BAFlyer78

My company uses both the JW and the Courtyard in Kuwait.

Personally, I prefer the Courtyard as it's a nicer atmosphere. The staff are really friendly and the row of restaurants out the back of the hotel has some really good value places to eat.

The breakfast is really good in the Courtyard and the reatsurant that it's served in is nice and airy as it's in the atrium.

jpatokal

Just spent 10 days at the Courtyard, and yes, it's far and away the best Courtyard I've ever stayed in -- it's a real mystery why it's not branded as a Marriott or Renaissance or something, because the only thing that's Courtyard-y about the place is the plastic spoon for your in-room coffee and tea kit. Everything else is top notch and the breakfast spread in particular was just spectacular, as good if not better than what I've had in any JW: I got into the decadent habit of adding pine nuts, pistachioes and mango into my Corn Flakes. Not to mention the two chefs whipping up eggs as you like them and little Arabic pastry-wraps.

I'm still a little confused whether the Courtyard has an exec lounge or not: reports I'd read earlier said yes, but the check-in lady didn't appear to know what I was talking about... however, since it's a Courtyard I'm not technically entitled to it anyway; my rate already included breakfast; and she bumped me up a "Corner Suite", so I wasn't going to complain. The "suite", incidentally, was rather bizarre: it consisted of two normal rooms put together, complete with identical duplicate bathrooms, only one room had the bed ripped out and replaced with a sofa set. Nice enough, but what's a solo traveler supposed to do with two bathtubs?

About the only problem I encountered during my stay was that, on the 3rd day, the (complimentary) free wired Internet in my room stopped working, with no response at all from the network. It was a really bizarre problem too, as another laptop brought down by the tech guys worked fine, and my laptop worked fine everywhere else, including the hotel wifi (also free). I suspect their firewall/proxy just banned my laptop's HMAC for exceeding my bandwidth after 10 hours of downloading a 1 gig Oracle installer... but they comped me access to the Business Centre, where I got my downloads done, so service resolution worked fine. ^

I didn't find any particularly "good value" restaurants nearby though, the hotel's own are kinda expensive by Kuwait standards and those in the luxury mall next door aren't much better (US$36/9 KD for a Kobe beef burger, anyone?). There was a strip of shisha-and-shwarma joints a few corners away, but the 49 C heat wasn't too conducive to exploration and there were plenty of options near the office on Salim al-Mubarak anyway.

And regarding the airport shuttle, I'd booked it in advance for 5 KD, but the charge never made its way to my bill -- whether on purpose or by omission, I know not.

All in all, an excellent hotel and I'll definitely be back on any future trips to KWI.

thegoderic

Just back from 3 nights in the J.W. Marriott in Kuwait and it gets a big thumbs up from me.

Met at the airport by a chauffeur for the complimentary transfer to the hotel, upgraded to a large two roomed suite, liked the exec lounge and breakfast offerings, and found the staff very professional and helpful.

It is connected to a mall with some very upmarket shops, but also a decent coffee shop in the middle that is reasonably priced and which lets you charge to your room. There's also a Starbuck's in the mall as well for those who are looking for a caffeine fix. .

LarkSFO

I am not planning a trip to Kuwait soon... But if you are:

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acnev

Does anyone have any experience with the lounge at the Courtyard? Is it a normal lounge - i.e. with breakfast and evening appetizers?

I will be passing through Kuwait and staying for one night and trying to decide between the JW and the CY. Both are available on pointsavers. If the lounge has breakfast then I may just go the cheap route and book the CY since it is only for 1 night.

iwc

The following two videos provide more hotel details including lounge of the CY.

http://www.youtube.com/JWMarriottKuwaitTV

http://www.youtube.com/CourtyardKuwaitTV

nldogbert

Most probably a rant, but even before stepping foot into the JW propoerty here, I already have a bitter taste experience of the management team at this property.

I have an upcoming stay at this place booked with rewards points. Since my flight will be arriving super early, I requested an early check-in @ 500am. I was told that in theory, if they have a room it would be possible, but the system will not let them in addition that their accounting department will not permit them to check me in without me paying for the previous night.

Tried to get MR Customer service to step in, but they are just virtually helpless here (called, and instead of them helping, I had to tell the rep. what I wanted and how to word the email from them to the hotel's manager!)

So in order to get a piece of mine, decided to fork out 3x 15000 MR points for the approximately 40 hours stay I will be at the hotel (will also check out very early).

Hopefully the promised wonderful and exclusive welcome amenity promised by the Front desk manager lives up to the standard as per their response to this situation.

[end of rant].

Cheers!

ps: I have had this situation a few times and never had any problems, and the best was the Renaissance in IST, I booked a paid room for 2 nights, but because I was at the hotel for only about 20 hours, they insisted that only 1 night is charged (this is what I call customer service!)

markzz2

I think your expectations are a bit high.

5am is very early and most departures will be way after that so from a Hotel point of view I can see why they would never guarantee such an early check in. I have arrived many times at various hotels before official check in time and often have been refused an early check in, even at 11 or 12 am.

I would always book the night before if I was that desperate to get the room at 5am.

As an aside, I have stayed at both the Courtyard and the JW in Kuwait and both are lovely properties with excellent staff. The Courtyard is US standard Courtyard x 100% (in fact it feels much more like a JW).

