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New Years Trip to the Other Vegas, "Xin" City (CX F, Conrad HK/Macao, Grand Hyatt HK)

New Years Trip to the Other Vegas, "Xin" City (CX F, Conrad HK/Macao, Grand Hyatt HK)

Old Jan 1, 2014, 6:14 pm
  #16  
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Originally Posted by spizzy
sfoactuary - Excellent TR so far. A few questions if you can-

Looking at going to Macau and HKG in the future. For someone that gets motion sickness how bumpy was the Jetfoil ride Hong Kong to Macau? Do you just check your luggage in and collect your luggage before immigration? Is there a long wait? How long does it take to get through immigration into Macau?

Are people smoking everywhere there? Hopefully the smoke smell doesn't come into your Hotel room as I have read on TA that even on non-smoking floors people smoke in some Hotels?

The food at 8 looks amazing and will have to try it out as well as maybe Robuchon au Dme.

Are taxis expensive to get around Macau, and are taxis easy to catch (flag down)?

Was shopping there expensive or much like the pricing in Vegas?

Thanks in advance and Happy New Year
Thanks, Spizzy! Hopefully I got all your questions answered below:

- You should have no problems on the HK to Macau jetfoil ride as it was extremely smooth. In general I can get queasy at times as well on boats, but was even able to read and watch videos on my iPad during this trip since it was so smooth

- Most people just brought their luggage on board as there is plenty of space at the seat as well as luggage racks. Some people with huge luggage did check it in, but the vast majority of people carry on

- Since there are so many sailing per day, wait times are pretty minimal. We just walked into the terminal in Hong Kong and bought tickets for the next sailing, and then headed over to boarding. Really easy process, no security or anything like that. Immigration at HK took abut 10 minutes, immigration at Macau took under 30 seconds

- We noticed that on the Cotai side where we stayed smoke was pretty minimal, in fact we didn't notice it at all indoors in the restaurants or malls. But on the other side when we were walking through the Grand Lisboa the smoke was indeed quite bad. But we definitely did not notice anything in our room

- I definitely recommend the 8! Just make sure to make reservations ahead of time. Heard great things about the Robuchon restaurant as well but just didn't have time to eat there

- Taxis were quite easy to get, probably just as easy as getting one in Hong Kong. If you're nearby to a hotel all of them have taxi stands and probably wouldn't have to wait more than a few minutes. Taxi fares were pretty reasonable, again similar to Hong Kong prices I believe. For example, the fare from the Grand Lisboa across to the other island to the Conrad hotel was approx. $50-60 HKD if I remember correctly

- We found that the prices were very comparable to Vegas, and ended up being cheaper as there was no tax. Additionally, almost all the stores were having sales. So make sure to leave some empty space in your luggage!

Originally Posted by Madone59
Great TR and photos. Thanks for sharing, Happy New Years!
Thanks so much Madone59 and happy New Years to you as well!
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Old Jan 1, 2014, 7:08 pm
  #17  
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4. New Years Eve in Hong Kong + Grand Hyatt HK

Since we were still jet lagged we woke up bright and early around 6am and headed down for breakfast. The buffet spread is really fantastic, and once again we gorged ourselves silly and ate way more than we should have. We headed back to the room and just hung out until around 10:30am, after which we packed up and headed down to check-out and onto the shuttle bus that took us back to Taipa ferry terminal.

We had booked our tickets ahead of time for a 12:30pm departure (definitely recommend booking return tickets in advance) but since we were running early asked to be put on stand by which was no problem at all. We ended up getting on the 12noon departure and arrived back in Hong Kong by 1:15pm, after which we hopped in a taxi for a short ride over to the Grand Hyatt in Wan Chai.

We had stayed at the Hyatt Regency in Tsim Tsa Tsui last time and really liked it as the location is extremely central to restaurants, shopping, and transportation around the area. This time, we decided to stay on the Hong Kong Island side, and since the Conrad was sold out for NYE, the next best option was to book the Grand Hyatt Hong Kong. The standard room resumptions were unavailable at the time, but I was about to book a club room for a few thousand more points. I was more than happy to part with 27,000 points vs. the $1,100 retail price of the room for the night.

We checked in and were given the choice of a a room on the club floor that had not been renovated, or a newly renovated room on a slightly lower floor (26th floor), which we ended up choosing. The room really feels fresh and brand new and was more spacious than expected. It felt very open and similar to some of the Park Hyatt rooms that we have stayed in. Unfortunately only the garden view was available, so we made plans to watch the fireworks from the Club Lounge on the 30th floor later that night.

