Best value and conveniently located Marriott properties in Asia?
Aug 7, 2019, 8:46 am
#31
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My mom and uncle stayed there last year for around Y800, which was a pretty good rate at the time. The Zhongshan Park Ren is usually a bit cheaper, and is arguably more convenient (it's on Line 2 and 3/4), but I wanted them to stay on Line 10, and there aren't many good hotels on Line 10 (the Westin doesn't really count because the walk is longish).
Aug 7, 2019, 9:39 am
#32
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My mom and uncle stayed there last year for around Y800, which was a pretty good rate at the time. The Zhongshan Park Ren is usually a bit cheaper, and is arguably more convenient (it's on Line 2 and 3/4), but I wanted them to stay on Line 10, and there aren't many good hotels on Line 10 (the Westin doesn't really count because the walk is longish).
Aug 7, 2019, 9:43 am
#33
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This is an independent hotel that is bookable through Marriott as part of its Design Hotel marketing affiliation. Check the hotel's own web site and you will see that the room rate includes breakfast, mini-bar, and the happy hour (actually two) in the bar. Check what you get if you book via Marriott: yes, the room. What they usually do is that first time you make a Marriott reservation they will give you the full package and tell you to book direct next time. But none of this is documented in T&Cs so you can de-risk it by booking direct by email anyway and ask to make a reservation for your dates saying you would also like your Marriott points and nights. You will get the room package by booking direct and the Bonvoy points/nights benefits.
Regarding times... it's normal for hotels to offer free-flow alcohol in lounges or bars to elites or people who otherwise qualify for fixed 2-4 hours in the evening. Not at times that the guest selects. So whether this is useful to you depends on whether you plan to be at the hotel during these "happy hours" and whether you like a drink.
Breakfast at Ovolo is best described as continental. It's a small buffet of cereals, fruit, pastries, cold cuts etc. Not a hot buffet. Personally, I don't rate it against any of the other hotels that have hot options and food stations etc. but at least it's there for free. If you're asking about these mattress run hotels to gain status for the first time then bear in mind you won't get lounge access or breakfast or happy hour drinks at most hotels on the basic rate until you qualify as Platinum. Ovolo is an exception if you book direct as I describe because it's an independent hotel that is managed by its own rules.
Regarding times... it's normal for hotels to offer free-flow alcohol in lounges or bars to elites or people who otherwise qualify for fixed 2-4 hours in the evening. Not at times that the guest selects. So whether this is useful to you depends on whether you plan to be at the hotel during these "happy hours" and whether you like a drink.
Breakfast at Ovolo is best described as continental. It's a small buffet of cereals, fruit, pastries, cold cuts etc. Not a hot buffet. Personally, I don't rate it against any of the other hotels that have hot options and food stations etc. but at least it's there for free. If you're asking about these mattress run hotels to gain status for the first time then bear in mind you won't get lounge access or breakfast or happy hour drinks at most hotels on the basic rate until you qualify as Platinum. Ovolo is an exception if you book direct as I describe because it's an independent hotel that is managed by its own rules.
Please forgive me Richard, but I don’t get why you suggest I book via email. I’m not sure what the advantage is and what I’m getting. You seem to have mentioned all of the advantages booking online. If I initiate a challenge, I hope to use this to achieve Platinum status. Otherwise, I’ll have Gold via credit card.
Btw, any suggestions for Tokyo? That’s actually my next destination.
Aug 7, 2019, 11:10 am
#34
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Bangkok
Programs: Marriott Bonvoy Titanium, BAEC Silver, TK Miles & Smiles Elite
Posts: 2,210
Please forgive me Richard, but I don’t get why you suggest I book via email. I’m not sure what the advantage is and what I’m getting. You seem to have mentioned all of the advantages booking online. If I initiate a challenge, I hope to use this to achieve Platinum status. Otherwise, I’ll have Gold via credit card.