Enjoy your stay

nldogbert

markzz, I understand and would book the night before for a guaranteed room at 5 am, but I was informed that even if one is available, they are NOT able to give me the room and I will still have to pay for it. This is the point that I find to be the sticky. The reason they informed is because this will mess up with their accounting departments balance.

holtju2

IMHO 5AM is really too early. I would be more comfortable getting one at IC's that have guaranteed 8AM check in for RA's. Marriott has no guaranteed early check ins for their elite members.

markzz2

I have never heard anything so silly. The hotel must be wrong here.

You book the room, guarantee with your credit card for late arrival and the room is yours whatever time you arrive.

If they are saying that you do all this and then the room is not there for you I would check out another hotel, or speak to a supervisor or Manager.

I have done this many time without any issue.

Good luck.

nldogbert

Despite the issues I had with the hotel before my arrival, this property is actually a nice property.

Transportation: There is a meet and greet at the airport. You have to call the hotel beforehand to confirm this. Not sure if it was because of me getting a Executive floor room, but was provided a complimentary limo ride (in a Genesis) from the airport to the hotel. Return I had to pay for a taxi (5 KD) since the complimentary shuttle (not sure what transportation is used here) only commences at 6am, and every hour after that. [seems this is complimentary for CY guests]

Check-in: Not as smooth as expected due to my 2 separate reservation, check-in staff was slightly confused and I had to explain the situation a couple of times before he noted the note in the reservation.

Room: Was upgraded (not sure if due to status or pre-arrival issue) to a junior suite, which was basically 2 rooms, one converted to a sitting room with a guest toilet/WC. I suspected on the first day that it was a smoking room (but did not occur to me that such rooms still existed). It was only late in the evening that I discovered I was placed on the smoking floor. I did not bother to change as I had all my stuff out and it was just another day of living with it. Did ask housekeeping to musk the odor as much as possible with their room deodorizers. Besides that, TV was about 42 inch, one in bed and sitting room. View of the Liberation tower. Traffic noise was minimal, but can still be heard when cars honk and sirens used. Good curtains to block out the early morning light.
Turndown service provided every day (except for the last night when they only came at 8pm when I was already back in the room). A bottle of water is provided complimentary. Minibar is secured, if you break the secure tab, most probably they will have to check it. 2nd bottle of cold water, complimentary is in the minibar. [I just got mine from the lounge]

Bathroom: Well appointed, Aromatheraphy products (seems to be slightly better than those at Marriotts). Separate showed and bathtub. Shower area came equipped with a leg supporter (first I have seen) and used mainly I guess when you have to soap/scrub your legs without bending.

Entertainment channels/tools: A rather extensive number of programs in different languages. Bose radio/alarm/CD player available. External connections available to the tv. Internet connections was ok, sufficient enough for a smooth connection for working - emails, normal browsing.

Security/storage: Safe is big enough for a large laptop. More than sufficient space for clothes, etc.

Executive lounge: They have appointed several floors, I believe 11-13 as the executive floor. Lounge is on the 12th floor, accessible by stairs both from 11 and 13th floor. Breakfast spread is limited compared to the cafe (La Brasserie), but if you don't need all, lounge also provides to-order eggs. In between breakfast to evening canapes, basically tidbits and during teatime, some simple sandwiches. Evening canape is the best, during my time, a selection of different foods were available, Japanese, Arabic, Western and Asian. note: This is a "dry" country, thus no alcohol even in hotels. Only alcohol free Budweiser's was available. Food quality was very good, and if you want, you can make a meal out of this. This has to be one of the top evening canapes that I have experienced in hotel lounges (even better than Asian ones) mainly due to the large range of variations and quality.

Breakfast @restaurant: Very good spread. Service is very attentive and friendly. Mainly western, Arabic and South asian type spread.

Staff: Very friendly and attentive both in general areas and in the lounge.

Location: About 15 mins by car from the airport. Outside, depending on what you want, you can access some places for food and for the different souks (basically just shopping complexes). To get anywhere, you will most probably need a taxi, e.g. from hotel to the Kuwait Towers, this is approximately 2 KD. For the adventurous ones, buses are close by, between 200-250 fils to get to the Dasman area (a much better area in my opinion - the CY is located in this area) where you can walk to the Kuwait Towers or the sea front.

Hope this helps. Cheers!

SkiAdcock

Thanks for the very detailed trip report! Much appreciated.

Cheers.

Canary

Want to reiterate nldogbert's report. I've been here for 6 nights and have thoroughly enjoyed my stay. The staff is the most attentive I've experienced; almost uncomfortably so. They are so kind that I wonder if they're docked pay if they don't smile.

Let me add that upon arrival, I was whisked up to the 12th floor lounge for a private check-in. Very nice.

There's an old gigantic city cemetery adjacent to the hotel. Was odd at first but have since grown ok with it once I learned that it's one of the original cemeteries in the city dating back a very long time. Does not sound like it will be preserved. You may want to ask for a street-side room. Noise not that bad 13 floors up.

nldogbert

Yes, I had the same feeling, it was a very direct 'friendliness', as if they were watching your every move.. I can imagine how this can feel uncomfortable.
I did not really notice this cemetery, though everywhere does loop so dilapated most probably did not notice this...hehe.

Cheers!