Marriott has a special offer for Rewards Members. If you purchase a Marriott bed they’ll give you 1 bedding collection for free. There are two bedding collections to choose from and they each include 1 duvet cover, a down comforter, 2 pillows and shams and accent pillows. The odd thing is that sheets are not included. However, if you’re in the market to buy a new bed, this might be a good offer. The bed and box spring will run you between $1375 and $2250 – which isn’t a bad price for a mattress and box spring. Shipping & delivery will cost you an extra $325 flat fee.

This obviously isn’t an offer everyone is going to consider, but, if you’re already in the market for a new bed, this is a decent deal and a great way to earn extra points!

Amidst the airport chaos created by typhoon Vincente, The SkyCity Marriott at Hong Kong International Airport provided a calm refuge from the storm.  Due to the typhoon, some of my flights were cancelled and I new I needed a hotel to hunker down in.  I used the Marriott App on my iPhone to find a room at the SkyCity Marriott.

Upon arriving at the hotel, the bellman rush over to the cab with umbrellas to help with baggage and to escort me into the hotel.  The hotel is modern and welcoming.  The front desk staff checked me in very quickly and informed that that I had been upgraded to an Executive Level room, had access to the Executive Lounge, and free wifi with my Gold Status.  Marriott is very generous in Asia-Pacific with member benefits.

Reception

I headed up to my room and within minutes a bellman was there with my bag.  Service at the hotel was exceptional.  The room was decorated like my home is decorated so I felt right at home.  There was a king sized bed that was incredibly comfortable.  I sunk right into the pillows. It had been such a long and frustrating day that I really appreciated the comfort.

Bedroom

Since there was a typhoon battering Hong Kong (and all public transportation had been suspended) I opted for one of the hotel restaurants.  Luckily the hotel had several restaurants and bars to choose from.  I went with the International restaurant that offered both a buffet and a la carte menu.  I ordered off of the a la carte menu and enjoyed my dinner quite a bit.  I was actually surprised how good the food was for an airport hotel.

Stuck inside, with nothing to do, I decided to check out the hotel spa.  It was a very nice spa with great products, relaxing atmosphere and amazing treatments.  I partook in a massage that was awesome – but expensive for Asia.  I spent about $90 for a 60 minute massage.  I figured it was worth it to relive the stress and tension typhoon Vincente had created.

Unfortunately (because I really loved the hotel) and fortunately in this instance (because I was getting a flight out) I only had one night at the SkyCity Marriott.  I would absolutely return to the hotel anytime I’m in Hong Kong.  The staff was great, the location is perfect for an airport hotel and the hotel itself is very clean and comfortable.  I enjoyed my night at the SkyCity Marriott.

Restaurant:

Restaurant

Chinese Food

Mandarin Orange Cheesecake

Room

Bathroom

Desk

Spa

Spa Entry

Spa

Spa tea & snack

Apparently the fact that I’m staying at a Courtyard Hotel this week sent shock waves through the Twittersphere and realm of Facebook.  Those who know me well were shocked by my Foursquare check-in at the Courtyard Marriott in Hong Kong this past weekend.  Well, not to worry, there’s more than enough nights to go around.

As my readers know, I’m a loyal Platinum Starwood member, and in fact, I’ve already stayed at Starwood Hotels 95 nights in 2012.  I will have 3 nights next weekend at the Westin Macau which will bring me to 98 nights and will hit 100 SPG nights by the end of July.  I finished 2011 with 98 nights at SPG.

Now, back to Marriott.  I have gold status with Marriott, and I’d like to maintain my status for a few reasons.  1) I need a backup hotel with Starwood hotels are too expensive for my budget (yep, it’s true, I have a budget.)  2) I can transfer my Chase Rewards Points to Marriott (I haven’t done this yet…but it’s a good option to have) 3) I’m just shy 250,000 points with Marriott and I’d like to reach that number (through actual earn, not transfers. I know, crazy…)  and finally 4) I liked the promo they were offering for summer and because of this trip, I’ll earn an extra 40,000 bonus points.