If I've not been clear, and it's quite possible that I'm not, then you should read the thread for this hotel where its policies are discussed. Marriott is just one booking channel for this hotel. As Expedia, trip.com and other OTAs are just booking channels for all Marriott hotels and do not give Bonvoy benefits to reservations made through these OTA channels. Booking online in your case means booking through Marriott.com or its app. It's just a booking channel for Ovolo Southside. That's very different to booking direct with the hotel because it's an independent hotel. To meet the challenge you need Marriott qualifying nights. You will always get these booking on Marriott.com or the app but you won't get the Ovolo benefits (breakfast, minibar, happy hour).
One more time, you don't have status in Marriott. By all means book Ovolo through Marriott. But you're booking a room. No breakfast. No free alcohol in the evening. The Marriott web site is clear. You're booking a room.
If you book direct (I suggest by email but you can always phone them or go through their own web site) then you get breakfast, minibar and two hours of free alcohol in the bar each evening. Give them your Bonvoy number and you will also get the nights and points. That's it.
But feel free to book through the Marriott web site/app and you may or may not get the breakfast, minibar, alcohol benefits. First time you probably will because this seems to be their policy but you cannot rely on the anecdote of strangers to guarantee this. So book direct and give them your Bonvoy details in the email. You will get the benefits described and Bonvoy nights and points.
It's a Design Hotel and these are independently owned and managed so benefits to Bonvoy guests are variable. I'm just telling you what this hotel's policies are because you seem interested in mattress run hotels in HK and this can be (though is not always) the cheapest. Or stay at a corporate brand: Courtyard, Le Meridien, JW, Sheraton etc. and have an experience that goes by the book for those brands.
Aug 10, 2019, 5:54 pm
#35
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I just got back from New York so I have the next week or so finalizing my hotel bookings for Tokyo and Osaka as that's my next two destinations. I forgot to mention that I do have an AMEX Platinum so I just need to get enrolled to get Marriott Gold. That should get me some perks.
Anyways, in terms of location and price, what are some good Marriott properties in Tokyo and Osaka?
Thank you!
Anyways, in terms of location and price, what are some good Marriott properties in Tokyo and Osaka?
Thank you!
Aug 10, 2019, 5:59 pm
#36
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Ovolo Southside is an independent hotel that joined Design Hotels which is a marketing organisation owned (now) by Marriott.
If I've not been clear, and it's quite possible that I'm not, then you should read the thread for this hotel where its policies are discussed. Marriott is just one booking channel for this hotel. As Expedia, trip.com and other OTAs are just booking channels for all Marriott hotels and do not give Bonvoy benefits to reservations made through these OTA channels. Booking online in your case means booking through Marriott.com or its app. It's just a booking channel for Ovolo Southside. That's very different to booking direct with the hotel because it's an independent hotel. To meet the challenge you need Marriott qualifying nights. You will always get these booking on Marriott.com or the app but you won't get the Ovolo benefits (breakfast, minibar, happy hour).
One more time, you don't have status in Marriott. By all means book Ovolo through Marriott. But you're booking a room. No breakfast. No free alcohol in the evening. The Marriott web site is clear. You're booking a room.
If you book direct (I suggest by email but you can always phone them or go through their own web site) then you get breakfast, minibar and two hours of free alcohol in the bar each evening. Give them your Bonvoy number and you will also get the nights and points. That's it.
But feel free to book through the Marriott web site/app and you may or may not get the breakfast, minibar, alcohol benefits. First time you probably will because this seems to be their policy but you cannot rely on the anecdote of strangers to guarantee this. So book direct and give them your Bonvoy details in the email. You will get the benefits described and Bonvoy nights and points.
It's a Design Hotel and these are independently owned and managed so benefits to Bonvoy guests are variable. I'm just telling you what this hotel's policies are because you seem interested in mattress run hotels in HK and this can be (though is not always) the cheapest. Or stay at a corporate brand: Courtyard, Le Meridien, JW, Sheraton etc. and have an experience that goes by the book for those brands.
