AFONTANEZ

I am debating whether to stay at the HK JW Marriott or to stay at the Shenzhen JW Marriott for less than half the points. My question is, will it be a hassle to get to the tourist spots? I read somewhere that you need a special VISA to go to Shenzhen? Will transportation cost outweigh the points savings?

PTravel

Stay in Hong Kong if you want to see Hong Kong. Crossing between Shenzhen, which is the PRC, and Hong Kong, which is a Special Administrative Region, is just like crossing between countries -- you'll have to go through immigration and customs, and will need a multiple-entry visa (I don't recall, at this point, whether there is still a Shenzhen-only visa). You'll have to take a train, which is about 40 minutes to an hour and can be absolutely packed at rush hours (Shenzhen is a bedroom community for Hong Kong). There's little in Shenzhen for the tourist (though I like it, but only because Mrs. PTravel and I have a lot of friends there so we eat out a lot with them).

The JW Marriott on Hong Kong Island is one of my favorite hotels in the world. Though the rooms are on the small side, it's a beautiful property, well-maintained and well-staffed, and well located for visiting both Hong Kong and Kowloon. My 2 cents: stay there.

AFONTANEZ

Definitely staying in Hong Kong. Is there a big difference between the Courtyard location and the location of the JW? Hotel amenities do not concern me for this trip as I will be doing mostly stuff outside the hotel anyway. But I like being in the center of the action and not having to rely on cabs too much. The JW is twice the price compared to the JW. Thoughts? Worth it?

Does the JW recognize Plat Status and give you lounge access and free breakfast at this location?

Ocn Vw 1K

Please follow as the thread moves to the Destinations->Hong Kong forum. Ocn Vw 1K, Moderator, TravelBuzz.

ChrisLi

Wirelessly posted (iPhone 4: Mozilla/5.0 (iPad; CPU OS 5_1_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9B206 Safari/7534.48.3)

I will say staying at Courtyard Hong Kong is much more recommended. Travel from Shenzhen typically takes an hour if not more to urban Hong Kong, while Courtyard is 15 min away on taxi.

nacho

Yes, you can see the thread under Marriott Rewards about Marriott hotels in Hong Kong. You get all the benefits.

CY in Hong Kong also has a lounge but the location is a bit far from the main tourist sites. Rooms at CY are very small and the lounge is nothing special. As Plat you get breakfast either in the lounge or the restaurant. If you don't mind taking tram, you can catch one right outside CY. Airport bus stops right outside CY too which makes it very convenient.

RichardInSF

The China visa for American citizens is multiple entry but costs US$150-200 at least.

The round trip fare from the border to HK is about HK$86 round trip and will, as has been pointed out, easily take an hour each way including the border crossing.

Doesn't sound like Shenzhen is a very good idea if you really want to visit HK!

AFONTANEZ

Thank you all... Now I am debating between CY and JW... wondering if twice the price is worth it for the JW.

rkkwan

You have to decide for yourself. The JW is attached to a high-end mall with lots of highend eatery nearby, and is connected to the MTR. No MTR service at the Courtyard, but plenty of bus routes to all places (including airport), and the HK Tramway. The area is older residential, with warehouses interspersed. The dried seafood market is nearby. For some visitors who are not into looking at or buying luxury goods, they find the area of the Courtyard much more interesting.

AFONTANEZ

If I want to get to places quickly without using cabs (ie... eat, drink, people watch, etc) then the JW right?

I get in at midnight or so. Which hotel will I be able to get to easiest and cheapest at that time?

rkkwan

What kind of food you want? US$100 dinner or US$3 wonton noodles? JW and Courtyard respectively. What kind of people you want to watch? Leggy fasionable type or locals taking kids to school? JW and Courtyard respectively.

If you want cheap, last direct airport bus (A12, HK$45) to the door of Courtyard departs at 12:10a, and takes 35 minutes. Last direct airport bus (A11, HK$40) to Admiralty (across the wide roadway from JW) departs at 12:30a and takes about 40 minutes to the stop. Afterthat, you can take taxi (Courtyard about 5 minutes quicker and maybe HK$30 cheaper), or Airport Express train switching to taxi (both hotels cost and takes about the same amount of time).

geo1005

FWIW, the Renaissance hotel is centrally located and a Marriott property - have you checked to see if that may be a better location that is not as expensive (points or $$$) as the JW???

Swiss Tony

I looked that up but the random dates I tried came back as unavailable for points. Perhaps I just picked badly - certainly would be a good middle ground as the drinking/people watching in Wan Chai is far more interesting than at Pacific Place IMO...