I'm booked for 3 nights in June. Hope they have worked out all the kinks by then.
Not quite like the layout of the lounge, a bit too "restaurant" like. I prefer lounge with spacious sitting areas. But still very nice. The food servings do looks generous. How's the service?
Regardless, I'm booked for 3 nights in June. Hope they have worked out all the kinks by then.
Apr 5, 2011, 9:22 pm
#10
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Portland OR Double Emerald (QF and AA), DL PM/MM, Starwood Plat
Posts: 19,589
Better view from the Kowloon hotels Pen/IC/Sheraton etc. maybe W is comparable. Really surprised at the poor quality of the room furnishings, maybe it just doesn't photograph well but Sheraton Towers had better fabrics and bath fittings then this; quite a step down from Pen/FS/MO in quality, ignoring style. Though I would not call the style modern, more like international vanilla; bland and boring but safe and functional, chosen for long life and practicality rather than to impress. Which isn't bad. Great photos, kudos to the OP for letting us all see and judge.
Apr 5, 2011, 11:47 pm
#11
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: SFO
Programs: AA EXP 3 MM
Posts: 4,576
I think you are correct that I was given a 3-level upgrade from a club deluxe room to a club junior suite. The room certainly felt larger than 50 sq meters. When I went to the RC web site, I didn't see the club junior suite category under the club level tab so I assumed the corner rooms were also deluxe rooms but now I see the club junior suite category under the suites tab.
http://www.ritzcarlton.com/en/Proper...ms/Default.htm
I'm guessing I was given a 2-level upgrade because Luxury is a RC STARS agent and was further given another level upgrade because I am a Marriott Rewards platinum member.
While the extra living area and the bay windows were very nice, I'm not sure it is worth paying the extra HK$2,000 for this room category over the standard club deluxe room.
While my stay was very enjoyable, there were a few minor inconveniences that I attribute to the hotel's infancy:
- We requested and was granted an early check-in of 10:00am. After enjoying a Champagne breakfast in the club lounge, we decided to go see our room. When we opened the door to our room we were surprised to find three contractors installing a new DVD and putting the finishing touches to the entertainment unit. The contractors were most apologetic about it and said they would be done in 15 minutes which they kept their word. It helped that I speak Cantonese. Somehow Herve the club manager found out about this and called our room to apologize profusely. We went back upstairs to the club lounge for more Champagne and he came over to our table and apologized again and told us that he would send housekeeping to tidy up our room and remove any dust left over from the installation.
- My wife said that the water in the main pool was too cold for a swim. Perhaps it needed to be heated a little bit more.
- While an attendant was staffed within the gym and pool area, there was no attendant at the entrance area to direct guests to the locker room and show them around the facilities. There is a welcome desk so hopefully they will soon put an attendant there. The lockers have electronic locks where you punch in your own PIN. It took me awhile to figure it out on my own but someone who is less technically savvy might have a more frustrating time. The music in the locker room was pulsating and would fit right in at a W hotel. I think music that is more spa-like would be more appropriate.
Apr 6, 2011, 12:06 am
#12
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: SFO
Programs: AA EXP 3 MM
Posts: 4,576
The Kowloon station is located underneath the hotel but you have to walk pass all the high-end store like Cartier and Bulgari to get there. The Kowloon station is only one stop from Central and is on the Airport Express line. It did take us 20 minutes by taxi to get to the Star Ferry as we were sitting in traffic during evening rush hour and almost missed our Symphony of Lights cruise on the Aqua Luna boat. However, during other times of the day, I would imagaine it would take only 10 minutes to get to the Peninsula.
Service in the club lounge was impeccable and extremely attentive. It was kind of deserted. On Friday morning, my wife and I were the only guests in the club lounge for breakfast and we were there for almost an hour!
The lounge does have living rooms of about 25 sq meters at both ends so there are secluded sitting areas.
The Peninsula, MO, and FS seem to have done a good job of preventing employees from defecting to the RC. I spoke with a handful of employees and asked them where they worked previously. All of them worked at 4.5 star hotels such as GH, Grand Stanford IC, and Kowloon SL. Herve is from the Portman Ritz-Carlton Shanghai.
Unfortunately, I only too pictures during the day. 
While the MO is certainly not old like the great palace hotels of Europe, the MO certainly is historical compared to other HK hotels 
Looks swanky! I have been wanting to try out this hotel since it was first annouced ( I'm a sucker for high-rise hotels with great views ). From the photos you took, the place looks first class. But kinda deserted?
Not quite like the layout of the lounge, a bit too "restaurant" like. I prefer lounge with spacious sitting areas. But still very nice. The food servings do looks generous. How's the service?
Not quite like the layout of the lounge, a bit too "restaurant" like. I prefer lounge with spacious sitting areas. But still very nice. The food servings do looks generous. How's the service?
The lounge does have living rooms of about 25 sq meters at both ends so there are secluded sitting areas.
The Peninsula, MO, and FS seem to have done a good job of preventing employees from defecting to the RC. I spoke with a handful of employees and asked them where they worked previously. All of them worked at 4.5 star hotels such as GH, Grand Stanford IC, and Kowloon SL. Herve is from the Portman Ritz-Carlton Shanghai.
While the MO is certainly not old like the great palace hotels of Europe, the MO certainly is historical compared to other HK hotels