This review is from our stay at the W Hong Kong. It was a stopover on my trip to Thailand in late 2010. We spent a few days in HK, using free nights from the (now expired) SPG Free Weekends promo, and decided on the W due to its easy access from the Airport Express line and to the other MTR (HK subway system) lines, plus very positive reviews for the property.
The fact that I was able to redeem free nights for a category 5 property (normally 12,000-16,000 points per night), often $330 or more is a great value. Another nice feature of Starwood award redemptions is full benefits for elite members. I received the Platinum amenity, and better yet, was upgraded to a Marvelous suite. The room was a large corner suite, with lots of windows as you will see.
W Hong Kong location
Here is a map of the area from Wikipedia:
The W is behind the International Commerce Centre, and above the Elements mall and Kowloon MTR and Airport Express station.
View of the Western Harbour Crossing tunnel with the ICC on the left. Nice hazy day across Victoria Harbour to Hong Kong Island.
W Hong Kong Marvellous Suite
The room had 2 bathrooms, one in the entryway.
Minibar with large marble(?) ice bucket
Large TV in Parlour
View of Parlour (the hotel’s description) with a view of the International Commerce Centre behind. Small problem being adjacent to the 4th tallest building in the world, the views are somewhat affected as you see here, and in later photos.
Dining table with doors to bedroom
This room was on the 16th floor, so not as high as I would prefer, but quite a view of the adjacent harbor. There was no noise pollution in the room from the busy activity below.
The very comfortable W bed. Controls on nightstand control drapes and lighting.
bedroom TV
Desk in bedroom
View of bathroom, showing tub and shower area on left
Tub with a view, both TV and a busy harbor
Cheesy messaging typical of W hotels, but a good reminder I suppose.
Excellent shower with multiple spray heads which was adjacent to the tub.
I also visited the pool, for the rooftop views and a quick dip. The pool, gym, and spa are all on the upper levels of the tower
Pool entry, or in W parlance, “Wet”
Hot tub
Narrow view of Victoria Harbour at night from the pool deck. This was after the Symphony of Lights, although due to the narrow view, this is probably not a good location for viewing.
Dining on property
One evening after much exploring during the day, we decided to stay in for dinner. I’m normally against eating in hotel restaurants, but I was happy with Sing Yin Cantonese Restaurant. Certainly not the best value for Cantonese food in HK, but it was convenient and tasty.
After dinner, we went up for a drink in the lobby bar, which was a bit crowded on Saturday evening, so we sat directly at the bar. The bartenders were creating some interesting concoctions. The photo below is one creation I enjoyed. Tasty, but I don’t remember what all he did to make it, other than some passionfruit juice (in the spoon) and in the martini glass.
Overall the W Hong Kong worked out very well for us. This was a great deal for redeeming free promotional nights, particularly with the excellent room upgrade. The location was good for exploring Hong Kong, due to its easy access to the subway. More touristy areas on Kowloon or HK Island are accessible either by subway or a shuttle to Tsim Sha Tsui. The W doesn’t have the views that some more centrally located hotels do, but its hard to beat its accessibility from the airport and onward. I’d certainly return here on future trips to Hong Kong.
