lax2010

Is it closed to any airport express bus station or subway station? Is the 15,000 point a promotional rate only? Is there free breakfast for elite member? Complimentary wifi in room?

7Lowe

My family & I stayed 2 nights each at both the Courtyard Hong Kong and Renaissance Harbor View Hong Kong.

Both were nice and gave me (Gold) upgrades to a Harbor View room. Overall, I think we enjoyed the Renaissance more as they were very nice and gave a welcome gift to my 5yo daughter of a backpack filled with a cup, a doll on a keychain, & a few small bags of M&Ms. That made her feel very special. Also, it being right next to the Star Ferry Pier was convenient for crossing the harbor.

The Courtyard breakfast was probably a little better IMO as they had eggs benedict which has become one of my favorite breakfast foods (which I only seem to ever see at hotel breakfast buffets.)

nacho

The 15k/night is not promotional, and AFAIK this hotel is not going to hit by the annual devaluation this year.

Comp. wifi is offered for ALL MR members in Asia Pacific including Hong Kong.

The CY has a lounge, so it means that you will get breakfast at very least in the lounge - usually you can choose to have it in the restaurant instead.

fliesdelta

The Sha Tin CY is a few blocks from a Metro station.

Wifi is complimentary for MR members.

thnarf

I stayed at the JW Marriott Hong couple a couple of weeks ago and for those that are interested in "seeing" the property I put up a video review of the hotel on youtube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7cfX6duGZA

I also stayed at the Conrad Hong Kong on this trip... and for those that are debating between the JW or the Conrad, I'd highly recommend the JW Marriott. I felt the rooms at the JW were nicer, the staff was more attentive, and the breakfast at the JW was FAR superior to that at the Conrad. Yes, the Conrad has better views of the harbor from the guest rooms, but the JW Marriott also has an excellent view of the harbor from the Concierge Lounge if your room doesn't have one.

The JW Marriott is located on Hong Kong Island within a short walk (<5min) of the Admirality MTR station via underground tunnel. The hotel is also situated directly above the Pacific Place shopping mall. For those that want to do some grocery shopping, there is a grocery store in the basement level of the Pacific Place shopping mall. Overall it's an excellent location for tourists or business travelers.

To get to the hotel from the airport I took the Airport Express train to the final "Hong Kong" stop which takes about 20 minutes from the airport. From the airport train station I took the complimentary Airport Express Shuttle Bus -- H1. The ride on the H1 shuttle took about 7 minutes to reach the JW Marriott... very easy.

Upon arrival at the JW Marriott the bell staff grabbed my luggage and directed me to the check-in desk. Check in was easy and the front desk staff indicated they had booked me in to a "quiet room" per my request, and I was upgraded to the Executive level. Once my check-in paperwork was completed, I was escorted to my room by the staff-member that processed my check-in AND the bell-boy that had my luggage.

The check-in assistant showed off the various bells and whistles in the room, like how the curtains open by the push of a button, while the bell-boy set my luggage up on a stand. After being in the room for about 10 minutes, housekeeping rang the doorbell with a special "welcome gift" of hot-tea and a fruit plate. The housekeeping staff that brought the tea also poured it in to a cup before leaving.

As a Gold/Platinum Marriott Rewards member I was given the option of breakfast in the lounge of the Marriott Cafe. Definitely take breakfast in the Marriott Cafe. It's easily the best Marriott breakfast I've ever had. Not only is the food awesome, and the staff is super attentive and polished.

The room itself was very nice... my words won't do it justice, so just watch the video .

Overall I had an excellent stay at this hotel and would highly recommend it to anyone going to Hong Kong.

carsnoceans

Awesome review and couldn't be more timely! I am leaving for a week in JW Marriott, HK next weekend. ^ Btw, it seemed to end abruptly. Is that the entire video review or there is part II?

Couple of questions based on your observations...

How is their upgrade treatment for plats? I am booked on points and would love increase my chances for an upgrade.

Having never stayed in Marriott in Asia, does their CL have a honor code system for alcohol or it's free?

zambonisk

I have received an upgrade every time I have stayed at this hotel & the CL alcohol is free during the daily happy hour. This is my fav Marriott property bar none.

nightowlrn

We stayed at the JW Hong Kong in December 2012. The front office manager at the time was Benjamin Graham.

