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BUSINESS TRAVEL

Hong Kong lifestyle hotels sprout in a work obsessed town

A Hong Kong business hotels review as new faces emerge. We explore the reimagined Lanson Place Causeway Bay as Park Lane joins Autograph Collection. The sepulchral Hopewell Hotel is a surprising hit in Wanchai while the AKI and The Hari add chic touches. In TST the Mondrian will go head to head with the Kimpton and the Regent is back. But why has Island Shangri-La murdered its lobby?

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by Vijay Verghese

Updated August 2025

SEE ALSO Hong Kong shopping | HK Yuen Long coffee, cafes | HK New Territories Guide | Small meetings in Asia | Shanghai business hotels | Shenzhen guide | Macau guide | Tokyo guide | Songdo business hotels review | New Singapore eco-friendly hotels review | Hong Kong Fun Guide to Milk Tea | Pod Hotels and Capsule Guide

Editor's choiceLanson Place Causeway Bay, Hong Kong

JUMP TO Hong Kong Island Central | Admiralty | Mid-Levels, SOHO, Sheung Wan | Wanchai boutique hotels, budget inns | Causeway Bay, East, South | Kowloon, TST | Mongkok | Airport Hotels, New Territories | Hotel Contacts

Hong Kong new business and lifestyle hotels reviewed - Lanson Place vs ParK Lane Autograph and Hopewell Hotel

By 2025 the hotel scene was churning again with new faces and reimagined oldies. Hopewell Hotel in Wanchai (far left) is a 1,000-key behemoth; Park Lane views (centre) from SKYE, now under Autograph Collection; and (right) the Parisian flavour of Lanson Place Causeway Bay/ Salon Lanson photo: Vijay Verghese


THE Hong Kong shoreline has relentlessly pressed outwards from Queens Road, to Harbour Road and Connaught Road, and still the derricks and earth movers scurry about doing their unfinished work. Concrete continues to pour.

Hong Kong boutique hotels review - Motto from Hilton opens in HK 2025

Motto by Hilton, SoHo has compact rooms/ photo: hotel

After the Covid shutdown and slow restart, by mid-2025 the city's hotel scene had sprung back to life with new openings in the pipeline and older faces reimagined. Late night Hong Kong shopping haven Causeway Bay and Tsim Sha Tsui (TST) remain lit brighter than the Sahara at midday and de rigueur shades are not just fashionable, they are life-savers.

Of course, the legendary Hong Kong "silk stocking" milk teas are still on tap all over the city. But on to our Hong Kong business and lifestyle hotels review with a look at newbies and some ripe old classics. To make things simpler we look at the territory district by district rather than reviews and commentaries based on hotel categories.

Hong Kong new, and new-look hotels guide

Among those jostling for your business and leisure custom are names like the late 2025 pet-friendly Kimpton Tsim Sha Tsui Hong Kong (kimptonhotels) with five restaurants, fitness centre and free eats for kids under 12. It comes with ballroom space for up to 300 (cocktail style) and harbour views. Well located at 11 Middle Road this lifestyle hotel is walking distance from the MTR, the Star Ferry, the Space Museum, glitzy shopping. and its luxe sibling the Regent. This was the former site of the historic Mariner's Club that was pulled down in 2018. The new 500-key Kimpton also offers a breezy alfresco swimming pool on the 50th floor roof with a happening pool bar, wellness space for dreamy Millennials, and cutting edge modern Chinese cuisine by leading chefs. Think Elephant Grounds coffee and more. This Hong Kong lifestyle hotel will be stacked up vs the Mondrian, which is an earlier but still fairly recent entrant. An earlier opening was delayed by a 2023 fire.

Trundling tram — some of the best Hong Kong conference hotels on our review are in Central

Tram trundles through Central in front of Mandarin Oriental and IFC/ photo: Vijay Verghese

But it is on Hong Kong Island where much of the new rooming action is located. The massive Hopewell Hotel (www.hopewellhotel.com) on Wanchai's Queen's Road East with 1,000 rooms and a monstrous 6,500sq m of meetings and event space arrived December 2024. There is access from Kennedy Road too and it is joined at the hip to the bustling Hopewell Mall and the landmark Hopewell Centre. Despite its simple design, somewhat dull Grand Central Station reception and straight delivery, the hotel is proving popular with an attractive price point, comfortable rooms, hill and harbour views, outdoor pool, and a great location a short stroll from the MTR and Pacific Place.

The beautifully reimagined Lanson Place Causeway Bay, Hong Kong (lansonplace.com) arrived 1 March 2024 in elegant understated Parisian livery (see our full review). It is well worth a look. Also in Causeway Bay, a longtime Nikko mainstay then a Pullman, Victoria Park-facing The Park Lane Hong Kong, Autograph Collection (park-lane-hong-kong), re-emerged early 2025 under the Marriott umbrella.

It was a long wait but the Island Shangri-La (islandshangrila), one of the Pacific Place trio, has refreshed several rooms with hints of the city and also now features family themed rooms and suites. In Central the venerable Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong (www.mandarinoriental.com) goes through a US$100m top-to-toe refit to emerge with a new look late 2026 while sister hotel the Landmark Mandarin Oriental emerges late 2025 and 2026 with fresh suites and spa, an outdoor dining venue, and a new bar concept. Landmark's design is helmed by Joyce Wang. Off Central District, on Sheung Wan's narrow Jervois Street with alarmingly termed "cleverly compact rooms" is the late 2025 Motto by Hilton Hong Kong SoHo (motto-hong-kong). Unlike the Kimpton this address will not welcome pets but Cat Street (for antique and bric-a-brac shopping) is not far up the hill, and the PMQ designer quarter is close by, so...

HK Pod hotels guide, Nap Hella Inn TST

Nap Hella Inn on Mody Road, Tsim Sha Tsui is strikingly mod/ photo: hotel

And for some really tight but chic stays check our Pod and Capsule Hotels Guide. In Hong Kong here's four to keep an eye on. Capsule stays may be offered in combination with a mix of regular rooms as at Nap Hella Inn on Mody Road, Tsim Sha Tsui (hkcapsule.com/). With public toilets and fixed airconditioning prices are from about HK$320 (US$40) for a mid-2025 sampling. L'etoile de Mer Hella Inn TST (hkcapsule.com/tst/), is a stylish offering with nice design touches, lifts, and a no-smoking policy. With automated reservations and a do-it-yourself approach. A premium seaview double with balcony at the Harbour Hella Inn (hkcapsule.com/) on Cannon Street Causeway Bay may go up to HK$480 (US$60) a night. There is a day use plan and a stay longer incentive for longstays at these Hong Kong capsule hotels. Even more modestly priced are places like Sleep Cubee Hostel (Causeway Bay) at around US$25. Few frills but smack in the shopping action.

Hotel contacts See Hotel Contacts

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Business hotels review, HK Island, Central

Central district is a world of glittering high rises, each straining to outdo the other on design, bawdy trimmings, decorative lights, and lasers that rake the skies nightly at 8pm during the light show. There are some stunning buildings like the cleanly soaring IFC, the mirrored chocolate layer Exchange Square, the sky-piercing jagged diamond pattern China Bank, and the Meccano set Hong Kong Bank, all arrayed around the stately, colonnaded former Legislative Council building.

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Four Seasons offers panoramic harbour views

Four Seasons Hong Kong/ photo: hotel

The reclamation is good news for at least one hotel that towers above it. The 399-room Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong and 519-unit Four Seasons Place strut out in front of all their competitors, contentedly gobbling up the views. As room numbers suggest, it’s a giant property – big rooms, massive multiple lobbies, high-ceilinged restaurants, an extensive spa… you get the picture. It makes you wonder whether a hotel can get a little too big. The lobbies almost feel like an extension of the posh IFC shopping mall next door. Still, this proximity to the mall is another useful magnet for work-and-play visitors. The Four Seasons Hotel is a highly regarded among top drawer Hong Kong hotels with a raft of excellent facilities, fine dining, attractive, hi-tech rooms (both short and long stay), a plush spa, and two stunning swimming pools. Wired and wireless Internet access is available in all rooms for a fee – for guests in suite rooms, WiFi is free.

Hong Kong redesigned business hotels reviewed - Mandarin Oriental HK to get US$100m new look over 2026

By late 2026 the Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong — a city mainstay since 1963 — could have a top-to-toe new look with elegant contemporary rooms redesigned by Jeffrey Wilkes/ photo: hotel


In contrast, grande dame the Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong, sits back along the original waterfront not far from the younger Four Seasons. It has been here since 1963. A US$100m refit is afoot for this property through 2026 (as well as for its sister hotel in Bangkok) to emerge with refreshed guest rooms under the stewardship of designer Jeffrey Wilkes, and "a complete redesign of all public spaces... undertaken by acclaimed French designer Hubert de Malherbe."

Earlier, the hotel bravely closed in 2005 and re-emerged in 2006, a remastered classic with many familiar trimmings as patrons raced to The Chinnery and The Captain's Bar - with its silver plated beer tankards - to resume their familiar tipples at these iconic Hong Kong watering holes. Sanity was restored. With the 21st century quietly in evidence - from business frills to technology butlers - and a garnish of Asia to always serve up a sense of place, the hotel chose to stay with a 'warmer' approach, retaining the Mandarin Barber, where the brisk snip of forelocks has been honed over generations and the mosaic tiled floor and coloured glass panels create some splendid old Shanghai nostalgia.

Top Hong Kong business hotels downtown, Mandarin Oriental plush Statue Square View Room

Mandarin Oriental Statue Square View Room. A new look is due by 2026/ photo: hotel

An Hermes leather chair hoicked all the way from Paris is on hand for a lazy afternoon's shoe shine. There's no better example of confidently measured pace in the heart of the city's borderline hysterical banking district. The lobby serves up deep sofas inviting a sit-down to gaze at intricate wood carvings set against black marble walls. The “couture” cake shop, one floor up, is rapidly turning into an art institution.

The first thing you'll notice about the current 40sq m Harbour Room, is the light and the muted pastel colours. Walk up to the generous windows through the extended verandah (the old balcony, now enclosed), to spot a pair of binoculars, a playful touch to gaze across the harbour.

The spa has an old-China feel, an indoor lap pool, and an array of treatments and Chinese herbal remedies. On occasion, a visiting wellness therapist, nutritionist, or even face reader, may be on hand to offer advice. Fine dining options include Man Wah with impressive views, and the intimate Pierre, which serves experimental, Michelin-star French cuisine. This is among the finer Hong Kong business hotels on show in a highly competitive city. A must-see. And concierges going back over 30 years with the hotel will link you up with some of the best the city has to offer.

The Murray Hong Kong N2 Grand Room compares well vs Upper House or the Landmark Mandarin in our HK Central hotels guide

The N2 Grand Room at The Murray Hong Kong, is an elegant pick/ photo: hotel

Just up Cotton Tree Drive is an unusual makeover and quiet retreat. The Murray Hong Kong, a Niccolo Hotel (opened 15 January 2018, /the-murray-hong-kong), is a benchmark offering from Wharf Hotels that also runs the long established Marco Polo group. The Niccolo brand launched with the Niccolo Chengdu in 2014 and plans to build a new high end marque to take on the top dogs.

Set apart from the steel and reflective glass properties housing some of the world's top financial muscle, this is an understated construct identified at once by its unassuming laundered white arches, straight lines, and symmetrical square windows, all angled in a bit to allow a triangular fin overhang that provides cover from blazing summer sunshine and takes pressure off the interior cooling systems. It was a design ahead of its times.

Stepping into the work of celebrated architect Lord Norman Foster - or in this case, his company - is reason enough for a must-see, and business travellers as well as leisure trippers will enjoy the proximity to Central and Pacific Place as well as the Peak Tram Station. Cars come in through Cotton Tree Drive (St Johns side) and circle around a remarkably preserved 100-year-old tree to drop guests at a starkly minimal black marble lobby with tall windows running its length framed in gold, before departing from the HK Park side. Views throughout are aplenty, skimming the skyline none too vertiginously, from 25 floors - a separate lift runs up to the rooftop Popinjays restaurant with its wraparound balcony that presents an extraordinary perspective on Hong Kong, especially as the neon comes on.

Rooftop Popinjays restaurant at The Murray HK

Rooftop Popinjays is a bright nightlife spot with alfresco cocktails/ photo: hotel

Nibble on soft burrata, chomp guiltily on a giant chocolate cookie, slice and dice assorted cold cuts, and savour choice breads with real butter that you can sink a knife into (not the tiny foil-sealed airline cattle-class variety). A spa on Level 3 with two treatment rooms for couples (think private steam and saunas) and three single rooms, is paired with a bright fitness centre.

The 336 rooms range from 50sq m to an elephant-swinging 75sq m in the suites. Expect a light textured palette with pale wood, white-and-black offsets, pastel grey leather chairs and divans, Smart TVs for media hijinks and Bluetooth connections from phones, and free WiFi. The decor is comfy, homey, and intentionally sparse. A 75sq m Signature Suite sets the pace with stained-black wood doors opening into a cubist chapel of white walls, high ceilings, and smart black trim around windows with a study desk set in a small alcove. Expect a dataport with two three-pin sockets (one a multiplug) and USB connections. The black-wood herringbone floor is covered by a soft tan carpet in the bedroom. The Murray represents a stunning transformation from staid government office block - where Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam once toiled - to a virginal white, quietly reticent monument to a slice of the territory's history, with some of the coolest beds and views in town. Staff is intuitive and attentive. Expect brisk service on rails.

Down the road, The Landmark Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong — undergoing a complete facelift to re-emerge late 2025/2026 — is aimed at the sort of hip crowd that appreciates a DIOR next door and the MTR train line right underneath. All rooms emerged after a major makeover by Hong Kong designer Joyce Wang with a grey pastel pallete with pale wood accents and televisions running up to 55 inches of eye-popping viewing space.

Above the neon mayhem of Lan Kwai Fong, the popular 95-room Hotel LKF remained humming until 1 July, 2017 when owners Rhombus closed shutters to make way for an office tower. The place cut a smooth impression design-wise, with a lobby full of the hip and well heeled with the pricey but pretty split-level bar and restaurant Azure up top pulling in the crowds. R.I.P. LKF has closed.

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Admiralty business and meetings

Upper House is a popular HK luxury hotel often compared vs Landmark Mandarin — it is the best in class among the Pacific Place hotels

Upper House Studio 70: still top of the Pacific Place league though Shangri-La's new rooms are catching up/ photo: hotel

Above Admiralty’s Pacific Place mall is a full-fledged high-end hotel foursome. It is a competitive bunch. The Island Shangri-La boasted the largest rooms in Hong Kong until the Four Seasons arrived, and younger kid (though all are getting on now) on the block, Upper House, has stretched the envelope further. The JW Marriott claims the largest selection of wines by the glass and the Conrad, you should know, has one of the largest ballrooms on the island, sans pillars. However in terms of views, access and location the Pacific Place quartet are much of a muchness: all very good. So how do we rate Island Shangri-La vs JW Marriott Hong Kong, Conrad, and Upper House on our HK business hotels review?

Opened October 2009, all-suite hotel, The Upper House, is a modern incarnation of a small luxury hotel, stripping the room of clutter and even ceiling lights to make the point that simplicity is stylish. Step into Studio 70, the lowest category suite, a whopping 68sq m in “lavender and bamboo”, by pressing your keycard to the wall. If you hadn’t already guessed, technology is important – WiFi is free, as are soft drinks and beer in the minibar/wine-fridge. There’s a laptop safe, large 42-inch LCD TV with surround sound, Espresso machine, complimentary mini-bar, luxe down bedding, and even a thoughtful yoga mat. There is a complimentary 'maxi' bar too.

A master panel controls the lights with simplified choices. The small bedroom might get you wondering whether that was 68sq ft, until you slide the wall back – exactly half of the floor space has been dedicated to the bathroom. A smart move. This area incorporates a well-lit multi-plug-point dressing area, large wardrobe (with fluffy robes), twin vanities, take-home travel kit, a large open rainshower and a square bathtub. The bathroom TV hides behind a full length mirror, and shines through when turned on. While the blond wood and straight lines may be getting dated the service is brisk and fresh and F&B is superb.

On the strength of its room features, view, and exceptional service, Upper House rates highest on our review of the Hong Kong Pacific Place properties, including JW (with its bright but small angular rooms), Shangri-La (which still looks dated and with a lobby that has lost its natural light due to unnecessary design invention), and Conrad (the best of the rest in its calm and steady corporate livery).

Island Shangri-La's renovated Shangri-La Suite in 2025 — new look rooms were long overdue

Island Shangri-La's renovated Shangri-La Suite/ photo: hotel

Flamboyant in a classical manner, the Island Shangri-La Hong Kong is an elegant empress dowager of sorts, packed with soaring paintings, giant gilded mirrors, deep carpeting, chandeliers, and red-tunicked staff who rush to do your bidding before you can say Louis Vuitton. The aforementioned lobby with its floor-to-ceiling windows has alas been sorely truncated with tacky tram 'carriage' seating by the windows that has shorn this convivial space of natural light and destroyed the green views for all. Get rid of this eyesore please.

The open-air pool terrace is an old fashioned city-view treat; as is the informal alfresco corner outside the Lobster Bar at the lobby level. The crisp service and marble finish belie the hotel's imperceptibly advancing years. Several rooms have been renovated — long overdue — to return in pleasing pastel tones and others with ornate, though muted, wall murals behind the bed to underline the Hong Kong locale.