View from the foyer


Bedroom


Open view into the bathroom


Bathroom


Garden view


Laziness took a hold of us at this point since neither of us had any must-dos remaining for our time in Hong Kong. So we did a lap around the area ending up in Causeway Bay/Times Square where we grabbed a bite in the food court, walked over to the HK Convention Center, then headed back to the hotel around 6:30 to grab some canapes in the lounge. There was a long queue for tables when we arrived, so we just grabbed a couple plates and used the overflow space in one of the adjacent meeting rooms.

Walking around Causeway Bay


Times Square




Last meal in Hong Kong, ramen


Walking by the convention center




The Club Lounge entrance is on the 30th floor, and there is a grand staircase that leads up to the main lounge on the 31st floor. This is probably one of the best hotel lounges we have been to, and the views of the harbor are fantastic. The evening canape selection was great, and we easily made dinner out of it.

Daytime view from the Club lounge


Club lounge






Evening canapes




We went back to the room for a couple hours, then headed back to the lounge around 9pm just in time to snag the last remaining table by the window. Not sure when others had arrived, but I suspect they had been camping out since the canapes ended around 7:30pm.

We struggled to stay awake past midnight given the jet lag, but it was worth it for the spectacular display of fireworks over the harbor, and the Club lounge was a perfect place to see everything as the fireworks ended up being right at eye level. It was also a perfect mix of festiveness with a private party feel as there was a crowd of about 30-40 people and champagne was passed around, while not having to deal with huge crowds outside. We saw pictures from some our friends that watched from other locations (such as the Ritz rooftop bar) and the fireworks looked so small from such a high vantage point.

Hong Kong skyline at night


Happy new years!


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Old Jan 1, 2014, 7:50 pm
  #18  
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5. Cathay Pacific First Class: Hong Kong to San Francisco + The Wing F Lounge

As I was planning this trip, award availability on New Years day was terrible as I suspect that airlines were holding on to these seats in the hope of last-minute sales. So the best I could do a week out was to book United F as a placeholder, with the hope that something better would open up. As expected, on NYE day I woke up and was happy to find that 2 seats had opened up on the CX 747 in first class for the next day.

Unfortunately, I was a little short on Oneworld points, and made the decision to cancel my SFO-LHR redemption on BA next summer, and use those 150,000 Avios toward the painful 210,000 total Avios needed. Taxes and YQ came out to around ~$300 for 2 tickets, versus the ~$2,400 I would be getting back for my original redemption. So in that regard, I was more than happy to be getting over $2k back by switching to a partner airlines instead of BA. Also, part of the rationale behind cancelling was that we were underwhelmed with our first BA F flight last month, and weren't particularly looking forward to flying BA again. I've thought about it more, and I don't have any regrets for pulling the trigger on this. The 140,000 United miles from the cancelled booking have already been rebooked on a future trip LAX-ICN on OZ F prior to the upcoming devaluation.

Since we were jet lagged, even though we had stayed up past midnight we were up at 7am and grabbed a light breakfast in the Club lounge since we knew we'd be eating in the lounge as well as on the plane. Even though the flight wasn't until 2pm, we arrived at the airport around 10am which gave us plenty of time to enjoy The Wing First Class Lounge.

Overall impressions about the lounge were that it was very sleek and modern, and wasn't too crowded. There are a few different seating areas with a mix of couches and individual chairs, and everywhere you turn there is electricity outlets which is something that is often overlooked at airport lounges. The food is served in the 'The Haven' which offers a buffet as well as a la carte options. I was particularly excited about the food in the lounge since it's catered by the Peninsula, but to be honest there was nothing special here.

We also checked out the cabanas which have private bathroom, shower, and bathtub along with a day bed. These actually felt a bit claustrophobic for two people and we only spent about 30 minutes here before deciding to sit outside in the main area. If we wanted to take a nap then we probably would have stayed longer.

All things considered, this is a very nice lounge, but considering that it is Cathay's flagship first class lounge wasn't special in any way and certainly didn't make us say "wow" as the Emirates lounge in DXB did.

The Wing First Class lounge








Eggs benedict, wife said it tasted much better than it looked


Lunch menu


Sea bass


Cabana






One funny thing about the lounge were the urinals in the bathroom, which were by far the smallest ones I have ever come across. Had to really concentrate here as even the slightest deviation in aim would lead to disaster

Bathroom urinals


Around T-30 we headed down to Gate 3 where our flight was just getting ready for boarding. I had selected seats 1A and 1K again, so it was a bit of deja vu as we'd have the same exact seats on the same plane type.

