Well apparently you haven't frequented many W's. You mention the lack of lounge and breakfast. Of the bunch of W's I have visited none of them offer these benefits so when you stay at a W you shouldn't expect them.

The following W's don't have lounges or offer breakfast from my experience.

W SF
W Times Square
W Court
W Tuscany
W City Center
W Lakeshore
W Seattle
W San Francisco
W Silicon Valley
W San Diego

So how you can whine about the lack of breakfast and a lounge is beyond me. If you want those options look at the Westin or Sheraton brand where these things are more readily offered to Platinums. BTW, if breakfast (continental) and lounge are important to you stay at the Sheraton Hong Kong where they offer these benefits to Platinums.

Most of the complaints about SPG seem to be based on getting hotels to provided elites guests with what they should received based on the terms and conditions of SPG. How many threads have we seen where guests had to ask for an upgrade or found out they weren't given the best available room? Trust me a lot more people would be happy here if they didn't need to ask about a Platinum eligble upgrade after being assigned the basic room they booked. The W HKG at least for me did it without asking so that's a plus.

Yes I was rather vague in my post as I just arrived at the hotel, but from what i've seen this hotel is everything the W brand portrays itself to be. So any fan of the "W" brand will like this property.

I will write more about this property later when I get a chance.

Heated but it is on the 76th floor so it can get windy from what I was told. The pool is open until 10PM. There is a jacuzzi up there too. A bar is coming once they get a license to serve liquor. Until then you need to buy your drinks in the living room and bring them up to the pool area.

Wow there, sorry to have struck such a nerve with you with my "whining" post (read: statement of personal experience)... :rolleyes:

Yes, I have not stayed at many W's - only the HKG one and the Silicon Valley one. Even at SV, in lieu of lounge access was given an F&B credit - whether that's normal or not I cannot say, but at least they offered something.

I would agree fans of W will probably really enjoy this property - the only point with my post that you found so distasteful was to point out that if you don't get some kick-*** upgrade to a suite, you'd probably be better off at one of the other SPG properties in HKG, as you receive exactly nothing else in terms of benefits (oh, excuse me, 500 points as a plat, a $5 F&B credit [maybe $10?], or a W hat - a similar selection of which you'd get at any other SPG property).

I'll be sure not to post my reviews of W properties lest I offend other ardent W fans...

As for suite upgrades regardless of brand they are no where near guaranteed. It's just the luck of the draw. Plat A could get one, while Plat B may not. The context in which I was bringing up the suite was that it was offered without the need to ask. Many properties make you beg or end up lying to you. The W HKG is proactive and upgrades without asking. Sadly this is something that is hit and miss across the Starwood brand. The kick*** suite experience doesn't make or break a property. It helps, but isn't a game breaker in my opinion. Hopefully this clarifies my post.

Please continue to post as the more reviews we have the better we will be off here.

vysean, it's true that suite upgrades at Ws occur less frequently than other Starwood brands in general but this is only because Ws tend to have less suites than other Starwood brands in general. The W HK is no exception. Furthermore whilst they were in soft opening mode (still are?) not all floors were ready which decreases the number of available suites.

Suite upgrades only occur when they're available at check in per SPG T&Cs. The W HK is very pro active in upgrading PLTs in that they do block upgrades for PLTs prior to arrival, however if one is not available at check in for whatever reason (most commonly due to the suites not being ready as the previous PLT guest has exercised his/her 4pm late check out privilege) you will be downgraded to a room that's available when you arrive.

As per my TR, I only got my originally assigned suite as I offered to wait until the Fantastic Suite was ready. The alternative proferred should I want to check in immediately was a Cool Corner Room.

This isn't intended to be an attack and neither was i offended by your post. Nor am I attempting to defend the W for the sake of it. I do agree with your 'grain of salt' advice. I'm merely trying to explain that the W HK does honour the PLT upgrade benefit very well, and on the occassion they do not occur it's only because the suites are genuinely unavailable.

I too would love to read your thoughts on the property. :)

If you'll be heading to the W HK in the near future, here a tip on how to find the hotel from the MTR/Airport Express Station.

1. Look for Exit D - Elements.

1a. If you are coming from the MTR line, you will want to make a left-hand U-turn once you exit the fare gates. There will be rather small passageway that takes you to the other side. If you see the Airport Express check-in counters, you're in the right place. These are opposite the Exit D escalators.

1b. If you are coming from the Airport, the process is similar. Basically you want to get to the side with the check-in counters. (Which is the opposite platform you just arrived from.)

2. At the top of the escalator, make a left turn.

3. Walk past a couple of stores until you encounter a Shanghai Tang on your right hand side. Turn right at this passage (you should also see the W Hotel sign on top).

4. Walk all the way to the end, you'll come up to a exit for the Elements shopping center. Slightly to the right of the exits is the entrance for the W. (It's rather small double doors, with a bit of W style furniture in front.)

Incidentally, I didn't get a suite upgrade, but I still thought this was a great W Hotel. Very well designed rooms, 2x/daily refresh of Bliss products, helpful staff, great pool/gym/spa. As for food/drink, well, you're in HK! Leave the hotel and go to LKF, Central or something. :p

Has anyone stayed at the W with kids? My wife and I are staying for two nights with our baby and I wondered whether it was necessary to book a cot in advance. I emailled [email protected] on 27 Nov and havent had a reply.
Everyone has said the public transport is good but seeing as we will have obscene amounts of luggage (babies dont travel light) I would like to know if they can arrange airport pick ups?

W's dont have lounges. Not a single one.

Yes they do offer airport pick ups for HKD750 (not sure if that's per pax or per trip).

Taxis are easy and plentiful and should cost you less than half that amount, maybe HKD 300-350.

Definitely the finest W I have stayed at. Was upgraded to a Fantastic Suite. The service and room compared very favorably to the Landmark MO. A great property.

what happened to their advertised intro rate of 1650? At the prices they are quoting for Feb08, I'd stay at Landamark Mandarin Oriental for the same amount.:td:

The introductory rate of 1650HKD is good through January 31, 2009. No word whether the introductory rate will be extended.

Got back from my Thanksgiving trip in HK where I stayed at the W and must say that I loved it. I liked it better than any of the W's I've stayed at in the US, including a fantastic suite upgrade at the W Westwood LA.

Most of the comments on this thread were spot on. The only thing I'd add is how nice the little things in the room were, such as the curtain control, light settings, sink design - all fine touches that I wish I had in my own home.

Can't wait to visit the W HK again :)

W HKG - Staying with kids?
 

This thread has been very helpful. However, I've seen a couple other people inquire about staying at the property with kids? Thoughts? I'm planning a trip for late December with my family and am hoping to get some thoughts from those that have already stayed there! Thanks in advance for your input/advice!