nacho

I'm at the new hotel now on BRG, and here's a quick report about the hotel:

It's a new hotel opened about 1 month ago. I got a room with club access and it comes with following privileges:

Free internet and local calls and fax;
2 pieces of pressing during the stay;
Comp 2 hours usage of meeting room;
free access to fitness centre;
Daily newspaper;
Daily turn down service;
Late check-out until 2pm.

Club lounge is very different than I use to: it shares with the hotel's Italian Restaurant. Afternoon tea is 1 tea set per person, served in the restaurant. Evening cocktail is buffet style with Italian antipasti, including free drinks until 7:30pm. After that non-alcoholic drinks are provided for free.

I'm going to have buffet breakfast at the hotel restaurant on 1/F, which ought to be better than regular lounge breakfast.

I asked the staffs about upgrade policy for Plats. As Plat the only thing you get is a better room, i.e. better view, high floor etc. You won't get lounge access unless you book a room with club access.

I got 3 fruits as Plat welcome gifts.

I'm staying at a corner room and I think the size of it is around 30 sq. m.

Swimming pool won't be ready until April 1 2013.

FlyerTalker688786

My humble impression about this would be: does it worth the money for Club? Maybe the HIX would be better value.

nacho

yep. 15k for HIX, 25k CP. I'll try out the HIX in 2 days time.

I told the staffs about that and they said it's HK CPs decision to not to include lounge access for Plats. I told them that it's not a wise idea not to treat Elites nice because for 25k you can get Marriott Sky City which gives you extensive lounge access, free internet - Practically the same thing as CP except you eat breakfast in the lounge and that you don't have to book a room with lounge access.

Another silly thing about the lounge is that you have to sign a bill even though they are not going to bill you.

The staffs are happy because they told me that it's a nice working environment.

I'll be there soon but this time my ressie doesn't include lounge access. They 'want' to put me on the executive and minus some privileges. TBH as long as they give me free internet I'll be fine (btw internet is free for all Marriott Rewards members for hotels in Asia Pacific). I'll update if I'm really going to stay there.

I saw someone got lounge access at HI Golden Mile with a standard room reservation at TA.

mcgahat

They may have but in my conversation with the hotel you had to book a higher category room to get lounge access at the HI Golden Mile. I cant remember the category exactly but think it was a premier room or deluxe but basically one level above the lowest raten and when booking that rate I have always gotten upgraded to a club room.

nacho

I checked out of CP today and they have announced that Plats get free internet and free breakfast (only for the member), both for paid stays and award stays.

A move in the right direction^

MBS MillionMiler

I echo everything that nacho says...A nice and accurate review, and add my 2 cents worth...

Executive Lounge: Yes, it's shared with the top-floor restaurant. It is indeed a unique setup, like I've never experienced before...Can't say I was a big fan of the setup. There is a "Club Lounge" that only Club Floor guests may enjoy, but it's like a waiting room for the restaurant. Probably 12 feet wide by about 30 feet long (~3m X 10m). This is compensated by the ability to sit outside on the terrace--a slight view of the unpopulated side of HK Harbor (read: no cool skyline to see), some mountains and a bunch of residential buildings.

The food in the executive lounge, to this Italiaphile, was some of the best I've had in an executive lounge. While nothing is hot, it's a full-on Italian Antipasti spread--probably 6-8 kinds of meats (prosciutto, parma ham, salami, a few other sausages), smoked salmon, a cold seafood concoction of shrimp/calamari/clams, a huge wheel of dry parmesan, many other cheeses, and all the fixings for a near-proper caprese salad. Cold pasta salads (rotates on different days), breads. I'm pretty confident it's all imported stuff (as in from Italy--maybe Australia or US)--no Chinese attempts at these Italian classics.

As nacho mentioned, you do have to 'sign' for it, while it is a zero balance bill, somewhat annoying, as I'm ready to go, and have to wait a few minutes to have them prepare the bill or find the person who has it. Later in my stay, I learned to ask for it 5-10 minutes before I left. Additionally, the service was so great, unlike other executive lounges, I always added a tip. That tip never showed up on the bill when I checked out.

Breakfast: The breakfast is extensive, and EXPENSIVE. While I wasn't paying for it because of the lounge access, a HK$250 (US$35) sticks out in my mind as the price. Many western and Chinese options.

Staff: In the lounge, the staff was amazing. They all knew me by name after my second night, knew my drink and were very friendly. I stayed there for 3 nights, went to Guangzhou for a week, then back there for my final 2 nights in HK. When I came back the second time, it was actually easier than checking into a US hotel. I went straight up to the 47th floor, didn't announce myself or anything, was greeted with "Welcome back Mr. MBS, here's your key, you're in room XXXX, we have your passport and CC# on file, have a good night!"