The 41sq m Horizon Peak-view rooms are popular with returnees. The renovated rooms are in creamy soft-focus hues and are easy on the eye with a more contemporary feel. Think walk-through closets, a pillow menu, bathrobes, 55-inch flatscreen TV, USB sockets, in-room safe, and Horizon Club Lounge access. Island Shangri-La offers a wide range of excellent restaurants — its original strong suit — and bars including the classical top-floor Petrus with fabulous views over Victoria Harbour. Laze at the remodelled poolside with a tall drink in hand. Internal direct access to the adjoining Pacific Place Mall is an added draw for those with shopping on their minds. It is a firm favourite with road warriors and ranks among the more popular Hong Kong business hotels. The recent room renovations will give its reputation a fillip.

Conrad is a popular business hotel choice in Hong Kong and rates high vs Shangri-La and JW Marriott in Pacific Place

Conrad Deluxe Peak View room/ photo: hotel

A comprehensive renovation has left the 512-room Conrad Hong Kong with an elegant residential feel, and it’s much more inviting than most business environs. Strong Asian accents set the decor in browns and burnished gold, offset by elegant arrangements of fuchsia orchids. Mountain-view rooms offer green vistas and the highest harbour-facing rooms rise above the neighbours for unobstructed panoramas. Even the city-view rooms get a glimpse of the harbour and lots of greenery. The sunny rooms come with flat-screen TVs, DVD players and personal espresso machines. Bathrooms are large with deep bathtubs, separate showers and two washbasins. Expect a pillow menu for extra special slumber. Pick your level of fluff. Executive floor guests (57F to 61F) have access to a business lounge with lovely views, as well as a separate check-in, butler service and a complimentary garment pressing. WiFi is complimentary.

The JW Marriott Hotel Hong Kong is a brisk business hotel, all glass and brass. It greets its largely executive guests with a vast lobby lounge, stocked to the hilt with 40 or so teas and offering bright, leafy views over the harbour. This centrepiece acquired a more upscale feel mid-2010 with a major makeover. Expect a more elegant and contemporary look in the 608 new-look rooms (late September 2018) with understated yet functional luxury that is easy on the eye and geared to equally serve leisure or business travellers. Think powder blue easy chairs and divans, ergonomic working chairs, thick carpets, plump whiye beds and the usual dollops of natural light. The Executive Lounge returns too with a fresh face, gleaming wooden floors and heaps of nibbles at a central kitchen counter.

JW Marriott rooms sport a new contemporary look in pale white

JW Marriott new look room September 2018/ photo: hotel

Business amenities vary according to room type, but the JW Premium rooms feature large flatscreen TVs, Bose stereo systems, plug and play connectivity to iPods as well as other road warrior toys. Expect wired and Wireless Internet connection (charged), IP phones, and larger electronic safes that can house a laptop. Bathrooms are tidy and compact yet manage to offer a small bathtub as well as a shower cubicle. Fastidious travellers will be pleased to find an iron and ironing board stowed away in the cupboard.

The décor is warm, minimalist, and welcoming. Large cabinets and bulky items have been dispensed with altogether. The work desk is now glass, adjoining a dataport and two three-pin square electric sockets.

JW has upped the emphasis on personalised service too – a regular guest may arrive to the strains of his favourite music playing in the room. Business facilities from meetings to functions are plentiful. There are a number of fine dining options but the poolside Fish Bar bites offer a rustic escape from the city. It also offers sustainable seafood on its menu, which is just one of JW Marriott’s eco-friendly initiatives. After hours head to the intimate Bar Q88 for top line Champagne served in crystal glasses.

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Mid-Levels longstays, SOHO, Sheung Wan

Perched above Central in the Mid-Levels district (about five to ten minutes on the escalator from SoHo), Bishop Lei International House comes highly recommended for the light of wallet. The Catholic diocese-run hotel is popular with long-stay visitors. You wouldn’t want to spend too much time in the standard rooms here – space is tight. High-floor rooms are affordable, well maintained and clean. Free WiFi is yours throughout.

The fact that you also get a small terrace café, gym, a reading room and a nice outdoor pool makes this a gem. For a Hong Kong budget hotel, look no further.

For those seeking the comforts of home, the Oakwood Apartments Mid Levels East Hong Kong (oakwood-apartments) could have what you need. With 28 floors, each hosting just one apartment, Oakwood is centrally located on Kennedy Road and is a short walk, albeit uphill, from the Admiralty MTR station via Pacific Place mall or from Wanchai through Hopewell Centre (the 17th floor opens on to Kennedy Road). The cleverly-designed apartments feature loads of storage space, in-room LCD TVs, DVD players, stereo systems, Wi-Fi, washer/dryers and a fully equipped open-plan kitchen.

Popular Hong Kong boutique hotels, Madera Hollywood

Hotel Madera Hollywood / photo: hotel

Large windows offer expansive hill views. This is an intimate Hong Kong longstay hotel (more a serviced apartment really as it does not have a daily-rate license). It lacks a pool, restaurant, and gym, but makes up for this with cosy touches, good design, a welcoming attitude and a quiet, green location. There is daily housekeeping, an Internet Corner, morning coffee at reception, and 24-hour security.

Lan Kwai Fong Hotel (not to be confused with Hotel LKF) is about a ten-minute walk west of Lan Kwai Fong, reasonably handy to Central and close to SoHo and the Sheung Wan MTR station. It is surrounded by older buildings; the area has more of a community feel as opposed to the bright lights of Central.

Lan Kwai Fong Hotel bills itself as a Hong Kong boutique hotel and there is no grand entrance, though two bowls of turtles will greet you at the door. Its 158 compact rooms are oriental in style and feature flatscreen TVs, Broadband Internet access, bathrobe and slippers, minibar, desk and portable phone. The five suites are roomy, have nice harbour views, balconies and traditional Chinese furniture and art. The quaint Breeze café, which offers a buffet breakfast, has an outdoor terrace hemmed in by bamboo plants. A free bus goes back and forth from the hotel to the Airport Express station.

Hotel Madera Hollywood (maderagroup.com/hollywood/en) is a bright new addition to Central Hong Kong, in the sparky SOHO district not far from the escalator. This smart property serves up 39 one-bedroom suites in eye-popping shades of blue, yellow and even Barbie pink (well before the movie burst onto our screens).

Hong Kong boutique hotels guide, Butterfly on Wellington

Butterfly on Wellington is a popular boutique pick/ photo: hotel

Accompanied by Marilyn Monroe and Frank Sinatra on the walls, enjoy 55-inch TVs, roomy bathrooms, a fridge, washing machine, hairdryer, kichenette, safety box and coffee machine. This is very much a home away from home, ideal for Hong Kong long-stays smack in town or for a leisure honeymooner canoodle. The Hollywood Lounge dishes out coffee and wine and there are abundant options for nibbles all around the neighbourhood.

The third in the original Butterfly Trilogy (after Morrison and Prat) is the Butterfly on Wellington, another boutique-style offering, with minimal fuss and lots of bang for the buck. The Wellington property offers ample room to swing your shopping bags. This is a no-frills hotel with an understated sense of style. At the far end of Central on a busy one-way street in an area famed for street stalls and cheap nosh, the Butterfly on Wellington is a modern construct with the reception on the first floor and electronic card keys to access room floors. There is morning coffee in the reception area and WiFi is free.

The 80 rooms include Deluxe and Family formats. A Deluxe Family Room serves up 380sq ft with a kingsize bed and sofabed double, both with the signature crimson cushions on white laundered sheets. These are no-smoking rooms with LED Tvs, coffee and tea making facilities in-room as well as safes, and air purifiers. The bright contrasting colours are homey yet playful with a strong China connection. Sister-hotel Butterfly on LKF, Central, has 34 rooms, a tad more modern and complete seeming with city views in the heart of the entertainment and business action. The same eye-popping rose flower cushions make an appearance here paired with simple brown curtains.

Hong Kong boutique hotels, Sohotel in Sheung Wan is tight but cheerful

Sohotel Premier Room double/ photo: hotel

The Jervois at 88 Jervois Street serves up rustic-chic grey stressed wood walls and pastel tones set off by pale-wood floors supporting plump beds on leather frames with bright crimson runners and goose down pillows. Expect black trim, flat screen tellies, and white, all set in very well defined space. In the same area watch for stylish The Putman, a luxury boutique hotel by Andrée Putman.

At 139 Bonham Strand in Sheung Wan, an invigorating stroll from the MTR but closer to tram lines and buses is the 37-room Sohotel. This is a neat and clean establishment with a small bright lobby and complimentary WiFi throughout. Several nice design touches lend the place a cheerful feel. The location is just off the beaten track but rooms, starting at 160sq ft (suites will touch 350sq ft) are comfortable, mod and bright with whimsical splashes of colour, and prices are attractive.

A Signature room at 198sq ft has a capsule feel but there's elbow room along with a 40-inch LED TV and hairdryer. A Signature Suite serves up a bright 253sq ft of space with a 48-inch TV and lots of natural light. All rooms feature a Smart TV, a safety box and a mini-bar.

Hong Kong boutique hotels review, Gold Room at Ovolo on Arbuthnot Road, Central

Gold Room at the Ovolo Central at 2 Arbuthnot Road/ photo: hotel

Just when you thought everything was bland, boring and blah, along comes a breath of fresh air in the form of Ovolo. The group has been around for a while running quality service apartments for Hong Kong longstays. It has extended its particular mix of thoughtful design, practicality, and informal personality to hotels.

Transforming its first building from a serviced apartment to a hotel with head-to-toe renovations, the group opened its flagship Ovolo Central at 2 Arbuthnot Road in October 2012. Now also enjoy the vegetarian Indian restaurant VEDA (with a kids' menu) at this convenient and chic but friendly address. An elevator whisks you up to the lobby, where you’ll find eager, smiling staff and a beckoning lounge.

The spacious 42-odd rooms stretch from 33sq m Studios to 66sq m Suites. At the 700sq ft Radio Suite find a walk-in closet, two 55-inch TVs with Google Chromecast, Nespresso machine and an overly generous eight-seater sofa. Expect rose velvet, pops of art, and cowhide furnishings. The hotel describes this as a "rockstar" experience. A Gold Room studio too has ample stretch space with a walk-in rainshower and a recessed study area, iron, Nespresso machine, flat-screen Google Chromecast TV, electronic safe and 'salon-grade' hairdryer. Not an idle boast.

Hong Kong designer hotels, Ovolo Southside offers big views

Views galore at Ovolo Southside Corner room at Wong Chuk Hang/ photo: hotel

A small event space for 12 persons can be rustled up too. Compact facilities, neat, accessible but not squeezed. The location suites a fast dash to offices in Central as well as street and fancy brand shopping. Ovolo is a smart address and compares well against other top Hong Kong boutique choices on this review like The Flemming in Wanchai.

Heading south across the Hong Kong hills is Southside by Ovolo at Wong Chuk Hang, Aberdeen, where the focus is on artisinal food, exercise and calming views. Pick a Corner room with vast views and light, a Queen bed, walk-in shower, powerful hairdryer and Smart TV. This Ovolo is the result of a warehouse conversion project. It is not for business travellers really unless work takes you southside but it is a treat for leisure trippers who don't mind sacrificing a bit of location for open vieqws and reasonable transport options.

This address was a preferred spot during the Covid quarantines and that says a lot about liveability. There are family rooms too as well as Rock Star Suites. Go whole hog. The Ovolo 286 Queen's Road Central was sold in 2024 for conversion into apartments for rent.The group also partners with DASH on the Aberdeen by DASH Living (www.dash.co) hotel residences.

Courtyard Hong Kong (by Marriott) opened in this area in early 2008. The Courtyard brand offers "moderately priced" lodgings aimed squarely at the business traveller with a focus on the room and work functionality rather than grand lobbies and ballrooms. Courtyard Hong Kong, in Sai Ying Pun has spacious, smart rooms with superb sea views from almost 70 percent of its bedrooms.

Courtyard Hong Kong compares well vs Jen and Butterfly as a boutique hotel as well as a business traveller pick

Courtyard Hong Kong sported a more corporate look by 2025/ photo: hotel

Guests can expect wired and wireless Internet access, a rainforest shower in the bathroom and an oversized work desk. Refreshed rooms by 2025 sported woody mimnimalism rather than bright flashes of colour. A 24-26sq m allergy-free no-smoking King, Harbor View offers USB sockets, soundproofed windows, work desk with ergonomic chair, iron and ironing board, in-room safe, small fridge and marble bathroom with hair drier and bathrobes. The new look has a more corporate feel, perhaps to exploit the location for business travellers.

Almost opposite Courtyard is Best Western Plus Hotel Hong Kong (formerly Ramada Hong Kong Hotel), a basic three-star option catering for large tour groups from the mainland. Sitting on busy Des Voeux Road where trams trundle by all day long, The place offers 307 rooms with a minibar, TV, Broadband Internet, hair-drier, desk, and small bathrooms. There are two restaurants, one bar and a small gym. A complimentary shuttle bus runs to IFC mall via Sheung Wan MTR station and the Macau ferry pier.

First opened in March 2008 on Queen’s Road West, veering dauntingly off the normal business circuit but not far from Hong Kong University, the small-scale boutique-style Hotel Jen was soon rebranded as the Traders Hotel, Hong Kong. It returned as the Hotel Jen Hong Kong in October 2014. The hotel offers 280 rooms and suites with free WiFi in the lobby and complimentary hook-up Internet access in all rooms.

Value Hong Kong business hotels, Hotel Jen (formerly Traders) in Western District

Hotel Jen room/ photo: Vijay Verghese

There are some advantages to being a bit away from the Central thrum. The small first-floor lobby has reception counters, a lobby bar and two computer stations. Smiling staff will escort you up to a Standard room or, if mod-cons are your thing, a delightfully bright and airy room with flat-screen LCD TV, DVD player, and an iPod or MP3 dock. Expect startling laundry-white interiors and plenty of blonde wood.

The fairly compact 250sq ft of space is artfully utilised. At the very entrance is a sink and a large well-lit wall mirror with a plugged in hairdryer. This is not as awkward as it sounds. The modular bathing areas are on the other side of the entrance. This leaves more living space inside the bedroom itself with light wood underfoot. Open views lead out through the windows, many high floor units offering some harbour view.

There is a long work desk, an array of wall plug-points thoughtfully including a crow’s feet socket, an iron and ironing board, and a large easy-to-spot wall-mounted clock facing the bed. The safe is not large enough for a bulky laptop alas but will hold your camera and video with aplomb.One of the nicest features is the full length divan stretching across the entire window with cushions for a lazy lie-down or a reading session.

Wanchai MTR art sets the tone for this wild nightlife district that is steadily gentrifying

Wanchai MTR art sets the tone for this wild nightlife district that is steadily gentrifying. It is a conference and exhibitions hot spot as well as a street shopping and fast bite area/ photo: Vijay Verghese


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Wanchai boutique hotels, luxe stays

There are two sides to the sprawling Wanchai district – the fun side with its neon, miniskirts, bars, hole-in-the-wall restaurants and bathroom fittings shops; and the less fun side, by the Hong Kong Convention Centre (or Wanchai North for those in the know).

Hong Kong boutique hotels, Fleming new look rooms for 2017

The Fleming re-launched with a new look 22 Oct 2017/ photo: hotel

The Fleming, a small and intimate 66-room Hong Kong boutique hotel known for its insouciant style and cheerful decor is set a little away from Wanchai's naughtier neon hubbub. It shut down mid 2016 for a complete overhaul and reopened with a new look 22 October, 2017, that will make eyes pop and purses fly open for a 30sq m 'Large' room (there's small, medium and extra large too). Targeted at business travellers - with an eye on conventioneers - the hotel offers a unique nautical design theme based on Hong Kong's iconic Star Ferry complete with elegant dark green wall borders and brass rivets.

The reborn hotel features large Hollywood lights at the entrance like a retro movie billboard and chic seafood restaurant - Osteria Marzia - at street level. This is a great move as the former 'Cube' eatery was a devilishly small space, for some reason totally obscured from public view. The reception-cum-lounge has been rearranged and shifted one floor up and accessed through a private and intriguingly dark 'gentleman's club' corridor leading to a tiny set of lifts and switched-on attentive greeters who will whisk you up for check-in. The cosy reception looks down over the restaurant.

A 'Large' room with wooden floors and a navy blue striped carpet under the beds is like stepping back in time on a cruise liner. Brass knobs and dimmers control brass lamps, a brass basin awaits in a compact herringbone marble-floor bathroom next to a brass rain shower. All that brass is brutal on maintenance, but glorious for travellers. Overstuffed beds sit next to old Hong Kong photographs - Sixties snapshots - facing a wall mounted pull out swivel flat-screen TV. The mini-bar stocks a record 42 items with Coke priced at HK$40 and a Peroni beer at HK$60. USB hubs are aplenty on either side of the bed but, mysteriously, three-pin plug sockets are a rarity and hard to find, whimsically placed (by the floor near the window, near the entrance, none free by the narrow table, and none within reach bedside).