If I've not been clear, and it's quite possible that I'm not, then you should read the thread for this hotel where its policies are discussed. Marriott is just one booking channel for this hotel. As Expedia, trip.com and other OTAs are just booking channels for all Marriott hotels and do not give Bonvoy benefits to reservations made through these OTA channels. Booking online in your case means booking through Marriott.com or its app. It's just a booking channel for Ovolo Southside. That's very different to booking direct with the hotel because it's an independent hotel. To meet the challenge you need Marriott qualifying nights. You will always get these booking on Marriott.com or the app but you won't get the Ovolo benefits (breakfast, minibar, happy hour).
One more time, you don't have status in Marriott. By all means book Ovolo through Marriott. But you're booking a room. No breakfast. No free alcohol in the evening. The Marriott web site is clear. You're booking a room.
If you book direct (I suggest by email but you can always phone them or go through their own web site) then you get breakfast, minibar and two hours of free alcohol in the bar each evening. Give them your Bonvoy number and you will also get the nights and points. That's it.
But feel free to book through the Marriott web site/app and you may or may not get the breakfast, minibar, alcohol benefits. First time you probably will because this seems to be their policy but you cannot rely on the anecdote of strangers to guarantee this. So book direct and give them your Bonvoy details in the email. You will get the benefits described and Bonvoy nights and points.
It's a Design Hotel and these are independently owned and managed so benefits to Bonvoy guests are variable. I'm just telling you what this hotel's policies are because you seem interested in mattress run hotels in HK and this can be (though is not always) the cheapest. Or stay at a corporate brand: Courtyard, Le Meridien, JW, Sheraton etc. and have an experience that goes by the book for those brands.
I forgot to mention that I have an AMEX Platinum and that gives me Marriott Gold. So maybe I'll get other perks such as late check-out when booking directly with Ovolo?
The more I read about free breakfast with Platinum status, the more I feel that maybe it's not really worth it considering that hotels are looking to scale back or implement a fairly basic breakfast policy. I might be different from most people in that I prefer hot meals whether it's breakfast, lunch, or dinner. The thing that would make it all worthwhile to gain status is the guaranteed late check-out. I hope it truly is guaranteed because if it's not, then status is fairly useless for me.
Aug 10, 2019, 8:31 pm
#37
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Bangkok
Programs: Marriott Bonvoy Titanium, BAEC Silver, TK Miles & Smiles Elite
Posts: 2,210
SNIP
I forgot to mention that I have an AMEX Platinum and that gives me Marriott Gold. So maybe I'll get other perks such as late check-out when booking directly with Ovolo?
The more I read about free breakfast with Platinum status, the more I feel that maybe it's not really worth it considering that hotels are looking to scale back or implement a fairly basic breakfast policy. I might be different from most people in that I prefer hot meals whether it's breakfast, lunch, or dinner. The thing that would make it all worthwhile to gain status is the guaranteed late check-out. I hope it truly is guaranteed because if it's not, then status is fairly useless for me.
I forgot to mention that I have an AMEX Platinum and that gives me Marriott Gold. So maybe I'll get other perks such as late check-out when booking directly with Ovolo?
The more I read about free breakfast with Platinum status, the more I feel that maybe it's not really worth it considering that hotels are looking to scale back or implement a fairly basic breakfast policy. I might be different from most people in that I prefer hot meals whether it's breakfast, lunch, or dinner. The thing that would make it all worthwhile to gain status is the guaranteed late check-out. I hope it truly is guaranteed because if it's not, then status is fairly useless for me.
