Hong Kong and Bangkok – BA A380 First and CW, Cathay First and Premium Econ, W Hotels

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Apr 4, 2016, 5:22 am

#91

KARFA

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Quote:

Originally Posted by stu1985

Terribly sorry KARFA for having an opinion. "Attitude" duly reflected upon...

We all have opinions. Sometimes I choose not to express my opinions on FT though.

Bear in mind that you comments came across as a slap in the face to the OP who has clearly taken a lot of effort in putting the TR together - hence prompting his reply. Your first two posts only contained criticism. Whilst you clearly have a opinion, perhaps you would have been better off keeping it to yourself in this case.

Any, as we have both expressed our own opinions now so perhaps we should leave it at that and enjoy the TR instead.

Apr 9, 2016, 2:36 am

#92

madfish

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Really enjoying reading this and will certainly be checking out your other reports.

Matt, is there any easy way of finding your other TRs? i suppose I could look at other threads started by you, but wondered if there was a list. 28 reports would be a nice way of spending some time reading!

Apr 9, 2016, 4:43 am

#93

matthandy

Original Poster

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Quote:

Originally Posted by stu1985

You should finish it because you want to, not because the forum wants you to. Call me old fashioned but I think that if anyone is going to write a TR then they should finish it within a reasonable timeframe. Others may think differently though!

I understand your frustration but I will complete the TR in my own time. This is not my job. No-one should feel pressured to complete a TR within any kind of time frame. Writing TRs is a gift, not a service.

Quote:

Originally Posted by madfish

Really enjoying reading this and will certainly be checking out your other reports.

Apr 9, 2016, 11:29 am

#94

stu1985

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I agree Matt! Thanks for the gift!

Apr 10, 2016, 10:12 am

#95

matthandy

Original Poster

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The W Hong Kong

Checking into the W Hong Kong was a different experience to that of the W Bangkok. These are two very different hotels. The W Bangkok is like a night club whereas the W Hong Kong is more like a cool bar. It feels more upmarket, classier.

I'd used some Suite Night Awards to guarantee a suite and I ended up with a Fantastic Suite which is the first of the suite categories. In Bangkok I had done the same but got upgraded further to a Marvellous Suite. My suite was on the 19th floor and had great views of Kowloon but not of the harbour itself.

The suite was much smaller than the one in Bangkok but it was well appointed and very comfortable. There was a small lounge area with a large TV and work desk, a large bathroom and the bedroom had large windows which made it very bright and airy. I really liked the styling of the room, it was much more to my taste compared to Bangkok.

W Hong Kong - corridor

Entrance to my room

Walking into the room

The lounge area

The bedroom

The bedroom – looking towards the bathroom

The bath and shower

The vanity

The view from my room – at night

Room service

After getting myself settled in I didn’t really feel like doing much so I opted to borrow a DVD and order room service. For some reason, I picked 'Sleepless in Seattle' which I hadn't seen before. For room service I went for the a toasted sandwich with some chips and a chocolate fondant for dessert. Both were great.

In the morning I went down for breakfast which was free, given my Platinum status. Are W hotels trying to out do each other? There was so much choice it was ridiculous.

There were rows and rows of fresh juices, yoghurts, an endless selection of hot dishes from around the world, enough pastries to satisfy the most discerning customer, it went on. I'm a fairly traditional breakfast person but I do like to have a starter, main and dessert. So it was a quick bowl of cereal with some juice, a hot breakfast and then some pastries and yoghurt. Thanks Platinum card!

After breakfast I decided to go and have a look at the swimming pool on the roof. I had no intention of swimming, since it was only about 20 degrees outside but I thought that it would be worth a look. Wow, wow, wow. It was amazing, and, there was only one other guest using it. The pool was heated so I quickly rushed down to my room to get my swimming stuff to take an unexpected dip.

Woobar

Breakfast setting

The view outside, from my table

Juice selection

Hot selection

Yoghurts

Pastries

'Dessert'

I spent a good hour or so swimming in the pool and relaxing in the Jacuzzi. Compared to the Ritz-Carlton next door, this experience was much better. Whilst the pool there is arguably more luxurious, it's not outdoors.

After my swim I went down a floor to check out the spa area. Hotel guests are allowed to use all of the facilities here, including the sauna, steam room, Jacuzzi etc. The facilities are separated into male and female. It was very quiet when I visited, in fact I was the only person there, so I was able to snap a few pictures.

After a very relaxing morning I took the train to central and spent a couple of hours wandering around. I love the quirky shops and backstreets. The contrast in Hong Kong is one of the reasons that I love the place.

One of the highlights for me in Central is Man Mo temple. It's small, dark and full of incense! I love the light coming through the ceiling and mixing with the smoke of the incense sticks. I must have spent a good 20 minutes or so just photographing the incense coils.

I then made my way to the mid-levels escalator and walked back down amoung the walkways to take the Star Ferry back to TST.

In the evening I met up with a friend and we had a Cantonese meal in the hotel's restaurant (discount for SPG members). My God, they did the best Char Siu (BBQ Pork) that I've ever had! We had a second plate.