Novotel Century rates well on this review as a Hong Kong conference hotel pick close to the convention centre

Fresher feel in Novotel Century rooms — better than the dark woods of yore/ photo: hotel

The brass lamps are grand but make poor reading lights. Minor quibbles in a room that will transport all comers to a new Hong Kong state of mind. Think curved door borders, curvy companions, curved everything, black French doors leading to the bathroom, slim boudoir-red lifts, and lobby level washrooms with the flooring entirely made up of 50 cent coins (2,400 of them). Look but don't steal. The inroom designer pen is devilishly smart and has been nicked by many. The extra large umbrellas and large top-loading laptop-friendly safes are sensible touches in a room at once a home for an executive on the move, or a weekend leisure tripper. The Fleming is a top Hong Kong boutique hotels choice, more intimate than Mira Moon, and a tad closer to the MTR, transport options, and the convention centre.

Enjoying the harbour-views from Wanchai North, the Renaissance and the Grand Hyatt are conjoined at the waist, sharing a lovely outdoor pool which, on the Hyatt side, connects to the indulgent spa complex Plateau, and on the Renaissance side, to a large leafy private plaza with jogging trails, two tennis courts and a small putting range.

Both hotels share the facilities and fine views. And sandwiched between the two is the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. Along with a soaring signature black-marble lobby and popular restaurants, the 553-room Grand Hyatt Hong Kong offers fast WiFi for busy fingers in all guestrooms and meeting rooms. In a 42sq m Garden View King room expect 55-inch HDML television, pillow menu, in-room safe and Nespresso machine. A Grand Executive Harbour View Suite runs up to 65sq m. That's ample rumpus room for any occasion.

Grand Hyatt is a top Hong Kong conference hotels choice on our review vs neighbours Renaissance and St Regis

Grand Hyatt minimalism: chic Harbour View Plateau king-bed with club access/ photo: hotel

Butlers are on call for select suite guests while sweeping harbour views are on tap at several rooms. By and large these are business rooms, austere, in dark woody tones and black, offset by ruby lampshades. The feel is conservative. Things are different at The Plateau, the hotel's alter ego.

The Plateau is the Grand Hyatt’s 80,000sq ft “oasis” with a range of revitalising spa treatments, fitness facilities and a stunning alfresco poolside restaurant. Savour glass-walled bathrooms, extra-large infinity tubs and futon beds in this one-of-a-kind residential spa. These rooms are among the more attractive on offer here with lighter wood, cream furniture and a homey feel. Also on the eleventh floor Plateau and pool level is the 35-seater Waterfall Bar with a seamless supply of premium Champagnes and Cuban cigars. No slouch when it comes to food and beverage options the hotel serves up a slew of fine dining venues from Grissini for Italian, Kaetsu for intimate Japanese, the Grand Hyatt Steakhouse, and The Grill again up by the pool.

One of the Grand Hyatt’s main advantages, in terms of location, is the proximity to the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre where many of the trade fairs are held. Wanchai Ferry is not too far away and the new MTR Exhibition Centre Station is right next door. The Grand Hyatt makes a good choice as a Hong Kong business and conference venue, with excellent F&B and service. Events and meetings spaces are varied and versatile and the Grand Ballroom can host 1,200 persons cocktail style. For the not-so-young and restless, the new-look LIPS offers a chic bar-cum-entertainment-lounge with live shows, magic and music.

Hong Kong conference hotels, Renaissance Harbour View new look

Renaissance Harbour View: popular among HK conference hotels/ photo: hotel

The Renaissance Hong Kong Harbour View Hotel is a slightly more affordable yet popular alternative. It favours white marble with large glass frontage in its large and very busy lobby, and has extensive function facilities, good harbour views and decent rooms that completed a huge upgrade in September 2011. In October 2016 the hotel unveiled a new lobby lounge concept called Mirage with an Island Bar serving bespoke cocktails and tapas - a venue for all occasions. In all this makes the lobby more upbeat and inviting.

Rooms from the more recent revamp are more contemporary with an airy, open-floor plan. Pale wood abounds and has replaced the carpeting for a homier feel underfoot. Clutter has been eliminated in this minimalist grey space save for an unadorned plump white bed. The bathroom is now separated from the main room with adjustable blinds (in fact you walk in to the room through the dressing/bathing area) and features a rain shower cubicle.

As in the other floors, there is no bathtub, just a businesslike shower for conference-goers in a hurry. The older room's larger work table has been shrunk to a small round table that is still fun to work on but the data port is a tad removed on the sideboard. Expect an iron and ironing board and a notebook-friendly safe.

Not far from here is a cheaper option, The Harbourview Hong Kong (formerly YMCA’s Harbour View International House), which has 320 rooms with flatscreen TVs, Wireless Broadband, minibar, private bathrooms, and, unsurprisingly, harbour views. There is also a house doctor on call. Scattered along Hennessy Road and Lockhart Road on the other side of Wanchai are a variety of mid-size three and four-star hotels, all very popular with mainland Chinese visitors. Staff here tend to be better versed in Mandarin than English.

Hong Kong luxury boutique hotels review, St Regis Grand Deluxe room

St Regis Grand Deluxe, bright views/ photo: hotel

Housed in an intriguing medium-rise building with reflective blue glass windows framed by silver-white angular overhangs and just a hop from the exhibition area, The St Regis Hong Kong (11 April, 2019, st-regis-hong) brings boutique luxury to Wanchai, upping the ante in the luxe bed bun fight and offering fresh choice for business travellers, meeting-bound suits, and leisure trippers.

With just 129 keys and butlers always within earshot, this is an address where service is personalised and attentive. A spa is on hand for further pampering along with a two Michelin-star restaurant duo: the Cantonese Rùn and L'Envol for French flirtation. The mid-floor lobby is a change from the neighbouring hotels and it offers high-ceiling space with elegant design touches. Natural light spills in and at the far end the space flows into the bar.

Rooms - from 538 to 2,583sq ft - are in a well-lit residential style featuring lightwood floors and pale grey tones. Fret not there is Frette linen to reassure your back in 50sq m Grand Deluxe rooms, oak tables for your work, and the occasional Peak and Harbour view. Despite its diminutive scale and plush trimmings the hotel is no slouch on corporate meetings and events with 12,000sq ft of versatile space for up to 500 persons.

One option for business travellers as well as leisure trippers is the smartly renovated and rebranded 196-room Gloucester Luk Kwok Hong Kong hotel (which was the setting for The World of Suzie Wong in its original colonial incarnation and currently offers an excellent Cantonese restaurant).

Good business hotel in Wanchai, Gloucester Luk Kwok on Gloucester Road, new Deluxe Plus launched Sep 2017

Gloucester Luk Kwok Deluxe Plus room/ photo: Vijay Verghese

The first generation Deluxe rooms are elegant with warm decor and silk bed runners creating a distinctly homely feel. Large windows offer views of either the bright lights of the city or the distant mountain peaks making the rooms feel light, breezy and spacious. New look Deluxe Plus rooms featuring a darker more sober corporate design scheme were in place by September 2017 on the 21st and 20th floors.

The "designer" rooms feature darker lift lobbies with a geometric grey-and-white patterned carpet set in squares with dark metallic walls. The dark wood doors lead into a foyer with a faux-wood parquet herringbone floor (that extends into the compact but bright white marble bathroom with its rain shower cubicle - no tub). Find a laptop friendly safe, iron and ironing board, long dark wood working table beneath a large flat screen LCD TV and plenty of three-pin electric sockets as well as USB ports. There are two plug sockets and two ports at the desk and the same array bedside (twin or large double).

The single beds are an extra large size and will work well for corporate travellers and conference goers. A dark leather headboard and wood panels complete the minimalist mix. The herringbone theme carries into the bedroom with a carpet that seamlessly merges with the foyer floor. Premium Plus rooms serve up much the same with wood-panel walls and the added lure of a small bathtub with a power shower. With the accommodation floors running from level 19 to 29, the views dramatically improve with the height. By the 24th floor you may be able to lie back in bed and look onto the evening lights and the hills without being overlooked. In-room facilities include large LCD TV, three phones, complimentary WiFi and plug-in Internet, a small in-room safe and coffee and tea facilities.

Hong Kong value hotels review - Ying'nFlow Admiralty is a fine choice

Fade away white and cool blue rooms at Ying'nFlow Admiralty / photo: hotel

A nice plus is the spacious black-wood work desk with three electric sockets. Expect brisk service, a fitness centre for end-of-day workouts, a 200 capacity function room and a business centre. The hotel is well located for MTR access, general transport, shops and offices and is a quick hop across the road from the Convention Centre.

Around the corner, the 358-room Wharney is clean and compact with mid-range facilities and easy access. The Wharney’s Canny Man provides a pleasant subterranean refuge for the whiskey drinker, and has a good international beer selection.

Location-wise the smart OZO Wesley Hong Kong - (rebranded 2022 as Ying'nFlow Wesley Admiralty, www.yingnflo.com) - is a good alternative to the Admiralty bigwigs with attractive rates and a location striking distance of the Admiralty MTR and Pacific Place shopping. The new company has left the hotel pretty much as it was with faded powder blue Hong Kong skyline depictions in rooms, crisp white beds and pale wood trim.

Also spot in the Wanchai area: The Metropark Hotel that rebranded in late 2016 to the Kew Green Hotel Wanchai, a bright and lively affair close to bars and the MTR; the service apartment Burlington Hotel next door with bright touches and compact contemporary rooms - some with views on higher floors; and the very compact but clean Lockhart Road MTR entrance corner Brighton Hotel Hong Kong (brighton-hotel). Close by, the renovated Empire Hotel Hong Kong plods on unremarkably but reliably.

Novotel Hong Kong Century is a comfy, efficiently run four-star with Italian fare. The hotel has 511 rooms with the latest hi-tech and offers easy walkway access to the Convention Centre.

Hong Kong boutique designer hotels, AKI studio is a good pick

AKI studio is a popular choice / photo: hotel

Expect compact 23sq m rooms (now in a fresher brighter decor compared to the old dark wood tones) with complimentary WiFi and meeting facilities for 274 banquet guests. Also expect a fitness centre and pool. Service is snappy and brisk. Expect rooms to be fullish during conference periods as this is a favoured spot for conference-goers to the HK exhibition centre across the road.

Just a kitty corner from Novotel Century is the all new woody, chic and minimalist AKI Hong Kong - MGallery (www.aki-hongkong-mgallery.com/) that feels more like a Japanese escape than a busy Hong Kong travel lodge. There are 173 stylish rooms - very welcoming of light - with harbour views from higher floors and a pulse-slowing zen feel. The hotel also offers Japanese tatami rooms with floor mattresses. Think 50-inch smart televisions, and spoiling MALIN+GOETZ toiletries. The 28sq m Deluxe Studios are a good pick, some with walk0in closets and soaking tubs. After hours pop up to the sedate and relaxing Uncle Ming's bar for a huge selection of whiskies.

Just up Lockhart Road is the darkly elegant The Hari (www.thehari.com/) with a sister property in London. The hotel arrived December 2020, shaking up Wanchai's staid mix. On offer at this 210 luxe room Harilela property are eye-catching artworks, books (reflecting the owner's passion), velvet furnishings, antique brass, and inspired Tara Bernerd design marrying glass partitions and classic furniture with dollops of Italian marble. A Corner Room serves uo 30sq m while a Family Room ups the rumpus room to 55sq m. And if you feel the urge, there's fine Japanese dining too.

Unfazed by the Covid drubbing, dapper Harilela scion Aron who runs this show says, "There is no doubt that Hong Kong will continue to hold a strong position on a global level and as a critical hub in Asia." That commitment is evident in the product. A nice little bolthole for small corporate meetings in Hong Kong or a CEO get-together with a bit of class.

Hong Kong design hotels, The Hari's Family King Room offer stylish classical accents

The Hari, Family King Room with classical furniture and Italian marble accents / photo: hotel

From Regal Hotels in the bustling Wanchai district at 211 Johnston Road, the boutique-style smoke-free iClub with 50 rooms and suites, a small spa and an iCafe for all-day dining (with complimentary WiFi).

In rooms expect plenty of light cream tones, glass walls welcoming of natural light, fast WiFi, microwave and fridge, rainshower in the bathroom and LCD TVs. There is a surprising amount of space in this small footprint. Expect space to range form a tight but well designed 16sq m iSelect Premier to a 28sq m iBusiness Executive and a 35sq m iPlus Family. Or pick a 53sq m Suite. Regal operates several iClubs around town.

Looking over Wanchai's busy markets and historical buildings, the 25-storey, 138-room Hotel Indigo Hong Kong Island (opened May 2013) is a somewhat reticent arrival. It is easy to miss the slender polished glass and mood light construct at one end of Queens Road East – except at night when its colours glow – parked squarely in a neighbourhood better known for its pedestrian bedlam, meat markets, and steaming local foods. This contemporary address is betting on its gritty environs to pull-in cognoscenti who wish to sample the "real" Hong Kong. A symbolic “dragon” winds around the building, rearing its futuristic head above the inviting, if terribly slender, blue rooftop lap pool facing the hillside far above the bustle. Wanchai motifs abound from the Blue House to Central Plaza.

Spacious business rooms at Regal iClub Wanchai give it an edge on our review vs Dorsett in the heart of Wanchai and close to the MRT

Roomy iClub Business Executive room, Wanchai, from the Regal group/ photo: hotel

Glass mood light panels adorn both the small lobby at the ground floor as well as the elevators. Single straight corridors host just seven to eight rooms on each floor lending a convivial homey feel to the place. The 63sq m Corner Suite is surprisingly spacious with a square living area, a Wanchai tram mosaic occupying one wall and a large L-shape dark purple leather sofa much of the floor. Floor to ceiling glass frontage is welcoming of light with south-facing hill views. The flooring is in pale stressed wood with floral carpets placed in the centre of each room.

Walk past a huge flat-screen TV with its BOSE sound, a mini-bar with reasonably priced items, and a coffee maker, to the open-plan bedroom with a plump white bed set right in the middle with walk-around space on all four sides. A narrow working desk extends from the back of the headboard while a single basin is set to the right with an adjustable height mirror. Find Molton Brown toiletries. On either side of this are a rain shower cubicle and the toilet. WiFi is free and there are two three-pin electric sockets. Open plan means this is more a romantic set-up and not for business mates really.

This intimate Hong Kong boutique hotel champions the island's heritage by displaying local artwork and offering curious excursions, such as the "Wan Chai Haunted House" or "Villain-Hitting in Gooseneck Bridge" tours.

Indigo room, a hip choice for Hong Kong business hotels

Hotel Indigo/ photo: hotel

Zap back to today with a classic cocktail at the rooftop Skybar (with a narrow alfresco section) or wander downstairs to Café Post for a nibble or a big-kick Ethiopian-Honduran cup of Joe from Rabbit Hole (the local supplier). The Library, a living room with sofas, TV and a couple of iMacs, is being relocated and the current space will be remodelled for meetings (up to 30 persons) by September 2014 to augment the 10-person meeting facility on the ground floor. At this hideaway there's no fuss, lots of stretch, and staff who pretty much leap to do your bidding.

Set farther away from the harbour but within strolling distance of Causeway Bay shops and the Happy Valley racecourse with grand views from several rooms is the Dorsett Wanchai Hong Kong (rebranded April 2017 from the former Cosmopolitan Hotel). Next door is sibling Cosmo Hotel. You’ll need to traverse an underground walkway to reach the main drags but it’s nothing their regular shuttle bus service doesn’t cover in a couple of minutes. Dorsett competes with the newer Hopewell Hotel (Dec 2024), which compares favourably on space and location (close to the MTR).

The curved Dorsett with its appealing ice-blue brand colour clocks in at around 454 rooms, the lobby cutting a light, clean impression - though it tends to be packed and busy - with lots of beige marble and the odd chandelier. The lobby was completely revamped with a minimal feel and relaunched 25 January, 2016. Good-sized deluxe racecourse-view rooms get an eyeful of the Happy Valley turf, as does the new themed Jockey Suite replete with horse shoes, riding cap, gold hues, and horses embroidered onto cushions.

New look triple bed family room at the Dorsett Wanchai

New-look Deluxe triple-bed for families at the Dorsett Wanchai/ photo: hotel

The Premier Course View is the top-of-the-line product here with more knee space around the plump king-sized bed, a packed but more generous bathroom with massage-jet shower cubicle, large wall mirror and vanity mirror with light ring. A grey patterned carpet hosts a generous bed (think comfy Simmons Beautyrest mattress) with a mirror wall behind to expand visual space. Across the bed is a 40" wall mounted flat-screen TV. Expect two three-pin electric sockets and two more, one on either side of the bed by the mod cream lamps. There's also a 'smart' built-in ironing board with iron.

The rooms have spectacular almost unobstructed views of the entire race track. WiFi is complimentary. Look out for the birds and horses in design elements, signifying a blend of British and Chinese influences as the property develops its incarnation under the Dorsett brand. Larger Family Rooms are something of a specialty here with two queen size beds (or a triple bed setup), complimentary chips and snacks for typhoon tykes, and an elaborate pillow menu - pick from lavender scent or buckwheat and nine more choices - for exhausted parents. Expect a flat screen TV and an innovative "water bar" with an array of complimentary bottled water from distilled to mineral and sparkling. Why not go all the way and book into one of several theme suites for which this hotel is well known. Pick the OSIM Suite with massage chairs, or a 48sq m colourful 'underwater' Ocean Suite.

