Skacorica

The name and CC would have to be your friends' for the second booking.

Psychiatrist

I guess you mean the credit card that's used for paying (at check-out), right?

I've already booked - one night under my name, one night under my friend's name.

But I've used the same credit card for both bookings. Would that be a problem?

BKKLEE

touring Westlake is definitely worth the trip over to this lovely city

Fredd

Discussion and comparison of the respective merits of these properties would be helpful to those going to this city.

For example, Mrs. Fredd and I are staying in Hangzhou for seven nights in November. We had already booked the Doubletree but belatedly realize after communicating with a potential tour guide that it's a long way out of "downtown."

Courtyard Hangzhou Qianjiang
No. 298 Fuchun Road, Jianggan District Hangzhou

Courtyard Hangzhou Wulin
28 Hushu South Road, Gongshu District

JW Marriott Hotel Hangzhou
28 Hushu South Road, Gongshu District Hangzhou

We have been comparing and contrasting the Marriott to the Courtyard next door. It's apparently a good location and the two properties share some services and facilities. Both seem generally very well regarded.

As retired leisure travelers on our own nickel with Gold status, we can save a few hundred bucks over the week by staying in the Courtyard. OTOH it's a long stay for us and it's worth the few hundred if the JW Marriott offers a significantly superior experience. We've already booked it but are wondering if we're throwing money away.

How do the rooms compare? Is it a shared Executive Lounge (I read that somewhere and have seen two identical photos illustrating both properties) or are they separate? How about breakfast? Any other points to consider? Thanks in advance.

Fredd

Bump...

windcloud5

We stayed at both JW hangzhou and Courtyard Hangzhou Wulin as a family in October 2012. My wife and I stayed at the JW Marriott and my parents stayed at the Courtyard. Both properties are essentially in different side of a big building and share a very nice common lobby area. At that time, the properties were very new so the facilities were in pristine conditions. The big draw of the properties is its proximity to the West Lake. If the west lake happens to be one of the attraction you like to visit, then this is a great location to be the base of your exploration. We did not become fans of the west lake when we saw how polluted it has became but we loved the hotels.

Both properties have very nice rooms. The courtyard's rooms were cookie cutting styles from the typical courtyard hotels in China. The JW Marriott rooms is a tad bigger and is more luxurious. The properties have their own executive lounge and restaurants. The executive lounges at both properties are on one of their top floors at their respective side of the building. When we were there in 2012, we had Platinum status. The hotel allowed us to have breakfast in their restaurant or their executive lounge and we can go to both if we wanted to (this is very generous in my opinion, I would imagine they give the same access to gold ). Both restaurant breakfast offering were superior to the lounge offering in term of selections and quality. This also made the restaurants being somewhat crowed while the executive lounges were almost always empty in the morning. The JW breakfast restaurant was behind the common lobby in an open area. The courtyard breakfast restaurant was on the second floor of the courtyard property. The courtyard restaurant is somewhat more private compared to the JW Marriott restaurant. One thing I would like to mention is that the JW hangzhou breakfast spread quality is one of the best we had and our favorite breakfast spread in any Asia hotels we have visited. This includes Grand Hyatt Shanghai, Park Hyatt Shanghai, Grand Hyatt Hong Kong, Conrad Maldives, Conrad Singapore and all the other Marriott hotels we visited in China. Everyday between 5pm to 7:30pm, the JW Marriott Lounge offers complimentary food, alcoholic drinks, juice, and a great selective of desserts. This is equivalent to a light meal for dinner. When we were there, the staff at the JW Marriott Executive Lounge spoke very good English compared to other Marriott Properties staff in China, they will be able to hold a decent conversation with you in English.


It is my opinion that why just stay at one property when both properties are in the same building and you don't even have to get out of the building to get to the other property. You can book a few days at the courtyard then pack up and roll your luggage across the lobby to the JW Marriott in less than 1 minute.

leeky

having stayed at both props, +1 on most of windcloud5s comments but I'll add that the Chinese Rest in the JW served up really good local food and I love their golden mushrooms

-1 on the West Lake comment as frankly that was the nearly the entire reason for going to Hangzhou

dlffla

I can only speak to having stayed at the JW Marriott but I will say that, hands down, it is one of the best Marriotts I have ever stayed at, both in terms of food and service. The food they put out in the lounge in the evening was more than enough for dinner for me on the nights I didn't dine elsewhere. Plus, it's a nice property. Having said that, if saving money is important and you can get free breakfast at the Courtyard, that's probably the more sensible decision. The west lake is beautiful but the smog made the short walk there and back very unpleasant for me.

Fredd

Thanks to all posters for the useful information. ^ ^

We're going to "splurge" on the Marriott, reasonably priced relative to other international Marriotts.

mjcewl1284

I've stayed at the Courtyard Wulin, which is connected to the JW Marriott. I will say that it was one of the best stays I have ever had at a Courtyard. Friendly staff, modern facility, great concierge lounge and also well located, just a 20 minute walk from West Lake.

flo-e

Thanks for reviews, based on it I've also decided to book the Courtyard. Good to hear that it is close to the lake.

valdor

I've stayed at both and if staying in Hangzhou again I'd choose the Courtyard without hesitation. Yes the JW is better but at the time it was twice as expensive and certainly didn't offer twice the value.

As for Hangzhou, when visiting Westlake I recommend you try the Grandma restaurant (a local chain). It's great value and a great way to discover local cuisine. There is one a few minutes walk from the Hyatt.

Fredd

OP back to report our seven-night stay at the JW Marriott was wonderful. Our 21st-floor room was reasonably large and very comfortable, with a view of West Lake, weather permitting, comfortable bed, great bathtub and spacious separate shower.

The Executive Lounge employees were wonderful, including the charmingly named Helios Lopez Chao, the young lounge manager of Spanish and Chinese extraction, whose English is at least as fluent as mine. He went out of his way to be helpful, gave us his card at the outset, and told us to call at any time we needed assistance.

The breakfast buffet downstairs was marvelous.

I have no doubt from reports above that the Courtyard would also be a great place to stay. We found the area around the property to be more "walkable" than has been our experience in Shanghai, Beijing, and elsewhere. In fact, on our first full day in Hangzhou, we walked all the way over to West Lake, walked around it (admittedly taking the causeway "short cuts"), and walked all the way back to the hotel, easily a total distance of six or more miles.

There are quite a few restaurants in the Hangzhou Towers complex, literally around the block and across one easily navigable street from the hotel. Based on the recommendations of Helios, we ate one night in one branch of the Grandma's chain, arriving after the evening rush and not having to wait at all. Another night we enjoyed a Hot Pot dinner at the Dolar Shop, part of another large chain.

In closing, we enjoyed Hangzhou more than we ever thought we would, and would like to return there. The JW Marriott certainly lives up to the recommendations offered here and elsewhere.

iluvdoco

Would you guys recommend staying at the JW Marriott over the 4 Seasons? As a Marriott Platinum, I think I'd be treated better at the JW for considerably less money. Also the JW's Executive Lounge is a big factor.

Fredd

I wish I could help but have no idea about the Four Seasons. All I can say about the Marriott I said above - a wonderful property!