Jan 10, 2018, 7:05 pm
Last edit by: littlevoices
This thread refers to the various Marriott brands within a specific geographic area. Marriott Bonvoy hotels in Hong Kong usually have posts asking which property is better, etc. Trip reports are usually better suited in the property specific threads
Broad summary of the Hong Kong Marriott brands is as follows:
Luxury
The Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong - Superb full harbour views, good quality restaurants on-site and the world's highest bar (Ozone, that has up to a 20% discount for elite members that actually makes it reasonable value). Negatives would be price and location is in Kowloon (i.e. not ideal for tourists).
St Regis Hong Kong - New (in 2020), great quality rooms, excellent service in the hotel and restaurants, views are more standard and location is a little less convenient, but on the Island in Wan Chai and near the Exhibition Centre. Hotel restaurant l'envol offers quality French service and food and has two Michellin stars. Near the newly opened (2022) Exhibition MTR station with walking under cover (one stop from Admiralty or Hung Hom), or walk from Wan Chai (approx 10 minutes).
Mid-range
JW Marriott Hotel Hong Kong - Ideally placed for tourism and likely business, built in an MTR complex with a luxury mall underneath. Small rooms with a good view of either the harbour or a hillside, but compensated with an excellent lounge and breakfast. Somewhere to spend time outside of the room. Not hugely changed since 1980 but a classic hotel with excellent on-site restaurants and a newly renovated/larger lounge than the version prior to COVID.
W Hong Kong - Quirky, next to the Ritz Carlton and with an outdoor pool. On-site restaurants are more limited but in a good location. A nice alternative to the Ritz if you want to explore Kowloon, or are under 30. Good weekend champagne brunch.
Renaissance Hong Kong Harbour View Hotel - More of a convention centre hotel, but with nice uninterrupted harbour views and reasonable room sizes. A little far from public transport but with walkways to get you to Wan Chai or Exhibition Centre MTR stations fairly rapidly (mostly under air-con).
Sheraton Hong Kong Hotel & Towers - Huge hotel that historically had a separate "Towers" side (now being removed) and one of the worst lounges in the Marriott network (now improved) with poor elite recognition, but relatively large rooms and close to public transport, museums, shopping in Kowloon and the star ferry. Has had an ongoing refurbishment from late 2022 that appears to be addressing historic quality problems, but this is underway as the wiki is updated. As of March 2023, the "lounge" is on the second floor opposite the reception desk. It's open noon to 6:30pm only, with cocktails/food from 4:30pm-6:30pm and guests are allowed in for only one hour (enforced). There is no lounge opportunity for evening dessert/coffee.
Le Meriden Cyberport - Large rooms, nice staff, in the middle of nowhere (by HK standards) and very consistent brand standard, including a lounge. You will need to get a taxi to any sight or location unless you are visiting the tech companies in the area. Refurbished and reopened in November 2022, and has a shuttle to the Airport Express MTR/Central once an hour.
Hong Kong SkyCity Marriott Hotel - Next to the airport, far away from the city (on the MTR or Airport express via a shuttle bus) but excellent evening buffet and ideal to explore Lantau or visit friends (aircrew) in Tung Chung. You can't walk to the airport due to ongoing construction work, even if it looks like it is only a 5 minute walk, it isn't.
Hong Kong Ocean Park Marriott Hotel - Huge pool and ideal for children. Rebranded to a resort to limit elite benefits. Worthwhile for a long weekend away or when visiting Ocean Park. Close to the (less convenient) Ocean Park MTR for tourists. Good restaurants on-site, not much in the local area.
Sheraton Hong Kong Tung Chung Hotel - New hotel that opened in December 2020, more designed for shopping or being close to the airport (via taxi or hourly shuttle bus), good facilities and pool. Far away from the city centre in a residential area.
Boutique
The Mira Hong Kong, a Member of Design Hotels™ - Not so close to public transport (approx 10 minute walk from Tsim Sha Tsui MTR), limited elite recognition but good for the bars of Tsim Sha Tsui (TST) and Kowloon. A better place to head to after a day of shopping in Kowloon or a heavy night out in TST.