The Cosmo hotel is bright and colourful with better rates than Dorsett and Emperor or Indigo

Big rooms at Hopewell Hotel while fairly plain offer views and attractive rates/ photo: hotel

Expect stuffed toys galore, play material for the young and restless, a small kitchenette (with microwave and faucet), and walls adorned with scrawled scribbles by children. Expect an in-room iron and a 55-inch Samsung TV. Connoisseurs may opt for the SONY Suite with its 55-inch HD television and surround sound.

Neighbouring sister property, the 142-room Cosmo Hotel Hong Kong, is a colourful pick with three room options – orange, yellow or green. The bright colours work to open up the small, but well-designed rooms – bathrooms offer the best use of space. Complimentary WiFi runs throughout the hotel.

The Nooch Bar was a dark industrial style hangout on the ground floor, which also served breakfast. It has closed. Breakfast and dim sum options are aplenty in the neighbourhood though. Cosmo is simple bordering on hip, a good value Hong Kong hotel with some design flourishes. Shop here for good Internet deals and longstay packages. Despite it's compact specs, Cosmo punches a bit above its class and rates well in this updated guide to Hong Kong hotels.

Next door you’ll also find the kitsch-and-karaoke The Emperor Hotel — that opened in Wanchai on Queen's Road East next to the Dorsett in 2018 — with a racy bar and good Szechuan cuisine. It competes strongly vs Dorsett and has built a strong clientele.

On our Hopewell Hotel vs Indigo and Dorsett review, the large Hopewell rooms come out tops with a location close to the MTR

Big rooms at Hopewell Hotel while fairly plain offer nice views and attractive rates/ photo: hotel

Around the corner is the South Pacific Hotel, a staple for business visitors and leisure trippers from the Mainland who like to cut loose a little after work. Beds in the South Pacific Hotel may be a tad short for some. Don't expect too much. This is a basic hotel for unfussy travellers with useful features but unimaginative decor.

Around the corner, squeezed into a narrow hard-to-find alley off Bowrington meat market is the 40-storey Best Western Hotel Causeway Bay. Not a whole lot to recommend here but prices can be attractive. Direct taxi access is poor though transport options are a short walk away. The hotel makes a stab at Philippe Starck mod but fails with gaudy gold bling everywhere from mosaic walls to ornamental furniture and mirrors. There are cheap eats in the neighbourhood.

Butterfly on Morrison ended up a quarantine hotel during Covid following which it got a makeover in 2023 as the beLIVING Youth Hub (www.belivingyouthhub.com/) is located in Wanchai and is walking distance from the buzzing Causeway Bay district. The hotel’s plain and simple but stylish design attracted a young leisure-oriented clientele, while also appealing to those travelling for business on a tight budget. It is a youth hostel now rather than a full-blown hotel. Rooms are from 176 square feet to 324 sq ft with room rates from HK$3,800 to HK$4,800 per month and these are on offer to local permanent residents with a slarly below HK$25,000 per month.

Hong Kong boutique hotels, Mira Moon room with a view

Mira Moon, bright/ photo: Vijay Verghese

Occupying the tiniest footprint at the intersection of Jaffe Road and Marsh Road, Mira Moon (1 November 2013) is a quiet contender in a quietish neighbourhood between Wanchai and Causeway Bay proper and a brisk flat-shoe stroll from the closest MTR. Part of the same stable as The Mira in TST, the similarities end there as this hotel's DNA is rudely different. It is saucy, giddy, wild, and a hormonal riot all rolled into one with tiny spaces - as the entrance foyer - peppered with mosaic flooring, dark wood lattice work walls, huge mirrors, crimson high-back chairs and demure hostesses in throwback Shanghai uniforms beaming dimly in the background. It is a serious contender on our Hong Kong boutique hotels review.

The main lobby on the fifth floor is similarly clad in mirrors and crimson chairs, the small space seemingly stretched by mirrors and all manner of eye candy both faux Euro and playfully eastern lending the place a Lan Kwai Fong club veneer while serving up some hospitality depth, There are four rooms per floor. Opt for the New Moon corner (12 numberings) with 380sq ft of rumpus space and a partial harbour view between two not overly close buildings. There's plenty of light through floor-to-ceiling windows with their signature crimson peony painted on silver satin. Dark wood walls with the ubiquitous square carvings make way for a white marble bedroom floor with a vibrant floral-pattern carpet. The bed is partially set into a white moulded wall that looks like a large grand piano crying out to be opened.

Guide to Causeway Bay hotels close to HK shopping

Vibrant Causeway Bay is the shopping heartland of HK/ photo: Vijay Verghese

The bathroom is extensive (almost 40 percent of the overall space) with a bathtub set by windows, a large well lit mirror and a single large washbasin with his and her amenities at either side. The smaller Half Moon room is 220sq ft with all the amenities minus the tub while the larger Full Moon goes up to 410sq ft (the bathtub her is set a tad more privately should you wish to peek outside). This is a spot for the hip and happy. There's no pool and no meetings space.

There is a 24-hour gym with video treadmills but Hong Kong will ensure you get your shopping workout anyway. Later grab Spanish-Chinese fusion tapas and cocktails at the small and cosy Supergiant restaurant and bar.

JUMP TO Hong Kong Island Central | Admiralty | Mid-Levels, SOHO, Sheung Wan | Wanchai boutique hotels, budget inns | Causeway Bay, East, South | Kowloon, TST | Mongkok | Airport Hotels, New Territories | Hotel Contacts

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Causeway Bay hotel choices, East, South

Hong Kong lifystyle hotels reviewed - Lanson Place Causeway Bay sets new benchmark as CEO Michael Hobson rolls out the new-look hotel

1 March 2023 the elegantly reimagined Lanson Place Causeway Bay returned with a markedly French feel, the vision of celebrated designer Pierre-Yves Rochon. It is a stylish new icon for the city in a great location. "Here you can simply go out and find the real Hong Kong," says Lanson CEO Michael Hobson (pictured). / photos: Vijay Verghese


Superior room at new-look Park Lane Autograph Collection

Park Lane new look Superior Room: mod, brighter/ photo: hotel

Moving eastwards into the retail jungle of Causeway Bay you’ll find a few good Hong Kong business hotels. There has been much churning in this neighbourhood. The old Excelsior (operated by the Mandarin Oriental group) was long a solid business and leisure favourite that lay right at the water’s edge, looking onto the bobbing masts of the Hong Kong Yacht Club and typhoon shelter. It closed 31 March 2019 to make way for mixed-use office space. It's longtime neighbour has morphed from a Pullman into the smart new-look The Park Lane Hong Kong, Autograph Collection by Marriott (park-lane-hong-kong) with bright mod 28sq m rooms (featuring compact see-through toilets), hairdryer, safe, iron, and splashes of red; fitness, meetings space, Victoria Park views and the signature rooftop bar and brasserie, SKYE. All this within touching distance of shopping and eateries.

Editor's choiceHONG KONG's new-look hotels continue to reimagine themselves in fresh new ways, none more so than Lanson Place Causeway Bay, Hong Kong (lansonplace.com). This popular escape returned 1 March 2024 in understated Parisian livery conjured up by Pierre-Yves Rochon who has lent his design eye to a string of top line brands. He dips modestly into his Cap-Ferrat bag of tricks to bring a touch of the Riviera to Lanson's creamy feminine contours and powder blue textures that lend it a welcoming homey appeal. "Our style is very DIOR," says Lanson Place CEO Michael Hobson with a shy smile as he casts an appreciative eye over Salon Lanson, an elegant lounge that serves as both evening cocktail mixer and a breakfast, lunch, and dinner venue. Seating on beige and powder blue sofas and white tables is spread out with little snuggeries here and there. This is far from your typical cheek-by-jowl Hong Kong dining experience. By mid-2025, the Salon was full lunchtime, packed with smart office ladies and the in crowd.

Hong Kong lifestyle hotels review, Lanson Place

Lanson Place Salon: Understatedly plush / photo: Vijay Verghese

"Our style is very feminine," Hobson continues. "Ladies from China who love to photograph their food and post on social media will love this place. The word is quality." The hotel has broad appeal though. As it transitions from its long-stay roots to woo independent travellers and quick-stepping businessmen, there is something for everyone.

The second floor houses two quietly chic meeting rooms (with projection as well as a Smart TV LED panel). Natural light streams in to make this a naturally feel-good space for small corporate meetings or CEO get-togethers. With the key count reduced to 188 (about 60 rooms still retain kitchenettes for extended stays) Lanson Place Hong Kong projects an intimate and friendly family atmosphere with attentive service by a fresh cast of younger faces. Unsurprisingly, smiles are aplenty. Informality is stressed. Hobson takes off his spectacles and gestures with his hands: "We try to keep policies to a minimum and let staff take the initiative."

"Well," his face creases into a boyish grin, "anything for a guest, provided it's legal and moral."

Guestrooms are welcoming of light. The liberal use of white and pastel accentuates the feminine feel while the design employs curves rather than hard edges, from the cabinets to the lazy ottomans. Simply named Guest Rooms start at 35sq m or 380sq ft. XL Guest Rooms serve up 41sq m of well designed compact space while a Deluxe Residence (One Bedroom) stretches to 48sq m and a Prestige Suite to 51sq m. Three Penthouses (one and two bedrooms) on each of the top two floors (27th and 28th) provide 900 to 2,000sq ft of rumpus room for those who might wish to linger longer as residential guests.

Penthouse 2801 is a 1,500sq ft corner space with a good-stretch living room and four-seater dining looking over the Sports Stadium nestled in green hills. Soft lighting etches out the beds underfoot and pale blue accents run from the cushions to small paintings. The space is zen in its simplicity and clean cream lines. Expect two kinds of USB sockets married with three-pin plug points in the bedrooms and in the dataport on the work desk. Find a microwave, Nespresso, a small electric cooking range, a dishwasher, full size fridge (with decent freezer), washing machine, and cooking utensils.

Lunchtime Carbonara at the Lanson Place Salon

Lunchtime Carbonara at Lanson Place Salon / photo: Vijay Verghese

Rooms in light powder blue, yellow or green come fully equipped with a raft of hi-tech features like USB3 ports, radio-speakers, 55-inch Smart TVs, counter-top wireless iPhone charging pads, and plenty of three-pin electric sockets. Find a Dyson hairdryer, a Nespresso coffee machine, a wide selection of teas, and an in-room safe with a cushioned jewellery box. Iron and ironing boards are on request. An easy chair and ottoman perch by the window with its bookshelf stacked with a glossy reading selection, next to the invitingly plump white bed with its Sealy mattress. And responsive one touch switches operate lights and a reassuring blackout curtain that descends snuggly into a floor recess killing all sneaky light shafts. Perfect for those who need laboratory conditions to sleep. Bathrooms offer rain showers (the Penthouses have soaking tubs as well), pampering toiletries, and reassuringly old-fashioned toilet seats without confounding electronic gadgetry.

The hotel also offers a laundry room, a well equipped fitness and exercise space with yoga, and Nordaq filtration for drinking water. There is no single-use plastic here. Hobson describes Lanson Place as a "Luxury boutique sanctuary in the heart of Causeway Bay where you can go out and find the real Hong Kong." It is all that and more. This smart and personable address will grow in appeal and stature with its affordable luxe pricing pitched at around half that of top Central properties.

(Lanson Place Causeway Bay, Hong Kong features in our exclusive by-invitation Top Asian Hotels Collection, featuring the best Asian hotels, resorts and spas in a printable A4 page with stunning visuals.)

HK budget hotels review, we compare Holiday Inn Express Causeway Bay vs Butterfly

Simple but adequate prime space at Holiday Inn Express Causeway Bay/ photo: hotel

Rosedale Hotel Hong Kong also takes advantage of the park views. It is set a few minutes away from shopping on Shelter Street, and has all the necessary room amenities, free WiFi and a Western restaurant. In April 2024 the hotel went entirely non-smoking. Not far from here Hotel Pennington by Rhombus (opened May 2013) served up contemporary rooms in the heart of the shopping district with street markets around the corner. It was a fine spot for unhurried shoppers but it closed in April 2020.

Next door is the Regal Hongkong Hotel, a somewhat ornate leisure-business option that’s low on views but big on buffets and bathtubs. Nina Hotel Causeway Bay (formerly L’Hotel Causeway Bay Harbour View Hong Kong) is a 40-storey modern four-star hotel with 275 rooms and suites, and a rooftop pool.

Also at the rear of shopping Mecca, Times Square, Holiday Inn Express Hong Kong Causeway Bay, offers the ultimate in comfortable no-frills accommodation, with identical, affordable rooms, big desks, American-style décor and powerful showers. Express has 282 rooms (including a wheelchair access room) with complimentary WiFi, in-room safe, and satellite TV — with a fitness room for guests. Largely on account of its superior location, the Holiday Inn Express compares well vs the former Butterfly on Morrison (now the beLIVING Youth Hub).

Hong Kong boutique hotels review, Little Tai Hang

Bag a seaview at the long-stay Little Tai Hang in Causeway Bay/ photo: hotel

The lively and well designed Little Tai Hang has a playful website and a whimsical but well mannered appeal that will attract leisure trippers as well as long-stay clientele, not least because of its excellent and tidy room decor, views (some over the harbour), and a quiet location a short stroll from the Tin Hau MTR Station right behind Victoria Park on Tung Lo Wan Road. Rooms start at a wallet tickling HK$940 for 33sq m with flatscreen TV, complimentary WiFi, Simmons mattresses, hairdryer, fitness centre and Apple TV facilities. A studio Superior Harbour View with Balcony serves up up to 44sq m with plenty of natural light and wooden floors at around HK$1,750. The hotel doubles as a serviced apartment with plenty of homey features. If you're scouring for Hong Kong boutique hotels with access to MTR stations, this compares well vs, say, the Fleming, in Wanchai, with upbeat design flair and a welcoming feel. It is one of the 2018 HK boutique picks on this review.

Around the corner in Tin Hau is the eye-catching smoke-free TUVE (opened 2015) with its design emphasis on minimalism with lashings of textured wood, marble, brick, and wide open spaces. Several rooms are entirely in black wood with a zen feel. It may be claustrophobic for some. Still, this is a another Hong Kong boutique hotels pick with contemporary style that will engage a more discriminating set. Premier rooms serve up a king-size bed with walk-in shower in a bathing area separate by translucent glass panels. Expect free WiFi and a 40-inch HDTV.

HK boutique hotels, TUVE in Tin Hau

Design hotel TUVE is a boutique HK choice in Tin Hau/ photo: hotel

Deluxe rooms offer more of the same in a compact 21sq m with Le Labo toiletries. The hotel is rather discretely tucked away in a side street a short stroll from the Tin Hau MTR station and you will need to strain to spot the entrance as there are few giveaways. It is a separate world inside, quiet, unassuming, and self contained, while just outside is a cacophony of street food and more. Pick a room on a higher floor to get away from street clatter and be prepared for a very cosy fit.

An interesting and somewhat quirky choice on Hennessy Road is the Hong Kong boutique hotel, Walden. The Walden Hotel is a compact and colourful offering with the atmospheric Antique Bar featuring good chillout music, old Chinese lanterns, deep sofas and cosy nooks for a slow unwind. There is even a spa and rooms won't exactly pinch the wallet. Service can be patchy and has dipped considerably so be warned.

The Crowne Plaza by IHG at lucky number 8 Leighton Road is across the road from the Times Square shopping bustle and around the corner from the Happy Valley racetrack. Despite these entertaining credentials and a 28th floor rooftop swimming pool and trendy bar to catch the rays and sweeping Hong Kong vistas, this is a resolutely business hotel aimed at executives on the go with 590sq m of meeting space and 11 function rooms. In 2017 the site owners sought permission to repurpose the building as a 22-storey office. A decision is yet to be taken on this.

Causeway Bay is an action-packed district with fun shopping and food. It is a great location for business and leisure travellers alike

Causeway Bay is an action-packed district with fun shopping and varied food. It is a great location for business and leisure travellers alike with excellent transport connections/ photo: Vijay Verghese


To the east of Victoria Park, North Point district (also easily accessed by the MTR) is served by Hotel Ibis North Point; simple and good value for money. The second hotel in the area, the Newton, closed shop in 2019.

HK hotels with harbour views, Hyatt Centric in North Point

Hotel Vic in North Point transformed into the Hyatt Centric Victoria Harbour Hong Kong/ photo: hotel

A former value choice in the area was City Garden Hotel with 613 comfortable rooms a short stroll from the Fortress Hill MTR station. It was closed during the Covid years and has been repurposed.

The 665-room Hotel VIC on the eastern Hong Kong harbourfront underwent a quiet pummelling and rework to rebrand as the Hyatt Centric Victoria Harbour Hong Kong. The Hyatt, one of the first in its class for Asia (Tokyo has one), started late 2019 under the new marque as changes were introduced. The Hyatt Centric Ginza Tokyo opened just before. The Andre Fu design turns the harbor-view rooms into socially connected spaces with Hirsch Bedner touches across two towers. Expect a specialty restaurant and bar, bakery, gym, and an outdoor swimming pool on the roof. The property is part of a large integrated development rolling together hotel, shopping, serviced apartments, luxe digs and a promenade.

