Hong Kong and Macau: Conrad Hong Kong

Index:
Introduction
Delta Economy Comfort ECP-ATL-SEA-NRT-HKG
W Hong Kong
Exploring Hong Kong
Conrad Macao
Exploring Macau
Conrad Hong Kong
Delta Economy Comfort HKG-NRT-SEA-ATL-ECP
Conclusion

Introduction
While I’ve already covered my last few days in Hong Kong following my side excursion to Macau, I still have the stay at the Conrad Hong Kong. This would be my final stay of this trip and my second Conrad hotel following the stay at the Conrad Macao. Given my experience at that hotel I can say that my expectations were high, although I had heard that the elite treatment at this property wasn’t quite as good.

For this stay, I opted to use points again, with this property being 80,000 HHonors points per night – twice as much as the Conrad Macao. However, that does not guarantee a better experience. To start, I did not get a email in advance (which while isn’t necessary, is a nice touch), asking if I needed assistance or to confirm arrival time or anything, so there was already that.

Arrival
I arrived from Macau, having taken the ferry back over in the middle of the afternoon and took public transit from the Hong Kong-Macau Ferry Terminal to Admiralty Station which is connected to the Conrad Hong Kong via a shopping mall; essentially this is the back entrance to the Conrad, but is very convenient for getting around. The ‘official’ front entrance is on Supreme Court Road and faces the British Consulate General.

Entering the lobby, I approached the front desk. Based on comments I read online prior to my arrival I had no expectation of any sort of a real upgrade as a Diamond member…and I’m glad that my expectations were low because the best that they seem to do is upgrade to the Executive level floors. I believe the only benefit here is being on a higher floor and having access to the lounge. The agent who did check me in through, did offer that I could complete my check in from the executive lounge on the 59th floor. However, the few times that I have been offered this service, I have always wondered what the point is? I mean I’m already at the front desk and it isn’t like checking into a hotel is a long and arduous process, basically I just want to be able to get to my room and drop my bags and hit the ground running. I suppose that some see this as being exclusive or something, but I’ve just never really understood it.

The Room
I had been upgraded by the front desk to an Executive Peak View room on the 55th floor. I had been hoping for at least a harbor view room, but again, I kept my actual expectations low so that I wouldn’t have my hopes up. Actually it might be a good thing that I had a peak view room; although I had wanted a harbor view room that faced Victoria Harbour, I did have a partial-ish view from the W Hong Kong at the beginning of my trip, so having Victoria Peak outside my window was at least offered a different side of Hong Kong island.

I think the first thing one would notice when entering the rooms at this hotel are that they definitely have not been through a refresh in a while. A lot of the finishes on the room, definitely had that dated feel. I know that the Conrad Hong Kong has been around a fair bit longer than the Conrad Macao, but I think it’s time for the property to refresh the rooms and make it feel a bit more luxurious. It’s not that the room was terrible, but at 80,000 points or whatever the cash rate is, you definitely are not paying for a modern luxury property – you are paying for the address in Hong Kong.

King Executive Room – TV

King Executive Room – Bed

King Executive Room – Shower/Tub

Doesn’t it just look dated?

You Bet I Took The Bear Home With Me

With that said, the bed was comfortable and the room had everything that one would need during their stay, including a fairly comprehensive mini-bar. There was adequate space for everything and the view of the peak was actually pretty nice to wake up to in the morning, especially when I had a winged visitor fly up to the window ledge and we stared each other down for 30 minutes.

This Guy Kept Trying To Get In…

There was one nice touch that the hotel did put out for me on my arrival in my room. A tray with a few chocolates and fruit along with a welcome note were left in my room; I’m assuming this was because of being a Diamond member, but I had not seen that really mentioned by others, so who knows. The only downside? I made way too much of a mess trying to eat the orange. Seriously, how is it that I am from Florida and can’t eat an orange without getting citrus juice everywhere? I have failed…

Welcome Snack

Executive Lounge
The executive lounge is probably one of the best things about this hotel. I came up here for breakfast on my last full day in Hong Kong and I have to say the views are magnificent. They look out towards Victoria Harbor and on a nice sunny morning, it is absolutely a fantastic view. The lounge does appear to get busy, but I had no problem getting a table by the window so I could eat and take in the view. I will say that the lounge is a little bit on the small side, but even then I did not find myself waiting on anything as the staff all seemed to be pretty good with getting you what you needed and keeping the food items stocked. As for the food, all I remember is that there were plenty of options: hot, cold, continental, baked goods, etc to keep most people happy.

View From The Executive Lounge – Awesome!

Departure
Considering that my flight left HKG at 8AM, I had to have a fairly early departure from the hotel in order to make it to the airport in a timely fashion. The lone front desk agent that was working the overnight shift took care of me quickly and then I made my way out the front door. I needed a taxi to get me to Hong Kong station, but obviously since I had not prearranged a taxi or car, there were naturally none around. The on duty bell hop though saw that I needed one and started running up and down the adjacent roads to the hotel trying to catch me one. He did succeed in flagging one down for me, and off I went.

Conrad Hong Kong Main Entrance

Conclusion
Between staying at the W Hong Kong and the Conrad Hong Kong, if I were to ever come back to visit, I don’t think I would choose to stay here again, unless I just had a lot of Hilton HHonors points to burn. The 80,000/points per night cost is higher than it should be for this hotel, given that it is in definite need a refresh, even if the service at the hotel seemed to be otherwise up to par. In the end I almost feel that the W Hong Kong treated me better as an SPG Gold than Conrad Hong Kong did as a HHonors Diamond member. There was just nothing to say that my stay at the Conrad Hong Kong was anything outside of the ordinary. Had I been upgraded to a harbor view room or a suite that may have changed my opinion slightly, but I still think I would choose the W. I mean it definitely has the benefit of being a newer hotel, unlike the Conrad. The Conrad definitely wins on location, but with the W having access to the Kowloon MTR station in the connected shopping mall, does it really matter?

Perhaps by the next time I make it to Hong Kong (I have a feeling that this will be more than just a couple of years) the Conrad will have gone through a refresh and I will be able to say much better things about this hotel. I think with that, even with the low chance of getting a ‘real’ upgrade, could make this a much better property or at least one that I wouldn’t feel so bad about dumping a ridiculous amount of points at.

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