Kowloon Travel Guide
Tags: Celeb Hotels / Hotel Parties / Hong Kong Hotels / Hotel Openings / → All Tags
Katy Perry Takes Hong Kong...Or Just One Of The City's Newest Hotels
Although hotel plans around the US keep getting cancelled, in Asia it's a veritable buffet of grand openings and ground-breakings. Nowhere is this more true than in good old Hong Kong, where not one but a few five-star properties are set to open this fall.
The first, the Mira Hong Kong, looks to be your typical chic and scene-y boutique hotel, with all-glass revealing bathrooms, Arne Jacobsen egg chairs in the rooms, and a confusing flash-heavy website. They are admittedly after the "design-driven and technology savvy," but their choice of performer for their opening party says something else.
Tags: Hotel Deals / W Hotels / Hong Kong Hotels / Hotel Anniversaries / → All Tags
W Hong Kong's First Birthday Brings Never-Ending List Of Freebies
It feels like only yesterday that we stepped into the open, harbor-scented air of the 75th floor pool deck at the W Hong Kong, when actually it was a whole six months ago. The hotel itself has only been around slightly longer, and they'll be celebrating their first birthday in style with a comprehensive guest package.
The big promotion is only available August 7-10, so it'll only work out perfectly if you're already in the neighborhood, but the price and extras are worth mentioning. Stay in a "Wonderful"-level room and each guest pays $114 (so cheap well for solo travelers) per night for a minimum of 2 nights. In addition to the amazing view, you'll get all this:
Tags: Hotel WiFi / WiFi Hell / Holiday Inns / Hong Kong Hotels / → All Tags
Internet Charges at Holiday Inn Hong Kong Are Just Wrong
Oh noes. Say what you will about Holiday Inns, but HI's Internet is usually, these days, fairly fast and totally free. Well, 'round these parts, anyway. We're sad to hear from Canadian blogger Andrew Currie that, over in Hong Kong, that's notsomuch the case. He documents his Internet troubles at the Holiday Inn Hong Kong Golden Mile:
Unlimited access set me back $160 HKD per day, or about $25 CAD. At this price you might think I'd be tempted to leave my laptop packed and use my phone exclusively, but even with Opera Mini paring down the average full web page to a paltry 50K or so I would still pay 5¢/kB in data roaming charges — or in other words, for the same cost per day I'd only be able to pull down a mere 10 web pages on my phone!
For an extra $40 HKD/day ($6.25 CAD) I could supposedly access the hotel-wide WiFi via my phone — a great idea for reading the morning news over breakfast in the restaurant, except that interTouch uses some kind of stupid web redirect to log in to their network, likely designed with laptops only in mind.
Boo. Oh, and to translate that to US dollars: that daily Internet charge of 160 HKD works out to just over $20, while the 40 HKD WiFi charge comes out to around $5. And the worldwide free WiFi crusade continues.
[Photo: Andrew Currie]
Tags: Hotel Transportation / Hotel Packages / Hong Kong Hotel Scene / Hong Kong Hotels / Peninsula Hotels / → All Tags
Swap the Subway for a Helicopter at The Peninsula Hong Kong
One of the most stressful parts of arriving at a new destination can be figuring out how to get to your hotel from the distant airport. Is the subway convenient and can you handle it with your luggage? Should you spring for a cab, even if the ride costs more than a nice dinner? If cash isn't the least of your worries or you are simply seeking to have a once-in-a-lifetime experience, then The Peninsula in Hong Kong has got you taken care of with the ultimate airport transfer: helicopter service.
They've essentially kept alive that vintage dream of beginning a trip by setting off via chopper from the top of the Pan Am building, just transferred to Hong Kong. Arrange to be flown to or from the airport to The Peninsula Hotel's twin helipads, take a jaunt to Macau, or go for a short sightseeing spin. Flights are operated with the hotel's own twin-engine Aerospatiale Squirrel 'copter and can be combined with dining or spa packages for one humongous charge on your Amex.
The many times we passed The Pen during our visit to HK, we witnessed some landings and heard action up on the helipad; so apparently the economy hasn't yet hurt the desire for arriving in style. Nonetheless, with prices starting at $780 for a 15-minute tour and lunch for two people, we think we'll stick to the good old Airtrain and subway transfer.
[Photo: DoSomethingDIfferent.com]
Tags: Hotel Video Tours / Hong Kong Hotels / W Hotels / → All Tags
The W Hong Kong Makes Us Drool Buckets
Just as we promised, we're back with more from inside the 393-room W Hong Kong, including a slick look inside of a "Marvellous Suite" and all the goods on the various hot-to-trot amenities.
The arrival of a W Hotel to Hong Kong is something very welcome; as it sits on the Kowloon side rather than on Hong Kong Island, the hotel adds some necessary boutique jazz to a district dominated by old icons like The Peninsula. Although we'd most highly recommend it to those bent on serious shopping or gallery-hopping, the W bends itself to offer a little special something for everyone; yes, even the consummate businessman would love it.
Tags: Hotel Video Tours / Hong Kong Hotels / W Hotels / → All Tags
Inside the W Hong Kong's Wonderful Room
Ever since last September when we crashed the W Hotels Lounge backstage at Fashion Week, we have been drooling over their new properties on Vieques Island and in Hong Kong.