The cavernous beige lobby of the Harbour Grand Hong Kong, punctuated with a handful of boudoir red velour chairs and somewhat timid flower arrangements, is a feng shui master’s wet dream: high ceilings, lots of light, shiny minimalism, water features and an over-abundance of anything circular. The hotel is smart and functional without straining overly to make the point. Out of 828 rooms, serviced by 10 lifts, five have outdoor Jacuzzis on a balcony and there are 86 suites, three on each floor. Four standard rooms come with a small pantry including a hot plate, microwave and sink. Standard 30sq m rooms include work desk, 31”LCD TV, laptop safe, separate bathtub, hairdryer and WiFi (HK$130 per day).

EAST from Swire Hotels

EAST, from Swire/ photo: hotel

The location in North Point is a little awkward but it’s on the harbour with substantial views and is also within walking distance of the MTR. Le 188° Restaurant & Lounge, surrounded by floor-to-ceiling windows on three sides has 188-degree harbour views.

The Harbour Plaza North Point is a larger option with 669 rooms and serviced suites, some overlooking the harbour. This is convenient to the Taikoo Place office blocks in nearby Quarry Bay. The hotel has an outdoor swimming pool, business centre and a choice of four restaurants. You might want to avoid the rooms that overlook the crematorium if you’re superstitious.

Tai Koo Shing (conveniently on the MTR line) in eastern Hong Kong Island is the location of Swire Hotels’ latest offering, the 345-room EAST that opened January 2010. It is a minimalist easy-on-the-eye hotel with clean zen-straight lines and muted colours offset by contemporary art work. In regular 28sq m rooms expect blond wood parquet underfoot, glass partitions, dark-wood details and black trim contrasting with white linen on plump beds and soft pastels. Large black-and-white photos create a refreshing focal point albeit without being intrusive or overly dominant. Floor-to-ceiling windows throw open vast city, mountain, and harbour vistas while large black tactile buttons enable guests to switch lights on and off without suffering hi-tech meltdown at 2am. Corner rooms squeeze in more views and light through large-slat venetian blinds while open-plan suites are bright and airy with a swing chair and next-to-bed window-side bathtub for the truly reckless.

Oceanfront Suite Le Meridien Cyberport has commanding sea views

Oceanfront Suite, Le Meridien Cyberport in the west of HK Island photo: hotel

This is a lifestyle retreat aimed at business travellers who will find among their in-room arsenal a 37-inch HD TV, complimentary Broadband and WiFi, and an iPod dock. Unwind at the hip rooftop bar Sugar, with huge views that perk up as the city lights come on at sundown. The solitary east-west fusion restaurant is Feast (Food by EAST), a spacious hangout for creative foodies, while the gym is playfully named Beast (Body by EAST). The hotel has a nice outdoor swimming pool a tad hemmed in by city blocks but that's so Hong Kong. Remember the laundry-grazing Kai Tak landings?

Far out on the west of the island in the green suburbia of Pokfulam, the hi-tech Le Méridien Cyberport is one vast wireless hotspot. When WiFi became free throughout all public spaces at this slick urban retreat, it was among the first to do so in the city although it charged in the rooms. Of course it's all complimentary now. At this unabashedly modern building, technology married with art provides the theme for the minimalist design with angular lines and daubs of colour. Guestrooms offer full floor-to-ceiling ocean frontage.

Some rooms feature peekaboo glass-walled bathrooms where the opacity of the glass is controlled by a switch. This enables reticent travellers — especially those rooming twin on business travel — to protect their modesty. It's a nice touch but scary nonetheless.

Ocean Park Marriott pitches for family travel and corporate meetings

HK Ocean Park Marriott arrived early 2019 / photo: hotel

Mischievously, at launch time the bathroom opacity switches were controlled from the bedroom, not the bathroom. Presumably this has been corrected and reduced the blushes. Romantics of course will have no problem at all.

About 30 minutes from Central by shuttle and far removed from the hurly-burly of Hong Kong, the hotel has a decidedly self-sufficient feel (it is a popular conference and training venue. If you're looking for an offbeat Hong Kong hotel for corporate meetings, give this one a good gander). This probably has something to do with the lawns outside that you’re actually allowed to walk on. The hotel is also very proud of its celebrity visitations and rightly so – anywhere Gloria Gaynor and Art Garfunkel have laid their curly mops has got to be worth a gander.

Nina Hotel Island South is a 37-storey establishment situated in Aberdeen, sporting 432 smart rooms and suites with hill or open views, some looking across to the sea and Ocean Park. Not far from here is the 471-room Hong Kong Ocean Park Marriott Hotel. This is a clean and neat development with a strong leisure focus and one eye on the developing Wong Chuk Hang business district now connected by MTR.

The Fullerton Ocean Park Hotel Hong Kong - new family friendly HK hotel for 2022

The Fullerton Ocean Park Hotel, Hong Kong, Mermaid Princess Room / photo: hotel

Expect themed accommodation for kids, pale pastel woody rooms with plenty of natural light, alfresco pool, spa, and 14,531sq ft of meetings and event space. The Grand Ballroom can be subdivided into four units. The hotel location right next to Ocean Park offers a huge advantage for leisure trippers who'd like to be close to this signature attraction.

The Fullerton, Ocean Park Hotel Hong Kong (18 July 2022), whose unprepossessing contours fully occupy a curving oceanfront plot, offers a sun-drenched pool and 425 light-filled rooms starting at 35sq m. A colourful Panda Party Room weighs in at 42sq m while the Mermaid Princess Room, of similar proportions, is packed with whimsy and marine motifs. Kids may prefer the Hong Kong Safari Room or perhaps the Rainbow Unicorn Room while dads pitch for a 121sq m Pool Suite. The business, conferences and weddings sets are wooed no less spectacularly with pillar-free ballrooms and function spaces that can accommodate from 200 to 550 persons for a cocktail. Spa till your shine, dine, and turn the family loose at Ocean Park next door.

Last but not least, for those looking to savour the sights, smells, pubs, beach, markets and seaside ambience of Stanley, the fishing village and tourist hotspot in the far south of Hong Kong Island, there is the new and mod The Stanley Oriental Hotel with nine large studio arrangements (starting at 590sq ft) including a few even more spacious suites.

Too much for just a day. Right. Thus you'll need to book a week or more at this service apartment-hotel. It's an all white affair with about one room per floor. Expect a large kitchenette (microwave, fridge and electric range), generous bathroom, flatscreen TV, stylish faded wood floors and free WiFi.

The larger suite rooms offer two large flatscreen TVs, DVD, modern sofas, balcony, separate shower, and a raised bathtub taking in the view of Stanley Bay. The hotel – small, quirky and clean – is right on the bayfront with easy access to all Stanley facilities and restaurants.

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Hong Kong business hotels guide to TST — the returning harbourfront Regent compares well vs Rosewood and Peninsula

The Rosewood (far left) competes head-on with the re-imagined Regent (centre and right) that has returned with his grand harbour lobby panorama and refreshed accommodation./ photos: Vijay Verghese


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Guide to top beds in Kowloon, TST

The Regent Hong Kong - rebranded InterContinental Hong Kong from 2001 as part of that group's luxury portfolio acquisition and then closed for renovations in 2020 - returned March 2023 under is original name. It remains part of the InterCon stable. This striking edifice is across the road smack on the Tsim Sha Tsui seafront, about a five-minute walk from the Nathan Road “Golden Mile”. It has been completely recast though some old echoes remain.

Classic Harbourview Room. The Regent is a top rated address on our HK business hotels review and fares well vs The Peninsula and Kowloon Shangri-La and even The Ritz-Carlton

Classic Harbourview Room at the newlook Regent Hong Kong that returned March 2023/ photo: hotel

Sit in the lobby and you’ll feel like you’re on a ship in the harbour (minus the motion) with the Star Ferry liners gliding past the floor-to-ceiling windows. If passing by of an afternoon, sample a classic tea for two at HK$880. Well, it's a lucky number! The hotel enjoys a special status in the hearts of Hongkongers who have enjoyed its service and views since 1980. The original Regent group was started in the 1970s to give vent to the creative, futuristic imaginings of Robert Burns, Adrian Zecha (who went on found Aman Resorts) and Georg Rafael (whose brand needs no introduction in Europe and the US).

Two-thirds of the guest rooms have unadulterated views of the harbour. The new rooms are in unfussy pastels and earth tones. The accent is on simplicity. Try out a 43sq m Premium Harbourview Room, a 50sq m Studio Suite, or a 100sq m Corner Suite - Harbourview.

The hotel has trundled out a succession of fine dining Michelin star options over the years. Old timers will recall Spoon by Alain Ducasse, later to become Rech, the Parisian seafood favourite. There was a Nobu too. That original chapter closed some years back. Then, Nobu made a hushed comeback in 2023. Now spot Yan Toh Heen (which remaind open right through) reclaiming its original name Lai Ching Heen, The Steak House and the Lobby Lounge and Harbourside. While this upscale bolthole now serves as a splendid leisure retreat in Kowloon, the Regent is a top pick for those in search of Hong Kong conference hotels with quality MICE facilities and corporate meetings space. It is a top-rated hotel in our review of the best Hong Kong business and meetings addresses.

HK luxury hotels review, Rosewood corner suite in pastels

Light-filled Rosewood corner suite/ photo: hotel

With the Regent as the jewel in the ring, the Kowloon peninsula, with Tsimshatsui (TST) at its very tip, looks across Victoria harbour at Hong Kong. There’s cut-price shopping, battalions of tailors, fake goods and a slew of high-end hotels along the waterfront on either side of busy Nathan Road. Tunnels, the MTR and the Star Ferry can whisk you across the fast-slimming channel in minutes.

Shaking up the waterfront competition facing Victoria Harbour is the sleek beige tower of the Rosewood Hong Kong (opened March 2019) - with a hint of New York. Expect some stylish if over-the-top marbled statements. Find 90 or so tasteful suites with plump beds basking in natural light with grand views across the harbour, the Manor Club - not only for the Manor Born - scurrying butlers, cigar lounge, jazz, stylish afternoon teas and a patisserie. Central to the hotel's meetings and conferencing muscle are a 1,000sq m pillarless ballroom, eight function spaces and an Event Studio. The location just east of the Regent is excellent for a waterfront pootle and is a modest stretch from here to the Tsim Sha Tsui MTR stop.

Back in West Kowloon, the sky-piercing, über chic The Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong arrived stealthily through the spring mists April 2011 on the top floors of the soaring ICC building, one train stop from Central. With Cinemascope views in all directions, including prized ones of Victoria Peak and neon-bathed Hong Kong Island at dusk, this address plans to set a new benchmark for other modestly sea-level Hong Kong business hotels.

Melding contemporary decor and high glass panel windows welcoming of light, with spacious and rich yet reassuringly sober corporate rooms, this pin-striper eyrie runs from floors 102 to 118, the rooftop graced by the "highest pool in the world" (only for in-house guests). Eye-popping see-through glass walls girdle the water leaving nothing of Hong Kong to the imagination.

Hong Kong business hotels review, Ritz-Carlton serves up great views

Classic Ritz-Carlton room/ photo: hotel

Burn off calories afloat and watch others less fortunate doing the same, if more sweatily, in bustling city streets far below. On Level 103 is the reception area and The Chocolate Library – for which long queues stretch – exerting forbidden appeal for lovers of the dark stuff (the main event is 2pm to 6pm), while the rooftop Ozone bar (with an alfresco terrace that actually gets wet when it rains), the already popular Italian Tosca, and the Cantonese dim-sum Tin Lung Heen work on other palates.

Rooms, starting at 50sq m, are in deep woody, earthy, olive shades with a fair bit of understatement and invitingly plump, white beds. The bedroom area is not hugely spacious, partly on account of the fact that the bathrooms are generous, and the vistas need to be shared, but the endless views more than compensate.

It is a civilized and cosseted space, contemporary yet classic, featuring large flat-screen TVs, DVD players, iPod docks, complimentary WiFi, old-fashioned round-dial clocks on the bedside table, flat electronic safes for your notebook, large tactile switches for the electricals (no alienating hi-tech gobbledegook here), LCD screens above the bathtub, and tastefully lavish twin washbasins set in alabaster onyx. In several rooms and corner suites guests may spot a telescope mounted on a tripod, underscoring the hotel's unfettered access to panoramic views in all directions. Why watch TV in your bedroom when you can check the channels in any highrise or hotel across the harbour?

An ESPA is set to coddle on the 116th floor, right opposite the Club Lounge and there is a fair sprinkling of creative meeting space. The ICC also has a viewing deck on the 100th floor, alas not directly connected to the hotel but, who cares? On a clear day you can truly see forever.

August 2008 saw the arrival of the stylish W Hong Kong, located in fast-developing West Kowloon. It’s a handy choice for trendy metrosexuals and even starched bankers working directly opposite in the new ICC building. The hotel is whimsically designed around the five elements of water, fire, wood, earth and metal. The W brand strives to offer travellers a "sensory muliplex" with a riot of art and more.

Hong Kong hotels, luxury end, image of The Peninsula

The Peninsula fleet/ photo: hotel

Entry is on the ground floor where you’ll be greeted by a giant illuminated W “flame”, but the sixth floor “Living Room” is where the actual reception area is situated. It’s all ultra modern with funky furniture, bright colours, and bold art. The reception desk is backed by a giant plasma screen with moving images that change continually.

There are 393 rooms ranging from “Wonderful” to “Spectacular” to “Cool” and a few others in between with equally “Fabulous” names. The spacious rooms come in two quite different designs, so you might end up with bold and obvious (bright purple or red feature walls) or a touch more subtle. The latest technology is on hand – some rooms have sliding mirrors that reveal plasma LCD TVs, and there are DVD players, iPod docks, surround sound speakers, and funky light fittings. Expect a “Munchie Box” instead of a minibar. Bathrooms are stony grey with rainshowers, bathtubs, and Bliss amenities.

Spectacular harbour views can be enjoyed from the comfort of your bath, if you’re in one of the suites. Subtlety is not on the menu at W’s Bliss Spa where you’ll get upbeat music, movie-watching with a manicure and vibrant turquoise blue carpet. Along with its idiosyncratic design and unique amenities, W Hong Kong follows in the footsteps of its global counterparts with a “Whatever/Whenever” service philosophy. Be sure to check out the stunning rooftop pool (called “Wet”) and two glitzy restaurants.

With its white colonial frontage and flotilla of Rolls Royce Phantoms, The Peninsula Hong Kong presides over the waterfront like a matriarch. Visitors go gaga over its afternoon teas and line up patiently right after lunch. On 11 December, 2013, this grand address celebrated its 85th with a fine show that brought in celebrities and guests to marvel at an exceptional F&B tour de force as the restaurants were thrown open for a night of feasting. Over the years The Pen has expanded to a blushingly modest 300-odd rooms, which still allows for a degree of impeccable, personalised service unmatched at many city hotels. It broke with convention to introduce a tower block with a helipad and, later, added the de rigueur spa.

The Peninsula Hong Kong compares well on reviews vs The Ritz-Carlton and Regent

Peninsula peekaboo telescope for harbour observation/ photo: hotel

The décor is stately and refined – gilded cornices, soaring pillars, and baroque and glittering this and that wherever you cast your eye. Nothing is out of place. Big brand boutiques like Chanel and a string of classy restaurants complete the ensemble. After a HK$450 million overhaul in 2012, The Peninsula's rooms returned with all the classic feel that made them a hit in the sixties with guests lugging exotic travel-worn Louis Vuitton cabin trunks. But this is no idle nostalgia guff. The in-room pace is thoroughly modern with the latest in hi tech gadgetry and, rather generously, WiFi and international calls are complimentary. Expect to manage all room controls, the television, and much more, using a special iPad-style tablet that has been developed in-house with large friendly icons and an 11-language display. This will please many and be a niggle for some less tech savvy. Switch to Russian or simplified Chinese and all the electronic displays in the room will in turn reflect the change. Check flight departures, menus.... the list goes on. This device is not as daunting as it sounds.

The decor is endearingly plain rather than fussy, understated luxe in beige-grey pastels with a signature bronze peach blossom motifs on the wall. A 467sq ft Grand Deluxe Harbour View Room (in the Tower block) lives up to its promise with a panoramic display of Hong Kong Island and Victoria Peak. The working desk serves up a hidden data-port that rises up mysteriously at the press of the finger to reveal media connectors and two electrical sockets including one for 110 volts - the other is a three-pin multi-pin for 220 volt gadgets. A gleaming polished black cabinet conceals a HUGE 46-inch flatscreen 3D TV, another data port with plug sockets and DVD player.

At the luxury end, Peninsula (pictured) is often compared vs the Ritz

Peninsula new-look room/ photo: hotel

Also spot espresso machines, assorted bedside gadget chargers, noise-cancelling headphones, a large vertical safe for much more than just a laptop, a valet box for whisper-quiet laundry removal, and classy, retractable drink coasters. With the push of a button, you can even turn your marble bath into a spa experience with dimmed lights, mood music and a "do not disturb" sign. A 1,344sq ft Deluxe Suite in the old wing is more an apartment than a hotel room with a cavernous but friendly living and dining ensemble - with a long L-shaped sofa littered with cushions - facing the Space Museum, with a rear-set bedroom featuring a lady-killer vanity mirror that again rises out of the cabinet at the press of a finger. Expect a nail dryer as well. The bathroom is all marble with a power shower and twin vanities.

For metrosexuals and discerning ladies, a variety of beauty and therapeutic treatments beckon at The Peninsula Spa by ESPA featuring 14 treatment rooms and a Roman style swimming pool. Get a facial or indulge in foot reflexology. You can always slap on the calories again at the penthouse Felix with its stylish décor and eye-popping harbour views through tall windows. Also look out for Salon de Ning, an East-meets-West lounge-cum-jazz bar in the basement with live music and a small dance floor.

