Aug 22, 2019, 4:17 am
Hong Kong Renaissance Harbor View [Master Thread]
Oct 25, 2019, 8:59 pm
#76
Used to be MBS PremExec
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Saginaw, MI (MBS)
Programs: UA 1K 1.9MM, Marriott Titanium w/Lifetime Plat, Hilton LIfetime ♢, National Exec, Amex Plat
Posts: 5,722
I just completed a stay there for the first time, and absolutely loved the property. The lounge was great, the food was good, views and service, amazing.
Highlights:
1. I’m a newly-minted Plat. I was going to arrive to the hotel as a Gold, but when my night-before-arrival stay posted, I’d have hit Plat, before checkout. I e-mailed the hotel about this before my arrival, and they noted it in the reservation and granted me all of the benefits of Platinum. I thought that was nice.
2. Some of the best food I’ve had at an exec lounge in the evening. I’m a light eater at night and even if I wasn’t...Wow! Sushi, full-on Indian dishes like butter chicken, big ol’ meatballs, roasted chicken, soup, salad.
3. I booked a promo rate...Which was my only ‘issue’ with my stay. Under the promotional rates was one that offered a harbour-view room, HK$400/night F&B credit and 5,000 bonus points...The rate was only HK$200/night more than the lowest category, and since I was going to host someone for dinner one night, it was perfect and I knew would actually save me money overall. Prior to arrival and at check-in, I verified that the HK$400 was cumulative for the stay and that it would be taken off my F&B bill at the end. Upon checkout, they tried only crediting my dinner the $400 for that night. It took the exec lounge 2 phone calls and about 10 minutes, but I did eventually get my $400/night taken off the one meal. HOWEVER, 5 days later, the stay has posted, but not the 5,000 points. I’ll wait the 10 days before I file a request. Overall, a poorly-organized promotion, but a valuable one nonetheless.
4. As a pseudo-Gold-turning-Platinum, during the trade fair period, I was given a room on 41, same floor as the exec lounge, which I really appreciated. The view of the harbour was not super, but it was a harbour view nonetheless.
5. Rooms are typical Hong Kong small, but seemed bigger than comparable properties I’ve stayed at over the years on the Kowloon side. Not a huge fan of the wood floors, but the room was fresh, comfy and quiet. The water pressure rivals the world’s finest elephant washes.
6. Service. Service. Service. Top to bottom, I was impressed with the friendliness and competence of the staff. Everyone seemed so eager to help. Even by what I consider high Hong Kong standards, staff always seemed to go above and beyond.
7. I loved the convenience of being attached to the convention centre. Amazing to be able to be in my room 5-7 minutes after leaving a booth at the end of the day!
(Overall, rate was about 40% less than what I normally see during trade fair season. I think overall it was busy, but probably because they lured people like me there who don’t normally spend their fair rates. Anyway, my booked harbour-view room with HK$400/night F&B credit and 5000 bonus points rate was HK$1700/night, standard rooms were going for ~HK$1500/night).
Highlights:
1. I’m a newly-minted Plat. I was going to arrive to the hotel as a Gold, but when my night-before-arrival stay posted, I’d have hit Plat, before checkout. I e-mailed the hotel about this before my arrival, and they noted it in the reservation and granted me all of the benefits of Platinum. I thought that was nice.
2. Some of the best food I’ve had at an exec lounge in the evening. I’m a light eater at night and even if I wasn’t...Wow! Sushi, full-on Indian dishes like butter chicken, big ol’ meatballs, roasted chicken, soup, salad.
3. I booked a promo rate...Which was my only ‘issue’ with my stay. Under the promotional rates was one that offered a harbour-view room, HK$400/night F&B credit and 5,000 bonus points...The rate was only HK$200/night more than the lowest category, and since I was going to host someone for dinner one night, it was perfect and I knew would actually save me money overall. Prior to arrival and at check-in, I verified that the HK$400 was cumulative for the stay and that it would be taken off my F&B bill at the end. Upon checkout, they tried only crediting my dinner the $400 for that night. It took the exec lounge 2 phone calls and about 10 minutes, but I did eventually get my $400/night taken off the one meal. HOWEVER, 5 days later, the stay has posted, but not the 5,000 points. I’ll wait the 10 days before I file a request. Overall, a poorly-organized promotion, but a valuable one nonetheless.
4. As a pseudo-Gold-turning-Platinum, during the trade fair period, I was given a room on 41, same floor as the exec lounge, which I really appreciated. The view of the harbour was not super, but it was a harbour view nonetheless.
