Hong Kong Travel Guide
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Hong Kong's Upper House Hotel Does Technology Right
Technology is meant to be all about making our lives easier, right? The newly-opened Upper House Hotel in Hong Kong seems to have got this figured out just right.
The hi-tech experience starts from the airport transfer in a (good-for-the-environment) hybrid Lexus car, because this car has got WiFi on board, and it's free for you to use for the whole ride to the hotel, and back. This would sure give us a great first impression, and it sounds like it continues, because the Upper House provides free internet connection (WiFi and wired) throughout all the guest rooms and public areas of the hotel.
Tags: Swine Flu Hotels / Hong Kong Hotels / MetroPark Hotels / → All Tags
Guests at Hong Kong's Swine Flu Hotel Are Freed
Just in time for the weekend, 280 hotel prisoners guests and employees who were quarantined at the The Metropark Hotel in Hong Kong have been given the "all clear" and released today.
A man who identified himself as a South Korean businessman shouted "I'm happy! I love Hong Kong people!" before breaking into song and hugging a policeman guarding the hotel. He did not give his name. Another guest, Indian businessman Kevin Ireland, told The Associated Press he plans to check into another hotel and go out to dinner with friends.
Wait. Hold up. You just got released from a hotel and now you are going to check into a new one? Oh, that's because the Hong Kong government felt so bad about locking the guests up they gave them two nights free at another hotel along with other extras like Hong Kong Disneyland tickets, restaurant vouchers and movie tickets.
Apparently, the guests were cranky to be cooped up in the hotel the whole time but they gradually began to like it. The hotel's Facebook page showed guests giving tips to the hotel staffers. We don't think it would be so bad to be cooped up in a hotel except we'd dread having to eat the hotel food all the time. Let's hope they gave the guests free movies on demand too!
To read about the quarantine from a first-hand perspective check out this WSJ blog.
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Confirmed: A Week of Quarantine In a Hong Kong Hotel Is Not Awesome
This morning, we were perusing the ol' headlines and noticed a very special one out of Hong Kong that read, "Quarantined guests at Hong Kong hotel get free accommodations." Well, um, yeah — we would assume that the 300-or-so people holed up in the MetroPark Hotel on a seven-day quarantine (due to a confirmed case of swine flu in a hotel guest) wouldn't have to pay for their rooms.
And as awesome as seven free nights in a pretty nice hotel might sound, rest assured that the quarantined guests are not having the time of their lives. Today's Wall Street Journal ran a dispatch from a guest on the inside of the hotel, who calls the seal-up her "seven-day 'life in prison.'
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The Peninsula Lights Up Hong Kong's Harbor
In case you haven't heard, we're tearing it up across the Pacific for the next week, focusing our energies on the quaint little town of Hong Kong. After arriving in the afternoon after a 15-hour direct flight, we quickly decided rallied in order to get the tourist traps out of the way.
Because Hong Kong is so nicely situated on a picturesque harbor, now rimmed with skyscrapers of all flavors, the top tourist attraction is actually the skyline itself. More specifically, visitors flock to the Kowloon waterfront every night at 8pm to witness light shows put on by the buildings across the harbor.
While we were dazzled by some of the elaborate creations (Santa Claus down the entire facade of a 45-story building), we couldn't help but be distracted by the stately and glowing presence of The Peninsula Hotel right behind us.
Awash in bright white light and with her front fountain at full blast, she looked every bit the Master of Ceremonies. Having just celebrated her 80th birthday in 2008, "The Pen" is wearing her age well and continuing to hold her up against some literally massive competition in the rest of the HK skyline.
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In Case You Couldn't Get Enough, Marriott Opens 5th Hong Kong Hotel
Not satisfied with three or four hotels in busy Hong Kong, the Marriott group have just opened their fifth spot there with the Hong Kong SkyCity Marriott Hotel. It's attached to the AsiaWorld Expo exhibition center at the airport.
It sounds like they're trying to make it out to be more than just an airport hotel, mainly because it's a short distance to Hong Kong Disneyland. But they're also promoting it as just a half-hour train ride from downtown Hong Kong, meaning you can go shopping, sightseeing and eating but then "escape" out of the hustle and bustle back to your hotel--nice theory, but we still think we'd only stay there as an airport layover.
Having said that, some of the rooms do have views over the sea, and there are six restaurants within the hotel alone to choose from.
There are a couple of opening packages going which are worth knowing about--the first runs through to the end of March and gives you a double room, breakfast, transfers and drinks for HK$1,688 ($220). If you end up in Hong Kong during Chinese New Year instead (this year it's January 22 to February 8) then the special changes and you can get a double room (without the frills) for HK$888 ($115). Not quite sure what's special about all these 8s, but even the hotel phone number ends in 888. We hope it's a lucky number for a lucky stay.
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W Hong Kong :: Trying to Be Cool Is Not Cool, Or Maybe It Is
We checked in on the W Hong Kong today and hey, guess what? Bliss Spa is opening there today! And in a couple weeks, the place will be entirely hoppin' with the opening of Wet on October 1st (the usually-hip W pool scene -- this time, on a rooftop).
As per usual, we wanted to see how the place was going over with recent guests so we hopped on over to trusty TripAdvisor -- and responses are split 50/50. Literally. There are only 2 reviews.
We take on the daunting (not) task of rounding up the pros and cons after the jump.
Tags: Hong Kong Hotels / Hotel Deals / Hotel Renovations / Langham Hotels / → All Tags
The Langham Hotel Hong Kong Now Has Renovated Rooms
The Langham Hong Kong is basically oozing luxury. It's the city's only notch on the Leading Hotels of the World list, and among the hotels in the Virtuoso portfolio.