Faced with a choice of razing to the ground a historic building or preserving it, Hong Kong developers opt with alacrity for the former. The Hullett House, formerly the Marine Police Headquarters, located on Canton Road, minutes from the Kowloon Star Ferry terminal, miraculously escaped the wrecking-ball despite its lackadaisical service and random management style. Then its morphed.

FWD  House 1881, classy Premier Suite review vs Peninsula Hong Kong

FWD House 1881, formerly Hullet House, classy Premier suite/ photo: hotel

In 2019 Hullett House re-emerged as FWD House 1881, perched on a low rise above the new 1881 Heritage shopping complex. The white stucco colonial building houses 10 large, individually decorated suites and a few restaurants and bars.

Rooms range from 800sq ft to 1,000sq ft with a wide terraced balcony and a central courtyard. Choose from a romp in Imperial China, 1930s Shanghai or an English country manor.

Each bespoke room design offers hand painted murals and original artworks. The latest in hi-tech gadgetry is present but discreet: LCD TV, DVD, iPod stations and WiFi (wondrously free), plus rain showers and standalone tubs in the bathroom (though combinations vary from room to room).

You'll look onto the 1881 Heritage shopping layers below but not the harbour. Still it is breezy and bright and redolent of yesteryear. The inviting FWD House 1881 Premier Suite is a classic stunner draped in silks and cream linen with dimpled deap seating sofa. It is a clean look and welcoming of light with 940sq ft of stretch space. The private balcony will transport you back in time and offdr a fresh perspective on Hong Kong and TST. The size of rooms in general is jaw-dropping. A Corner Suite serves up a four poster bed with a smart black and white checked marble floor in the washroom and stately wood panelling.

Stately or simple, it depends on your point of view. A slice of heritage in Hong Kong is worth its weight in wonton meen, something that won’t pass by unnoticed when the bill arrives. Take a visit, even if just to wander round the designer shops or grab a bite at one of the speciality restaurants.

Contemorary hues at New World Millennium

New World Millennium/ photo: hotel

The New World Millennium Hong Kong Hotel (formerly the Nikko) returned to the TST shores of Victoria Harbour mid-2014 with 464 smart rooms, and a US$120 remodelling that has added zing. Dining choices include Chinese, Japanese and French, and 10 meeting rooms are on hand including a Grand Ballroom with crystal chandeliers for functions and corporate get-togethers of various sorts. Also expect an attractive rooftop pool, gym, the open-views Bar on 15, and a club lounge facility on the 14th floor, now renamed the Living Room at the 'Residence'. A Deluxe Harbour Viiew Suite serves up contemporary space in grey pastels with dark woody tones aimed at business travellers. Expect a flat-screen TV, large tactile room control switches, free WiFi, a 'Handy' smartphone for city or in-room use with free IDD calls to five countries and unlimited data, iPod docks, flat top-loading safe for a notebook (not laptop) or valuables, walk-in closet, iron and ironing board, sofa, and a Jacuzzi bathtub for sheer indulgence. The desk-top data-port has three three-pin plug sockets and there is a socket on either side of the bed.

Deluxe Harbour View Rooms offer 35-37sq m of space, grey carpets with squiggles, vertical art strips as counterpoint, pipe reading lights and a more compact toilet, but with tub and rain shower. Mini-bars at the hotel may be ravished at no charge, one time per stay for non-alcoholic drinks. You'll need to stump up for alcohol though. The hotel, an earlier landmark, faces the TST harbour promenade that affords brilliant views of Hong Kong island.

Back across Salisbury Road sits the 782-room Sheraton Hong Kong Hotel and Towers. This was once a muted kind of hotel but has come through a series of innovative revamps, with business angles softened by modern sculptures and mood lighting. Standard rooms here are a bit low on frills but are high on space. All have bathtubs, with a floor-length glass panel between bathroom and bedroom. Pay more for a Tower room on one of the top two floors and you’ll get private check-in, free WiFi, and access to the private lounge. The views are spectacular and this where the Sheraton rates high vs brands like Langham or even Hyatt Regency on many Hong Kong hotel reviews. It's views pull it through as a better option on our TST rooming guide.

Downtown TST location with MTR train access, Sheraton HK rates well vs Hyatt Regency and Langham

Sheraton views are a big draw in TST/ photo: hotel

The gym provides a workout on top of the city, as does the rooftop pool. Smokers are banished to a cigar room in the lobby, but the Sky Lounge upstairs has a private ambience, as well as sweeping views and pricey cocktails.

Also in this bustling Nathan Road area is the Holiday Inn Golden Mile — great location, effusive staff and good food. From its new logo to the bright chandelier dressing up reception, it’s clear the 614-room hotel has had a contemporary makeover. Renovated in 2009, the Holiday Inn updated 85 percent of its rooms, as well as its fitness centre, Crystal Ballroom, Executive Club Lounge, and four restaurants.

The revamp includes a notable addition of unique “groups rooms” with varied arrangements of double and twin beds — perfect for families and business travellers. Or opt for a three-bed arrangement for work or play. It all fits in without too much of a squeeze. Though WiFi costs HK$140 per day, the green-themed premier rooms come with broad, stylish desks, ergonomic chairs, international adapters and a 32" flat screen TV.

Hong Kong lifystyle hotels reviewed - Mondrian sets a new benchmark in TST

December 2023, the Mondrian HK opened in TST, replacing the old Panorama with whimsy, views, mosaics and the Carna steak house (centre right), with Dirk Dalichau (pictured above) at the helm / photos: Vijay Verghese


HONG KONG's neighbourhood-appeal lifestyle hotel tide continued with the launch 18 December 2023 of the Mondrian Hong Kong (ennismore.com), the first of its line in the city. The hotel is so 'inclusive' and welcoming that "parents can bring kids to the bar," says launch GM Dirk Dalichau, "there's no dress code here." His all embracing, doors-open, yet hip philosophy comes from helming a long line of trend-setting hotels like Ovolo and Mira. "Our staff are drawn from all backgrounds," says Dalichau, "and all guests are welcome here even if they are 95!" Interestingly, the DJ spinning tracks at the roll-out of the 38th floor Avoca lounge bar was the 80-year-old bearded electro-jazz-guru Kulu, a Hong Kong original.

This redo of the Panorama hotel on Hart Avenue in a maze of intersecting streets towards the east of Tsim Sha Tsui has a decidely local flavour in its cocktails and use of local ingredients. "Pricing is approachable and affordable," says Dalichau pointing to cocktails at HK$150. For the more discerning and better heeled, Carna by Dario Cecchini is an elegant Tuscan steakhouse with a stately Italian manner.

Hong Kong business hotels review, Mondrian, a good lifestyle choice in TST

Mondrian HK: big views from a small room / photo: Vijay Verghese

The hotel is awash in art right from the tall entrance mosaic that shoots up a mini atrium accompanied by corkscrew neon and on all corridor walls are large eyebrow-raising smile-inducing whimsical depictions of rabits waving octopus tentacles and moose heads attached to whale bodies. It is an Alice in Wonderrland sort of approach thatseems to say, "Don't take us too seriously, just enjoy..." . With 324 keys and open harbour views on high floors, somewhat compact rooms offer spacious line of sight.

At Level 13, rooms are just cresting the surrounding buildings offering an interesting perch to observe the neighbourhood up close through full-length windows that utilise the awkward angles to create nooks and crannies for harbour-gazing couples. Colours are flat-tone navy, burgundy and mustard and bathrooms sport homey terrazzo flooring with rain showers (and bathtubs in larger suites). Three-pin international plug points and USB sockets (including Apple's new USB C) are aplenty along with filtered water (no plastic bottles) and coffee machines. "In Hong Kong neon is going out but we're bringing it in," laughs Dalichau. "It is integral to Hong Kong and we are bringing it into the hotel as art."

Also in this bustling Nathan Road area is Harbour Bay Hotel (formerly The Minden), a homey 64-room boutique hotel. This is a relatively new arrival in a nice location; a leafy patch near Nathan Road with some good bars and restaurants around. A wander farther east along Salisbury and then Mody Road will introduce a queue of modern, well-equipped options – the Kowloon Shangri-La, the Regal Kowloon Hotel, and the smart InterContinental Grand Stanford.

A landmark on the Tsim Sha Tsui East waterfront, on Mody Road, is the Kowloon Shangri-La with 700 elegant guest rooms (among the most spacious in the city) and unobstructed views of Victoria Harbour and the Hong Kong skyline. The hotel – including its guest rooms, restaurants, function rooms, and Horizon Club lounge and 12-seat conference rooms, underwent a US$25 million renovation. The hotel is kitted with hi-tech facilities, and Horizon Club rooms have special touches such as binoculars for those facing the harbour, trouser presses and wireless telephones that work anywhere in the hotel. The Grand Ballroom holds 600 for a reception and several meetings spaces are available for 40-200 persons. Space is flexible and well equipped.

Kowloon Shangri-La is an excellent address for business travellers and MICE events in Kowloon

Kowloon Shangri-La Deluxe/ photo: hotel

Apart from extensive banquet and meeting facilities, the hotel offers a range of excellent restaurants, from Angelini with its harbour views, bright, modern interior and excellent Italian fare, to the red-and-gold Shang Palace offering Cantonese food. There’s also a stylish Japanese restaurant and the sumptuous, groaning buffet of Cafe Kool. The state-of-the-art health club and business centre are both open 24 hours.

For contemporary designer chic in Hong Kong, check out the 262-room Hotel ICON (opened mid 2011). With soaring glass walls, pale greys, woody hues, and clean minimalist Zen lines broken by an arresting 8,000-plant vertical garden that drapes one entire wall of the GREEN cafe and lobby, this is an address hugely welcoming of light - and people.

Step into the airy lobby to be attended on by brisk khaki-clad bellboys in riding Jodhpurs who do things at a canter. The mood is distractingly friendly, unsurprisingly so, as this is a training establishment managed by the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. With 300 dedicated professional staff and over a 100 trainees at any given time, there is a surfeit of enthusiasm and can-do derring-do. Yet this youthful establishment is no novice and sets the bar refreshingly high, well above levels achieved by well dug in brands.

At the lobby, a sweeping glass staircase spirals up into the light. The Above & Beyond Club for executive floor guests offers ramped up facilities and treats including a round-the-clock concierge, American breakfasts, and a panoramic bar. WiFi is free throughout the hotel. Expect woody surrounds with darkened interiors and clean lines offset by pools of focused light and deep-seating furniture overlooked by large Hong Kong portraits in oils essaying everything from Mongkok streets to the blue evening skyline from Victoria Peak. Be sure to make time for the excellent Asian explorer lunch buffet at The Market.

Hong Kong boutique hotels, ICON pool

ICON pool/ photo: hotel

Rooms are understated and stylish. The smallest ICON 36 room starts at 36sq m with free in-room minibar, Wi-Fi, and local calls. In a CLUB 36 from the 23rd to 28th floors expect lounge access with refreshments and, in-room, a Nespresso machine, an iPhone dock, a large flat-screen TV, Blu-ray DVD, an iCloud wireless printer, a narrow wall-mounted work desk with a full-array data-port (two three-pin sockets with adaptor, USB and HDMI sockets) and an invitingly plump white linen bed set on a grey-jigsaw pattern carpet. The flooring is in cream tile. A laptop friendly safe is tucked away in the cupboard. The bathroom, while very compact, is thoughtfully designed with a space-age convex glass partition shaped like an eye, housing the rain shower. Best of all the mini-bar is free - and yes, there's beer.

Move upscale to a Club 38 Harbour, a CLUB SUITE 65 or an 80sq m CLUB SUITE 80. No fussing with standard and superior rooms. The room name defines your living space. On the 9th floor is the open air pool (heated in winter) with magnificent harbour views. The black and green-tile podium is backed by high glass panels shielding a well featured gym. This floor is also home to the Angsana Spa. The hotel's location is a tad awkward, being just a little out of the conventional lodging belt, but it is just a short walk down to the Tsim Sha Tsui East boardwalk and a coach shuttles guests every 20 minutes to the MTR station and the shopping areas of Nathan Road, iSQUARE and Harbour City.

Intercontinental Grand Stanford is a short hop up from the Kowloon Shangri-La in TST East and a bracing walk to the MTR but there are frequent shuttles to the Star Ferry. The upside of this slightly farther location is the uninterrupted harbour view that is more than picture postcard perfect. This smartly remodelled value business traveller bolthole is a homey yet engaging escape. The Club InterContinental Lounge is aimed squarely at demanding executive suits who need big vistas and attention to small details like meeting facilities and separate check-in. Of an evening, savour the Italian flavours of Mistral.

The InterContinental Grand Stanford is a good TST value hotel choice, new look Premier Room

InterCon's Grand Stanford new look Premier/ photo: Vijay Verghese

New-look rooms have been catapulted from dowdy old world to a pleasing pastel purr. Expect sleek, low-lit corridors, silver and lavender striped accents and richly toned woods. In-room, guests will enjoy brighter, more natural lighting and sophisticated feel-me textures, from the leather upholstered headboards to the crinkled bed runners.

A Premier Harbour View room serves up a grey marble foyer leading to the carpeted bedroom presided over by a voluminous bed with excellent sea views when the weather is obliging, and even when not. Expect a teal blue runner and a navy divan by the window for a sundowner.

The woody lobby remains a cheery and busy meeting spot. Also unchanged is the art deco throwback, Tiffany's New York Bar, with its clubby feel. This is a well regarded address for business travellers in need of a value escape with great views and shopping and nightlife peppered around the district.

Right across the road is The Royal Garden, about three minutes walking distance from Tsimshatsui East MTR station, and has 419 rooms with modern décor, plasma TVs, Broadband Internet, and mini-bar. Crown Club guests get benefits that include larger rooms, free breakfast, evening cocktails, and discounts on laundry and dining. There is a rooftop pool, tennis court and putting green overlooking the harbour, and the hotel offers a range of fine dining options from Sabatini (Italian) to Inagiku (Japanese), and Le Soleil (Vietnamese).

Next door is Regal Kowloon Hotel, with a spacious marble lobby and helpful staff. There are 600 rooms with desk, TV (some are LCD plasma screens), wireless Internet access (complimentary in some rooms), and minibar. Guests on Regal Club floors get access to the Club Lounge (with its own buffet breakfast and all-day drinks), private check in, and complimentary airport transfers.

Review of Hong Kong business hotels in TST, Hyatt Regency compares well vs Sheraton and Kowloon Shangri-La

Hyatt Regency TST, Kowloon, king bed Corner Room/ photo: hotel

The Hyatt Regency Hong Kong, Tsim Sha Tsui made a much-anticipated return to Kowloon late 2009. It’s discreet entrance lies in the less than discreet, towering “Masterpiece” building that soars unrestrained above the TST skyline. Red woods and grey marble achieve a distinctly corporate feel in the fourth-floor lobby. This smart, business feel extends to the 381 rooms. Standard 28sq m rooms have a work desk, day bed, lots of light and mirrors and simple décor, including all-white linen. There’s a minibar and laptop safe, rainshower, WiFi (charged) and a large LCD TV. Step up one grade to Deluxe and the 31sq m rooms have a bathtub and harbour views. The Regency Club for pin-stripers on the go offers an executive escape with a personal concierge and lounge with flowing refreshments. Hyatt Regency TST sits atop the K11 "art mall" bursting with brand shopping for the younger set.

Higher floors offer unalloyed harbour views. Expect a breezy open-air heated pool, fitness centre, a pillarless ballroom capable of handling 400 guests reception-style, and versatile meeting rooms for corporate get-togethers. The stalwart fine dining Hugo's has been reincarnated here and the lobby-level Cafe serves up a splendid buffet, open-kitchen style with everything from tandoori to sashimi. This is a hotel comfortable in several roles with welcoming and attentive service. Hyatt Regency rates high on our HK business hotels review vs other TST competitors like Sheraton, Kowloon Shangri-La and Grand Stanford. It lacks the direct harbour frontage (though views are aplenty on high floors) but is smack above the TST MTR station in the midst of shopping.

Butterfly on Prat Avenue was a small but elegant and very affordable budget hotel situated in a bustling area of Tsim Sha Tsui near Mody Road, surrounded by busy shopping lanes, malls, museums, and restaurants. By 2023 the 18-storey boutique hotel had been taken over by US developer Hines and turned into a co-living showpiece rebranded as Dash Living on Prat (www.dash.co/) aimed at young professionals. Described as an 'aparthotel' the address ofers a gym, lounge, co-working space, communal kitchen, complimentary WiFi and discounted tickets for local attractions.

Holiday Inn Golden Mile TST punches above its class and scores well on our HK hotels guide vs Sheraton and others

Smart Holiday Inn Golden Mile high floor King Premium/ photo: hotel

In-room expect iron and ironing board, electric kettle, slippers, hairdryer and flat-screen TV. An EWxecutive Room starts at 270sq ft with a Family Triple at 377sq ft.