5. Rooms are typical Hong Kong small, but seemed bigger than comparable properties I’ve stayed at over the years on the Kowloon side. Not a huge fan of the wood floors, but the room was fresh, comfy and quiet. The water pressure rivals the world’s finest elephant washes.
6. Service. Service. Service. Top to bottom, I was impressed with the friendliness and competence of the staff. Everyone seemed so eager to help. Even by what I consider high Hong Kong standards, staff always seemed to go above and beyond.
7. I loved the convenience of being attached to the convention centre. Amazing to be able to be in my room 5-7 minutes after leaving a booth at the end of the day!
(Overall, rate was about 40% less than what I normally see during trade fair season. I think overall it was busy, but probably because they lured people like me there who don’t normally spend their fair rates. Anyway, my booked harbour-view room with HK$400/night F&B credit and 5000 bonus points rate was HK$1700/night, standard rooms were going for ~HK$1500/night).
Oct 26, 2019, 12:42 am
#77
Join Date: Sep 2005
Programs: UA gold; WN A; PC plat; Marriott Gold
Posts: 425
Oct 26, 2019, 1:23 am
#78
Join Date: Mar 2011
Programs: Hyatt Globalist, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 1,178
Oct 26, 2019, 1:26 am
#79
Join Date: Mar 2011
Programs: Hyatt Globalist, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 1,178
I just completed a stay there for the first time, and absolutely loved the property. The lounge was great, the food was good, views and service, amazing.
Highlights:
1. I’m a newly-minted Plat. I was going to arrive to the hotel as a Gold, but when my night-before-arrival stay posted, I’d have hit Plat, before checkout. I e-mailed the hotel about this before my arrival, and they noted it in the reservation and granted me all of the benefits of Platinum. I thought that was nice.
2. Some of the best food I’ve had at an exec lounge in the evening. I’m a light eater at night and even if I wasn’t...Wow! Sushi, full-on Indian dishes like butter chicken, big ol’ meatballs, roasted chicken, soup, salad.
3. I booked a promo rate...Which was my only ‘issue’ with my stay. Under the promotional rates was one that offered a harbour-view room, HK$400/night F&B credit and 5,000 bonus points...The rate was only HK$200/night more than the lowest category, and since I was going to host someone for dinner one night, it was perfect and I knew would actually save me money overall. Prior to arrival and at check-in, I verified that the HK$400 was cumulative for the stay and that it would be taken off my F&B bill at the end. Upon checkout, they tried only crediting my dinner the $400 for that night. It took the exec lounge 2 phone calls and about 10 minutes, but I did eventually get my $400/night taken off the one meal. HOWEVER, 5 days later, the stay has posted, but not the 5,000 points. I’ll wait the 10 days before I file a request. Overall, a poorly-organized promotion, but a valuable one nonetheless.
4. As a pseudo-Gold-turning-Platinum, during the trade fair period, I was given a room on 41, same floor as the exec lounge, which I really appreciated. The view of the harbour was not super, but it was a harbour view nonetheless.
5. Rooms are typical Hong Kong small, but seemed bigger than comparable properties I’ve stayed at over the years on the Kowloon side. Not a huge fan of the wood floors, but the room was fresh, comfy and quiet. The water pressure rivals the world’s finest elephant washes.
6. Service. Service. Service. Top to bottom, I was impressed with the friendliness and competence of the staff. Everyone seemed so eager to help. Even by what I consider high Hong Kong standards, staff always seemed to go above and beyond.
7. I loved the convenience of being attached to the convention centre. Amazing to be able to be in my room 5-7 minutes after leaving a booth at the end of the day!
(Overall, rate was about 40% less than what I normally see during trade fair season. I think overall it was busy, but probably because they lured people like me there who don’t normally spend their fair rates. Anyway, my booked harbour-view room with HK$400/night F&B credit and 5000 bonus points rate was HK$1700/night, standard rooms were going for ~HK$1500/night).
Highlights:
1. I’m a newly-minted Plat. I was going to arrive to the hotel as a Gold, but when my night-before-arrival stay posted, I’d have hit Plat, before checkout. I e-mailed the hotel about this before my arrival, and they noted it in the reservation and granted me all of the benefits of Platinum. I thought that was nice.
2. Some of the best food I’ve had at an exec lounge in the evening. I’m a light eater at night and even if I wasn’t...Wow! Sushi, full-on Indian dishes like butter chicken, big ol’ meatballs, roasted chicken, soup, salad.
