Ironing the underoos with starch would be worse, no?

Don't give then any ideas.

Pretty sure it's a no on the upgrades, but the location of the Ritz in HK is less than ideal (especially for a first time visitor).

Most of the main touristy stuff is on Nathan road (for Kowloon side), which is a good central location to travel from for almost any destination in HK. No Marriott around there though, Sheraton and HI have great locations.

The JW is a bit better of a location, just about as good as Nathan Rd for accessibility. If looking for Marriott in HK, that's the one I would go with. Metro is right there, Admiralty station which is on both the red and blue lines (the two main lines). Being on the island is nice too, I find I end up there on most nights anyway.

The JW is literally connected to admiralty station and is part Pacific place mall

The JW is really great for Elites and has one of the best lounges out there. But it is generally full of American Elites and I would say it is not particularly romantic, although the views are pretty good.

I find the JW to be conveniently located as pointed out. If you want a romantic weekend and plan to spend most of your time in the hotel - then stay at the RC, if you want to tour as well, then stay at the JW.

I'd say that the Ren, while slightly less convenient and with a slightly less fantastic lounge, has better views than the JW.

Yeah sounds like from a convenience standpoint the JW would be the better option. We won't spend much time in the hotel except for sleeping. And to me not worth just getting the Ritz CC just to get a club upgrade when I already have it as a plat. at Marriott. The fact that the train is right there has sold me. Thanks all for yor opinions.

I actually stayed at the Ren. last year for business and it looked like a ton of building going on that might have made that view possibly not as good.

If the forecast is for overcast skies the entire time of my trip, will it effectively cancel out the views. Should I switch to a hotel in TST?

Ritz Carlton Hong Kong - Location
 

We will be visiting Hong Kong on a family vacation shortly. The Ritz Carlton is offering a very good deal. Our only hesitation in finalizing the booking is its location. Not only does it seem a bit out of the way but also rather isolated. For example, the Star Ferry is nearly a 40 minute walk - and it does not appear to be a scenic waterfront promenade walk ... I do realize there is a straight MTR line to Central, but I just use that as an example. I'd be interested in other's views...

Braniff

You mainly nailed it, location is out of the way. Not sure if it´s really a 40 minutes walk to Star Ferry (seems a little too long, would say 20 to 30) but it´s not nearby. You will most likely walk thru shopping malls. Otherwise the Sub is OK in HK, so you can use it instead of walking.

It might not be scenic but you'll see a lot of the real Hong Kong walking along Austin Rd. Plenty to do in Kowloon and cabs aren't that bad to Harbour City and you can get the ferry from there. If you want to be in Central then choose something on that side of the river, if, subways aren't your thing.

Moving to the dedicated RC forum.

RichardInSF, moderator, luxury hotels

We stayed there once. While it's not my favorite location, it helped to have a hotel car we could book. We used it one day to go somewhere a fair distance from the hotel and then made our own way back.

Two problems with Ritz which might or might not be compensated by the good rate for a luxury hotel: first, you have to take an 80+ story elevator to get to the lobby. this ride itself takes at least 2 minutes, and there are only four lifts for the entire hotel, meaning that you might wait and wait I' have gone to this hotel maybe 5 times in the past two years, i always had to wait 2-5 minutes for the lift to arrive. In HK, this is a long time! not to mention, you have to take another lift to the rooms. It's all a bit much for me. the 2nd thing is that it is basically impossible to get to the hotel unless you arrive by car, or want to walk through a shopping mall that always seems filled with mainland Chinese tourist, property agents touting new flats, or others. It's a busy mall . it has some nice shops, but they are almost all international brands - nothing local at all -- but its definitely not a relaxing walk around and certainly not a "local streets" flavor of Hong Kong.. On the other hand, hotel itself is very nice, the rooms are big, great views, great facilities. It will be convenient for you to get to and from the airport as it sits on top of one of the stations on the airport express.