On the southwest shoreline of Kowloon, close to the Star Ferry pier is the Marco Polo trio – The Marco Polo Hong Kong Hotel, Gateway Hong Kong and Prince Hong Kong. All three are part of the gargantuan Harbour City mall complex with over 700 shops and restaurants, making them the most dangerous choice for closet shopaholics. The 664-room Marco Polo Hong Kong Hotel is a swish five-star and is right on the harbour. Look out to watch cruise ships docked at Ocean Terminal. The hotel has updated its look and, in general, is large, comfortable, and a little sleeker than its two sister properties. It also has a small outdoor heated pool and a day spa run by Aveda. For business travellers, the hotel serves up its Continental Club with butlers, lounge and boardrooms. In its Hong Kong conference hotel persona, the Marco Polo can offer meeting facilities for up to 500 persons. This is a convenient Kowloon business hotel choice.

Gateway Hong Kong has 433 rooms and suites, two restaurants and a bar. All rooms offer Broadband Internet access, while suites have additional business facilities like fax machines and telephones in the bathrooms. The Gateway’s gym is being converted to another restaurant, but guests are able to use the Fitness First Health Club nearby to satisfy their fitness needs. The pool at Marco Polo Hong Kong Hotel is also available to Gateway guests.

Hong Kong value hotels in West TST, Prince is back after a three-year makeover

Prince Hong Kong returned after a three-year makeover wearing brighter colours in 2025/ photo: hotel

Prince Hong Kong had a three-year rework of its 394 rooms — which are slightly smaller than those at Gateway — and public spaces. By mid-2025 it was bustling anew. The lobby has gone unabashedly mod with eye-popping colours — brilliant yellows and blues — and the overall mood of the place has been picked up considerably.

The Olympian Hong Kong (opened early March 2016) is a 32 room hotel that serves up a contemporary residential feel with spacious rooms and suites with 3.3m-high ceilings and full height windows welcoming of light. This is a stylish and spacious boutique option in blond-wood tones with dark timber floors in the developing West Kowloon district not far from the Olympic train station, which is linked to HK Island as well as the busy Kowloon Station where city check-in is available.

The Salisbury YMCA is another great option in this area, a bargain considering the locale and top-notch harbour views. It is still very much a Y though – with a community-centre feel stemming from its leisure facilities. These include squash courts and a pool that wafts chlorine through the lobby. A total of 16 floors hold 363 rooms, all comfortable and fairly well equipped. Suites are great for families and have flat-screen TVs. Room service is available during the day and the place is Wireless throughout. The Salisbury is also popular for its large function rooms, comprehensive gym and surprisingly modish dining room, with views of the cultural centre and psalms on the menu.

In the thick of Kowloon luxury brand shopping is the pretty-in-pink The Langham Hong Kong. With an earlier US$30m makeover, the continually evolving hotel sports a brisk stride with generous lashings of Euro-chic. Think glinting scalloped baroque ceilings in bronze hues, metal statues in playful poses, and a contemporary new Palm Court lobby lounge with classic cream and powder blue furniture outlined in elegant black trim.

Langham is a nice pick though just a little off the transport lines, in TST

Cool beige tones of The Langham HK/ photo: hotel

A Deluxe City View weighs in, in beige and creams at 34sq m with a full-size work desk, 40-inch HDTV, complimentary WiFi, iron and board, in-room electric safe and a 'gourmet' mini-bar. The signature 'Langham Blissful Bed' is what you sleep on. The Executive room offers ,uch the same get-up with complimentary pressing of three garments and access to PressReader. For more space there's the Club Executive One-Bedroom Suite at 55sq m.

Looking on to at Victoria Harbour from a different angle is The Royal Pacific Hotel & Towers. The hotel offers an array of transportation options – MTR, Airport Express station, and the Star Ferry – all just a short stroll away. It is also directly connected to the China-Macau Ferry Terminal (in case casinos are beckoning). This is one of the major Hong Kong hotels with a Three Crescent rating as a 'Halal Certified' hotel for dining, which makes it potentially attractive for Middle East travellers. The 673 guest rooms (including 34 suites) sport a contemporary décor, and offer all the mod-cons and amenities, including a mini-bar, LCD flatscreen TV, wireless Broadband access, in-room safe, tea and coffee making facilities.

Just behind the Peninsula, The Kowloon Hotel is a more affordable alternative; fairly basic but still with a luxury touch here and there. Once run by The Peninsula HK owners, The Hong Kong and Shanghai Hotels Group, as the poor but charming sister and known for its mooncakes, it is now under Harbour Plaza. It doesn’t have a gym or pool, but facilities at the YMCA or the Harbour Plaza Metropolis (the latter five minutes away by shuttle) can be used for a small fee. Rooms are small but have been tarted up considerably. On Chatham Road South, crammed with cheap Japanese restaurants and massage parlours, is Park Hotel. Loud package-tour groups crowd the small lobby, but this hotel offers basic rooms, a good location minutes from the MTR and endless shopping. It is in fact right smack in the cheapest shopping zone in TST around Granville.

For a cool HK hotel, sample The Mira

The Mira, City Red room/ photo: hotel

Hotel Miramar was dramatically reborn as The Mira setting the tone for remodelled Hong Kong hotels. This 490-key hotel is right in the thick of the action and offers both a stylish and contemporary business option and a decent leisure stay. Well entrenched at a busy Nathan Road junction and a few steps away from Tsim Sha Tsui MTR station, the hotel has easy access to some of the best shopping Hong Kong has to offer. The August 2008 renaming ushers in a major facelift, upping the hip factor to appeal to arty, tech-savvy types.

The main entrance is now super modern, with grey marble floor, a black marbled ceiling, mood lighting, glass reception desks, and smartly-attired staff. The hotel's rooms and suites come in one of four colour tones (purple, red, green, and silver), and are kitted out with 40-inch Sony LCD TVs, ergonomic work stations and designer furniture.

Some bedrooms and bathrooms are open plan, separated by a glass screen, though there are blinds for a bit of privacy if so desired. The entire bathroom encasing is glass and this opens up what is a compact area into an appealing visual extension. Through all the remodelling, the crimson red chairs have remained an icon.

Luxe Manor is a top Hong Kong boutique hotels pick in TST

Luxe Manor whimsy: pick a themed suite/ photo: hotel

The Luxe Manor, which opened in 2006 and introduced a new look in 2018 (with fewer curves and playful flourishes), has certainly injected a bit of fun into the average business or leisure stay. Surrealism is the order of the day at this 159 roomer, with fanciful mismatched furniture, trompe l'oeil (realistic imagery) flourishes on walls and a heavy emphasis on contemporary art. The Luxe Manor has six themed suites that transport guests to the desert (Safari Suite), ice (Nordic Suite), or a palace (Royale Suite). Each comes with separate lounge areas, en suite bathrooms, bespoke furniture, mood lighting, and whimsical wallpaper.

Stanford Hillview is handy to the bars and nightlife of Knutsford Terrace. This mid-range hotel has 163 rooms with the basics, but you’ll need to book a superior or deluxe room to get Internet access ports. There is free WiFi available in public areas. Two outdoor golf driving nets and a gym will satisfy the sportsters, there’s a business centre for business travellers, and a free shuttle bus runs between shopping spots and train stations. Three restaurants serve a mix of Asian and western fare, but the choices along Knutsford Terrace will satisfy most appetites.

Down Cheong Lok lane (off Nathan Road, Exit B1, Jordan MTR), you’ll find the sparky 88-room Madera Hotel (opened March 2012). A funky addition to Hong Kong boutique hotels scene, this quirky green-themed gem is popular among young professionals and creative fashionistas.

Pick a Madera signature suite like the roomy Lush

Madera Lush Suite/ photo: Vijay Verghese

From the vertical garden foliage behind the gnarled wooden check-in counter to the delicate bamboo accents, it more than lives up to its name - Madera means "wood" in Spanish, and the Spanish designer's hand is evident throughout this enticing confection.

On the ground floor behind the lobby, peek through red velvet curtains into a large darkened "warehouse" to travel back to '60s era Hong Kong. The hotel’s mini-museum is intended as a place for guests to gawp and lounge, but the vintage goods — everything from bicycles to bunk beds ("Life in Resettlement Estates"), advertisements to vintage radios, Victorian-era mailbox to the red telephone booth and mahjong table, will have your eyebrows arching and fingers pointing instantly. The British colonial touches continue upstairs at the hip, vintage coffee shop Cafe 1997, named after the handover. Here you'll find an outdoor patio, cafe, library (a comfy sitting area) and a meeting room for 12. Also expect a "boutique" gym with grainy black-and-white pictures on the walls and an eye-popping cool Games Room that transports kids and adults with itchy fingers to a movie theatre setting with purple lights, a huge wall screen, and two well-equipped consoles (PlayStation 3 or XBox 360). On the 29th floor, cool off with a cocktail while soaking up views over Hong Kong.

Book into one of the nine signature suites for a real treat. Here space really opens out with a curious combination of whimsy and careful thought. The 900sq ft Lush Suite is an essay in powder green pastel and pale wood set in a long virginal white room that extends from living area to bathtub to bedroom seamlessly as an open-plan progression. Along its length are floor-to-ceiling windows that let in both light and curious looks from neighbours (that can be blocked by dropping the wooden blinds). Outside is a gritty old Hong Kong view, unless you happen to be on a higher floor.

Hong Kong boutique hotels in West Kowloon, The Olympian

The Olympian/ photo: hotel

The Madera Penthouse duplex suite serves up woody flavours with a split level arrangement connected by a vertiginous and awfully slender corkscrew staircase that will challenge anyone after a few stiff drinks. Understandably, this is not a room for children under 12. The duplex design will appeal to some but chops the space considerably.

Standard Grand Deluxe rooms are a squeeze by comparison with cheerfully plump white beds atop startling black-and-white ripple carpets with under-lighting. Red cushions set the Hong Kong theme while mirrored wardrobes, twin vanities, a power-shower cubicle with tub, iPod docks and a laptop-friendly safe complete the array of goodies. There are anywhere from two to five rooms per floor. Mark this boutique escape in your diary for a wondrous romp, all just a block from the train. And now on Hong Kong Island you can enjoy the boutique Hotel Madera Hollywood (maderagroup.com/hollywood/en).

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Mongkok, Hung Hom hotel choices

The Cordis Hong Kong at Langham Place (formerly The Langham Place Mongkok and rebranded 1 September, 2015) is a characterful and fun luxe choice for leisure trippers and business travellers in the neon buzz of Mongkok, just a stone’s throw from the MTR with an underground connection that can be a tad confusing at times as you transit the mall and all its splendid distractions. It used to attract the hip, fun business and shopper set, with its modern Chinese artworks and hi-tech, but style-conscious décor, and direct access to Langham Place, one of Hong Kong’s more sparky shopping malls. With a clean pastel makeover and less artsy distractions by the yard, It is a sparky address for small corporate meetings too. Rooms start on the eleventh floor and all 665 have oversized baths and showers. Hallways open onto bright 310sq ft classic rooms, which make good use of space including a large bathroom with glass wall, 42-inch TV, DVD, IP phone and iPod dock. A must-see is the Chuan Spa on the top three floors. This luxury affair is a frontrunner in the Kowloon heartlands of Mongkok, with 10 double treatment rooms dedicated to Chinese remedies and Asian treatments. Try hydrotherapy, massage, facials and wraps, before plunging into the rooftop pool.

Cordis is the new brand from Langham, pastel Studio room

Cordis at Langham Place, Mongkok, Studio/ photo: hotel

Breezy views abound, particularly at night when the Kowloon highrises are transformed into a sea of flickering lights. This is an excellent Hong Kong business hotels pick for men, women, and gleaming-haired metrosexuals.

Deeper into Kowloon on Tai Kok Tsui Road another sweet price point is available at the Dorsett Mongkok, Hong Kong (rebranded from Cosmo Hotel Mongkok on 11 October, 2013). Expect early bird discounted rates of under HK$1,000 or better depending on season. The hotel is a modest walk from the Olympic MTR station. In-room expect free WiFi, iPod docks and 26-inch flat-screen televisions. Rooms are compact, if modern, well lit, with frosted glass panels separating the bedroom, with silken bed runners and mirrors to expand visual space, from the mosaic-tile bathing area.

Two Harbour Grand group hotels have laid claim to Hung Hom, a district served by its own Star Ferry routes (from Central and Wanchai) and about a fifteen-minute drive from the TST waterfront. The Harbour Grand Kowloon(formerly The Harbour Plaza Hong Kong) even has its own ferry dock for extra privacy, a touch favoured by many a visiting VIP. This hotel is large, light-filled and nicely perched at a bend in the harbour. Expect Broadband, cable TV and a dollop of something in short supply in Hongkong – space. The 506 refurbished rooms run from 38 to 68sq metres while suites go up to a capacious 104sq m. The hotel caters largely to the business traveller, with function rooms and executive facilities aplenty.

There is a 4,500sq ft ballroom should you be in the mood for a tango or a large conference. The “fish tank” rooftop pool area lends the place a resort feel and for those in search of a true wind-down there’s a Jurlique spa service at hand. Be prepared to do battle with various wedding parties for use of the grand staircase. This is a popular venue. Harbour Plaza Metropolis goes for modern over “grand” and combines rooms with serviced suites opposite the MTR "East Rail" Hung Hom station.

The latest Hung Hom entrant is Kerry Hotel Hong Kong from the Shangri-La group, described as an 'urban resort'. Most of the hotel's 546 rooms serve up harbour views and there is the convenience of a new Whampoa MTR station as well as ample stretch room with a Deluxe starting at 42sq m. There facilities for the disabled as well as children (babysitting) and an I.T. butler on hand to get you hooked up. Attractive rooms are contemporary, in pastels, with woody tones.

Hong Kong long stay hotels, Hyatt Regency Shatin also handles meetings and conferences

Hyatt Regency Shatin: bright and with views/ photo: hotel

Options tail off quite a bit as you head farther inland, but the recently refurbished and rebranded Eaton Smart hotel, between Jordan and Yau Ma Tei, gives good value for money and thoughtful service, as well as speedy access to the night market melee. More than HK$10m was spent on an earlier refresh that includes a new bamboo-themed lobby, internet portal and outdoor bar. Other Kowloon choices include Metropark Hotel Kowloon (sister property of the Metropark Hotels on Hong Kong Island), The Kimberley Hotel and the Empire Hotel Kowloon.

Gone are the days of flying between buildings when Hong Kong’s airport was at Kai Tak. But if you’re feeling nostalgic and want to go plane-spotting without the planes, try Regal Oriental Hotel. In days of yore, it was the closest hotel to the airport. It’s now a more affordable option than its sister property in TST, is still reasonably handy to the city. Regal Oriental Hotel offers 400 rooms, 13 meeting and function rooms as well as a gym, pool and tennis courts. By 2025 it had reassumed a claim to fame being near the Kai Tak Sports Park, home to several high profile international football matches and concerts.

If you start feeling dizzy when you walk into the lobby at Harbour Plaza 8 Degrees then don’t worry— it wasn’t the prawns you ate last night—it’s actually the hotel’s rather quirky design. Everything from the check-in desk to the restaurant buffet tables look wonky but it’s actually a clever optical illusion. Just imagine you’re Alice and this is Wonderland and you’ll be just fine. Although the hotel’s location in Tokwawan, out near the old Kai Tak Airport, is not the most convenient, there is a regular free shuttle bus to Tsim Sha Tsui, which takes around 10 minutes.

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New Territories, Shatin, Lantau, Airport

In the burgeoning satellite town of Shatin in the New Territories is the Hyatt Regency Hong Kong, Shatin, not far from the Chinese University of Hong Kong and close to the train line.

Shatin business hotels, Courtyard

Courtyard Shatin/ photo: hotel

This reflective glass high-rise hotel offers 567 rooms (including 133 for long stays) with lie-back-and-blast-off 42-inch flat-screen TVs, Regency Club rooms for executive travellers, tennis, a 25m outdoor heated pool, whirlpool sauna, and a Spa. The long-stay units runs from 65sq m studios to 165sq m two-bedroom layouts that include larger work desks, a microwave, kettle, toaster and basic crockery. Longstay guests also get discounts for laundry, business services and car parking. And kids are not forgotten with a Camp Hyatt offering a wide array of activites for future business travellers aged three to 12. This Hyatt caters for meetings and conferences too.

A well known face in this area is the older Regal Riverside Hotel with a staggering 1,138 rooms including the iClub Executive Floor. Located in downtown Shatin close to malls and offices with easy access to industrial parks, this is a hotel focused on both long-stay guests for whom cracker deals are available, and conferences. Two grand ballrooms can manage up to 600 persons.

Courtyard Hong Kong Sha Tin, by Marriott (mid 2013), brings a contemporary funky few-frills futuristic feel to this satellite town as well as meeting space for 430 in a 515sq m pillarless ballroom. The hotel is a short stroll from the Shek Mun MTR station on the Ma On Shan line, so it's not quite in Shatin proper but close, and not far from the river.

The 524 rooms are smart and functional in plain beige tones with views of the Shing Mun River or neighbouring city blocks. Expect flat screen TV, a work desk with several three-pin electric sockets (as well as by the bed), partially open bathing area with dressing alcove, rain shower, hairdryer, iron and ironing board and WiFi. Suites are brighter and upbeat with fuchsia sofas, marble, and pale wood tones. This is a simple unfussy address sited in a drab locality with modern industrial buildings with the result there is not much street activity at all. There is a McDonald's and a Mannings but that about sums up the local buzz.