Rooms: Similar layout/style to the CP HK Causeway Bay, although not quite as big. Bathrooms were cool, they had 2 glass doors at the back, one led to a toilet, the other to a shower. I have experienced both a double (2 double beds) and a king. The double room I had was bigger than the king room and laid out differently...I preferred the double, actually. While I was sharing a room the first time (with the double), I felt the king room to be a bit tight, even though I was by myself that time.

Location: Not conducive to business. 30 mins to Central/WanChai by MTR, probably longer to TST (never went, but looked like 3 train changes, and completely out of the way to get there). Taxi to Central was HK$160 with tolls. Taxi to Hung Hom Station was HK$120 (20-25 mins). Taxi to Airport Express (Kowloon) was HK$140 (1/2 hour).

The hotel was built directly above the Tseung Kwan O MTR station. It was VERY convenient and easy to get to. It's just that once you're on the train, it's a haul getting anywhere. It's also connected to a mall--nothing really worth buying there IMHO, but several restaurants. I had a good meal at the Thai/Vietnamese place, despite nacho telling me in another thread that it received bad reviews. The Popcorn Mall is actually connected to another mall (name escapes me) that seemed a little older, but offered further dining options, shops and C-stores.

The breakfast and internet for Plats does change the game a bit...Not sure if getting a club room is worth it for the evening Italian spread, as delicious as it was (it was more than enough for dinner for me).

In summary, a very nice, new property. I booked it because a Club Floor room was cheaper than even the HI Express Causeway Bay (by a little bit), and significantly less than any other full-service, 4- to 5-star hotels in HK for my dates. Was it worth the hassle of a commute every day? Maybe...I don't know. For me to go back again, it's got to be MUCH less than other HK hotels. I'm capped at HK$1800/night for a room--easy during non-trade fair periods, but have to play around a bit during fair season to get a good room. I greatly prefer this place to the HIX Causeway Bay, but hoping they keep their rates reasonable given the less-than-ideal location.

nacho

Wow, it's a great review!

For me the lounge food is great. I'm from HK and I'm living in Europe so for me the lounge spread is great but the food outside is more desirable

I tried the breakfast too and I'm not so impressed by it - there could be more dim sum and fruit. Pastry is not that nice either - the croissants are much worse than those I can get in a supermarket in Sweden. I have tried better breakfast in many hotels.

If you like local food, the best is to go away from Popcorn Mall to Park Central mall - there are more restaurants that are less expensive - there is a McDonald's, pizza hut and a supermarket called Wellcome.

Tseung Kwan O is a residential area, and I do agree that the hotel is really far away from actions. It's close to where my family lives so for me it's a plus since the little nachos will be staying with their grandparents.

From there you can take E22A to the airport. The stop is 10 minutes walk from the hotel.

mcgahat

About how long for the E22A from the airport to the stop near the hotel?

nacho

It's Hong Kong, so it's highly dependent on traffic

I took one at 7:30pm or so and I was done check-in at the airport before 9pm (didn't look at the clock before). The bus leaves every 30 mins. The main thing is that if you are not reimbursed by your company, $24 is a bargain for a trip from the hotel to the airport.

irenekok0423

remember to reserve a seat for evening cocktail, otherwise you will not be served. It is the first time I met such situation in the hotel lounge.

nacho

Once I was told that I had to be seated at the 'lounge' area because the restaurant was full of paying guests. I'm ok with it because I don't really want to trouble the staffs too much.

The evening cocktail is a buffet, so you just go there and take your food.

I stayed there on Oct 26 and Nov 4 (with lounge access).

MBS MillionMiler

I didn't have an issue with lounge seating in any of my 6 nights. I was always told I could sit in the lounge or outside, even with food from the buffet. Then again, I'm usually in bed by 8PM, so I was there by 6PM every night for the evening reception.

Matter of fact, only once did I 'share' the lounge with another person, and that was just a matter of minutes, otherwise it was empty every time I was up there.

I actually never considered sitting in the restaurant area...Didn't know if it was an option or not, and didn't really matter to me.

mcgahat

Which do you folks thing would be cheaper, airport express then taxi to the hotel from HKG or just taxi from HKG? I am thinking the taxi may be quicker but slightly more expensive? I may stick with the bus but usually want to just get to the hotel after a long flight.

brianngan

Airport Express plus taxi costs you $90 + $120
Taxi from HKG costs you $270
Both choices take 50-60 minutes

nacho

It shouldn't take that long - the E22A bus ride was definitely less than 90 mins from the stop close to the hotel to the airport.