Mira Moon Hong Kong, a Member of Design Hotels™ - Close to the shopping of Causeway bay, good rabbit based romantic hotel with sizeable bathrooms and real baths but limited restaurant facilities in-house. Refurbished in July 2022.
The Park Lane Hong Kong, Autograph Collection - New, and not yet opened. In 2025 it is expected that we will get a new Autograph, a conversion from the current Park Lane Hotel, Pullman. The hotel has a great bar and view. Let's see what happens
Value
Courtyard Hong Kong Sha Tin - generally agreed to be the best value Marriott in town with an excellent executive lounge, great value rooms and good elite service. However far from town (45+ minutes on public transport) and designed for those who want to visit Sai Kung or relatives in the new territories.
Hong Kong Island Hotel | Courtyard Hong Kong - Reasonable location and good value business hotel that isn't that far from central or the MTR, but is ultimately not very distinctive. Offers a good breakfast for elites and a small executive lounge more focused on drinks than food.
Ovolo Southside, Hong Kong, a Member of Design Hotels™ - Excellent value and close to Ocean Park. Near the MTR and with a well respected local Mexican restaurant. Offers a 3 hour social hour (free flow with food) if you book direct, a hidden gem. At points has been fully vegetarian as well.
Four Points by Sheraton Hong Kong, Tung Chung - A combined building with the Sheraton Tung Chung, so very similar with some shared facilities but more basic rooms.
Typical responses from those who live in Hong Kong:
I want the best hotel money can buy: Ritz Carlton (views) or St Regis (service)
I want to save money: Ovolo Southside (qirky) or Courtyard Sha Tin (far away)
For business: JW Marriott (Hong Kong Island) and W Hotel (Kowloon)
Airport Stopover: The Sky City Marriott is in the airport complex (accessed via shuttle bus) but realistically you could head to the Ritz Carlton or W Hotel on the airport express in under 30 minutes. Alternatively the Sheraton Tung Chung, and cheaper Four Points may offer more reasonable rates and are only 10 minutes taxi to the airport in an area where a lot of Cathay staff live, or use the airport shuttle bus (link).
Theme parks: Disney is not close and arguably the Sky City Marriott or Sheraton Tung Chung/Four Points Tung Chung are closest, but would need a taxi. Staying at the W or Ritz Carlton may be preferable and using the MTR to get to the park (one change). For Ocean Park you have the Ocean Park Marriott (Resort) or Ovolo Southside within walking distance or the JW Marriott is only one MTR(metro) stop away and more central for other sights.
Staycation: Ritz Carton (on-site restaurants), St Regis (service, two good if pricey restaurants), Courtyard Sha Tin (bargain) or the Ocean Park Marriott (pool for children)
Space: Le Meriden Cyberport, but only because it's in the middle of nowhere (though this is subjective, as it's about 20 minutes in a taxi to central)...
Undiscovered gem: Maybe the Ovolo Southside but ultimately this is Hong Kong so you can't really expect a bargain, it's an efficient capitalist market after all!....
**Staying in China**
Note (pre-COVID) you could save serious (USD100s+) by staying in Shenzhen though this would involve crossing an international border and would only work for those who wanted to visit China and had a visa. With the border reopening this is an option, for example the St Regis Shenzhen is typically great value with free-flow executive lounge privileges on the 100+ floor or staying at the Four Points in Shenzhen is less than a round of drinks in Hong Kong and offers an unlimited dim-sum lunch for less than 20USD pp. Getting a visa isn't as easy as pre COVID though, and the China "visa on arrival" scheme can be over subscribed, leading to long queues. If you have a China Visa though this could still be an option, though it will take approximately 2 hours to get from the Shenzhen StR to the centre of Hong Kong (made up of approximately 20 minutes metro in Shenzhen, up to one hour of border/visa processing time, then 40 minutes on the MTR to Admiralty station)
**Quarantine FYI**
In December 2020 the Hong Kong government agreed a list of quarantine only hotels for what became part of the world's strictest quarantine regimes with at points any person entering HK needing to spend 3 weeks in a hotel. A number of Marriott hotels took part in this programme at varying points until hotel quarantine was removed in late 2022. The "new" Four Points in Tung Chung didn't open for normal guests until after the end of quarantine, and at time others were on/off the list, including the high end W, then the Ocean Park Marriott, Renaissance, Ovolo, Mira Moon and so on. Of the Marriott brands, only the JW Marriott and Ritz Carlton never took part.