Not as many pictures this time as the plane/seat/IFE/amenity kit/pajamas/etc. were all the same. While our flight to Hong Kong was scheduled for 15 hours, this one was only 12 hours and went by very quickly. Luckily we were flying on January 1st, which meant a fresh batch of IFE movies newly added. I ended up watching Runner, Runner (not as bad as expected) along with Rush which was absolutely phenomenal.

We felt that service on this flight was definitely better than the last, as it was not only attentive but also very warm. A nice touch was a hand written card that we received during the 1st meal service which we had never received before on any other flight.

I learned my lesson from the last flight, and opted to not change into PJs and instead just wore a t-shirt and shorts which was perfect for the warm cabin temperatures. I also requested a small size pajamas and kept them unopened and will be re-gifting them to my mom since she loved the Shanghai Tang ones she got when flying CX F last year.

The food on this flight was fantastic again, with the highlights being the Chinese style lobster and hot pot rice. I was even able to get a good 4-5 hour nap in this time, despite still feeling like the mattress padding was too thin and could use some improvement. Overall, another fantastic flight on Cathay Pacific and I can't wait to fly them again.

Pye pajamas


Lunch menu


Snack/brunch menu


Hand written card


Caviar


Delicious lobster


Apple pie


Morning views en route to SFO

Last edited by sfoactuary; Jan 1, 2014 at 8:12 pm
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Old Jan 1, 2014, 10:08 pm
  #19  
 
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sfoactuary- Thanks for answering all the questions. Just a clarification. So for a family of 4 travelling together, each with a Suitcase and a Carry on, you would recommend taking the luggage onboard with you as there is a luggage rack as opposed to checking them in?
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Old Jan 1, 2014, 11:06 pm
  #20  
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Originally Posted by spizzy
sfoactuary- Thanks for answering all the questions. Just a clarification. So for a family of 4 travelling together, each with a Suitcase and a Carry on, you would recommend taking the luggage onboard with you as there is a luggage rack as opposed to checking them in?
Personally I would carry on board instead of checking, but it comes down to personal preference. I guess a good litmus test would be, if you were at an airport, would you be able to easily handle taking all of the luggage from the security checkpoint to your gate, across the jet bridge, and then storing into the overhead compartments?

If so, then you should have no problems bringing everything on board. But if you think that sounds too burdensome, then probably a good idea to check.

Hope that helps!
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Old Jan 1, 2014, 11:15 pm
  #21  
 
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Thanks mate. I will take them onboard.
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Old Jan 2, 2014, 6:50 am
  #22  
 
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Originally Posted by sfoactuary
Macau is definitely all about gambling, whereas Vegas has a lot more activities and nightlife. Even though I really enjoy gambling, I didn't play too much here as the game of choice is baccarat and I'm more of a craps guy. Even though I did find craps tables at some of the hotels, it just didn't have the same Vegas-like vibe that I'm used to, mostly due to the cultural part since most of the players are from mainland China. Not saying anything good or bad about this, just that it didn't have the same inviting atmosphere that I'm accustomed to and didn't make me feel like I wanted to sit down and play.

Haha to be honest many of the Mainlanders there are government officials gambling on "dodgy" money, so chances are that they probably don't care much about winning or losing.

Enjoyed your TR and Happy New Year!
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Old Jan 2, 2014, 9:00 am
  #23  
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Originally Posted by hawklx
Haha to be honest many of the Mainlanders there are government officials gambling on "dodgy" money, so chances are that they probably don't care much about winning or losing.

Enjoyed your TR and Happy New Year!
Now that you mention it, it does make a lot of sense as we never saw any emotions/reactions (either happy or sad) from the players, made the ambiance just feel so business-like in the casinos.

Happy New Year to you as well!
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Old Jan 2, 2014, 9:31 am
  #24  
 
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Always fun to read a trip report. I don't imagine I'll ever be in CX first.
Happy New Year!
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Old Jan 2, 2014, 10:42 pm
  #25  
 
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Originally Posted by sfoactuary
I had burned through all of the movies I wanted to watch on the IFE system, but had come prepared with my own entertainment and watched a movie and a few episodes of Summer Heights High on my iPad.

...