Rooftop Pool

Rooftop Pool - panorama

Spa facilities

Wandering around Central

Local streets

Butchers

Old and new

Incense coils in Mo Man Temple

Lanterns

Steep climb

Mid-levels

Walking back to Central pier

Star Ferry

TST pier

The sun sets

The most amazing Char Siu ever

The following morning was my last day in Hong Kong and of this trip. I'd had an amazing time but it was time to go home, although I had a full day of activities ahead. I got up, had breakfast, checked out of the hotel and then made my way to the in-town check in at Kowloon station to get rid of my luggage. I then walked back to the hotel and took the courtesy mini-bus to TST ferry pier to await my friend. We'd booked the extremely cheap Star Ferry harbour tour. This is basically an ex-ferry (which is been comfortably refurbished) which does a circuit of the harbour picking up passengers as it goes.

It was a great way to see the other parts of the harbour that you don't get to see on the standard Star Ferry services. The tour lasted approximately an hour and wasn't ever really busy which was excellent. I can thoroughly recommend it if you are looking for a no frills quick trip around the harbour.

Kowloon check in

Star ferry

A touch of maintenance

On board the tour boat

Great views

The Ritz Carlton and the W

The rooftop swimming pool at the W

Boat on the harbour

After the tour we returned to TST and walked to Peninsula to have afternoon tea. This is something that I have wanted to do since my first visit to Hong Kong back in 2007. We had to wait quite a while as there was a reasonable queue, however, it was managed well.

We were sat at a table overlooking the foyer area and had the pleasure of listening to live classical music being played by the band on the mezzanine above us. The service was good, despite being busy it never felt like we were being rushed. The waiter even offered to take our photo, which we took him up on.

As expected, the quality of the food and the tea was very good. We spent about an hour just enjoying the surroundings and taking our time. Afterwards we made our way out to the promenade to take some photos of the harbour at sunset.

After an hour or so, with my friend getting rather bored, it was time for me to leave for the airport. I said my goodbyes and then walked to Kowloon station to get on the Airport Express train to the airport. It's always with sadness that I leave Hong Kong, however, I always know that I'll be back. I can't keep away.

The Peninsula

Waiting for afternoon tea

Place setting and green tea

Afternoon tea

Fleet of Rolls Royce cars

TST at sunset

Harbour view – goodbye Hong Kong

Up Next

Last part – a pretty average flight back to London on the BA A380 in Club World

Apr 10, 2016, 12:31 pm

#96

Jermyn

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Another instalment, awesome! Love your photos. There's only so much you can do with hotel shots but the pics of the Hong Kong streets are fantastic.

I feel like HGP and HHonors are more heavily represented around here. So, it's always cool to see a TR on a W hotel.

Apr 17, 2016, 2:20 pm

#97

madfish

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Just wanted to thank you for sharing the links to your previous TR. I have spent an enjoyable week reading through them all. Just glad you haven't written one about your trip last Easter when you meet a strange northerner who was at the end of TP run in GF!

Be great to catch up at the EDI do in a couple of weeks.

Apr 18, 2016, 7:58 pm

#98

Blackcloud

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Once again thanks for your wonderful photos. Not only are they well composed but the selection of subject matter that you share with us is IMO emotive and evokes memories for me and even a longing to visit HK again.

Apr 26, 2016, 9:22 am

#99

BA5E

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Finally got around to reading the remaining part of your TR, as usual so well written, and the photos amazing, Love HKG, and would be great to go back, and certainly go on the Star Ferry Harbour tour, the boat looked very nice, and as you said it was not packed which am sure made all the difference. I will look forward to reading the final part when you are ready to put as one would say pen to paper^

Jan 14, 2017, 7:53 am

#100

Matthew_22

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Am I the only one who has lost the images to all of matthandy's glorious trip reports?

Jan 17, 2017, 12:18 pm

#101

ABZGirl

Join Date: Jul 2011

Posts: 246

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matthew_22

Am I the only one who has lost the images to all of matthandy's glorious trip reports?

No - I can't see them either

. Can anyone help, please?

Jan 18, 2017, 10:38 am

#102

helvetic

Join Date: Jan 2011

Location: HKG • Ex SFO, NYC

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Quote:

Originally Posted by matthandy

Ceremony

I hope you took this picture from outside the temple… in Buddhist culture it's quite disrespectful to take pictures inside a temple.

Apr 8, 2017, 3:13 pm

#103

madfish

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Matthew_22

Am I the only one who has lost the images to all of matthandy's glorious trip reports?

Quote:

Originally Posted by ABZGirl

No - I can't see them either

. Can anyone help, please?

I cannot see them either. Hopefully he will be able to restore these at some point. Although it does look like he hasn't been around (at least not in terms of posting) for a while. I hope he's ok.

Apr 25, 2017, 2:25 pm

#104

matthandy

Original Poster

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Quote:

Originally Posted by madfish

I cannot see them either. Hopefully he will be able to restore these at some point. Although it does look like he hasn't been around (at least not in terms of posting) for a while. I hope he's ok.

Thanks for the concern madfish.

I'm fine, just not posting, still lurking though.

In terms of pictures, my hosting changed and they no longer allow hot linking. So in order to view the photos you first need to click on a direct link:

http://matt.enzy.org/gallery/galleri...%20BKK/117.jpg

When you click on that you should find that all of the photos start working again.