3. I booked a promo rate...Which was my only ‘issue’ with my stay. Under the promotional rates was one that offered a harbour-view room, HK$400/night F&B credit and 5,000 bonus points...The rate was only HK$200/night more than the lowest category, and since I was going to host someone for dinner one night, it was perfect and I knew would actually save me money overall. Prior to arrival and at check-in, I verified that the HK$400 was cumulative for the stay and that it would be taken off my F&B bill at the end. Upon checkout, they tried only crediting my dinner the $400 for that night. It took the exec lounge 2 phone calls and about 10 minutes, but I did eventually get my $400/night taken off the one meal. HOWEVER, 5 days later, the stay has posted, but not the 5,000 points. I’ll wait the 10 days before I file a request. Overall, a poorly-organized promotion, but a valuable one nonetheless.
4. As a pseudo-Gold-turning-Platinum, during the trade fair period, I was given a room on 41, same floor as the exec lounge, which I really appreciated. The view of the harbour was not super, but it was a harbour view nonetheless.
5. Rooms are typical Hong Kong small, but seemed bigger than comparable properties I’ve stayed at over the years on the Kowloon side. Not a huge fan of the wood floors, but the room was fresh, comfy and quiet. The water pressure rivals the world’s finest elephant washes.
6. Service. Service. Service. Top to bottom, I was impressed with the friendliness and competence of the staff. Everyone seemed so eager to help. Even by what I consider high Hong Kong standards, staff always seemed to go above and beyond.
7. I loved the convenience of being attached to the convention centre. Amazing to be able to be in my room 5-7 minutes after leaving a booth at the end of the day!
(Overall, rate was about 40% less than what I normally see during trade fair season. I think overall it was busy, but probably because they lured people like me there who don’t normally spend their fair rates. Anyway, my booked harbour-view room with HK$400/night F&B credit and 5000 bonus points rate was HK$1700/night, standard rooms were going for ~HK$1500/night).
Oct 26, 2019, 2:14 am
#80
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Florida
Posts: 29,759
I have not stayed at the JW since they moved the lounge so I can't compare. I will say that the lounge at the Ren has a great view from the 40th floor, is comfortable but not very large, and can get crowded. Service is good, breakfast is more than adequate with Western and Asian choices.
Crowded lounge has always been an issue at Ren but the current low rates definitely make the situation much worse. Food offerings are much worse than previous visits, though alcohols remain the same. At such low rates, something must give, and my observation is the foods that go downhill big time.
Both mornings we had breakfast at the Cafe on M floor. There were lines at the door during the rush hours between 8:45 to 9:15 but much better after 9:30.
For standard rooms, the JW double double beds room is a corner room and is quite a bit bigger than Ren's standard room. But Ren's renovated room has much nicer furnishing than JWM. We had a mid-level corner full suite which essentially is the size of 2 standard rooms. The bathroom is unusually large because of poor design (the extra space can be better used by the bedroom).
Services indeed are very good from every employee encountered.
Oct 26, 2019, 2:18 am
#81
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Florida
Posts: 29,759
Quite the contrary. The lounge was crowded to the point that we had to take our drinks (a beer and a red wine) with us back to our suite. Lounge attendant was trying really hard to find some space to no avail. He kept apologizing about the crowded situation but did not say a word on the fact we took drinks out of the lounge. I guess in situation like that, he did not feel appropriate to enforce lounge rule.
Nov 11, 2019, 12:23 pm
#82
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: SFO/YYZ
Programs: AC 25K, AS MVP Gold, BA Bronze, UA Silver, Marriott Titanium, Hilton Diamond, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 2,466
Just grabbed Dec 29-31 here in a studio suite for 1425 HKD a night. Looks like hotels are slashing prices even further on prepaid rates to try to get some guaranteed business.
Weird thing is, this is some special nonrefundable member rate they've loaded so SNAs still work. Probably won't use them though, studio suite is good enough for me.
Weird thing is, this is some special nonrefundable member rate they've loaded so SNAs still work. Probably won't use them though, studio suite is good enough for me.
Nov 11, 2019, 3:53 pm
#83
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Florida
Posts: 29,759
Just grabbed Dec 29-31 here in a studio suite for 1425 HKD a night. Looks like hotels are slashing prices even further on prepaid rates to try to get some guaranteed business.
Weird thing is, this is some special nonrefundable member rate they've loaded so SNAs still work. Probably won't use them though, studio suite is good enough for me.
Weird thing is, this is some special nonrefundable member rate they've loaded so SNAs still work. Probably won't use them though, studio suite is good enough for me.