And to top it off, it's just renovated the holy heck out of its 270 Grand Rooms. In the hotel world, a milestone like that doesn't go by without some sort of package to celebrate. Thus here is the "Grand Deal" package with all trimmings attached.
Now, about those elegant rooms....The renovations put in 37-inch flat-screen TVs, silk drapes, burled timber and leather walls, new art pieces and photographs of old-world Hong Kong, immaculate open bathrooms connected to humungous living rooms, DVD players and iHome audio docks into each room. Not too shabby!
Beginning September 10 through December 30th, and going for US$277 a night, you'll get a free breakfast buffet at the hotel's L'Eclipse restaurant, plus all the free wireless connections you can plug in. The WiFi junkies were skeptical at first, but the place does deliver.
To make life easy, book your reservation through the hotel's Skype line.
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W Hong Kong Opens This Sunday
Not a lot happens on Sundays. We tend to stay in with a bagel and the paper, maybe or maybe not nursing a hangover. Except this Sunday, had we the means, we'd be jetting off to Hong Kong for the W Hotel opening there.
We're excited about this hotel, because--well, simply put, it looks really cool. All 393 rooms have skyline views and come with iPod docking stations, LCD TVs in the bedroom and the bathroom and a minibar with free water. As we noted earlier, the location rocks, too: right in the West Kowloon district, a Mecca of commercial, entertainment and cultural options.
Though come to think of it, we'd wait a month before heading out there, as the hotel's Bliss spa and Wet rooftop pool aren't expected to open until September 1.
Regardless, whether it's this Sunday or a Sunday a month from now, we still won't have the means to afford a plane ticket to China, so if you happen to stop by the place in the coming weeks, let us know.
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Hotel Hell :: Guests Kicked Out of Hong Kong Hotel in Bank Takeover
We all know about the drama that ensues when you show up to a hotel and your reservation is suddenly "missing." But how about if you are staying in a hotel and due to a hostile takeover of the hotel by a bank you were kicked out of the hotel with no new accommodations?
That's what happened to a bunch of guests staying at the Tatami Hampton Hotel in Hong Kong. Australia's Herald Sun reports:
A notice posted in the hotel lobby said it had been taken over by lawyers representing the bank and the bailiff pursuing a court order, the report said. TV images showed the hotel doors bolted shut.
Granted the Tatami isn't (wasn't?) one of Hong Kong's premiere hotels. One reviewer compared the place to solitary confinement. The budget hotel actually looked like a 1970s predecessor to the Yotel brand.
Still, turning away hotel guests because of a bank takeover is pretty bad and the previous (current?) owner of the hotel is voicing his outrage on the hotel's website. It's a bunch of confusing Hong Kong legalese but the owner says:
The Bank's right to possession does not mean it can cold-bloodedly drive away hotel guests.
The owner also offers guests options for refunding their hotel room (expected to be paid by the big mean bank) and a hotline for more information.
Tags: Four Seasons Hotels / Hong Kong Hotels / Hotel Amenities / → All Tags
Four Seasons Hong Kong Melts In Your Mouth
In the history of specialty tidbits offered up by hotels, there are a few standout items for which we've happily said "charge it to the room:" first there was the premium espresso at the Fairmont Chicago, then came the Gansvoort's sex kit, and now we're all too enticed by the fancy French macaron set at the Four Seasons Hong Kong.
A "macaron," in contrast to the coconut macaroon, is actually a delicate little thing made of egg whites, almond powder and sugar, which resembles a mini pastel hamburger. Of course, Four Seasons will offer nothing but the best macarons, sourcing a selection from Ladurée, the Parisian patisserie which originally begot the handmade cakes back in the 1930s.
Primly packaged sets of 6 macarons are available at the Four Seasons Hong Kong in your choice of caramel, strawberry, pear, or the current currant favorite.
Let's hope this begins a trend; we can imagine at least some Ferrero Rocher at Courtyard by Marriott.
[Photo: Milk Magazine]
Tags: W Hotels / Hotel News / 2008 Olympics / Olympic Hotels / Hotel Openings / Hong Kong Hotels / → All Tags
W Hotel Hong Kong Set to Soft-Open in August
While its spawn Aloft is procreating all over North America this summer, W Hotels will continue to open their exotic locations abroad. And the W Hotel Hong Kong will open a "selection of rooms" in August, just one week before the Olympic Games begin in Beijing.
Despite the annoying cutesy descriptions on the W Hong Kong's home page like this one--"In this eastern Manhattan, energy streams like hot tea at dim sum where W Hong Kong sits among modern splendour, oriental markets and colonial cool"---we're actually rather impressed by this hotel.
It could be the exotic location in Hong Kong but it could also be the presence of a swimming pool at 700 feet above street level. This time, we really agree with the W's overusage of "Wow."
Tags: Hong Kong Hotels / Four Seasons Hotels / Tallest Hotels in Hong Kong / Hotel News / → All Tags
'Spiderman' Takes on the Four Seasons in Hong Kong
Some Frenchman who fashion himself a real-life Spiderman climbed the 45-storey Four Seasons Hotel in Hong Kong. Alain Roberts eluded city police to finish the climb, one of some 80 climbs that he's done around the world to raise awareness for global warming. We bet he had a killer view from that hotel.
We're not sure why he picked the Four Seasons but there are plenty of other super-tall hotels in Hong Kong he could have attempted to scale. Like:
· Langham Place: The hotel is in a skyscraper that uses some floors for an office space. Still the hotel is pretty big with 665 rooms on 42 floors.
·Hyatt Regency Hong Kong: 64 floors and 723 rooms.
·Island Shangri-La: 57 floors and and 565 rooms.
·Intercontinental Hong Kong: 61 floors and 513 rooms.
[Photo: ABC News]
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