Onto the hotel.  The Courtyard Marriott Hong Kong (hereafter called CMHK because I’m too lazy to type it out each time) is a very lovely hotel.  When I arrived at the Hong Kong International Airport, completely exhausted and bedraggled from my long trip and extended lay-over in South Korea, I was greeted by a rep from the hotel.  He immediately took my bags and offered me a cold water.   That was exactly what I needed.  He informed me that the car ride to the hotel would take about 30 minutes and asked if I wanted to use the toilets.  While I used the toilets, he watched my bags and waited for me.

The hotel car was a Mercedes (no idea what class…I was too tired to look) and the driver was very friendly.  The driver called ahead to let the hotel we were about to arrive and they greeted me at the door.  The valet took my bags and a front desk agent escorted me to check-in.  Within about 5 minutes I was checked-in, had learned about the executive lounge access, free internet, free breakfast and that my room had been upgraded to a harbor view.

I headed up to the room and was very pleasantly surprised at how modern and fresh the room was.  The bathroom was small, but very nice. The room isn’t palatial in size, but then again, it is Hong Kong.  The room had a partial glass divider between the entry and the room which almost made you feel like the room was bigger than it was.  The king size bed was comfortable as were the pillows.  The room had dark wood paneling and natural wall paper which made it feel contemporary. The room was state-of-the-art – there was an audio-visual panel with plugs to allow a computer/iPad/notebook to connect to the TV, there was wifi and wired internet access, the window shades were electronic! At the push of one button the black-out shade went up or down and with the tough of another button the privacy shade went up or down.  In addition, there were plenty of outlets in the room – especially next to the bed – there’s nothing I hate more than having to search high and low for a plug near the bed!

Since I checked-in after midnight, it wasn’t until the next morning that I really saw the spectacular views of the harbor.  Although looking straight down wasn’t so appealing, if you just looked out across the harbor it was awesome.   The hotel sits next to a highway and so at times there can be some unwanted noises and next to the highway is a gigantic wholesale seafood distributor so at times there can be some unwanted smells outside the hotel.    The neighborhood surrounding the hotel is a bit industrial and somewhat residential.  The majority of the shops do not cater to tourists and communication can be challenging.    You have to walk quite a distance from the hotel to get to the more popular areas of SoHo or Hollywood Road where there are tons of shops and restaurants.

As a gold member, not only is internet free, but so is breakfast.  At the CMHK gold members get a choice of breakfast in the executive lounge or at its restaurant, MoMo.  I chose to eat at MoMo because the breakfast buffet was impressive (not like any of the buffets I’ve experienced in Thailand, but for a Courtyard, it was unreal.)  Another nice bonus was that one of the waitresses was/is incredibly friendly and gave me a lot of great tips for sightseeing.  In addition, she remembered me every day and made a point to say good morning and ask how I was.  Turns out she’s from Las Vegas and it was nice to have someone to chat with about the difference between the US and Asia.   Overall, the staff at the hotel is fabulous.  Everyone goes out of their way to help guests and really made my stay very pleasant.

One of the great parts of having a room with a view was watching the astonishing thunderstorms roll in and consume the harbor.  There were some days when you couldn’t see across at all and the storms would move very fast.

Even though I don’t love the neighborhood that the CMHK is in, it’s close enough to other areas that it’s not a deterrent.  Also, it’s the only good chain hotel in a reasonable price range in the Sheung Wan area of Hong Kong.   I would highly recommend the CMHK if you’re in Sheung Wan or Central and need to stay around $130 – $150 USD a night.  (Your other choices are a Ramada for around $90 USD/night, a Best Western which just had its soft opening this week and is advertising rates around $140 USD/night and a bunch of other no-name hotels. Otherwise, you can try the Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental or the Conrad – all upwards of $400 USD/night)  So for the rate, I’m very pleased with the CMHK and surely will return.

