VanMan

I'm staying at the Le Meridien Cyberport in Hong Kong for the first time, having just stayed at the Sheraton and the Renaissance (yuck!). My booking was an awards stay.

The taxi ride from Kowloon was HK$159 and uneventful. The checkin was pleasant, and even though it was after 3pm, our room wasn't ready, and we were given a couple of complimentary chits for free drinks at the adjacent lobby bar.


We were upgraded to an 8th floor ocean view room, and were given vouchers for 50% off dining in the evening; FREE drinks in the main bar from 5:30pm till closing (midnight) and free breakfasts.

There is a free shuttle to HK Central for the train to the airport.

I will stay here again!!

TheEyeTie

The hotel is very good indeed when it comes to recognise status. I am only Gold, and stayed there back in April for two nights (cash). We were upgraded to the top floor (SPG floor?) with ocean view, free breakfast, and given vouchers for the bar (which at the end we didn't use). It is not the ideal location for those who visit the island for the first time, as it was for us, but certainly proved to be very good value for money, especially comparing it with the Sheraton in town!

Land-of-Miles

Do note though that the drinks menu in the bar is now far more restricted than it once was for the free drinks. On our first stay at this property we could have anything we wanted for our free drinks from the menu with the exception of wines by the bottle and the obviously premium spirits and champagne. On our last visit in July we found that the free drinks menu was much more restricted and was limited to a handful of cocktails beer and the house wine. Service was also much poorer than we had experienced in the past. The pool gets spectacularly busy at weekends during the summer months to the point that it is impossible to secure a sun lounger and with a nosiy and relatively unpleasant atmosphere.

On the whole I cannot fault the staff at this property who retrieved a difficult situation on our last stay. We had accidentally reserved a room 1 year in advance of our real arrival date and did not realise this until we were sitting in the lobby. Despite this we were accomodated and upgraded to the only suite I am aware of at this property and our original rate was honoured (it was however the last leg of our honeymoon).

All that said the deal at the Cyberport is now less attractive for me and I would take the Sheraton Kowloon Towers over the Cyberport despite the ihigher rates.

Braindrain

It's really not that bad. When I was there last month, there were lots of liqueurs you could choose as well as hard alcohol. No, not as comprehensive as the normal drinks menu but still pretty darned good.

Maybe you were looking for you favourite drink that was no longer listed?

Personally, I have no problem returning to Meridien over Sheraton as I preferred the "quietness" locale over TST. The lounge drinks were a bonus and not the reason I chose Meridien. Service... hit and miss but so was the Sheraton.

AJLondon

I did find the Aberdeen location just a little too out of the way, but still a nice property nonetheless. Service was iffy though. IME the Sheraton is more responsive and manages expectations better.

Something to be aware of, if it matters to one, is that the majority (over 80% IIRC!) of the LeMer rooms do NOT have bath tubs, but only a shower! It is only the corner/deluxe rooms that have a shower. And as a Plat, despite requesting these rooms, I've never got one of them on my last two stays there.

To conclude, like Land-of-Miles, I too would now take the Sheraton over the LeMer despite the higher rates.

bchl

Meridien HKG is definetely a leisure traveller hotel.. The express laundry service is not available within 4h and the location is just too far away from central.. Therefore my typical HKG hotels remain Grand Hyatt, JW Marriott and Island Shangri-La. Kowloon is just not an option if you are busy in central HKG.

From NYC

I’m here at the Cyberport right now. They upgraded me to an 8th floor ocean view, with the OP’s other listed benefits. 1st time in this neck of HKG. Walked around for a bit to get a lay of the land, and returned to the room to find as 1/2 bottle of Mouton Cadet, a lovely ripe strawberry and 2 fancified cookies on the desk, all of which have now been consumed and it’s only 5:30 in the afternoon. I do have a bathtub, modern one on legs, as well as a shower, but it’s still too small of one for me. One other thing about the Cyberport - their internet charge is higher than all the other hotels I stayed at during this trip, which you will see below, by as much as HK$60. That’s not right. All the hotels use the same service - Maginet but the charge varied from as low as HK$120 (Hyatt) to HK$180 (Cyberport). Also, technically, the shuttle to and from the Airport Express stop in Central is supposed to cost HK$29 each way.

