Hong Kong Travel Guide
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Hong Kong is Getting A Really Big Ibis Hotel
Not content with having one hotel in Hong Kong, the Ibis Hotels chain are preparing to build their biggest hotel in Asia in central Hong Kong. They say that the downtown area – the hotel will be built on the corner of Bonham Strand West and Des Vouex Road West, if you know the spot – is lacking in decent economy-level hotels and the Ibis should be the perfect fit.
Come early 2012, the Ibis Hong Kong Sheung Wan should be ready for plenty of guests with its 550 rooms, along with a restaurant and bar. An Ibis hotel rarely costs an arm and a leg so it might be worth looking into with that central location.
Ibis is having a big push of building and opening new hotels across Asia, and by the end of this year will have opened 21 new places across the Asia Pacific region, a big proportion of them in China. Considering that Ibis is not a very well respected brand in Europe--they were found "unfit to lick"--we hope they fare better in Asia.
[Photo: das farbamt]
Tags: Hotel Technology / Hong Kong Hotels / International Hotel WiFi / → All Tags
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: Hotel Indigo / Hotel Openings / Hong Kong Hotels / Hotel Hype / → All Tags
Hong Kong is Getting A Dragon-Wrapped Indigo Hotel
The Hotel Indigo people seem to be sure that global financial woes are a thing of the past, because they're forging ahead with their expansion plans in Asia. After signing a deal for the Hotel Indigo Shanghai to open next year, they've been quick to follow up with the promise of the Hotel Indigo Hong Kong.
The Hong Kong version should be ready to open in 2012 and will be located in the Wan Chai district of Hong Kong – a northern part of Hong Kong Island which is known for its historical value. The hotel itself sounds like it will be something a bit different:
The architectural concept features a conspicuous dragon in burnished bronze wrapped around the building, functioning as an "eco-screen" to counteract the hot spots and solar gain.
We can't wait to see that in real life. There should be even more Asian Indigos to follow – the smart money is on Tokyo and Singapore as likely locations for the next hotels.
[Photo: Sleeper Magazine]
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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 Concerts / Hotel Promos / Hong Kong Hotels / Mandarin Oriental Hotels / → All Tags
Drink Enough at Landmark Mandarin Oriental and Kelly Clarkson Will Appear
Where: 15 Queen's Road Central, The Landmark, Central, Hong Kong
We have long believed that Kelly Clarkson songs can serve as the soundtracks to all stages of any romantic relationship. You start with "Miss Independent," and then you meet someone and suddenly you've got "A Moment Like This." Then you've hit the "My Life Would Suck Without You" stage, and maybe soon you're into "Breakaway" territory (or even "Walk Away") — and then comes "Behind These Hazel Eyes" and maybe "Never Again" and, of course, "Since U Been Gone."
If you're in one of those phases where you're into those last three songs, maybe you're — oh, we don't know... drinking the pain away or partying to celebrate your new single status? And here's something kinda awesome: if you drink enough at Hong Kong's Landmark Mandarin Oriental — that is, you spend HKD 5,000 (or $645ish USD) — Kelly Clarkson will appear, and not just due to boozey hallicunations. You'll actually score tix to an intimate Kelly Clarkson acoustic concert, which are not on sale to the public. Sweet.
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: Easter Hotels / Hong Kong Hotels / Mandarin Oriental / Hotel High Tea / → All Tags
Hong Kong's Landmark Mandarin Will Have a Swanky Easter Buffet
Although any excuse for a fancy hotel buffet or high tea service will do, there is nothing like Easter for bringing out all the trimmings. Stop into any nice hotel in the United States this upcoming weekend and you're sure to catch the chefs covered in egg dye and the diners swathed in pastels. What about if you are abroad and have a hankering for some traditional Easter noshing, however? In Hong Kong, leave it up to the Landmark Mandarin Oriental to save the day with an Easter weekend lunch, brunch buffet, and afternoon tea buffet.
On April 11 and 12 only, the 648HKD ($89) lunch at the Landmark's Amber restaurant involves more than just five courses and wine pairings, but also includes something of a babysitting service for your kids: an Easter egg hunt and a side buffet for children (288HKD or $37 for those under 12).
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Landmark Mandarin Oriental is Hot for Haute Chocolate
Any excuse to overindulge in chocolate works for us, but when you're talking the haute stuff from La Maison du Chocolat, then that's another matter entirely. How we wish we were still in Hong Kong right now, as throughout March, the creative director of the gourmet chocolate company will be teaming up with the Landmark Mandarin Oriental to offer several chocoholic-centric dinners and workshops at Amber, the hotel's restaurant.
While it's a little pricier than the the Ritz Carlton Battery Park's chocolate buffet, the $163 six-course dinner at The Landmark includes delectables such as foie gras and langoustine, of course paired with chocolate sauces or sides.
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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.
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