As far as I know Marriott is the first program this year to roll out a double night credit promotion. I’m not sure whether it’s targeted or not, but it can be found here. This is cool, although I doubt I’ll be taking advantage of this promotion.

Part One: Introduction
Part Two: TPA-DFW-YYZ on American, and a fun afternoon in Toronto
Part Three: YYZ-HKG on Cathay Pacific and “The Arrival” in HKG
Part Four: Stay at the InterContinental Grand Stanford
Part Five: Visit to “The Wing” and HKG-MNL on Cathay Pacific
Part Six: Stay at the Crowne Plaza Manila
Part Seven: Stay at the InterContinental Manila
Part Eight: MNL-HKG on Cathay Pacific
Part Nine: Stay at the Marriott SkyCity Hong Kong
Part Ten: HKG-NRT on Cathay Pacific and NRT-JFK on JAL
Part Eleven: Stay at Holiday Inn Express JFK and JFK-MIA-TPA on American

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Upon arrival we headed to the Marriott transfer desk located within the airport, since the hotel provides a free shuttle to the hotel. As we approached we were asked for our names, and within a couple of minutes we were escorted outside by one of the representatives, where a fancy black minivan was waiting for us. The guy couldn’t have been any nicer, and I have to say, it was a pretty nice minivan too!

Within a few minutes we were at the hotel, which is near the AsiaWorld Expo. The exterior is impressive, and not surprisingly the hotel looked new, given that it only opened a few months ago.

Marriott Hong Kong SkyCity

Hotel exterior

I’ve read good reviews about this hotel so far, especially when it comes to customer service. I couldn’t agree more. From the moment we walked in we were greeted with a smile, and even without asking were escorted to the front desk. There we were greeted by an equally friendly agent who spoke English well and checked us in quickly. He explained to us the hotel’s features and welcomed us no less than a dozen times. He informed us we were upgraded to the executive level as Marriott Gold members.

The lobby was well designed and modern, with huge windows. Unfortunately the view was of the Macau ferry terminal, which isn’t exactly breathtaking.

Impressive lobby

Panoramic views of….. the Macau ferry terminal!

After a quick elevator ride we were on the 12th floor, where our room was located. We were assigned to room 1243, conveniently enough right across from the executive lounge.

Room 1243

I’m not Samantha Brown so I won’t even attempt to describe the room, other than to say that it was beautifully appointed and still had the new room smell. My favorite thing had to be the beds. They were perfectly cushioned, as opposed to the hard-as-rock beds we had at the Crowne Plaza Manila.

Room 1243

Desk

Our view was also of the ferry terminal. Fortunately the rooms were still quiet, despite what are usually the noisy ferries on the hour every hour.

View from the room

The bathroom had all the amenities one would expect from a Marriott and even had a “rainfall” shower, or whatever it’s called.

Sink and toilet

Bathtub/shower

Conditioner, shampoo, bath gel

On the table was a bowl with three apples and a handwritten card from the front offer manager.

Dear Mr. Lucky,

We are all very pleased to have you staying with us. Should there be anything I can do to make your stay more enjoyable, please let me know and allow me to be of service to you.

Warmest Regards,
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Front Office Manager

 The fact that it was handwritten impressed me. Well done!

Welcome gift

There were also two bottles of complimentary Bonaqua water near the TV.

Bonaqua water

We made a quick visit to the executive lounge just to check it out. As we entered the agent introduced herself and said we should let her know if there’s anything we need. She explained that evening cocktails were served from 6PM until 8PM and that we could have breakfast either downstairs in the restaurant or in the lounge. Unfortunately there were no daytime snacks (not even minor things like chips, cookies, or nuts) as is the norm at most InterContinental hotels.

Entrance to the Executive Lounge

Executive Lounge

Being an airplane geek I loved the views of the airport from the lounge. Every 90 seconds we saw heavies land, so I could have sat there all day just watching.

View from the lounge

The lounge has three computers which can be used by club guests for free, which is nice. There are few things things I hate more than paying for internet while traveling.