Broad summary of the Hong Kong Marriott brands is as follows:
Luxury
The Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong - Superb full harbour views, good quality restaurants on-site and the world's highest bar (Ozone, that has up to a 20% discount for elite members that actually makes it reasonable value). Negatives would be price and location is in Kowloon (i.e. not ideal for tourists).
St Regis Hong Kong - New (in 2020), great quality rooms, excellent service in the hotel and restaurants, views are more standard and location is a little less convenient, but on the Island in Wan Chai and near the Exhibition Centre. Hotel restaurant l'envol offers quality French service and food and has two Michellin stars. Near the newly opened (2022) Exhibition MTR station with walking under cover (one stop from Admiralty or Hung Hom), or walk from Wan Chai (approx 10 minutes).
Mid-range
JW Marriott Hotel Hong Kong - Ideally placed for tourism and likely business, built in an MTR complex with a luxury mall underneath. Small rooms with a good view of either the harbour or a hillside, but compensated with an excellent lounge and breakfast. Somewhere to spend time outside of the room. Not hugely changed since 1980 but a classic hotel with excellent on-site restaurants and a newly renovated/larger lounge than the version prior to COVID.
W Hong Kong - Quirky, next to the Ritz Carlton and with an outdoor pool. On-site restaurants are more limited but in a good location. A nice alternative to the Ritz if you want to explore Kowloon, or are under 30. Good weekend champagne brunch.
Renaissance Hong Kong Harbour View Hotel - More of a convention centre hotel, but with nice uninterrupted harbour views and reasonable room sizes. A little far from public transport but with walkways to get you to Wan Chai or Exhibition Centre MTR stations fairly rapidly (mostly under air-con).
Sheraton Hong Kong Hotel & Towers - Huge hotel that historically had a separate "Towers" side (now being removed) and one of the worst lounges in the Marriott network (now improved) with poor elite recognition, but relatively large rooms and close to public transport, museums, shopping in Kowloon and the star ferry. Has had an ongoing refurbishment from late 2022 that appears to be addressing historic quality problems, but this is underway as the wiki is updated. As of March 2023, the "lounge" is on the second floor opposite the reception desk. It's open noon to 6:30pm only, with cocktails/food from 4:30pm-6:30pm and guests are allowed in for only one hour (enforced). There is no lounge opportunity for evening dessert/coffee.
Le Meriden Cyberport - Large rooms, nice staff, in the middle of nowhere (by HK standards) and very consistent brand standard, including a lounge. You will need to get a taxi to any sight or location unless you are visiting the tech companies in the area. Refurbished and reopened in November 2022, and has a shuttle to the Airport Express MTR/Central once an hour.
Hong Kong SkyCity Marriott Hotel - Next to the airport, far away from the city (on the MTR or Airport express via a shuttle bus) but excellent evening buffet and ideal to explore Lantau or visit friends (aircrew) in Tung Chung. You can't walk to the airport due to ongoing construction work, even if it looks like it is only a 5 minute walk, it isn't.
Hong Kong Ocean Park Marriott Hotel - Huge pool and ideal for children. Rebranded to a resort to limit elite benefits. Worthwhile for a long weekend away or when visiting Ocean Park. Close to the (less convenient) Ocean Park MTR for tourists. Good restaurants on-site, not much in the local area.
Sheraton Hong Kong Tung Chung Hotel - New hotel that opened in December 2020, more designed for shopping or being close to the airport (via taxi or hourly shuttle bus), good facilities and pool. Far away from the city centre in a residential area.
Boutique
The Mira Hong Kong, a Member of Design Hotels™ - Not so close to public transport (approx 10 minute walk from Tsim Sha Tsui MTR), limited elite recognition but good for the bars of Tsim Sha Tsui (TST) and Kowloon. A better place to head to after a day of shopping in Kowloon or a heavy night out in TST.
