Introduction:

After a great stay at The Marriott Hotel Chongqing the week before, and another week of restless sleeps on my university dorm bed, I had Tyler book me a room for two nights at the JW Marriott Hotel Chongqing! The JW is a category 2 hotel, requiring 10,000 Marriott Reward points per night (or 3,334 SPG points per night), which is a fantastic deal (rates can easily hit $200/night at this property).

Also, because Tyler and I both have Marriott Gold status courtesy of our American Express Platinum card, I was eligible for a free upgrade to the Executive Club floor with lounge access, including daily breakfast, evening snacks and complimentary cocktails! I took the subway from the university in the afternoon and had no trouble finding the hotel. I still can’t get over how efficient the transit system is in China! The exterior of the hotel looks like any other business hotel, but the grounds were spotless clean!

The lobby of the hotel was beautiful, with a lot of marble and a very unique art feature on the upper walls.

There was no line at reception and I was checked-in within a few minutes. I was thanked for being a Marriott Gold elite and informed of my upgrade to an Executive King room.

While the exterior of the hotel was a bit bland, there was nothing ordinary about the inside. This felt like a true luxury hotel, and definitely a bit nicer feeling than the Marriott Chongqing from the prior weekend. The lobby elevators were fast, and I never had to wait more than a minute for a lift (always nice in a hotel with 450+ guest rooms).

The Room:

The room felt very high quality, though not really my taste. I really preferred the more minimalist style at the Marriott Hotel, but couldn’t find much to fault with this space. Just inside the door was a large closet area and sitting bench, which opened into the main room.

The closet was large, and featured plenty of space to hang clothes and a few drawers. There was also an ironing board, in-room safe, and slippers/bathrobes.

The only temperature controls were located at the entrance, and were simple and easy to use. The Air Conditioning had no problem keeping the room cool during my stay.

The main room featured a king bed opposite a small work space and built-in television. There was also a comfortable seating area near the window with great views of the city, though not quite as nice as the river views at the Marriott. The bed was really, really comfortable, and had some of the softest sheets I can remember in a long time.

There were two bedside tables with lamps, telephone, television remote, alarm clock and notepad. There were also easy to use room controls and power outlets on each side.

Turndown service was done in the evening with light housekeeping. The bed always looked so inviting after they were done!

The lighting in the room was amazing, with a large overhead fixture (seems to be uncommon in a lot of hotels), along with floor lamps and other fixed lighting in the ceiling.

Opposite the bed was a small work desk and chair. I appreciated that office stationery and supplies were included, which is often missing at some luxury hotels.

The desk also housed the minibar and coffee station. I was happy to see an in-room coffee maker in this room, which isn’t as common in Asia as it is in North America it seems. The minibar was stocked with an assortment of beverages and a few snacks, and the prices were steep. Of course with lounge access, all of these items are available complimentary, so I didn’t really see the point…

The in-room coffee was really gross, so I opted to get cappuccinos in the lounge during my stay!

The television was built into the wall just ever-so-slightly out of alignment with the bed, which was kind of poor design in my opinion. It was easy to watch TV from the sitting area near the window, but who wants to do that?! The selection of English content was limited to a few news and movie stations, though I didn’t plan to watch a lot of TV anyway. Wifi was just ok, with a VPN required to access any of the websites blocked by ‘the great firewall of China’, including Google, Facebook, and Instagram.

There was a nice welcome message on the screen, which is always a small detail I like (except when they get it wrong, like Tyler’s recent stay at The Marriott Hotel Nanshan in Shenzhen, China).

The sitting area near the window was comfortable with a large chair and table, and great views over Chongqing. During turndown each night I was brought a small bowl of fruit. Yum!

Last and probably least was the bathroom. Like Tyler, I’m a total bathroom guy and love when a hotel creates a wonderful spa-like retreat out of the space. Tyler had a wonderful bathroom at The JW Marriott New Delhi Aerocity Hotel, but this space felt really small for a high-end property, and not aesthetically pleasing at all. There was a single sink vanity, a corner stand-up shower, a toilet in the middle of the room with a large soaking tub on the other side of the room. Also, like the Marriott Chongqing, I found the colours to be quite bland, and almost industrial (not in a good way).

The bathroom toiletries were very nice by Aromatherapy, and I loved the small touches like bath salts! There was also a drawer with all of the small amenities you might need, like shaving kit and toothpaste. There were plenty of soft towels available and complimentary bottles of water for brushing teeth.

The Lounge:

One of the great perks of being Marriott Gold (automatic status with The American Express Platinum Card or The American Express Business Platinum Card in Canada) is lounge access! Unlike most hotel loyalty programs, Marriott grants guaranteed lounge access to it’s mid-tier status customers at Marriott, JW Marriott and Renaissance hotels (resorts excluded). This trip to China was the first time I’ve used the benefit, and I’m sold! The lounges in China are unreal, and nothing you would expect to find in North America (at a business hotel anyway). The seating is comfortable and luxurious, the food was delicious, and beverage selection was impressive, with complimentary cocktails, beer, and wine in the evenings. I spent a good amount of time in the lounge just hanging out, since it was a lot more spacious than my room and featured the same great views of Chongqing!

I ate breakfast in the lounge both days, and had evening snacks on the second night. The variety of food was good, and far better than I’m used to getting in North American lounges. The space did get busy during meal times, which made it hard to get good pictures of the food (but seating was never an issue).

Hotel Amenities:

I used the pool and fitness centre on both days at the hotel and loved both the spaces. Unfortunately, the pool was indoors and didn’t have the same dramatic view of the Chongqing skyline as the Marriott hotel, but was still very nice. One comment worth sharing is that swim caps are mandatory, which I guess is a thing in China?? While I don’t mind using one, I was taken off guard when a pool attendant ran after me yelling something in Chinese and waving a cap around. I eventually understood and was happy to see he was offering a complimentary one from the hotel.

There was a nice garden area outside, which is always appreciated at city hotels. Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t that great during my stay.

The fitness centre was fantastic, with a great selection of new equipment. Like the pool, the gym rarely had anyone using it, which is always nice. There were plenty of towels and bottled water available!

Bottom Line:

I loved this hotel! I doubt there are too many people itching to visit Chongqing, but if you ever find yourself here and want a luxury hotel at budget pricing, this is your place! At 10,000 Reward Points per night, this is a total bargain, especially with lounge access and an upgraded room with mid-tier status! Overall, the service was friendly (except for the man by the pool aggressively waving his swim cap at me) and most staff had a good understanding of English, though there was a bit of a language barrier at times (should be expected in most areas of China). The rooms are very nicely finished with comfortable beds and functional bathrooms. Also, the hotel is located in a great part of the city with good dining and shopping options within walking distance, and easy enough access to public transport. I’m starting to realize why Tyler likes to visit China so much! The value you get in redeeming your points here is phenomenal compared to North America. If you ever find yourself in Mainland China and have Gold status with Marriott, I really wouldn’t consider staying anywhere else!