Breakfast is not being scaled back and anecdotes you hear about are usually isolated edge cases that have enraged someone enough to post about it. In Asia, even in lower brands like Courtyards or Four Points, you will generally be able to go to the main hotel buffet for your entire stay either be default or by trading your welcome points (which at Courtyards and Four Points means giving up 500 points which are of trivial value). You can go to the main huge buffet at the Courtyard Sha Tin but at the Courtyard HK you get breakfast in the lounge. No matter it still has hot items. It's still recognisably breakfast. In the US, some lower-end brands are different and Courtyards give you US$10 to spend on breakfast but if I understand it correctly before the Bonvoy branding they didn't give you anything. I'm sure someone can correct me if that wasn't the case but it doesn't matter. Breakfast isn't being scaled back as a benefit though the implementation of the policy in different hotels varies.
But primarily, if you're doing the challenge then you're investing 16 nights to get breakfast and evening food/booze plus some suite upgrades for a year. Whether it's worth pushing yourself for 50 nights to renew it is a calculation you have to make based on your stay patterns. If you're ending up at 40-50 nights then a few mattress runs (or the famed $100 meeting for 10 nights) will get you over the line. But, again, only if you get the value from the benefits from stays you would be doing anyway.
Aug 10, 2019, 8:41 pm
#38
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: DEN
Programs: UA 1K
Posts: 175
In Tokyo, I have found the Moxy in Kinshicho to be a good choice. there are less expensive options (I like the Lotte City Hotel that's right by the station), but it's usually the least expensive Marriott in the city. NRT is a single JR train ride away (about 1300 yen) and HND is easy via the Tobu bus (920 yen).
Aug 10, 2019, 11:02 pm
#39
Join Date: Apr 2019
Programs: Mileage Plus, Bonvoy, Enrich
Posts: 50
Generally agree with KL for many options, normally under $75 USD and air Asia flights very inexpensive. I have seen posted prices closer to $50 for aloft, etc. while not a mattress run specifically, I have had two staycations at LM and i consider a night at $75 for my family a deal - great pool, free breakfast, robust lounge with drinks (alcohol expensive in KL) and connected to a nice mall. The express train goes right next to the hotel from the airport as well.
Depending on the number of nights you can find cheaper alternatives in the area. I have been interested in visiting Putrajaya which is closer to the airport and supposed to be an interesting city (government city built recently).
I have also also looked around for cheap hotels in Asia and cannot find many with the amount of options we have here.
Good luck.
Depending on the number of nights you can find cheaper alternatives in the area. I have been interested in visiting Putrajaya which is closer to the airport and supposed to be an interesting city (government city built recently).
I have also also looked around for cheap hotels in Asia and cannot find many with the amount of options we have here.
Good luck.
Aug 11, 2019, 12:03 am
#40
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Gold won't get you much anywhere. The major benefits of Bonvoy (breakfast, potential of suite upgrades, 4pm check out, lounge access which can be substantial free meals and your evening's alcohol) only kick in at Platinum. But it never hurts to ask at reception if you want a late check out.
Breakfast is not being scaled back and anecdotes you hear about are usually isolated edge cases that have enraged someone enough to post about it. In Asia, even in lower brands like Courtyards or Four Points, you will generally be able to go to the main hotel buffet for your entire stay either be default or by trading your welcome points (which at Courtyards and Four Points means giving up 500 points which are of trivial value). You can go to the main huge buffet at the Courtyard Sha Tin but at the Courtyard HK you get breakfast in the lounge. No matter it still has hot items. It's still recognisably breakfast. In the US, some lower-end brands are different and Courtyards give you US$10 to spend on breakfast but if I understand it correctly before the Bonvoy branding they didn't give you anything. I'm sure someone can correct me if that wasn't the case but it doesn't matter. Breakfast isn't being scaled back as a benefit though the implementation of the policy in different hotels varies.
But primarily, if you're doing the challenge then you're investing 16 nights to get breakfast and evening food/booze plus some suite upgrades for a year. Whether it's worth pushing yourself for 50 nights to renew it is a calculation you have to make based on your stay patterns. If you're ending up at 40-50 nights then a few mattress runs (or the famed $100 meeting for 10 nights) will get you over the line. But, again, only if you get the value from the benefits from stays you would be doing anyway.