Computer in the lounge

After checking out the lounge we tried to figure out if there was anything to do in the area. Unfortunately there’s nothing within walking distance other than the AsiaWorld Expo, which had nothing exciting that day. The closest thing other than that is the airport.

Since we had been walking miles a day for the past week we decided to take the afternoon easy and head to the pool, which is located on the ground floor. While we weren’t fans of the fact that it was indoors at first, it made sense on second thought given the proximity to the ferry terminal.

The pool was empty and well designed, with plenty of chairs. There was also a (small) whirlpool and sauna. It was a relaxing afternoon before what we knew would be a long day, flying from Hong Kong to New York via Tokyo.

Pool

Lounge chairs

Whirlpool

After showering it was already 6PM, which meant it was time for dinner at the lounge. As I’ve posted several times before (to the disappointment of many), we tend to have dinner in the club lounge.

We sat down at an open table in the lounge, which there were plenty of, and within moments a friendly waitress offered us drinks. We checked out the snack selection, only to see that it was a bit more limited than what we were used to at the InterContinental. More specifically, there were several people in the lounge doing the same thing as us, and the portions that the “chef” brought out were just too small. For example, the chef would bring out only three spinach squares at a time, which would be gone within about eleven seconds. Fair enough, that’s the spirit of “evening cocktails,” but it was still a bit more limited than what we were used to. For the first time during our trip we decided we were going to go out to dinner.

Evening drinks

Evening snacks

More snacks

We went to the concierge to ask if there were any decent restaurants in the area (other than the classy 7-11, which has a casual dress code), and we were informed that the closest place was the airport. Everything else was at least 15 minutes away by cab. Not in the mood, we decided on the SkyBistro, the hotel restaurant.

This is probably my biggest complaint about the hotel. The prices at the restaurant are astronomically high. They know there’s no competition in the area and it’s not practical to go out and eat, so they just charge whatever the hell they want. In this case, it was about $20USD for a satay appetizer (what my dad had) and $20 for a personal cheese pizza (what I had). They also had a buffet, which looked excellent, but cost about $50USD/person. Oddly enough it seemed like many of the patrons eating from the buffet were locals as opposed to hotel guests, which kind of surprised me.

Satay

Cheese pizza

We went to bed early given the long day ahead of us, although I hardly got any sleep for some reason, despite the comfortable bed. We got up at around 6AM, had a light breakfast in the lounge (in anticipation of a big meal on Cathay), and checked out. The shuttle was immediately ready to take us to the airport.

Overall I highly recommend this hotel. It has been a long time since I’ve seen a hotel with such uniformly friendly employees. Management deserves a pat on the back for training their employees well, and the employees deserve a pat on the back for being awesome. We noticed that the average age of the employees was young, probably mid-20′s at most. Given that we paid $110USD, this was a steal and I would definitely return the next time I’m in Hong Kong and have an early flight.

As most of you probably know, I can be a tough critic at times. I tend to focus on the details, which means I find lots of things to nitpick when writing trip reports, mainly because I’d like to present a balanced report and not just salivate over an amazing product. Well, after a wonderful Cathay Pacific flight from Manila we’re at the brand new Marriott Sky City hotel near Hong Kong airport. In the hour we’ve been here I’ve decided that this hotel has some of the most well trained and professional employees I’ve seen anywhere in the world. We were greeted at the welcome desk at the airport, escorted to a nice sedan (as opposed to ugly airport bus) which drove us to the hotel. At check-in we were greeted by name, with a smile, explained all the features of the hotel, and then escorted to our room. When we got to the club lounge instead of the agent just saying hello, she noticed it was our first time and introduced herself to us. She went through the hours of operation and offerings of the lounge.

When we got to the room there was a welcome fruit plate and a handwritten note from the GM. Nothing impresses me more than a handwritten note, especially one as detailed as what we received. In addition, the facilities here are fantastic. The hotel has only been open for a few months so it still has the new hotel smell, if you know what I mean. The beds are the most comfortable I’ve seen in a long time, the pool is great, and the rooms couldn’t be any better.

