Starwood properties in Hong Kong

[zxcvbn]

One can also take the minibus from LM Cyberport - 20minutes to Causeway Bay
--
W Hong Kong is located in West Kowloon, only sea view are the container ports.

[jhm]

I would like to know, which Starwood hotel is recommended. Basically it is a choice between Sheraton and LeMeridien Cyberport. (It excludes W Hong Kong which is only for certain type of travelers. )
Easiness in taking the train from the airport?

I know you exclude the W HK but out of the three, the W is certainly the easiest for the Airport Express. I believe Kowloon station is right next to the W.

[MAN Flyer]

I believe that's the lounge for the Towers part of the hotel which, as KeithMEL points out above, PLTs don't get upgraded to.

Indeed, and which I had also commented on further up...

[jjpb3]

The discussion in this thread confirms my decision not to go with Starwood properties in HK.

After SIN, this. Maybe Starwood needs to upgrade its offerings in a few of the major Asian cities.

[SQ LPP]

The discussion in this thread confirms my decision not to go with Starwood properties in HK.

And, jjpb3, which would you recommend for staying in HKG other than Starwood properties?

[jjpb3]

And, jjpb3, which would you recommend for staying in HKG other than Starwood properties?

So far, I've really liked the Langham Place (Kowloon) and JW Marriott (HK Island).

[jhm]

I hear someone received a WoW experience in HKG.

Waiting for the pics...

[YK@HKG]

Just came home from a weekend stay in the Le Meridien Cyberport. This property is located around 20 mins from Central (in HK Island) and is situated at Cyberport, facing the Telegraph Bay. Besides taxi, another alternative will be to take the 30X bus from the Exchange Square terminus. The bus ride is also about 20 mins and costs only HK$6.50. The Cyberport complex itself is surrounded by the Bel-Air Residential Complex, one of the most expensive in HKG.

The hotel has about 20 rooms in each floor (from Floor 5-13), with only 2 suites (1 of them is the Bayside Premier Suite located on the 13th Floor) and the Deluxe Suite. The lobby is very minimalist and compact, with a IT feel since the Cyberport is an IT-hub.

I was upgraded to a Deluxe Ocean Room, which also came with complementary breakfast for two at Prompt, complementary regular drinks at PSI Bar and Podium (which open from 15:00-24:00 for Weekends and Public Holidays, 16:00-24:00 for Weekdays), 50% off at Nam Fong and Prompt, and complementary shoe-shining service for two.

The photos of my room (corner room, facing the sea and the mall at 8th floor) are the same as what KeithMEL has posted earlier. The rate is HK$1410+10% tax.

Overall, I am very satisfied with the stay I had in the LM Cyberport and I shall pay another visit next time, as part of the mattress run to retain my PLT status without going overseas.

[Rejuvenated]

The hotel is located near some pretty good shopping

Well those shoppings are heavily catered to tourists (Mainland tourist especially adore these stores). Many locals such as myself in general do not venture into that area to do our shopping needs.

Location wise I agree it is great for transportation connections to many parts of the SAR. Besides the MTR (Exit E being closest), you can easily walk to the Star Ferry or take a short bus ride there. The Cultural Centre as well as the Space Museum are also at the hotel's surroundings.

BTW anyone passing through the Star Ferry, there is a restaurant called 翡翠拉麵小籠包 (Crystal Jade) at Harbour City that I would recommend which serves excellent Dan Dan Noodles and Siu Lung Bau. They have an array of choices serving Sichuan and Shanghainese Cuisine.

[jhm]

BTW anyone passing through the Star Ferry, there is a restaurant called 翡翠拉麵小籠包 (Crystal Jade) at Harbour City that I would recommend which serves excellent Dan Dan Noodles and Siu Lung Bau. They have an array of choices serving Sichuan and Shanghainese Cuisine.

It's presumably one of the restaurants in the Singapore Crystal Jade group.

[KeithMEL]

It's presumably one of the restaurants in the Singapore Crystal Jade group.

I've always thought that it's a HK-based chain...
There's also one at the mall connected to the Hong Kong Airport Express station.

[YK@HKG]

It's presumably one of the restaurants in the Singapore Crystal Jade group.

Which also has a branch in Jakarta

[KeithMEL]

W Hong Kong
1 Austin Rd West, Kowloon Station, Kowloon

NB: Hotel was in soft opening phase so several details might well have changed in due course.





W Hotels have rocked up to Hong Kong! Finally. I'd been waiting anxiously for a rather long time for the new W Hong Kong to open in one of my favourite party towns. And it didn't disappoint. Bringing its special blend of magic WorldWide with a vengeance, the brand new W experience in Hong Kong is nothing short of WoW. It uplifts. It redefines. It inspires. It possesses. More flash, more bling, more glamour and, above all, more forward looking and edgy than ever before, it's Whatever/Whenever on OD.

But first things first: the slightly awkward location. The W is not in the best location for hanging out in TST as it's a fair bit away. The MTR line it's on didn't appear to be that convenient for getting around Kowloon, however cabs in HK are cheap. On the other hand, the hotel is only a stop away from Hong Kong/Central station, and it's then a 10mins or so stroll to nightlife in Lan Kwai Fong and SoHo. Getting back can be a bit dear however, as the MTR shuts rather early at about 1am or so. It's about a HKD120 (including HKD50 toll) cab ride via the faster way, or HKD80 (including HKD20 toll) cab ride via a less direct but not more significantly inconvenient route.