So, where does this put me for the year with Marriott?  It will put me at 28 nights and I have 1 more night at the SkyCity Marriott hotel before I depart Hong Kong….no idea what I was thinking choosing a 7am return flight…so I’ll stay near the hotel, and again, that means another visit with Marriott.  I’m not sure if I’ll have another 21 nights in 2012 at Marriott, so I might miss gold this year. We’ll just have to see how the year of travel turns out.

The Marriott Sydney is located on Sydney’s famous Hyde Park and just miles from Sydney’s CBD. The hotel has recently been refurbished and looks more like a boutique hotel (think W or Kimpton) than a major chain. The high floors of the hotel offer spectacular views – my room looked out onto the Harbor and Sydney Football Stadium.

Check-in
The hotel was very welcoming and my check-in very quick. I was upgraded to an Executive Floor Room and given access to the Executive Lounge. I had several pieces of luggage with me and a box waiting for me at the hotel, and so the concierge assisted me with bringing my bags to my room (that was a real treat for me! I usually never ask for help.) The bags arrived in my room within 5 minutes and the concierge answered questions about the internet, local area and in-room amenities.

The Room
First, let me describe the hallways. They caught my attention immediately because the walls were gray and the carpet was gray. They were well maintained, but it made the hallways seem dark. Until I got into my room, I really didn’t understand the hallway décor choice.

The room was very modern – dark gray/light black carpet, 2 black chairs, a white leather headboard behind the bed and a red accent wall. The bathroom was quite large and had a large tub and combine shower.

While I liked the color scheme in the room (it could work well in my own home), I could see how some travelers might find it a bit dark. There were also a few oddities about the room. First, there was no clock in the room – no bedside clock even – so I found myself calling the operator. I also found the desk set-up a bit hard to work with. There were no plugs within easy reach of the desk, so I had to stretch my power cords behind me to the “refreshment center” – which made working a little awkward.

The “refreshment center” as I’m calling it had a mini-bar, a microwave, coffee pot and other typical amenities. The microwave was a nice touch, not that I used it though.

The Executive Lounge
The Executive Lounge was small, much smaller than the Marriott Brisbane or Marriott Melbourne’s lounges, and both nights I was there, it was full. The selection of food choices wasn’t so great. In the evening they offered canapés – the canapés looked like they’d been ordered in bulk from Costco (yep, there’s a Costco in Sydney) and the breakfasts were typical hotel breakfasts (eggs, sausage or bacon, breads, muffins, meats and cheese) but nothing like I had in Brisbane or Melbourne (guess I got spoiled by Marriott Australia.) They did have a great selection of drinks – both alcoholic and non-alcoholic. They even had my new favorite drink, Schweppes Lemonade!

General Overview
I was only in the hotel two nights, so not really long enough to try the restaurant or many other services. I did however stop by the concierge desk. She/he wasn’t there, so a bellman offered to help me. I wanted to find a day tour and asked about city tours, boat tours and other options. The bellman gave me a brochure for a whale watching excursion. I LOVE whale watching! I’ve done it in Hawaii and Alaska (twice) and would go anywhere, anytime. I noticed that the brochure said the season ended Dec 10 (this was Dec 28th) but the bellman assured me that there were still trips and to ignore the date. I was very excited to say the least. Unfortunately, I guess the bellman was wrong because about 5 minutes later he called to let me know that there were no whale watching excursions available. I was disappointed. So I guess the lesson here is to wait for the concierge to get back from his/her break.

I would return to the Sydney Marriot if I was back in Sydney. The hotel was clean and modern. Offered free internet to Marriott Rewards Members and was very conveniently located.

The Marriott Brisbane is located at the end of the CBD and adjacent to the river. The hotel is beautiful – both architecturally and design wise.