Mira Moon Hong Kong, a Member of Design Hotels™ - Close to the shopping of Causeway bay, good rabbit based romantic hotel with sizeable bathrooms and real baths but limited restaurant facilities in-house. Refurbished in July 2022.
The Park Lane Hong Kong, Autograph Collection - New, and not yet opened. In 2025 it is expected that we will get a new Autograph, a conversion from the current Park Lane Hotel, Pullman. The hotel has a great bar and view. Let's see what happens
Value
Courtyard Hong Kong Sha Tin - generally agreed to be the best value Marriott in town with an excellent executive lounge, great value rooms and good elite service. However far from town (45+ minutes on public transport) and designed for those who want to visit Sai Kung or relatives in the new territories.
Hong Kong Island Hotel | Courtyard Hong Kong - Reasonable location and good value business hotel that isn't that far from central or the MTR, but is ultimately not very distinctive. Offers a good breakfast for elites and a small executive lounge more focused on drinks than food.
Ovolo Southside, Hong Kong, a Member of Design Hotels™ - Excellent value and close to Ocean Park. Near the MTR and with a well respected local Mexican restaurant. Offers a 3 hour social hour (free flow with food) if you book direct, a hidden gem. At points has been fully vegetarian as well.
Four Points by Sheraton Hong Kong, Tung Chung - A combined building with the Sheraton Tung Chung, so very similar with some shared facilities but more basic rooms.
Typical responses from those who live in Hong Kong:
I want the best hotel money can buy: Ritz Carlton (views) or St Regis (service)
I want to save money: Ovolo Southside (qirky) or Courtyard Sha Tin (far away)
For business: JW Marriott (Hong Kong Island) and W Hotel (Kowloon)
Airport Stopover: The Sky City Marriott is in the airport complex (accessed via shuttle bus) but realistically you could head to the Ritz Carlton or W Hotel on the airport express in under 30 minutes. Alternatively the Sheraton Tung Chung, and cheaper Four Points may offer more reasonable rates and are only 10 minutes taxi to the airport in an area where a lot of Cathay staff live, or use the airport shuttle bus (link).
Theme parks: Disney is not close and arguably the Sky City Marriott or Sheraton Tung Chung/Four Points Tung Chung are closest, but would need a taxi. Staying at the W or Ritz Carlton may be preferable and using the MTR to get to the park (one change). For Ocean Park you have the Ocean Park Marriott (Resort) or Ovolo Southside within walking distance or the JW Marriott is only one MTR(metro) stop away and more central for other sights.
Staycation: Ritz Carton (on-site restaurants), St Regis (service, two good if pricey restaurants), Courtyard Sha Tin (bargain) or the Ocean Park Marriott (pool for children)
Space: Le Meriden Cyberport, but only because it's in the middle of nowhere (though this is subjective, as it's about 20 minutes in a taxi to central)...
Undiscovered gem: Maybe the Ovolo Southside but ultimately this is Hong Kong so you can't really expect a bargain, it's an efficient capitalist market after all!....
**Staying in China**
Note (pre-COVID) you could save serious (USD100s+) by staying in Shenzhen though this would involve crossing an international border and would only work for those who wanted to visit China and had a visa. With the border reopening this is an option, for example the St Regis Shenzhen is typically great value with free-flow executive lounge privileges on the 100+ floor or staying at the Four Points in Shenzhen is less than a round of drinks in Hong Kong and offers an unlimited dim-sum lunch for less than 20USD pp. Getting a visa isn't as easy as pre COVID though, and the China "visa on arrival" scheme can be over subscribed, leading to long queues. If you have a China Visa though this could still be an option, though it will take approximately 2 hours to get from the Shenzhen StR to the centre of Hong Kong (made up of approximately 20 minutes metro in Shenzhen, up to one hour of border/visa processing time, then 40 minutes on the MTR to Admiralty station)
**Quarantine FYI**
In December 2020 the Hong Kong government agreed a list of quarantine only hotels for what became part of the world's strictest quarantine regimes with at points any person entering HK needing to spend 3 weeks in a hotel. A number of Marriott hotels took part in this programme at varying points until hotel quarantine was removed in late 2022. The "new" Four Points in Tung Chung didn't open for normal guests until after the end of quarantine, and at time others were on/off the list, including the high end W, then the Ocean Park Marriott, Renaissance, Ovolo, Mira Moon and so on. Of the Marriott brands, only the JW Marriott and Ritz Carlton never took part.
