Stay Report: Courtyard by Marriott Hong Kong
The Courtyard by Marriott Hong Kong is one of the less desirable Marriott properties in Hong Kong, it is located at a local residence district with close proximity to Hong Kong University. The room here is notorious for being small but it is of decent Hong Kong standards, AKA, something similar to express inns in Europe.
The hotel is not very conveniently located, but they do offer free shuttle bus to the Sky Pier and Hong Kong Station for MTR. Alternatively a cheaper way would be to take the bus A10 or A12 to the block around the hotel which set you around 42.5 HKD.
I went to the hotel at 10 in the morning, thus I was not expecting them to have any room ready, not to mention an upgrade. I've used the Marriott app chat feature to ask for the possibility of a suite upgrade if they have such inventories, it was informed that this property only has five suites, and all of them are occupied at the date of my check-in; thus I went to the app to found out that what they replied was the real case as it did state so on their website that the property comes with five suites and the booking for a suite at the date of my check-in doesn't feature a suite option.
Stay Info:
Room: 2307
Status with Marriott: Gold Elite
Booked room type: Deluxe Room
Upgraded room type: Deluxe Harbour View Room
Booking: Marriott app
Check In:
Arriving at the property by bus was quiet convenient, all three of the check in front desks are open and only two of those are being manned, the check in lady was nice and did everything within her professional reach. The check in took around eight minutes as I needed to use the restroom so badly but she was justing clicking on the computer as if she was closing ten different windows on her screen. However, I didn't complain or anything just waited there trying to distract myself thinking of from using the restroom.
The Room:
The room is quiet small but of decent size in Hong Kong standard, the bathroom doesn't come with a bathtub, which I am unsure if they actually upgraded me as I have no idea to find out. Getting the room 10 in the morning is good enough compared to the time I would have to wait even if they would have something, besides, I get to go to the lounge to have a breakfast as well.
The bathroom comes with many of the standard amenities with a huge mirror which surely bring contrast to the room.
Since space is an issue here, TV would have to be creatively located, it surely made the place looked somewhat not so high end, but indeed they managed to provide such amenities.
The bed isn't exactly big either, it's more or less a standard double bed which fits comfortably for solo traveler.
At the corner of the room, they placed a gass desk which also are conveniently located to deal with the space limit issue.
As half of the glass was placed onto the wall width of the window, and the chair are perfectly placed under it. Quiet smart, actually.
The small bed doesn't waste or sacrifice anything when it comes to the night stands. Although the telephone line they have in room looked extremely old.
To my surprise, they used the JBL speaker which comes with a digital clock, a rather nice touch here.
If you think they can't possibly fit more things into a less than seven square feet bedroom space, they placed a single armchair and a simple corner table next to the minibar area as well. Although they didn't had anything in the mini bar.
The view outside isn't exactly appealing to stare at, you do get to see how some local lives in a city like Hong Kong.
On the right side of the building, you get a view of the harbour which is not something you would take a glass of wine to reflect your life upon.
The Bathroom:
The bathroom is quiet big compared to the size of everything else in the hotel. They've tried to layout everything with more distance to one another.
The shower room is of decent size, and convent to use.
The sink counter also was nicely cleaned with amenities well-stocked for two.
The shower amenities at the courtyard is not necessary the best out there, but they works just fine.
They put two bottles of complimentary water there but normally in Hong Kong, you can just ask for more if you need.
Next to the entrance door, you have the closet that features all the other amenities.
From bathrobes to laundry bags, safe and slippers, they've covered all your needs here but surely it was not of the best qualities out there, but that's okay, Courtyard was never a high end chain, but somehow in Asia, people start to have higher exceptions for them.
The Lounge:
The executive lounge is located at the six floor and is not necessarily large either, space are quiet cramp at this property in general as the building itself went with the slim tall structure design which is the classic in Hong Kong.
The lounges served some good selections of beverages and snacks during the day and a few small dishes during the cocktail hour, though it wouldn't be enough if you are planing to manage dinner there alone.
Sitting area was always full in the lounge, but you can come to the business centre which has some more place sit.
Sittings next to the sofa sets.
Bottom Line:
The Courtyard by Marriott shouldn't be your top option if you are planning to have a nice stay experience in Hong Kong, though sometimes the price of hotels in the city gets crazy high during convention season and holidays, so if you manage to score a cheap room rate at this property during peak season, do not hesitate to choose this one.
You will get almost all your needs covered with a little bit reduction in quality here, but that's totally worth it compared to the price you are paying.
Ratings:
Check-in experience: 7.7/10
Lounge experience: 7.2/10
Elite member experience:6.3/10
Room comfort: 6.4/10
Staff experience: 6.5/10
Overall experience: 6.82/10
Are you going to choose this property during your visit to Hong Kong? Leave a comment.
