I have a few business trips to Kuwait coming up, but a search of the forum comes up with a grand total of zero informative results. So -- has anybody between to the Courtyard Kuwait City or the JW Marriott Hotel Kuwait City? Both seem to get very good reviews on TripAdvisor.
Programs: Delta PM & Million Miler, CO Plat Elite, US GP, Hilton Diamond, Starwood Plat, Marriott Gold
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I too am very interested to learn about these two properties. The Courtyard seems quite modern and is tempting thanks to free Internet, etc. But, Id also like to know about the upgrades offered to Gold members at the JW? Do they receive lounge access? Do either have airport shuttles?
I have stayed at both of the Marriotts in Kuwait, and was actually staying in the Courtyard for the offical grand opening before switching to the JW during that stay.
It has been about a year since I last stayed at one of them, but here is what I remember.
Both of them used to have a free shuttle service from the airport, once you leave customs the desk is located on the right side in the airport. They use the same desk and the driver will take you to which ever hotel you need to go. Looking at the web site I see it says neither of them do offer the shuttle service any longer, but I seem to recall one of my co-workers mentioning they still had it about two months ago.
As for the JW, I have always been upgraded to the executive floor as a platinum, and from what I remember I was also upgraded as a Gold when I stayed there. The executive floor offers breakfast in the morning and a light meal at night, with drinks being available all day. You could also go down to the main restaurant and have the breakfast buffet there and they would just ask for your room number and not charge you. The executive level rooms were very nice, but no different than the normal rooms. There is a fitness center/pool located on the top floor. When I was last there, they charged for the high speed internet so we used the free dial-up that they offered. The building is attached to a mall with a couple places to eat in the mall and hotel, and there is another shopping place across the street from the hotel.
As for the Courtyard, the last time I was there I was upgraded to a junior suite, once again I was platinum, so I don't know if that makes a difference or not. The first time I was there during the opening, I was in a normal room which was more than adequate. They have a buffet breakfast that is offered in the lounge area in the center of the atrium. It is a very modern hotel and when it was built it was supposedly the tallest building in Kuwait at that time. It is also connected to a smaller shopping plaza with restaurants and whatnot in it. There are also places to eat in the hotel.
Overall, we usually choose to stay at the JW, mainly because the people in the executive lounge remember us from stay to stay and because the lounge is open 24/7.
Programs: AA Lifetime PLT, NW/DL PLT, CO PLT, MC PLT Premier, HH Diamond, ZE 5*
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Thanks for the info, I'm booked at the Courtyard in August in a regular king room, so as a Plat Premier, I should most likely look forward to an upgrade. That'll be nice.
Now if I could just get NW/KL to give me a big seat in the front, I'd be all set.
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Have stayed at the Courtyard 3-4 times in the last 18 months and have always been very impressed with it. Very modern hotel. The breakfast buffet is excellent, Internet access very fast and I've always been upgraded to a junior suite. When I was last there earlier this year the airport shuttle was still operating.
Programs: Delta PM & Million Miler, CO Plat Elite, US GP, Hilton Diamond, Starwood Plat, Marriott Gold
Posts: 5,137
Are the breakfast and Internet free at the Courtyard (at least for Golds?) or is it worth it to stay at the JW to enjoy the lounge instead.
UPDATE: According to Marriott.com, the Courtyard no longer has free shuttle service to the airport. or is this a mistake?
It also says that the JW Marriott offers complimentary breakfast to everyone, is that true? If so, that would be the only JW I have ever seen to do that?!
I just asked one of the people I work with, and the last time they were in Kuwait, which was a month ago, the JW had started charging for the shuttle from the airport to the hotel. If I had to guess, I would imagine the Courtyard probably has followed suit.
When I was there last, more than a year ago, the breakfast at the JW was included for everyone in the restaurant on the first floor. They had a separate breakfast on the executive floor as well which Golds/Platinums could go to, although we found the buffet in the restaurant on the first floor had more choices so that is where we normally went.
The breakfast at the Courtyard was also included, for at least Golds and above. I think it might have also been included for everyone as well there.