I had a room on one of the executive levels – the 24th floor- which offered an amazing view of the river and city. The room was small, but very nicely decorated and comfortable. There was a king bed, chair, working desk and large TV. The bathroom had both a shower and tub, and was very clean. The executive lounge is very large and offers breakfast and appetizers/desserts 7 days a week .

All Marriott’s in Australia offer free wifi to al Marriott Rewards Members – such a great perk. And the internet speed was very good (unlike many of the hotels I’ve reviewed so far in Australia.)

The staff was incredibly helpful and went out of their way to make me feel welcomed. In fact, one of the waitresses at the restaurant, Motion, noticed the tour brochures I was looking through. After asking me a few questions , and learning that I was on my own, she recommended a different tour. She went downstairs – to the concierge – and brought back a brochure. And she was right – the tour was great.

Motion, a restaurant and Bar, was a very popular spot – not only for guests, but locals as well. The bar was packed every night and the outdoor patio was booked with special events each night. The food was very good – surprisingly good for a hotel. Separate review to follow.

I am very pleasantly surprised with how great my stays at Marriott’s in Australia have been. I was a loyal Platinum Marriott Rewards Member for many, many years and recently dropped to Gold (as a result of my switch to Starwood Platinum) However, after the last month in Australia, I am reconsidering that decision and may switch back to Marriott for 2012! That’s how impressed I have been with the Marriotts.

I highly recommend the Marriott Brisbane.

Photos:

The second leg of my Australia/Fiji vacation brought me to Melbourne, Australia and Melbourne Marriott. After a very pleasant experience on Virgin Australia (they make all US airlines look third-world air carriers!) I arrived by Taxi at the hotel. The lobby is very welcoming and smelled wonderful (I learned the smell was something they called Vivid Orange..I thought about buying some)

Check in was very easy and since it had been a while since I’ve stayed at a Marriott my status had dropped to Gold. I wasn’t quite sure what I should expect. I was very pleased to learn that Gold status got me free internet – something I have since learned is rare in Australia – and access to the executive lounge. The executive lounge, on the 9th floor, offers complimentary breakfast, appetizers and wine during the dinner hour and dessert and cocktails following that. Everything is free and well stocked.

My room was a large king room with a working desk, wet bar, and large bathroom. My room had no real view of anything. The bed was comfortable with lots of pillows (soft, medium and firm pillows to choose from)and there was a very large screen TV that swiveled to face either the bed or desk. The bathroom was very clean and had a shower only (no rooms have tubs since the hotel caters to mainly business travelers.) One of the nice perks was of course the free internet, but also the room had converters so I didn’t even have to break mine out.

The hotel has recently undergone a refurbishment and it shows! The rooms and lobby and lounge are all very up-to-date, clean and modern. The restaurants are surprisingly good and reasonably priced – compared to the average price of a meal in the city.

The hotel is located one block from China town and a three-four blocks from the Bourke shopping mall (an outdoor shopping street filled with small and large retail outlets.) Public transportation is readily available in the form of trams, trains and taxis. The Southbank area, filled with restaurants, shops and offices for most major corporations, is accessible by tram or taxi (about $6-10 by taxi each way depending on traffic) or $11 for an all day train ticket.

The hotel staff was very friendly and helpful. The front desk helped me several times throughout my stay. Murray at the front desk was especially helpful. And, on day 3, he remembered me by name – that always goes a long way! The hotel concierge was hit or miss though. Some days the person working the concierge desk was very knowledgeable and other days you could tell the person wasn’t really a concierge. The worst meal I had in Melbourne came at the recommendation of the concierge. The same concierge also made a very poor recommendation for a salon offering manicures/pedicures. I quickly learned to visit the concierge desk while the female concierge was working (she was very helpful and knowledgeable).

On my fifth night at the hotel, I received a complimentary bottle of wine from the hotel as a thank you for staying 5 nights. It was a very nice gift – even though I don’t drink – I appreciated the gesture. I would absolutely return to the Melbourne Marriott (if the rate was reasonable..it can get very expensive in high season.)