Started off at the Sheraton Kowloon, which I actually like and have stayed at before. Then moved to the Westin Macau, which was very nice (upgraded to a 2-room suite overlooking the beach and mountain, which was fine because they were having some sort of party by the pool which is what the ocean view rooms overlook; an amazing bowl of various fruit, and a full bottle of a Portuguese wine I’ll finally be opening a little later tonight since I’m leaving tomorrow and can’t take it on the plane) and it was relatively quiet since it wasn’t the weekend; breakfast was included, and they have a very nice Chinese restaurant; there is nothing anywhere close to this hotel, and I did not rent any cars; there is a free shuttle from the ferry, but it isn’t easy to find.

Then switched to the Grand Hyatt Club, but did not get a harbor view; 1st time at the Hyatt and very impressed, though there’s nothing really around it except for traffic. Then switched to the Conrad Executive Floor, again without getting a harbor view; their club did not have food and drinks to compare with what the Hyatt Club put out, and the Hyatt lounge is right by the water, whereas the Conrad is back a bit with a not great view of the evening light show; however, the Conrad is right by Hong Kong Park, it’s connected to Pacific Place if you want to shop yourself nuts, and it’s right by all sorts of buses and the MTR to everywhere on the island (I went out to Stanley by bus and spent some time there); also at the Conrad, if you are on the Executive floors, you can choose to have breakfast at the regular cafe, which has a greater selection of items as well as having tables outside; and their swimming pool is ozone rather chlorine.

Heading back tomorrow, Monday. Glad I got out to Cyberport, and happy to be away from the bustle of HK for a night.

One more thing about the Cyberport - the water bottles by the bedside cost HK$38; at every single one of the hotels I’ve stayed at during this trip to HKG, water by the bed was free - 1 small bottle at Sheraton; 2 bottles at Westin Macau, Grand Hyatt and the Conrad. But the rates were higher at these other hotels.

Should’ve tried the Portuguese bottle of wine before drinking down the Mouton Cadet! Letting it breathe hasn’t helped much.

Land-of-Miles

What particularly bothered me was that no details of this change in policy were advised at check in or as part of the literature. Thus we ordered in the bar as we had previously only to be met with a large drinks bill at the end of our evening. Now to be fair this was waived after some heated discussion, but it would not be asking too much to point out the change to repeat guests who almost certainly would not be aware of a recent change in policy.

On previous stays we have always paid for the Ocean View room so I cannot really add much to AJ's Plat experience, an Ocean View room and the associated benefits is important enough for me at this property to pay the going rate. The crowded unpleasant pool area was the final issue for us and we were quite surprised to see the large number of families around the pool given the slightly off the beaten track location of the property.

Rooms at the Cyberport are very small (even the Ocean View) compared to the typical suite offering at the Sheraton Kowloon Towers. In fact even the bedroom of our last suite at Kowloon was significantly larger than an ocean view room at the Cyberport.

In future I think my stay preference in HKG will be the Sheraton and Intercontinental. Although I have also had good experiences at the Conrad, room allocation for Diamonds is rather inconsistent, rangng from very nice suites to quite small standard Executive rooms.

From NYC

I usually choose the Harbor View rooms at the Sheraton rather than the suite, and the Cyberpoint room I'm in, 811, is larger overall, from the bedroom area to the bathroom area. Pool area was nowhere near crowded today, Sunday.

In comparison, the bedroom at the Grand Hyatt was about the same size as the Sheraton, but the bathroom was bigger, and had a bigger tub. The Conrad
bedroom was wider, but seemed shorter; maybe optical effect. The bathroom was about the same size as the Hyatt, but the shower and the bathtub were smaller. Also, took me a while at the Conrad to get used to leaving my key in the elevator slot and pressing my floor before removing it; same with using the key in the door to my room - I kept sliding it in and out because that's how every other hotel I've stayed in over the past 20 years that used electronic cards has done it; at the Conrad, you have to leave the key card in the slot, then turn the handle or press the floor, then remove the key card. Only a one night stay and was finally down with the program by checkout.