Programs: Delta PM & Million Miler, CO Plat Elite, US GP, Hilton Diamond, Starwood Plat, Marriott Gold
Posts: 5,137
Thanks! I wonder if it will be cheaper to take a taxi to the hotel, Im sure it will be. Also, what is the benefit of the club level if breakfast is included for everyone? No drinks in the evening, just a few snacks. It also appears according to the web site that Internet is free for everyone. Im shocked at what a nice JW this is...and all of this now that I have status!
Programs: Delta PM & Million Miler, CO Plat Elite, US GP, Hilton Diamond, Starwood Plat, Marriott Gold
Posts: 5,137
Im here now, and my BMW transfer from the airport was complimentary...could it be for guests on the Exec level? I asked and the driver said Courtyard was still free too, but I wasnt too sure he knew what he was talking about. Nice perk!
Programs: UA 1K, BD*G, AA EXP, EK GOLD, Hyatt/HH DIA, IC RA, PC/Marriott/SPG Platinum, National EE
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Just spent a one night at the JW using the ecert that came with the Visa. Because of the Summer the hotel was really quiet - the occupancy rate was in the 30's.
They didn't have an executive suite available when I checked in but was given one later.
The lounge had free non alco drinks available all the time. I didn't check the morning offering but the afternoon tea and the evening fair was ok.
Overall I would say that the hotel is nice but the rooms/suites would need some refurbishment.
My company uses both the JW and the Courtyard in Kuwait.
Personally, I prefer the Courtyard as it's a nicer atmosphere. The staff are really friendly and the row of restaurants out the back of the hotel has some really good value places to eat.
The breakfast is really good in the Courtyard and the reatsurant that it's served in is nice and airy as it's in the atrium.
Just spent 10 days at the Courtyard, and yes, it's far and away the best Courtyard I've ever stayed in -- it's a real mystery why it's not branded as a Marriott or Renaissance or something, because the only thing that's Courtyard-y about the place is the plastic spoon for your in-room coffee and tea kit. Everything else is top notch and the breakfast spread in particular was just spectacular, as good if not better than what I've had in any JW: I got into the decadent habit of adding pine nuts, pistachioes and mango into my Corn Flakes. Not to mention the two chefs whipping up eggs as you like them and little Arabic pastry-wraps.
I'm still a little confused whether the Courtyard has an exec lounge or not: reports I'd read earlier said yes, but the check-in lady didn't appear to know what I was talking about... however, since it's a Courtyard I'm not technically entitled to it anyway; my rate already included breakfast; and she bumped me up a "Corner Suite", so I wasn't going to complain. The "suite", incidentally, was rather bizarre: it consisted of two normal rooms put together, complete with identical duplicate bathrooms, only one room had the bed ripped out and replaced with a sofa set. Nice enough, but what's a solo traveler supposed to do with two bathtubs?
About the only problem I encountered during my stay was that, on the 3rd day, the (complimentary) free wired Internet in my room stopped working, with no response at all from the network. It was a really bizarre problem too, as another laptop brought down by the tech guys worked fine, and my laptop worked fine everywhere else, including the hotel wifi (also free). I suspect their firewall/proxy just banned my laptop's HMAC for exceeding my bandwidth after 10 hours of downloading a 1 gig Oracle installer... but they comped me access to the Business Centre, where I got my downloads done, so service resolution worked fine.
I didn't find any particularly "good value" restaurants nearby though, the hotel's own are kinda expensive by Kuwait standards and those in the luxury mall next door aren't much better (US$36/9 KD for a Kobe beef burger, anyone?). There was a strip of shisha-and-shwarma joints a few corners away, but the 49 C heat wasn't too conducive to exploration and there were plenty of options near the office on Salim al-Mubarak anyway.
And regarding the airport shuttle, I'd booked it in advance for 5 KD, but the charge never made its way to my bill -- whether on purpose or by omission, I know not.
All in all, an excellent hotel and I'll definitely be back on any future trips to KWI.
Another thumbs up for the Courtyard
Not to mention the two chefs whipping up eggs as you like them and little Arabic pastry-wraps.
