Best Hotels in Hong Kong

Since 1928, this Hong Kong institution has defined the luxury hotel experience, and although certain kinds of travelers (especially lovers of sleek, high-tech minimalism) may find the Peninsula too old-world, there’s no denying it’s a serious class act. The fleet of 14 customized Rolls-Royce limousines is just the first clue to the hotel’s glamour factor; then there’s the lobby, where the bellboys sport immaculate white pillbox hats and uniforms, a string quartet plays classical music, and a queue forms daily to partake of the afternoon high tea. A grand staircase leads to the mezzanine level, and tucked-away elevators whisk guests to the 300 guest rooms—all decorated in formal English-country-manor style, with gleaming dark wood furniture, brocade fabrics, and Chinese ceramics and wall art. On the top floor is the Philippe Starck-designed Felix restaurant, which still packs them in more than a decade after its opening; here, captains of industry can be found tucking into Tasmanian salmon and Boston lobster.

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A stem-to-stern renovation completed in 2006 (to the tune of $150 million) renewed the luster of this legendary property—a decades-long favorite of visiting dignitaries like Margaret Thatcher and Henry Kissinger. Many of the 502 rooms have been enlarged (by enclosing the balconies in glass); high-tech amenities like iPod docking stations, Wi-Fi, and touch-screen lighting and temperature control have also been added. The décor’s been updated, too, with plush velvety fabrics, wood wall panels, and colorfully glazed Asian ceramics. Though there’s a spa on three floors with Chinese herbal steam rooms, bathing beauties may be perfectly content to languish in their own airy marble bathrooms, kitted out with Hermès toiletries. The real choice comes in the form of 10 different restaurants and bars. Our favorites: Man Wah, with its classic Cantonese cuisine, and the sophisticated French-influenced Pierre, helmed by chef Pierre Gagnaire.

Brand new in 2005, this 399-room waterfront property has a gargantuan, decadent spa (try a ginger-lemongrass soak to ease your jet lag), and spacious rooms and suites (the smallest of which are about 500 square feet). Room décor tends toward clean-lined, modern minimalism, with Asian-infused touches like lacquered-wood tables and silk cushions and throws in some of the rooms. All have 42-inch plasma-screen TV’s, and luxurious bathrooms with deep soaking tubs and walk-in showers with rainfall showerheads. Of the on-site dining options, two are excellent: Lung King Heen, serving innovative Cantonese cuisine, and the elegant Japanese Inagiku, where chef Shinji Morihara prepares some of the city’s finest kaiseki and teppanyaki. One of the property’s real showstoppers is the rooftop deck, where twin swimming pools overlook the harbor.

The Mandarin Oriental chain stretches from San Francisco to Tokyo, and this Central area location is one of three in Hong Kong. The smallest of the three, the Landmark Mandarin Oriental has 113 rooms, including 12 suites. Peter Remedios designed the interior with clean lines and neutral tones, from the entry-level L450 deluxe room to the Landmark and Presidential suites. Chef Richard Ekkebus, of in-house Amber restaurant, earned two Michelin stars in 2012 for his French fare (like the duck foie gras), and the hotel's MO Bar offers cocktails, dim sum, and an a la carte menu.

The infinity pool on the terrace of the new $11,200-a-night Presidential Suite at the InterContinental appears to share water with Victoria Harbour. (If only the pool had regular edges, you could rest your scotch on one of them as you gazed through the mist at those luminous skyscrapers.) The 7,000-square-foot suite comes with two 24-hour butlers, a gymnasium, and high-tech toilet seats that rise automatically when you enter the room. This over-the-top lair is just one of the impressive additions to the property, which has undergone an overhaul to stay competitive in the city’s heated hotel market. There’s also a fleet of butlers for guests in the 495 spiffed-up rooms (with iPod docks and Bose surround sound), and outposts of Nobu and Alain Ducasse’s Spoon. One thing didn’t require improvement: the hotel’s unrivaled views of Hong Kong.

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One of three hotels attached to the posh Pacific Place shopping mall (on the edge of Central where it segues into Wan Chai), the soaring, 56-story Shangri-La has the city’s highest-altitude lodgings. Most of the 565 spacious rooms, spread between the 39th-55th floors, have enormous windows that capitalize on the views over the Victoria Harbour and the Kowloon skyline beyond; all are outfitted with elegant mahogany furniture, crystal chandeliers, lacquered Chinese cabinets concealing flat-screen TVs, and silky fabrics in tones of cream, gold, and burnt orange. The marble baths have bidets, magnifying mirrors, and scales (best avoided after indulging in chef Frederic Chabbert’s fabulous French cuisine at the top-floor Restaurant Petrus). Business travelers can take advantage of the free hourly shuttle between the hotel and the nearby Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre; hedonists will appreciate the plant-surrounded, 28-meter outdoor pool (heated during the winter)—and, of course, the ritzy shops just an elevator ride away. The extremely solicitous staffers, trained by the U.K. Guild of Professional English Butlers, jump through hoops to cater to guests’ whims.

This 1,600-foot-tall design juggernaut claimed the title of world's highest hotel when it opened on floors 102 to 118 of Kowloon's International Commerce Center in March 2011. Designed by cutting-edge firms including Singapore's LTW Designworks and Japan's Spin Design Studio and Wonderwall, the 312-room hotel is a showstopper: the top-floor infinity pool has a ceiling of LCD monitors showing the sky outside in real time, the Lounge has sparkling crystal firepits, and 8,500 bottles of wine line the walls of the Tin Lung Heen Cantonese restaurant. The clean-lined chocolate and cream furnishings in the 312 rooms keep the focus on the views, which you can observe from between 400-thread count sheets or through complimentary telescopes. When you've had your fill, the Blu-Ray players, iPod docking stations, and 42-inch LCDs in the bedroom and 17-inch ones in the marble baths might distract. The more than 9,000 square-foot futuristic ESPA spa on the 116th floor marries Western and Eastern techniques for treatments like Jade Stone Eye Treatments and hot lava shell exfoliations. Also on the upper floors? Local favorite bar for a see-and-be-seen scene, Ozone, the highest in the world.

This hotel on Kowloon's Tsim Sha Tsui East waterfront has floor-to-ceiling bay windows in each of its 688 rooms. Book a harbor suite for views of Victoria Harbour (the Tapas Bar has those views too).

Set on 21 floors of the Pacific Place Towers skyscraper, with larger-than-average guest rooms. Downstairs is the posh Pacific Place Mall. Ask for a room with views of Victoria Peak for a break from the urban jungle.

Italianate grandeur is the aesthetic of choice at this Kowloon property, set a few blocks away from the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront (with its Star Ferry dock and hulking Harbour Plaza shopping center). The lobby is over-the-top ornate, with a high domed ceiling, Dale Chihuly glass sculpture, and inlaid marble floors that evoke a luxe Tuscan estate. Of the 495 rooms, the 270 Grand Rooms have been gorgeously and recently renovated, with leather-paneled walls and vintage black-and-white phtography; slick glass, chrome, and cherry wood furniture; and opulent baths with deep soaking tubs, elegant wall sconces, and piles of fluffy white towels. All have bedside controls for lights, temperature, drapes, and door chimes (the last can be disabled with a “Do Not Disturb” switch). There’s a state-of-the-art fitness center, open around the clock, and a lovely rooftop pool, surrounded by mosaic tile and flowering bougainvillea (very popular during warm weather months—plan to stake out your chaise lounge early).

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