For those of you into views of the HK Island skyline, the W's location means you don't get much of that. My suite had views of Victoria Harbour, but of ships and container ports and not skyline. The Living Room had partial views of said skyline but it's obstructed by the ICC next door.




Views of the harbour from suite

So the location might not be the best, but for my purposes the only time I head to TST is to drink at Felix and I didn't find the proximity to Lan Kwai Fong all that inconvenient. So if location is the only downside of the W, it's doing pretty well as that's not too onerous a downside at all! At least IMO.

Many cab drivers don't really know where or what the W is, so if you're coming in via a cab - simply ask for Elements Mall at Kowloon station. Though I must say that I had 2 drivers who knew of the W, thanks to an aggressive marketing campaign they'd had run amongst taxi drivers in Hong Kong. If you're coming in via the Airport Express, the way to the W isn't clearly signposted. But simply go up 2 floors to Elements, navigate your way to HMV (there are maps along the way), and it's less than a 3 mins walk. When you get to HMV/Shanghai Tang, you'd see sidedoors with the W logos and I was pleasantly surprised to find them staffed. Or if you want to make a more dramatic entrance, simply head out of the mall and turn right where the main entrance to the W is.

Entering the W is like entering an upscale club in WeHo or MePa, every entrance is like a grand entrance and every new entrant is treated as such with much enthusiastic welcomes from the Welcome Ambassador. Though beware for now as the New Hotel Syndrome mean you could be greeted by up to 5 people in succession, which no doubt gets a bit weary, like trying to catch up with Energiser Bunny on steroids.

I entered via the side door and was immediately met by a Welcome Ambassador who insisted on helping me with my suitcase. The W assembles its Talent Team with much attention paid to the personalities and dedication of potential candidates, rather than prior hotel experience. With the trademark W touch, my Welcome Ambassador was the epitome of the unique W approach and clearly looked like he was having fun with his job as much as I was enjoying my experience. I was treated like a best friend rather than someone he has to kiss a*s off, which made me feel all the more welcome and at ease.

One of their inhouse restos FIRE (serving modern European cuisine) was also on this floor, as well as the bar Liquid. Though sadly I didn't get to try either during my stay.

As I ascended the elevator to the Living Room (oops - unfortunately for you MAN Flyer they do have the double lift situation ala Westin Bangkok!), I noticed that instead of the usual 'Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening' carpets, they had LCD screens on the floor. Kool aid!

[KeithMEL]

The LCD theme continued at the Welcome Desk with a gigantic LCD panel behind the Desk. It was a bit blinding at first, but when I got used to it I thought it was a pretty cool feature. Those used to extremely dark Ws (Union Square for instance) might be in for an initial shock though. I was also met at check in by Alison, the W Insider - some kind of guest relations role. She's the first Insider I've ever met. She introduced herself and mentioned that she already knew all about me from the emails I'd sent to the hotel bugging them about their opening date. Throughout my stay, Alison seemed omnipresent and was ever ready with her wide smiles and that trademark glint in her eyes. She was a fresh college graduate in her first ever job and seemed not only to have taken to her role with ease, but actually seemed to be having heaps of fun with it.







I'd been upgraded to a Fantastic Suite, however it wasn't yet ready as the previous guest was also an SPG PLT who'd taken advantage of his 4pm check out privilege. I was given the choice of waiting for the Suite to be ready or downgrading a room category or two. I decided to wait it out for my Suite - being my first stay I wanted the WoW experience all the way. Alison then gave me a mini tour of the Living Room, starting with Kitchen, one of the 2 restaurants at the W. I'd dined there later that evening. It features 'home styled' cooking, both pan-Asian and international delights. One of the signature dishes I had, beef in a spicy sichuan sauce (said to be mild but it did push my envelope a little!) with rissoto as a side felt v Mod Oz which has a heavy Asian fusion element, and it turned out that their chef is indeed Australian. You'd have a choice of either sitting at the chef's table and watch the food get cooked, or in the Dining Room.

[KeithMEL]

I then had a few drinks on the house at the Living Room. Perhaps reflecting the time of the day, the music played was more mellow but no less upbeat. Tried 2 of their cocktails from the expansive menu, the Honey and Basil Daquiri, and the Honeycomb Martini. The beverage consultant has obviously done a v good job as these were yum! At this point, Alison presented me with my own customised birthday cupcake! She lit a candle and was just about to launch into song, when I'd made a wish and blown out the candle as I didn't know she was going to sing. The cupcake was yummy, but unfortunately not on the regular menu as it was customised for me and had been freshly organised that day with the pastry chef.








Living Room by day


Private Room which is available for private functions




impromptu belated bday celebration

I was led to my Fantastic Suite on the 21st floor after I'd eaten the cupcake and finished my drink. The hallways were a bit brighter than usual, and Alison mentioned that some W fans had complained that they were too bright. I thought they were alright and represented a compromise between W Fans and those not yet familiar with the W concept. Plus, they were not blindingly bright like the W SF which really represented a significant departure from the signature sensual and mysterious hallways of the W experience. The hallways here are uniquely designed to simulate a reading room, with a faux bookshelf at the elevator foyer. Soft dance music was piped through which ensured the sensory Living Room experience doesn't end even after one has retired for the night.