Marriott Bonvoy hotels in Hong Kong, 2014-present
Mar 30, 2017, 7:01 pm
#421
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: ELP
Programs: AA EXP/LT PLAT, Marriott Titanium/LT PLAT
Posts: 4,120
Renaissance stay for 5 nights
Been here for the past three nights and it is a comfortable hotel. Upgraded to harbor view from a garden view room even with a convention next door which I am attending.
Wifi -- fast and works very well in the room and lounge.
Lounge -- a bit crowded in the mornings and evenings. If you go around 930/10am for breakfast, it is pretty slow. Tea time around 3/4pm is also slow. Evening snacks and drinks is pretty busy the whole time.
Room -- a bit smaller than I prefer usually, but it is ok for one person. One thing that I did not like at all is the lack of drawer space. There is a bench in the closet to put some clothes, but every other hotel has drawers for you to put your clothes in.
Overall, it is a good hotel if you are attending a convention and the scene around wan chai is happening so I will stay again next year.
Wifi -- fast and works very well in the room and lounge.
Lounge -- a bit crowded in the mornings and evenings. If you go around 930/10am for breakfast, it is pretty slow. Tea time around 3/4pm is also slow. Evening snacks and drinks is pretty busy the whole time.
Room -- a bit smaller than I prefer usually, but it is ok for one person. One thing that I did not like at all is the lack of drawer space. There is a bench in the closet to put some clothes, but every other hotel has drawers for you to put your clothes in.
Overall, it is a good hotel if you are attending a convention and the scene around wan chai is happening so I will stay again next year.
May 2, 2017, 8:14 pm
#423
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: LAX
Programs: Marriott, Hilton
Posts: 310
Finished my 4th stay here this year. Service here is good and the location works well for me.
I was able to check in early (900AM) and they confirmed my 400PM checkout.
The lounge seemed more crowded than usual, possibly due to May 1 holiday.
They now have fried eggs and poached eggs in the lounge. Omelettes are a 20 minute wait.
I can't see this location ever offering breakfast in the JW Cafe. The spread there is too nice and it's already crowded.
Got a nice room on 33rd floor.
I was able to check in early (900AM) and they confirmed my 400PM checkout.
The lounge seemed more crowded than usual, possibly due to May 1 holiday.
They now have fried eggs and poached eggs in the lounge. Omelettes are a 20 minute wait.
I can't see this location ever offering breakfast in the JW Cafe. The spread there is too nice and it's already crowded.
Got a nice room on 33rd floor.
May 3, 2017, 8:13 am
#424
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Aug 2002
Programs: UALifetimePremierGold, Marriott LifetimeTitanium
Posts: 71,110
Finished my 4th stay here this year. Service here is good and the location works well for me.
I was able to check in early (900AM) and they confirmed my 400PM checkout.
The lounge seemed more crowded than usual, possibly due to May 1 holiday.
They now have fried eggs and poached eggs in the lounge. Omelettes are a 20 minute wait.
I can't see this location ever offering breakfast in the JW Cafe. The spread there is too nice and it's already crowded.
Got a nice room on 33rd floor.
I was able to check in early (900AM) and they confirmed my 400PM checkout.
The lounge seemed more crowded than usual, possibly due to May 1 holiday.
They now have fried eggs and poached eggs in the lounge. Omelettes are a 20 minute wait.
I can't see this location ever offering breakfast in the JW Cafe. The spread there is too nice and it's already crowded.
Got a nice room on 33rd floor.
Cheers.