With the quickly deteriorating situation after a young student's mysterious fall from a garage and eventually died 5 days later, then on 11/11, 3 or 4 areas having gun shots, one 21 years old still is unconscious after 2 major operations - one to remove his right liver and kidney as both were smashed by bullet, and the bullet lodged near spine was finally removed, a traffic cop raced his motorcycle into crowds, someone was badly beaten up at an affluent shopping plaza but later nobody knew where the injured was removed, added tear gas was fired at Central at noon when streets were very crowded with lunch crowd of office workers ... Riot Police also went into church and university campuses ... All happened on one day...
It only gets worse and even worse as the Chinese people say, there is no worst, just keep getting worse... I suspect there would be no New Year Firework coming.
Nov 11, 2019, 5:23 pm
#84
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: SFO/YYZ
Programs: AC 25K, AS MVP Gold, BA Bronze, UA Silver, Marriott Titanium, Hilton Diamond, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 2,466
Good luck on your trip.
With the quickly deteriorating situation after a young student's mysterious fall from a garage and eventually died 5 days later, then on 11/11, 3 or 4 areas having gun shots, one 21 years old still is unconscious after 2 major operations - one to remove his right liver and kidney as both were smashed by bullet, and the bullet lodged near spine was finally removed, a traffic cop raced his motorcycle into crowds, someone was badly beaten up at an affluent shopping plaza but later nobody knew where the injured was removed, added tear gas was fired at Central at noon when streets were very crowded with lunch crowd of office workers ... Riot Police also went into church and university campuses ... All happened on one day...
It only gets worse and even worse as the Chinese people say, there is no worst, just keep getting worse... I suspect there would be no New Year Firework coming.
With the quickly deteriorating situation after a young student's mysterious fall from a garage and eventually died 5 days later, then on 11/11, 3 or 4 areas having gun shots, one 21 years old still is unconscious after 2 major operations - one to remove his right liver and kidney as both were smashed by bullet, and the bullet lodged near spine was finally removed, a traffic cop raced his motorcycle into crowds, someone was badly beaten up at an affluent shopping plaza but later nobody knew where the injured was removed, added tear gas was fired at Central at noon when streets were very crowded with lunch crowd of office workers ... Riot Police also went into church and university campuses ... All happened on one day...
It only gets worse and even worse as the Chinese people say, there is no worst, just keep getting worse... I suspect there would be no New Year Firework coming.
Nov 11, 2019, 5:52 pm
#85
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: San Francisco
Programs: AA EXP; Marriott BonVoy Titanium Elite, Marriott LT Plat.
Posts: 1,717
Being cooped up in a suite during all this HKG chaos sounds decadent and bougie... But in three days that's going to be me. Will be in Kowloon though (W HKG). Looked at staying at Ren. as their prices were decent indeed. But my office much closer to W and with the MTA possibly being out of service or delayed, I didn't want to chance it.
Nov 11, 2019, 6:12 pm
#86
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Shanghai
Posts: 42,031
Being cooped up in a suite during all this HKG chaos sounds decadent and bougie... But in three days that's going to be me. Will be in Kowloon though (W HKG). Looked at staying at Ren. as their prices were decent indeed. But my office much closer to W and with the MTA possibly being out of service or delayed, I didn't want to chance it.
Nov 11, 2019, 6:24 pm
#87
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: San Francisco
Programs: AA EXP; Marriott BonVoy Titanium Elite, Marriott LT Plat.
Posts: 1,717
Agreed... My office is near Olympic Station. Easily walkable in case needed. And I'm rarely shopping/eating in Element Mall. More often I just walk over to Austin Station and head to local eateries near there or pop on MTA and head to Tsim Sha Tsui or Mong Kok. Love the street food there and at Temple Sq.
Nov 11, 2019, 6:25 pm
#88
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Florida
Posts: 29,759
Personally I would not even go unless you MUST (due to business or personal reasons) because of the Very Rapidly Declining situation over the past week. We had a 10 days stay in Hong Kong about 2 weeks ago. Weekdays were relatively calm. Weekends the unrest was either at Kowloon or on the island, not both. Right now, it is All Over the city both weekends and weekdays.
Today both a Catholic church and 3 university campuses were invaded by riot police... The front line rank and file policemen are completely out of control.
Jan 21, 2020, 10:04 pm
#90
Used to be MBS PremExec
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Saginaw, MI (MBS)
Programs: UA 1K 1.9MM, Marriott Titanium w/Lifetime Plat, Hilton LIfetime ♢, National Exec, Amex Plat
Posts: 5,722