Mid-flight snack
Awesome report, interesting that an (older) Australian TV show gets some exposure in the US?
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Old Jan 3, 2014, 6:45 am
  #26  
 
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Originally Posted by ZFW-ATC
Pocket squares.
Originally Posted by sfoactuary
Yup, confirming that it's a gift set of 6 pocket squares. I'll probably keep one, and re-gift the other as the packaging as well as the pocket squares themselves are really nice.
thx for the info
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Old Jan 3, 2014, 8:07 am
  #27  
 
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Fantastic report sfoactuary! I'm impressed by the Macau bear and duck. I think they are some of the coolest I've seen so far.
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Old Jan 3, 2014, 9:03 am
  #28  
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Originally Posted by HawaiiFlyerDC8
Always fun to read a trip report. I don't imagine I'll ever be in CX first.
Happy New Year!
A few months ago I never thought I'd be in CX F either, but nothing a few credit cards can't fix

Originally Posted by Kangol
Awesome report, interesting that an (older) Australian TV show gets some exposure in the US?
Thanks, Kangol! HBO in the US just finished airing a spinoff of this show, Ja'mie, and since I liked it decided to check out some of Chris Lilley's older shows. Really funny stuff!

Originally Posted by polandspringuy
Fantastic report sfoactuary! I'm impressed by the Macau bear and duck. I think they are some of the coolest I've seen so far.
Thanks for reading, polandspringguy! We were told that the bear and duck that were being given out around New Years were limited editions so I guess we were lucky. The duck even lights up
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Old Jan 3, 2014, 9:15 am
  #29  
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Originally Posted by sfoactuary
The boat ride to Macau took just an hour aboard the Cotai Water Jet ferry. For those staying at the Conrad/Sheraton/Four Seasons/Venetian/Holiday Inn, you'll want to take the ferry to the Taipa terminal which is serviced by both Cotai (every 30 minutes) and TurboJet which only has a few sailings per day to this location. Most of their boats go to the Outer Harbor terminal and they have sailings there every 15 minutes. There is a free shuttle bus right outside the Taipa ferry that leaves every few minutes and dropped us off right outside the Conrad where I had booked our rooms for 2 nights at 40,000 Hilton points which felt like a steal since the retail price around this time was over $300 per night.

Aboard the Cotai Water Jet to Macau


Complimentary drinks and cookies



Just to clarify you paid more for the Cotai First that's why it has complimentary drinks and cookies, if you are in Cotai Class everything is Buy on board. It is a HKD$53 difference from Cotai Class to Cotai First. Cotai First is located on the upper deck of the catamaran with slight bigger and wider seat, Cotai Class is on the lower deck with narrower seats.

And if you choose TurboJet instead, they serve a meal and lounge access not just cookies on the premier jetfoil, not just cookies.
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Old Jan 3, 2014, 9:28 am
  #30  
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Originally Posted by spizzy

Looking at going to Macau and HKG in the future. For someone that gets motion sickness how bumpy was the Jetfoil ride Hong Kong to Macau?
Originally Posted by sfoactuary

- You should have no problems on the HK to Macau jetfoil ride as it was extremely smooth. In general I can get queasy at times as well on boats, but was even able to read and watch videos on my iPad during this trip since it was so smooth
sfoactuary was on a catamaran with Cotaijet (cotaijet only operate catamaran). If you want Jetfoil then you have to ride with Turbojet. (Don't confuse the two, as both are completely different boats. Note: Turbojet operates both Jetfoil and catamaran, so when you buy your ticket (preferrably at the ferry pier, not in advance), ask them which sailing is Jetfoil. And I believe at the departure board, the sailing with Jetfoil it would have the letter "J" in front of the departure time.

Jetfoil is completely smooth as it has the foils submerged under the water, which make the boat actually "fly" above the water. The jetfoils in Hong Kong are a Boeing product (yes it uses jetfuel with gas turbine engines), name Boeing 929-100 and 929-115.

Turbojet also has a boat called Foilcat, it looks like a catamaran but actually a combination of jetfoil and catamaran. It will provide a smooth ride as well, as it does have foils submerged under the water as well, just not "fly" as high as a jetfoil. They only have 2 of these, so you are not able to ride as much.

Between Hong Kong and Macau the seas often get rough when they have strong northeast moonsoon in winter, or southwest moonsoon in summer, so I really suggest to get on one of the jetfoils from Turbojet instead even if it is more expensive than Cotaijet.

Last edited by ORDnHKG; Jan 3, 2014 at 9:50 am
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