May 3, 2017, 3:14 pm
#426
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: BWI/DCA/BOS/
Programs: MR & SPG Plat, BA Silver, AA Gold, UA Silver
Posts: 175
Also to add, JW Marriott and Courtyard are two of the few properties in the city that offers rooms with two US-sized double beds, meaning the ability to sleep two people on a bed for a total of 4 people in a room.
The Sheraton and Ritz all offer double beds, but are in reality US-sized twin beds for one adult only.
The Sheraton and Ritz all offer double beds, but are in reality US-sized twin beds for one adult only.
May 3, 2017, 11:47 pm
#427
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: NYC
Programs: Marriott Plat, Hilton Gold, UA Silver
Posts: 2,272
The JW lounge in Hong Kong is probably one of my favorite lounges in the world. Great food spread and the staff was soo attentive. I don't have the points to stay there again, but its actually a property I would go out of pocket for. By way of comparison I stayed there at the end of a China trip that included stays at the conrad, grand hyatt in hong kong and park hyatts in Beijing and Shanghai. My experience with the marriott surpassed them all.
May 12, 2017, 10:07 am
#429
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Aug 2002
Programs: UALifetimePremierGold, Marriott LifetimeTitanium
Posts: 71,110
Jun 2, 2017, 5:23 am
#432
Moderator, Virgin Atlantic
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: www.V-Flyer.com
Programs: VS Red, Bonvoy Lifetime Titanium - earned out of our own pocket!.
Posts: 2,392
We stayed there about three months ago - very impressed with the whole experience - happy to help with any questions.
This was my TripAdvisor review - https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_...cau-Macau.html
Nick
This was my TripAdvisor review - https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_...cau-Macau.html
Nick
Jun 2, 2017, 1:37 pm
#433
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: IAH
Programs: Delta Platinum & 2MM, Marriott Lifetime TIT, Hertz Pres Club, IHG Gold, *A Gold
Posts: 1,253
Jun 2, 2017, 5:17 pm
#434
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Florida
Posts: 29,762
We stayed there about three months ago - very impressed with the whole experience - happy to help with any questions.
This was my TripAdvisor review - https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_...cau-Macau.html
Nick
This was my TripAdvisor review - https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_...cau-Macau.html
Nick
I hope JWM's do not suffer as much because the pictures suggested JWM's lounge is bigger.
Lots of us have... http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ritz-...carlton-3.html
It does not matter whether we stay in Hong Kong or go over to Macao for a couple days as we have families in both cities. If we are going over to Macao, it would be on the weekend days, either Fri and Sat or Sat and Sun. This is to accommodate family members' work schedules.
The only thing I am a bit worried is, our time is the first week of Sept - probably the very tail end of the Summer holiday of area schools (including China) - given the water park type attraction of the complex, the hotel / executive lounge may be overrun by many kids as hotels in Hong Kong and Macao allow kids in lounges. Some spoiled kids could be very noisy and disruptive to say the least.
Last edited by Happy; Jun 2, 2017 at 5:23 pm
Jun 3, 2017, 7:36 am
#435
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: CPH
Programs: UAMP S, TK M&S E (*G), Marriott LTP, IHG P, SK EBG
Posts: 11,095
We brought our kids in and no problem at all (pretty children friendly) - by the way just because they let kids in doesn't mean that all the kids will run around and shout. There are kids with manners out there too, I wouldn't let my kids disturb other guests, we'll make sure that they have a pile of books with them whenever we are at lounges/restaurant etc. with waiting time so that they can read. There are way more adults who are 10 times louder than children in lounges with free flow of alcohol (to the extent that my kids actually stop reading, looked up and commented like "why are these people making so much noise?/They are so noisy).
I saw 1 or 2 shouting and running kids in the lounge when we were there - I truly feel sorry for the staff there to have to watch out for them because they walk around with hot water and food. There were other kids and they were fine and well behaved.
Went there Easter 2015.
If you don't want to see any children at all, stick with JWM Hong Kong.
I saw 1 or 2 shouting and running kids in the lounge when we were there - I truly feel sorry for the staff there to have to watch out for them because they walk around with hot water and food. There were other kids and they were fine and well behaved.
Went there Easter 2015.
If you don't want to see any children at all, stick with JWM Hong Kong.