In Tsuen Wan West, the top choice is the Nina for leisure or conferences

Nina Tsuen Wan West offers views and space for big company events/ photo: hotel

Towering above the cityscape in Tsuen Wan is the Nina Hotel Tsuen Wan West (formerly L’hotel Nina et Convention Centre), equipped with an arsenal of 1,589 rooms, spread across two buildings that are connected by a glass-floor sky-bridge. This structural behemoth boasts two floors (110,000 sq ft) of conference and banqueting space that can seat up to 1,200 guests. It is a bit far out but a surprisingly comfortable spot with great views if you want a live-in company conference for a lot of people.

If you’re looking for fresher air and open spaces, head west. One choice is the recently developed Gold Coast; a pleasant foray away from all things chaotic and grimy, and into all things, well, pink. The neighbourhood has gone a bit overboard on the faux-Mediterranean vortex feel, and it looks like a small girl was unleashed on the colour scheme. However it is clean, ostentatiously wealthy and has a lovely beach. Amidst this is the 453-room Hong Kong Gold Coast Hotel. The hotel is pretty much the only top-notch self-contained resort in town, and it does its job admirably. Families flock from near and far to enjoy its cool marble innards, airy, hi-tech (and balcony-festooned) rooms, 10-acre grounds and big outdoor pools. The Gold Coast shuttle will have you in TST (or bring you back) within about 30 minutes.

On to Lantau Island, and the Novotel Citygate Hong Kong is minutes away from the airport. With 440 rooms, a good business centre and leisure facilities this four-star is nicely set up for business bods on the go, and operates a free shuttle to the airport and the AsiaWorld-Expo complex. It is smack next to the outlet shopping strip at Citygate that is on its own a major attraction for many.

Hong Kong airport hotels, SkyCity Marriott is also a good spot for corporate meetings

Smart SkyCity Marriott/ photo: Vijay Verghese

Hong Kong SkyCity Marriott (opened January 2009) just minutes from the airport with a direct connection to the Asia World Expo, a concert and trade show venue. The hotel is smart, modern, and airy with plenty of natural light. Look out to the hills of Lantau, the waters of the South China Sea, or the planes making their descent to the airport. The lobby feels rather like a funky airport lounge, complete with TV screen displaying news and flight schedules. With 658 rooms, a large ballroom, and six generous-sized meeting rooms set apart from the main hotel wing, this is a good pick for Hong Kong corporate meetings and MICE events.

Business travellers and offloaded passengers alike will appreciate the spacious rooms that come with 37-inch plasma TVs, complimentary WiFi, a dataport enabling computer hook-up to the TV, a cordless phone, wardrobes containing flat safes that will house a notebook, irons and ironing boards. Quirkily, bathrooms offer a “choice” of a bathtub or standing shower. Expect lots of three-pin electric plug sockets for recharging just about any gadget on the go and large tactile light switches that won't have you tearing your hair at 2am. Enjoy grand views of aircraft landing within arm's reach, whisper soft, through double-glazed windows.

There are six restaurants and bars – including the convenient Java Plus stationed in the lobby for coffee on the run. A Hong Kong airport hotel that doubles as a resort getaway or a weekend break for red-eyed bankers with its 27m indoor heated pool, gym, and the first Marriott-branded Quan Spa in Hong Kong, which has seven treatments rooms within a contemporary, Zen setting. Golfers have a nine-hole golf course right next door. Work or play, this hotel offers buzz and cheery service from young, attentive staff - something a bit out of the conventional mould.

Regal Airport Hotel is connected directly to Hong Kong International Airport. It’s a large affair with 1,171 rooms, 31 function rooms, and one of the biggest pillar-less ballrooms in the city, six restaurants, a spa, and fitness facilities. In rooms expect flatscreen TVs, complimentary wired and Wireless Internet, three telephones, a minibar, safes to house a laptop, tea-and-coffee-making facilities, plus nice views. As well as an indoor pool, there’s also an outdoor option where you’ll hear the roar of the jets as they take off. Regal is family-friendly Hong Kong airport hotel – Disneyland is just a short drive by car, and the hotel has its own ‘Kiddieland’, which has a bicycle track and play area.

Discovery Bay hotels, Auberge for MICE and weddings

All purpose city escape Auberge/ photo: hotel

Is it a wedding venue? A not too heavily muscled MICE escape? A spa retreat? Or a weekend hideaway for Hongkongers in search of birdsong and a lungful of cleanish air? Auberge, at one end of Lantau's chic suburban sprawl of Discovery Bay appears to have combined all that allure and more. At the helm of this bold enterprise, live wire general manager Anne Busfield skillfully navigated through the usual opening ructions to a fairly unruffled spring 2013 launch. Auberge is now firmly on the map, a 30-minute ferry ride from the Central piers, with a smorgasbord of calorie-burning activities, from the gym to hiking and cycling. Apres-exercise Spa Botanica is on hand to soothe muscles and slough off city stress with body scrubs, wraps and massage.

Uniquely, the hotel offers the oceanic swagger of tall ship The Bounty for up to 60 guests and the sleek waterfront White Chapel is welcoming of light with space for up to 100 wedding guests. For a place to say, "I do", Auberge has rustled up some ideal spots. There is a great deal of space for meetings and conferences with the Grand Azure holding 700 theatre-style. Versatile function rooms host 150-300 and alfresco venues are available too. At an Ocean Front Room expect a large 40-inch flat-screen television, internet and WiFi, iron and iron board for those crisp khaki creases, a pillow menu and for an indulgent soak, a sunken bathtub.

Mountain View Rooms offer a similar bright pastel array - without the sunken tubs. Upgrade to a suite or go whole hog with Suite 1801 and its 123sq m of stretch space. Auberge is not your average mainstream hotel. It is clean, simple, and well presented with equal allure for suits and families, with numerous child-friendly touches. Best of all it is an accessible in-city getaway that truly brings you out to the beach and the greens.

Hong Kong heritage hotels, Tai O

Classic colonial Tai O Heritage / photo: hotel

And, in the heart of Disneyland, is a large, Victorian-style oasis that’s big on clichéd romance – the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel. Nevertheless, it doesn’t lay on Disney too thick. There are nice green grounds to stroll through and a whimsical Enchanted Garden restaurant for the character buffet. Also check out the almost hip Cantonese restaurant, and a nice club lounge that catches the fireworks show from a distance at 8pm – piping in the accompanying music.

Disney’s Hollywood Hotel is a more durable family-style option with nice grounds and more perk, though it has no room service and few rooms with desks. Expect Mickey to make more of a visual assault with rooms in bright colours. Park-view rooms catch the fireworks, but the sea views are much nicer. Interestingly, the place does attract business traffic due to its proximity to the airport and it pitches itself strongly as a conferencing venue. Next corporate meeting with Mickey? Why not.

And for a real charmer that is not the easiest place to get to, try the tiny Tai O Heritage Hotel at Lantau's Tai O Fishing Village. With just 10 rooms and suites decked out in colonial fashion with white French windows, classic lines and a comfortable homey feel, this is spot for adventurers or true-blue romantics. Built in 1902 as a police station to guard against marauding brigands and pirates, the building has been carefully restored though not without the odd quirk or two. Sip tea in a verandah on a colonnaded balcony, or walk through the fishing village and breath in the country air. The glass skylight attic-style Tai O Lookout serves western and Asian fare. The downside? It's a 50 minute bus ride from Tung Chung (not far from the airport) to Tai O by bus No.11. Or a 30-minute drive on bus No.1 from the Mui Wo ferry terminal on Lantau. It's worth a peek if nostalgia is your thing.

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FAST FACTS / Hotel Contact List

The exchange rate is US$1=HK$7.8.

Hong Kong’s low season with the best rates is the steamy June-August period, while April and the autumn months bring in trade shows and high occupancies at hotels. Watch for extra surcharges at some hotels during this period especially those well positioned for access to the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (www.hkcec.com) in Wanchai.

Hong Kong has banished smoking from restaurants and many bars, meaning that there’s usually just one smoking venue in each hotel – often rather a small one. Smoking floors are an endangered species but sometimes available.

Hong Kong Business Hotels and Boutique Options, Island

Aberdeen by DASH Living (www.dash.co) in partnership with Ovolo.
AKI Hong Kong - MGallery (www.aki-hongkong-mgallery.com/)
beLIVING Youth Hub, formerly Butterfly on Morrison (www.belivingyouthhub.com/)
Best Western Hotel Causeway Bay. (www.bestwesternhotelhongkong.com)
Best Western Plus Hotel Hong Kong
. Formerly Ramada Hong Kong Hotel (www.bestwesternplushotelhongkong.com).
Bishop Lei International House
. (www.bishopleihtl.com.hk).
Brighton Hotel Hong Kong (brighton-hotel).
Burlington Hotel. (www.burlington-hk.com/).
Butterfly on LKF. (butterfly-on-lkf).
Butterfly on Wellington. (www.butterflyhk.com).
City Garden Hotel. Closed during Covid and repurposed.
Conrad Hong Kong. By Marriott (conrad-hong-kong).
Cosmo Hotel. (www.cosmohotel.com.hk).
Courtyard Hong Kong. (courtyard-hong-kong).
Crowne Plaza. By IHG (crowneplaza).
EAST. (www.easthotels.com).
Dorsett Wanchai Hong Kong. Formerly Cosmopolitan Hotel. (www.wanchai.dorsetthotels.com).
Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong. (www.fourseasons.com).
Gloucester Luk Kwok Hong Kong. (www.gloucesterlukkwok.com.hk).
Grand Hyatt Hong Kong. (grand-hyatt-hong-kong).
Harbour Grand Hong Kong. (www.harbourgrand.com/hongkong/).
Holiday Inn Express Hong Kong, Causeway Bay. (holidayinnexpress/hong-kong).
Hong Kong Ocean Park Marriott Hotel. (hong-kong-ocean-park-marriott).
Hopewell Hotel (www.hopewellhotel.com).
Hotel Ibis North Point. (all.accor.com).
Hotel Indigo Hong Kong Island. (hotelindigo).
Hotel Jen Hong Kong. Formerly Traders Hotel (jen/hongkong).
Hotel Madera Hollywood (maderagroup.com/hollywood/en).
Hotel Pennington by Rhombus. Closed April 2020.
Hyatt Centric Victoria Harbour Hong Kong. Formerly Hotel Vic, rebranded 2019 (hyatt-centric).
JW Marriott Hong Kong. (jw-marriott-hotel-hong-kong).
Kew Green Hotel Wanchai. Former Metropark Wan Chai. (www.kewgreenhotelwanchai.com/).
Lan Kwai Fong Hotel. (lan-kwai-fong-hotel).
Lanson Place Causeway Bay, Hong Kong. (www.lansonplace.com).
Le Meridien Cyberport Hotel. (le-meridien-hong-kong-cyberport).
Little Tai Hang. (www.littletaihang.com).
Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong. (www.mandarinoriental.com/hongkong).
Mira Moon. (www.miramoonhotel.com).
Motto by Hilton Hong Kong SoHo (motto-hong-kong).
Nina Hotel Causeway Bay. Formerly L’Hotel Causeway Bay (nina-hotel-causeway-bay).
Nina Hotel Island South. Formerly L’hotel Island South (nina-hotel-island-south).
Novotel Hong Kong Century. (novotel).
Ovolo Central. Arbuthnot Road (ovolo/central).
Regal Hongkong Hotel. (www.regalhotel.com/).
Regal iClub. (iclub-wan-chai-hotel).
Renaissance Hong Kong Harbour View Hotel. (renaissance-hong-kong-harbour-view).
Rosedale Hotel Hong Kong. (rosedalehotels.com).
Sohotel. (www.sohotel.com.hk).
Southside by Ovolo (ovolo/southside/).
South Pacific Hotel. (www.southpacifichotel.com.hk).
The Excelsior. Once under Mandarin Oriental. Closed March 2019.
The Empire Hotel Hong Kong. (www.empirehotel.com).
The Fleming. (thefleming.com).
The Fullerton Ocean Park Hotel, Hong Kong. (fullerton-ocean-park-hotel-hongkong)
The Harbourview Hong Kong. (theharbourview.com.hk).
The Hari (www.thehari.com).
The Island Shangri-La Hong Kong. (www.shangri-la.com).
The Jervois. (www.thejervois.com).
The Landmark Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong. (www.mandarinoriental.com/landmark).
The Murray. (the-murray-hong-kong)
The Park Lane Hong Kong, Autograph Collection (park-lane-hong-kong).
The Putman by Andree Putman. (www.theputman.com).
The Stanley Oriental Hotel. (www.stanleyorientalhotel.com.hk).
The St Regis Hong Kong. (st-regis-hong)
The Upper House. (the-upper-house/).
Tuve. (www.tuve.hk/).
Walden Hotel. (www.walden-hotel.com).
Wharney (www.wharney.com/en/)
Wifi Boutique Hotel. (www.wifiboutiquehotel.com/).
Ying'nFlow Wesley. Formerly OZO Wesley (www.yingnflo.com/en/).

Kowloon and Tsim Sha Tsui Hotels

Cordis Hong Kong. Formerly Langham Place Hotel (www.cordishotels.com).
Dash Living on Prat, formerly Butterfly on Prat and rebranded 2023 (www.dash.co/).
Dorsett Mongkok, Hong Kong. Originally Cosmo Hotel Mongkok (www.mongkok.dorsetthotels.com).
Eaton Hotel Hong Kong. (www.eatonworkshop.com).
Empire Hotel Kowloon. (www.empirehotel.com.hk).
FWD House 1881. Formerly Hullet House (www.fwdhouse1881.com).
Gateway, Hong Kong. (www.marcopolohotels.com/en/gateway).
Harbour Bay Hotel. Formerly The Minden (www.harbourbayhotel.com).
Harbour Plaza 8 Degrees. (www.harbour-plaza.com/8degrees/en).
Harbour Plaza Metropolis. (www.harbour-plaza.com/metropolis/en).
Holiday Inn Golden Mile. (www.higoldenmile.com).
Hotel ICON. (www.hotel-icon.com/).
Hyatt Regency Hong Kong, Tsim Sha Tsui. (www.hyatt.com/hyatt-regency).
InterContinental Grand Stanford Hong Kong. (www.hongkong.intercontinental.com).
Kerry Hong Kong. (www.shangri-la.com/hongkong/kerry/).
Kimpton Tsim Sha Tsui Hong Kong (kimptonhotels).
Kowloon Shangri-La. (www.shangri-la.com/hongkong/kowloonshangrila/).
Madera Hotel. (www.maderagroup.com/group/).
Metropark Hotel Kowloon. (hongkonghotel.metroparkhotelkowloon.com/).
Mondrian Hong Kong (ennismore.com).
New World Millennium Hong Kong Hotel. (newworldmillenniumhotel.com).
Park Hotel Hong Kong. (www.parkhotelgroup.com/).
Prince, Hong Kong. (www.marcopolohotels.com/en/prince-hotel).
Regal Kowloon Hotel. (regal-kowloon-hotel).
Regal Oriental Hotel. (regal-oriental-hotel).
Regent Hong Kong (www.ihg.com/regent/).
Rosewood Hong Kong. (www.rosewoodhotels.com/hong-kong).
Sheraton Hong Kong Hotel and Towers. (sheraton-hong-kong-hotel-and-towers).
Stanford Hillview Hotel. (stanford-hillview-hotel)
The Harbour Grand Kowloon. (www.harbourgrand.com/kowloon/en/).
The Imperial Hotel. (ww.imperialhotel.com.hk).
The Kimberley Hotel. Tel: [852] 2723-3888, (www.facebook.com/kimberleyhotel/).
The Kowloon Hotel. (www.harbour-plaza.com/kowloonhotel/en/).
The Langham Hong Kong. (the-langham/hong-kong).
The Luxe Manor. (www.theluxemanor.com/).
The Marco Polo Hong Kong Hotel. (www.marcopolohotels.com).
The Mira (www.themirahotel.com/hong-kong/).
The Olympian Hong Kong. (the-olympian-hong-kong).
The Peninsula. (www.peninsula.com/en/hong-kong).
The Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong. (the-ritz-carlton-hong-kong).
The Royal Garden. (www.rghk.com.hk/en/index.php).
The Royal Pacific Hotel & Towers. (the-royal-pacific-hotel-and-towers).
The Salisbury YMCA of Hong Kong. (www.ymcahk.org.hk/thesalisbury).
W Hong Kong. (w-hong-kong/).

New Territories, Shatin, Lantau, Tsuen Wan, Hong Kong Airport Hotels

Auberge. (www.aubergediscoverybay.com).
Courtyard Hong Kong Sha Tin. (courtyard-hong-kong-sha-tin/).
Disney's Hollywood Hotel. (disneys-hollywood-hotel).
Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel. (hong-kong-disneyland-hotel/).
Hong Kong Gold Coast Hotel. (gold-coast-hotel).
Hong Kong SkyCity Marriott Hotel. (hong-kong-skycity-marriott-hotel).
Hyatt Regency Hong Kong, Sha Tin. (hyatt-regency-hong-kong-sha-tin).
Nina Hotel Tsuen Wan West. Formerly L’hotel Nina et Convention Centre (nina-hotel-tsuen-wan-west).
Novotel Citygate Hong Kong. (www.novotelcitygate.com/).
Regal Airport Hotel. (regal-airport-hotel).
Regal Riverside Hotel. (regal-riverside-hotel).
Tai O Heritage Hotel. (www.taioheritagehotel.com).

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