Breakfast is not being scaled back and anecdotes you hear about are usually isolated edge cases that have enraged someone enough to post about it. In Asia, even in lower brands like Courtyards or Four Points, you will generally be able to go to the main hotel buffet for your entire stay either be default or by trading your welcome points (which at Courtyards and Four Points means giving up 500 points which are of trivial value). You can go to the main huge buffet at the Courtyard Sha Tin but at the Courtyard HK you get breakfast in the lounge. No matter it still has hot items. It's still recognisably breakfast. In the US, some lower-end brands are different and Courtyards give you US$10 to spend on breakfast but if I understand it correctly before the Bonvoy branding they didn't give you anything. I'm sure someone can correct me if that wasn't the case but it doesn't matter. Breakfast isn't being scaled back as a benefit though the implementation of the policy in different hotels varies.
But primarily, if you're doing the challenge then you're investing 16 nights to get breakfast and evening food/booze plus some suite upgrades for a year. Whether it's worth pushing yourself for 50 nights to renew it is a calculation you have to make based on your stay patterns. If you're ending up at 40-50 nights then a few mattress runs (or the famed $100 meeting for 10 nights) will get you over the line. But, again, only if you get the value from the benefits from stays you would be doing anyway.
As for a hotel lounge, I'm sorry, but can you explain to me why this is such a coveted benefit? I've never stayed in one before at any properties. I can see why airport lounges are so useful, which is why I have AMEX Platinum not just for Priority Pass, but also for Centurion Lounges
Thank you.
Aug 11, 2019, 12:07 am
#41
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In Tokyo, I have found the Moxy in Kinshicho to be a good choice. there are less expensive options (I like the Lotte City Hotel that's right by the station), but it's usually the least expensive Marriott in the city. NRT is a single JR train ride away (about 1300 yen) and HND is easy via the Tobu bus (920 yen).
Aug 11, 2019, 12:09 am
#42
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Generally agree with KL for many options, normally under $75 USD and air Asia flights very inexpensive. I have seen posted prices closer to $50 for aloft, etc. while not a mattress run specifically, I have had two staycations at LM and i consider a night at $75 for my family a deal - great pool, free breakfast, robust lounge with drinks (alcohol expensive in KL) and connected to a nice mall. The express train goes right next to the hotel from the airport as well.
Depending on the number of nights you can find cheaper alternatives in the area. I have been interested in visiting Putrajaya which is closer to the airport and supposed to be an interesting city (government city built recently).
I have also also looked around for cheap hotels in Asia and cannot find many with the amount of options we have here.
Good luck.
Depending on the number of nights you can find cheaper alternatives in the area. I have been interested in visiting Putrajaya which is closer to the airport and supposed to be an interesting city (government city built recently).
I have also also looked around for cheap hotels in Asia and cannot find many with the amount of options we have here.
Good luck.
Thx!
Aug 11, 2019, 12:25 am
#43
Join Date: Apr 2019
Programs: Mileage Plus, Bonvoy, Enrich
Posts: 50
Hotel lounges are valuable to me when provide dinner and drinks (alcohol) are provided, which can easily save me $50 or more (when I am with family). Also, generally throughout the day there are snacks, coffee, alternate breakfast, etc.
Aug 11, 2019, 12:50 am
#44
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Is a hotel lounge the same as the restaurant within a hotel? So I'm assuming the food selection will probably be buffet style, but higher quality and more choices compared to an airport lounge?
Aug 11, 2019, 1:07 am
#45
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Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Shanghai
Posts: 42,041
A lot of the lounges I'm familiar with serve food that is prepared by the hotel restaurants, but the quality is definitely a notch or two below the menu options from the same restaurants. Imo, lounge breakfast is usually fine. However, the evening selections are not intended as a replacement for dinner.