The alcohol is complementary. A nightly martini recipe and required ingredients are set up. If you are are a hard liquor fan, there is a good selection to suit your needs. There will also be a decanted red and a chilled white wine.

We were placed in a corner room. I think it was an upgrade, but am not 100% on that. Breakfast can be in the CL or at the main buffet. The CL allows you and one guest. That is a strict rule. The cost to add another guest or two is worth the cost of the breakfast alone. We had a wonderful time and the staff were top notch.

Have fun!

carsnoceans

I have been told to elect for main breakfast rather than CL. Any changes to that recently?

nightowlm, are you talking about complementary alcohol at all times in CL or only during happy hours. Confused about that.

Thanks for Benjamin Graham's email. I'll send him a note tonite.

nightowlrn

During the "happy hour" time period. I don't recall the exact times, but it was a few hours.

MisterSelfish

I believe Happy Hour is from around 4:30 - 8:30pm, it's a pretty broad window. Totally agree on everything said on the JW Marriott - the service is impeccable, and the hotel has been updated wonderfully!

My wife and I stayed there in March, and were upgrade to a suite. Breakfast is outstanding, and the location is great for access to the subway and Victoria Peak. Here's a review, for anyone interested: http://theselfishyears.com/2013/04/0...ott-hong-kong/

We ended up taking the shuttle directly from the airport since we have a ton of bags, I believe it was ~$30 for two people one direction. For anyone looking to do laundry, "Sunshine Laundry" is a really short cab ride away and does it by the pound.

bsagator

We just recently finished our stay at the Courtyard Sha Tin for 5 nights. We were given a room on the 27th floor overlooking the river and some nice mountain views. The room had excellent finishings, the bed was one of the most comfortable I have ever slept in. Like other Courtyards in Asia, the hotel would have a much higher star rating in the US or Europe. The staff were extremely nice, but could be a little over the top some times. An example would be calling twice after a room service order was put in, to make sure they had it correct.

We stayed using points, but as a leisure traveler unfortunately we will not be coming back. The location was too far out of the way, and there is very little to eat or do in the direct vicinity of the hotel. There is a Circle K convenience store just outside the back entrance. They have buns, soup, and the sort, but are closed on Sunday's.

The metro station is just a short 3 minute walk from door to door. If heading to Kowloon(Hong Hum Station), it takes roughly 20-25 minutes by Metro, with one change. If traveling to HK Island, it will take over 30 minutes and up to 45 minutes as you have to make 3 changes. Via taxi, the average charge is around $120 HKD to Kowloon(Star Ferry area), and $150 HKD to HK island(Wan Chai).

From HKG, we took bus A41P which was $27 HKD(?) from the airport, and $24 HKD from the hotel. The only issue was with our late arrival, we didn't make it to the hotel until 12am, and we had to lug our suitcases up the steep entrance driveway(we later found out there were stairs) as the street entrance door is locked at 11pm.

I have a short video I took of the room that I will upload once I'm out of China.

nacho

Thanks for the review!

I'm going to stay there at the end of this year using the Megabonus certs for my homecoming trip. I can imagine the location is really out of the way for tourists.

Personally I don't like CY Hong Kong so much because there aren't that many great eateries nearby either and I need to take a tram/bus to get anywhere. If you travel during rush hours a bus ride from the hotel to Causeway Bay took 45 minutes.

It's a bit off topic here but I thought it might be useful if you don't have tons of MR points/$ and want to stay somewhere decent in Hong Kong. If you are PC member you can get a night at Crowne Plaza/HIE in Tsueng Kwan O (right by a mall + MTR station) for 20k PC points. CP gives Plat breakfast (member only) and free internet. HIE has free breakfast set and free internet.

I think there is also a HIE in Central too - but I'm not sure if it's 20 or 25k per night. The location is better because you are closer to all the tourist attractions.

I stayed at both and the CP is much nicer than CY Hong Kong - the rooms are bigger and nicer, and I like the fact that it's right by MTR and there are tons of eateries nearby.

bsagator

Last time I was in Hong Kong I stayed at the CY on HK Island. I also didn't like the location much, as access to the metro took quite some time. I did like that there were restaurants near by for a late night snack, along with countless mini-marts. I think on my next trip I'm going to try a Starwood property.

Here is an amateur video of my room at Sha Tin.

http://youtu.be/E3NJm8i5cwE

BostonFlyer1624

The JW in Hong Kong is a pretty good location to metro, central, etc.