I have to say, this trip has made me think seriously about staying more frequently at Marriott while traveling abroad (I think Starwood will remain my #1 chain because the corporate rates are better usually, I am defiantly looking forward to more Marriott stays in 2012.)

Hotel Room:

Hotel Executive Lounge

Last week I did some hotel hopping in Parsippany NJ because I’m trying to rack up the USAir Grand Slam points before the promotion ends. It gave me a great opportunity to check out 3 local hotels.

Hampton Inn and Suites Parsippany North
3737 Route 46 East, Parsippany, New Jersey, USA 0705

Don’t let the façade of the Hampton Inn and Suites Parsippany North scare you away. The hotel interior is modern, clean, and comfortable. The Hampton Inn on Route 46 East has 87 rooms, all of which have been somewhat recently renovated. They offer the standard Hampton Inn breakfast and free wifi. The breakfast left me a little disappointed, not much variety, but they did have the breakfast to go bags (a nice touch.) The rooms are clean and nicely decorated. The bathrooms have also been redone and are bright and fresh.

As a Silver Hilton Honors Member, I was offered absolutely no benefits at the hotel. Not even a free bottle of water. In fact, at check-in my HHonors membership wasn’t even mentioned.

The wireless connection was very, very slow in the rooms, but okay in the lobby. If you have any chance of being productive in your room, it’s going to mean going hard wired. My only complaint was the lack of plugs in the room near the beds and desk. I unplugged the bedside lamp to get my iPad plugged in. I would have needed an extension cord (and who travels with that) to get everything plugged in.

Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott Parsippany
3535 US Highway 46 East at Cherry Hill Road, Parsippany, New Jersey 07054

From the exterior, the Fairfield Inn and Suites look like an old hotel. The interior on the lobby level is updated and offers areas to work, eat and meet others. The hotel offers breakfast and it the variety was very impressive. I preferred the Fairfield breakfast to the Hampton Inn Breakfast. The hotel offers free wifi in the rooms and lobby. I found the wifi connection to be very fast and reliable even in my room! I never had to try the wired room connection and I watched live streaming video for over 4 hours that night.

I am a gold member of Marriott Rewards and at check-in was thanked for my membership and offered two bottles of water and a full size candy bar.

The room didn’t look like it had been renovated recently. It had dark carpet that looked like it needed some TLC and the bathroom was clean, but run down. The layout of the room was convenient for working, but the lack of plugs made it a challenge to get my iPad, iPhone, Blackberry and laptop charged for the next day. I use my iPad as my alarm clock and there wasn’t an outlet anywhere near the bed that I could access.

Sheraton Parsippany
199 Smith Road, Parsippany NJ 07054

I have a love hate relationship with the Sheraton Parsippany. I’ve spent over 6 weeks at the Sheraton this year alone and sometimes feel like I’m a glutton for punishment. The hotel is finally undergoing an very long overdue $15 million dollar renovation. Until the renovation of the guest rooms is complete, the hotel will be at a disadvantage to any other hotel in the area. The lobby and gym have been revamped and look great.

The hotel offers a full service restaurant and bar serving breakfast, lunch and dinner – a huge advantage over Hampton and Fairfield Inns. However, there’s no free breakfast unless you have Club Lounge Access. The hotel offers wifi in the rooms and lobby and wired access in the rooms. The wifi works well, but there are certainly times when it slows down.

I am a Platinum Starwood Preferred Guest and was recognized as one at check-in. I was offered my choice of check-in amenities and of course, I chose points because the rooms offer free water.

I’m not going to comment on the rooms again until the renovation is complete. My previous two posts about the rooms at the Sheraton Parsippany were enough. However, I will say that even in their current state, there are plenty of plugs in the room and they are conveniently located near the bed and desk.

Very Good Points –
If I was to return to the area, I would definitely stay at the Hampton Inn again. Once the renovations are done at the Sheraton, I will go back. The Fairfield would be my third choice when returning to the area.