Since we just had the chance to chill in the latter city for a week, we made sure to swing by the skyscraping W Hong Kong for a special tour and some gawking at both their in-house art collection and the ridiculously slick views.
Just to whet your appetite for the full reveal, we're giving you this video of the inside of a standard, harbour-facing room, which starts at around $230 USD per night, at the W Hong Kong. If you're curious as to what other stylish niches await, stick around for a second, suite-r video and all the details tomorrow, as this is only just the tip of the W iceberg.
Tags: Hong Kong Hotels / Hyatt Hotels / Hotel Openings / Hotel Restaurants / → All Tags
Hyatt Regency To Return to Hong Kong With Hugo's Restaurant Still in Place
Big fanfare over in Hong Kong last week ... after closing the original Hyatt Regency Hong Kong at the beginning of 2006, Hyatt's now signed a deal with the New World Development Co to manage the new Hyatt Regency Hong Kong. It's going to be a brand new skyscraper, a multi-use complex in the Tsim Sha Tsui district of Kowloon.
The old Hyatt Regency ran for over 35 years, and some of its most well-known features will make a comeback in the new version. That includes the famous Hugo's restaurant with some of the original decor (it seems that Hugo was some guy covered in armor, and he'll be returning to the new site too), as well as the Chinese Restaurant and the Chin Chin Bar.
Some parts of the new Hyatt Regency will be more modern than the old one, however. The 384 rooms will all include a flat-screen TV, a personal safe with a built-in laptop charger, wireless and wired broadband internet access and a private bar. It looks like cousin the Grand Hyatt Hong Kong doesn't charge for internet access, so fingers crossed that the Hyatt Regency Hong Kong won't either.
Scheduled opening is in 2009, so you have a while to wait before you can check out the strangely armored Hugo again, or get the expected beautiful views over Victoria Harbour and the Kowloon Peninsula.
Related Stories:
· New Hyatt Regency Announced for Hong Kong [Reuters]
· Hotels in Hong Kong [HotelChatter]
· Travel Stories in Hong Kong [Jaunted]
Tags: Google Earth Hotels / → All Tags
Google Earth Hotel Review: Peninsula Hong Kong
The Peninsula Hong Kong, is consistently rated one of the world's top hotels. Not only does the hotel boast not one, but two Trumpian helipads, visible in Google Earth, but it also seems to please its most recent guests:
Stayed at the Peninsula for 2 nights on a recent business trip to Asia and I must say that this is truly an outstanding hotel in a highly competitive area... There are certainly other great places to stay in Hong Kong but if it comes to individual service and attention to detail, the "Pen" is as close to perfection as one can except from a hotel that considers itself as one of the best hotels in the world.
Looks like beauty isn't just Google Earth deep at the Pen--check out the in-room bath with a view shot, post click.
Related Stories:
· Peninsula Hotel Hong Kong [Google Earth Hacks]
· Peninsula Hong Kong Hotel Reviews [TripAdvisor]
Tags: Hotel Heaven / → All Tags
Blogger's Morning Rooftop Swim
Blogger Megnut let's all you travel voyeurs spy a morning of her vacation in Asia:
The hotel we're staying at in Kowloon has a lovely pool on its roof with views across the harbor to Hong Kong. And for whatever jet-lag-related reason I don't understand, we've been waking up around 6:30 AM every morning. So we've taken to heading to the pool for a nice morning swim.
Afterwards, we head downstairs for our complimentary morning breakfast buffet which is amazing. I've been eating a huge plate of tropical fruits every morning while I enjoy a nice strong cup of coffee and read the South China Morning Post.
While she doesn't reveal the name of her Kowloon hotel heaven, we are going to go with a Flickr member's best guess, until we here different.
So as far as we are concerned Meg's morning swim and refreshing breakfast took place at the InterContinental Hong Kong.
Related Stories:
· The Joy of The Morning Swim [megnut]
· InterContinental Hong Kong Reviews [TripAdvisor]
Tags: Hotel Hell / → All Tags
Harbour Plaza Metropolis: Like Sleepin' in a Drawer?
There is something romantic about your company asking you to live in a hotel for a month. You think to yourself-- sweet, the life of a rock star awaits. However, the reality is usually much more mundane, so make sure the beds are big enough and ironing boards are in-room. In the end you will just want basic conveniences.
Sounds like one recent business traveler to Harbour Plaza Metropolis in Hong Kong found all this out the hard way:
I was booked to stay in the Harbour Plaza Metropolis for a month for a work visit. My work had booked me in a studio suite, which at first glance was passable, if a little small for comfort. However, the room was missing a number of items that I would consider essential for a hotel of any description above 3 stars. There was no iron, ironing board, alarm clock, or hair dryer. In addition, the "kitchenette" had no toaster or glasses. The final insult was the bed, which at 1.8m is really too short for an average-tall westerner, and had the softness of concrete. A layer of blankets under the sheet didn't stop me from waking up repeatedly in the night. I subsequently asked my work to move me to another hotel.
Related Stories:
· Harbour Plaza Metropolis Reviews [TripAdvisor]
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