While I’ve only been here an hour, I have a feeling I’ll have a hard time faulting any part of this stay. Kudos to the management team here for hiring and training their employees correctly and for running a great hotel. Now I understand why I’ve heard nothing but great things about this hotel so far.

I know I’ve covered this several times in the past, but I feel the need to do so again. On the way back from Hong Kong in a couple of weeks, we have a quick overnight in Hong Kong. We’re staying at the SkyCity Marriott, which we originally booked for around $200USD. About two weeks ago the rate dropped to $150USD, so I “repriced” by changing the reservation to the lower rate. Now I checked the rate again, and it’s down to $110USD! Nothing beats saving money just for a few clicks, so always check those reservations to see if the price drops.

This is also another reason to always book refundable rates, at least if you’re booking way in advance. The rate often goes down, but once you’re locked in with an advanced purchase rate you can’t reprice.

I’m hoping to save even more money with the “Great Asia 3-Day Sale,” so I’ll report back.

Through the end of the year the JW Marriott Grosvenor House (Category 7) is available for 30,000 points per night, with nightly point requirements decreasing the longer you stay (for example, a seven night stay is a mere 130,000 points). Since Marriott has created a new hotel category (Category 8), this hotel will be 40,000 points per night in the new year, plus there’ll no longer be discounts on longer stays, other than one free night for every three award nights.

This is a real bargain for one of London’s top hotels, and added to the favorable exchange rate at the moment (1GBP=1.50USD), it’s something worth considering. If only Virgin Atlantic had Upper Class award availability for the date I need (leaving Christmas night from JFK-LHR), I’d be there in a heartbeat….

It never ceases to amaze me that loyalty program still choose to use the term “enhancement” nowadays when they announce changes. Of course with the way they try to package things, it might seem like an enhancement on the surface, but even a minute of investigating reveals otherwise. I wish these programs would just be straightforward and start hitting us with the changes the way they are, but of course that’ll never happen.

Anyway, via Marriott Concierge on FlyerTalk:

Based on feedback from our members, I am excited to announce a number of program enhancements being made effective January 15, 2009 – and we are announcing it here first. The official announcement will be made tomorrow on Marriott.com and by email.

Blackout dates will be eliminated. Starting on January 15, 2009, every hotel will have standard rooms available for redemptions every day. While this does not mean you will never again have difficulty booking a redemption stay, it does mean these difficulties will be rare. Hotels will only be able to limit the number of rooms available for redemption on a very limited number of nights.

Platinum Elite Bonus will increase from 30% to 50%. In order to strengthen our elite program and recognize our most valuable members, the platinum bonus will increase from thirty to fifty percent of the base points earned.

Redeem for 4 nights and get the 5th redemption free. You will also see changes in the way hotel rewards are priced. We will migrate to a one night award structure with redeem for 4 nights, receive the 5th night free award option.

We are very excited about these program changes. I encourage all of you who are interested in knowing more to look over the information that has been posted online at: http://www.marriott.com/marriott.mi?…tRoomAvailable and let us know what questions you have. It is our goal to make this program upgrade as simple and rewarding as possible.

Now, there most definitely are some real enhancements here, but they come at the expense of more points being required for free nights. First of all, Marriott has created an eight category of hotels, which will make the top hotels more expensive. Furthermore, one of the great things about the Marriott program has always been the ability to redeem at a substantial discount for longer stays. That’ll be a thing of the past, and is now being replaced by the fifth night free.

Overall these changes will probably balance out for Platinums with the extra points they earn, but all others have nothing to look forward to with these changes. Of course I’m certain I’m wrong, since these ”enhancements” were made “based on feedback from our members.”

Thanks to Frugal Travel Guy for pointing out that Marriott is offering 20% off weekend stays through December 21 at properties in the Continental United States, Canada, Caribbean, Latin America, the United Kingdom, and Ireland. Simply use promo code “F5X.” For all the details see here.

Oh, and here’s the cheesy commercial they chose to make about the promotion: