MBS MillionMiler

Was this at breakfast or in the evening? Unless there was another room of food (beyond the desserts two rooms away from the food ‘closet’), I don’t think it was there, or I surely missed it in the evening...But will definitely keep in mind if it was for breakfast next time, my bad, as I assumed it all came from the same kitchen like most other ELs.

And noted on LHR, I know where I’m staying next time I’m near Heathrow!

anabolism

The sashimi salmon has been on the breakfast buffet in the executive lounge every time I've stayed (a lot over many years, way back long before the current lounge configuration) and has occasionally been present in the evening.

At the Hilton London Heathrow Terminal 4, it's usually on the breakfast buffet in the restaurant, and if it isn't out, just ask and a server will bring you some. I think it's in the executive lounge at breakfast as well, but I rarely stop in during breakfast so can't be certain. The lounge used to put some out in the evenings most days, but last year or so they've only had little crackery/bready things with a dollop of smoked salmon on them.

fwdlink

Well I will do my best to give my take trying not to repeat what MBS MillionMiler hasn't already elegantly said on several factors, but I did mention I'd drop a report on our stay, so here's our take so far as we're still here.

The Conrad was one of my HK favourites, only outflanked by the Intercontinental on Kowloon but this was when I was coming very regularly on business, notably becuase of InTC's location and fantastic picturesque views from the bar toward KH island, but at the time was also competing well for me on service and room etc.

So I'm back after quite a break, and for the first time with the family for their first visit to HK to show them the city I have really found amazing and one of my world favourites.

Check-In (Gold) / Returning Guest
As I reported before flying, I was not offered any upgrade on the App or web after checking routinely until we flew early Saturday evening, all were floor 47 and below, standard rooms, some with the label "city view" and others "mountain view" or no label at all, none looking like they conveyed Exec Lounge access. I went ahead and grabbed a room that we could live with in the event of no upgrade to be safe. We arrived at the hotel around 2:30PM and the lobby was bussling so I requested to check-in at the Executive Lounge to the Bellman, he grabbed someone from behind the desk whom simply confirmed my name and off we went bypassing the queues at the two front desks. We were very warmly greeted at the lounge, they took the family off to get them settled whilst i did the obligatory document and paperwork dance. Grace looked after me and was superb in every detail and manner, I asked her what room had been asigned and that I hadn't seen any upgrade offered when checking in, she confirmed it was still the old room (saw it on the ppwk too) and nothing had been confered, but not to worry she'd have a look. She advised that as we were staying 5 nights that it limited some of the options (I enquired about a Harbour View) and offered an King Executive Peak View and wanted to make sure we'd be ok with the location and the fact it had an adjoining room door. She also offered to allow us to wait but the room was ready to go and we wouldn't have to wait, so we went for it and glad we did. It does seem plausible on availability as there is an Aviation financing convention here iin the hotel along with another event and I'd expect that has an impact and conferring to the number of Diamonds alll of which is acceptable in my view. The only criticism is no action by the hotel until I asked, whereas recent other Gold member stays posted here seemed to have been processed without query.

Room
The room we were assigned was on the 57th Floor and is perfect, we absolutely love the view, it has a great view of the mountains directly behind the hotel and looks both directions equally well to give a nice perspective of the city meeting the lush peak landscape. We were in need of a roll-away (no charge) which arrived within 5 minutes of walking into the room and our luggage arrived just as we did at the door, all like a well oiled machine. The room is in very good condition, very tastefully decorated, roomy (once we moved the roll-away down one side of the bed) and we too love the abundance and quality of the toiletries in the nicely appointed marble bathroom suite. There's pently of storage too, we've managed to nicely tuck away the bags and belongings in all the nooks. The abundance of water bottles being dropped in the morning and evening is perfect and welcome and the Nespresso machine a nice touch. Oh and the evening round of Fruit Plates is great too along with the ice bucket being filled up and topping up toiletries, towels turning down the bed and readying the slippers, all a great touch. They also brought childrens slippers and a robe with hoodl in the shape of a bunny rabbit with blue ears and eyes for our son, total attention to detail which arrived whilst we were out for the afternoon, big hit with him, not to mention the customary Conrad Bear on the bed which he claimed immediately.

Executive Lounge
We've been using the lounge daily, and after seeing MBS MillionMiler 's note about the downstairs breakfast, I'm not sure we'll tread down there afterall as our experience in the lounge has been quite good, the food is fine for our needs and yes I can confirm anabolism the smoked salmon is still here, MBS MillionMiler you need to do breakfast in the lounge next time perhaps, the coffee comes via table service by the cup and is piping hot. The selection is not too large, but it is rotating other than some of the staples like eggs, bacon, salmon, fruit. Dim-Sum is rotating for example along with the miuffins. The staff is greeting us and seating us everytime we've come to the lounge, breakfast, afternoon tea, evening drinks etc. and they have been absolutely fantastic. The inframous Ken is nothing short of awesome, he has given us some tips, remembers what we like and has been incredible toward our son whom is now a superfan. He surprised him with some special extra goodies tonight and I have to say what an incrediblly thoughtful gentleman and an absolute gem. Unfortunately we won't have him the rest of our trip because as has been reported by others, he has an ill relative and he's headed home for a couple of weeks, but alas the great staff in the lounge will continue to keep us smiling no doubt. Crowded at times, but no issue getting a table.

Pool
Cold, it's slightly heated, with a breaze you're freezing and hot tub just as MBS stated, this is a big dissapointment.

Overall
So glad to have returned to the Conrad, it's so much more than the Bear on the bed and the tell tale smell that you get when you walk in the door or from the adjoining mall, its the service, to the location etc. My son now having his own bear and I can get mine back ha ha, along with the special edition anniversary Bear he's now got as a bonus, only if I could be a kid again. There haven't been any issues with regard to the protests for us either, we've felt safe everywhere we went, we could see where the trouble has been and there has been some whilst we have been here, but nothing causing us alarm. We're already talking about coming back as a family again next year and we haven't left yet.

anabolism

That sounds adorable! Can you post a picture, please?

MBS MillionMiler

Great report and thanks for the shout-out!

I find as a Diamond, even high-end properties one needs to all but grovel and beg to get a better room...Wasn’t really the case here, but I was proactive in doing my research for the best view possible. If, at app checkin, I’d have just stuck with the room they preassigned me, I’d probably wouldn’t have been disappointed, but I wouldn’t have been blown away by the view and room that I proactively switched to on my own.

All said and done, I have no one to blame but myself for the lack of salmon! I should have checked it out...Because in the end, a big variety wasn’t important to me, I honestly just want salmon, 2 eggs over easy, crispy bacon and maybe more salmon. (On a low-carb thing right now that is working—not quite keto, just low carb and no sugar).

Now that I’m back in the states, I need to pick up some salmon from the grocery store! It’s one of those things I seem to only eat on the road.

anabolism

I've done extensive comparisons, and to my tastes, the absolute, by-far best, smoked salmon is from Santa Barbara Smokehouse, and my favorite of their lines is the gravelox, second favorite is the Balboral. These two are available by the pound (can get as much or as little as you like) from the fish counter at various Whole Foods Markets stores in California; it is likely carried elsewhere as well but I don't know. They offer samples if you want to try it. If you want a lot, both are also sold by the side, which I would guess to be five or ten pounds. Santa Barbara Smokehouse also has various pre-packaged varieties and I believe they sell to end users as well and ship packed in dry ice.

Chapel Hill Guy

We'll be in Hong Kong for four days (Monday-Thursday) staying at the Conrad. We've been to Hong Kong several times, always staying at the Conrad, and love the city and the hotel.

I was surprised to read at the end of this article from the LA Times, written by someone who was born there and on a visit to see family:

Is it safe to travel to Hong Kong?

"Avoid hotels in Wan Chai, Causeway Bay, Pacific Place and many parts of Kowloon. Central, Sheung Wan and Kennedy Town are better options."

I was surprised to see Pacific Place in this list as I just sort of assumed most of the protest action is in Kowloon. Has Pacific Place mall been occupied/shutdown by protests in the past? We're committed to going, but want to be aware of possible disruptions near the Conrad. Scanning this thread, I didn't see any posts about Pacific Place trouble.

TIA

The _Banking_Scot

Hi,

There might be more information on the Hong kong forum ( or contact the hotel directly) but a search on google found the occasional protests in the Admiralty area ( esp on Saturday) ( article quoted was 29 sep) - Pacific place had an item on their webpage saying it was closed at 615pm on 2nd Nov ( ie yesterday)

https://www.pacificplace.com.hk/en

( not sure if is to do with the protest or not) but given I used Pacific Place to get to/from the Admiralty MTR to the Conrad this might be slightly disruptive

That being said there have been lots of posts where no signs of protests/demonstratinos were encountered so the situatino can be fluid esp at weekends- the mtr stations may be closed due to congestion

Being there Monday to Thursday should minimise any potential disruption though

Regards

TBS

PS This thread might be good for recent information

Impacts of demonstrations on travel

shizuko

Pacific Place did close on Saturday due to protests.
it happened in different districts, both Hong Kong island and Kowloon side.

There may be ‘flash’ protests during lunch time in Central tomorrow (Monday), but generally the situation would be better than weekend.

HK MTR announces train services will end at 11.30pm on weekdays. Buses and Airport Expresses still operate.

Hope that would give you some idea, so don’t worry too much for your trip in hk.

helvetic

Pacific Place is often surrounded by the protests when they make it on the island. You're totally safe in the mall or hotel, but you would have trouble getting in or out with Admiralty MTR closed and with protests on the street. You could ostensibly walk to central from the back and not hit too much action, but most people would feel uncomfortable with that.

I would be comfortable staying in PP, but obviously I have a higher risk tolerance than most and am not scared to walk through a protest if need be.

Globalist

The short answer, yes it is safe.

The hotel has a number of contingency plans when it comes to disruption, including set drop of points and from there escorted walks to the lobby.

The protests are mainly concentrated on the weekend, so you would have less of a risk. Also the protests are not always around pacific place, they are scattered trough out the regions, sometimes Kowloon, sometimes central and sometimes even further out.

I was in HK during a weekend 2 weeks ago and enjoyed it like always.
In a post I did earlier in this thread I added a reddit link on where protests are planned, and also the hotel staff is very much aware. Don't be shy to ask and just avoid these areas. There is enough to do in HK in other areas.

Like on the Sunday there was a protests in TST so we stayed in central and Tung Chung. For all 4 days we did not encounter any protest. The airport express in the weekend did not stop in Kowloon or Tsing Yi, but on Monday when we left it was business as usual.

When you are inside the hotel, you would not know of any disruption. Enjoy the lounge and the view.

Globalist

smithrh

Going to be arriving on a Friday night for one night.

Two questions - how might I figure out if Admiralty is a no-go when I land (or has the possibility of being problematic)? I remember there being a Conrad desk in the arrivals hall, but it was unstaffed when I stopped by months ago.

Also, if I'm unable to make it to the hotel due to protests, I'd hope I'd not be charged for the night.

Plan is to stay at the airport if things are looking off, but would prefer going onto the island.

Any issues with taxis?

helvetic

Taxi from HK station would be an alternative, assuming protests didn't make it to Central from Admiralty.

Globalist

I guess the safest way is to book an airport transfer with Conrad, make it their problem to get you to the property.
It all depends on your appetite for risk and willingness to spend a bit more.

The day before you land, call the Conrad club lounge and ask them for the expected situation. They are quite on the ball.
If the desk as the airport is not staffed, the staff member is likely waiting at an arrivals door for a passenger holding a Conrad sign. Approach the person.

From the airport you can take a taxi I assume HKD 250 or so. If there are protests have the taxi driver talk to the hotel where the alternative drop off is.
If you want too take the airport express, just check on arrival if it is running, if not take a taxi. If it is running you could take a taxi from HK station.
You can ask if admiralty station is open, just take MRT and walk trough the mall to the hotel, if not, back to taxi and alternative drop off.

Most protests are in the latter half of the day and in the weekend.

Globalist

PaulH1

Conrad arranged our transfer last week and it went very smoothly
We was met in arrivals hall at airport and escorted to the limo rank a few minutes walk away
Mercedes S class was waiting and we experienced no delays at all
Arrived at hotel 40 minutes later

Similar situation on return
Limo was booked for 4.30pm and was waiting for us at checkout
no problems getting back to airport
When car pulled up to drop off point we was met by a Conrad agent stationed at airport who escorted us into terminal
NOTE - you cannot enter airport unless you have proof of travel ie e ticket or boarding pass and passport
Conrad agent escorted us through checkpoint and to Cathay Pacific check in desk
He took all our bags and it really was an enjoyable experience