AJLondon

From what I understood from one of the rather embarrased staff members, was that they sell pool access membership to local residents on a monthly/annual basis. Hence the crowd & families there and the lack of space for actual hotel guests.

Land-of-Miles

That explains a lot

travelbear

I also much prefer the sheraton after staying in the Cyberport property once.. besides, with my company SET code 253568, the rate at Sheraton is usually lower than Cyberport... last time I was in HK, I decided to move over the Cyberport for the weekend while staying at the Sheraton during the week and boy, was it a mistake.. I was bored out of my mind and spent my entire time back in town.. I guess its nice to be away from the hustle and bustle of HK, but there is really nothing at all out in Cyberport...

chinatown

I threw a party in the deluxe suite at the Le Meridien Cyberport about a month ago, in the same deluxe suite as the original poster posted about. The room is the same as before. about 700 SqFt with a generous living area. The bed was quite comfortable and the bathroom is definitely unique. The toiletries are still Hermes and in general, was a very nice room.

I've also been in a standard room, and that was like the name suggested- standard. I'd probably pay max $800 to stay in that room. Anything more, I'd look to Tsim Sha Tsui, or somewhere closer to the city


The dining is mediocre at best. I actually live near the hotel , and have been to all of the restaurants. Below are my ratings

Prompt- Your prototypical hotel coffee shop. Serve a decent lunch buffet, but at $248, you can do much better in the city at the Mandarin Oriental, or at the Conrad. Main courses range from about $180 for a burger to $340 for a steak. I had the steak just last week, asked for mashed potatoes and they committed the cardinal sin of serving not fully mashed potatoes. It's simply unacceptable, that at a 4* price for a steak, the mash had lumps. My folks are members of the hotel's VIP program so we get 50% off the food, making it a decent value, but there is no way in hell I'd pay full price to eat at Prompt, especially in a city in Hong Kong.

Umami- This is the Japanese restaurant on the ground floor of the hotel. In fact, it's right beside the check-in desks. Another restaurant which fails to deliver. Dinner for two here will run you $1000 easily. The sushi is mediocre at best and nothing to brag about. The hot food such as the yakitori and udon are nice, but the same problem beckons.... I can get better for this price! I strongly recommend Unkai at the Sheraton in Tsim Sha Tsui if Japanese food tickles your fancy.

Nam Fong- The Chinese restaurant in Le Meridien is a stark contrast to Prompt. The food here is actually delicious. Well prepared, served piping hot in a welcoming dining area, if not a little too quiet. Top tier prices, but with good food to match. Almost every dish I've had at Nam Fong, I can say I'd eat again. Recommended. Especially the Mango Sago Dessert. Best in Hong Kong.


As for transportation, there's a shuttle bus that runs into the city every 20 mins, and I believe its comped if you eat at one of their restuarants, otherwise its $29 a head. cheaper to take a cab if there are more than two of you.

Cabs to the city are about 20 mins or so and will cost about $80. The hotel is definitely far away from the city, and that's the biggest drawback. But the rooms are nice (if you get upgraded). Perhaps more suited for a repeat visitor as opposed to a first timer.

Cheers

Crackerpup

I'm heading to HGK for a couple of days in Feb (2/15-17, '08) and looking for updated info.

Single guy hanging out for a couple of days fulfilling a MR/HKG dream (albeit abbreviated) to have fun.

Fine with low-key weekend and just looking for a fun time.

Thoughts???

Traviss

Shuttles run on the hour to the Central Station, takes about 15 minutes if traffic not too bad. And leaves the Central Station (right by the entrance/exit to the Airport Express train and just to the left of the "Free Hotel Shuttle Bus service desk) for Cyberport at 30 minutes past each hour - run from 7am to 11pm and cost HK$29 each person (which can be added to the bill for those extra points), taxi is HK$60-HK$80 depending on the traffic...

T