I've been reading info on luxury hotels there, but no one mentions this one. We are booked there at the end of our S.E. Asia trip. Is there some reason why nobody mentions it. Is it strictly a business hotel? I only have a couple of days to cancel. Hope someone see this. Thanks for any advice! Pat

Maybe because it's so new?

Cicerone has seen its rooms, and she think they are great. I can't imagine how they can't be.

Don't worry. You'll like it.

Thanks, I feel better! How is the location, and any ideas for a great dinner on the last night of our trip? Pat

The Four Seasons is right on the water, on top of the highend ifc mall and the Airport Express train station. It's fine except you won't get the view of HK Island from the Kowloon side like you would from the InterContinental or the Peninsula.

I'll let Cicerone or others will give you highend dining recommendations. That's not my expertise.

The hotel is gorgeous, u will love it. High end dining options. Take a ferry across to TST and eat modern Cantonese at Hutong or Jap or Italian at Aqua - on 29/30 floors of a new building called one Peking Road and you will get the famous view across the harbour from the Kowloon side which rkkwan is referring to. If you want to stay on the island Dragon I is a night club cum restaurant, very trendy or you could go to M at the Fringe. Before I give you more ideas - what type of food would you like?

Thanks Hobbes, We'll do just that. This is so much better than wandering around aimlessly! How great are the Fodor Forums! I'll report on everything when we get back. Pat

As to foods I like, I adore Cantonese food, especially Duck. Thanks again!

one question...I called the hotel and they say that internet access is 20 usd per day..I object to that..where would I be able to find a cafe nearby??? thanks

Pacific Coffee has free computer terminals.

www.pacificcoffee.com/eng/store/st_sto_hkm.html

Closest one is Shop 1022 in the ifc Mall.

They have wi-fi, but think you need to sign up with a local access provider.

I think the rooms at the Four Seasons are great very large, modern and well appointed; I used to not like the location, but have become a big fan of it now because you can walk via pedestrian walkway and escalator up to the Soho area and to the Hollywood Road area, and it’s a pretty quick walk over to the Star Ferry and Central areas. As noted, you won’t get the famous View that you see on the postcards, but ask for as high a floor as you can take and the views are actually pretty interesting. Be sure to take the Star Ferry over the Kowloon side at least once during the day and at night to see The View. If you want The View all the time with the luxury, go to the Peninsula.

You can find free internet by going to any Pacific Coffee Company (our local Starbucks, we have those as well), the nearest one to the Four Seasons I think would be on Lyndhurst Terrace up in the Hollywood Road area, you can take the escalator. Go to www.pacificcoffee.com for locations. There is one on top of the the Peak in the Tram Tower building which has got to be the coffee cafe with the best view in the world. The Peak is a good place for breakfast, it is generally not crowded and you can do the Lugard Road walk, have coffee/muffin and check your e-mail. Yes I agree that US20 a day is a rip off, I believe the hotel also charges like US$100 a day for club privileges too....very silly IMO. The hotel is attached to a large mall, but I don’t believe there is any coffee shop or other place in that mall with free internet. There is also a chain of healthfood/sandwich shops call Mix which has free internet at some locations, go to http://www.mix-world.com/default.asp for locations, I know their shop on Hollywood Road has internet.

I love Hutong, but am not sure that I would call that “high end” dining. It’s mid-price. IMO places like Nobu, Spoon, Felix, Vong, Caprice (right in the Four Seasons) and the new Pierre Gagnaire and Joel Robuchon restaurants are high-end, i.e. very expensive. (Caprice has a chef’s table that is US$1,000, but I can’t imagine it is worth the money, the restaurant is otherwise excellent however.) Hutong is great and the view is wonderful. M at the Fringe is one of my very favorite restaurants, so really there is nothing wrong with them at all, but if you say “high end” some people mean different things. There are many excellent and not expensive restaurants in Soho as well, you don’t have to go to a place like Nobu, but if you want to, that is certainly available. Please see my list of restaurants in my thread called “Cicerone’s Reccos for What the Locals Do for Fun in Hong Kong (Hint: We DON’T Go to those Awful Night Markets....)”. For Pierre, see below. The Rubuchon restaurant is in the Landmark shopping centre, I can look for the address, but don’t have it with me, the hotel can get it for you as well if you are interested.

Pierre
Mandarin Hotel
mandarin-oriental.com

I am trying to think of high-end Cantonese, but that is kind of a struggle for me...let me work on that, otherwise check my list for other Cantonese options.

Most Pacific Coffee locations have terminals with free internet access, you don't need to bring a PC, I did not know there was one in the IFC Mall (this is attached to the Four Seasons), obviously look there first...

Just spent six nights at the 4s. Nice larege rooms, comfortable beds, bedside clocks, excellent service. Wonderful large bathrooms with rain showeres. All good but not unusual. The reason to stay imo is the spa and the outdoor pools. the outdoor pools are well heated and were used last week when people in SK were wearing ski jackets. Even if you don't use the pools, the area is breathtaking. Incredible views!!!! If in the area and staying elsewhere, go to the 6th floor and take a look. Just be careful, there is water in the middle of the entrance to the pool area.
The spa is also worth staying at the hotel. I did not have any treatment but I used the sauna (with light color changes) the best steam room I have ever experienced and the bubble water bath is unlike any I have ever seen. Huge with rods you lie on and the bubbles come below them. Even a waterfall. NIce relaxing room with individual beds and all kinds of stuff to make you skin lovely. Very refreshing. Thing we did not like was no breakfast buffet except an extensive continental one in the bar. It was ok for me but no waffles for the kids or cheese omlets.
Location great with ifc mall directly connected so you can buy diamonds at Tiffany or many other shops without going outside. But also supermarket, Pacific Coffee (very good and I do not like Starbucks), and walkway to Central part of city. Star Ferry right there also. Since it is so new, many, many, many elaborate weddings held all the time we were there.

Hypatia, the Pacific Coffee Company in the IFC Mall is incredibly close to the Four Season’s Hotel (it’s one of those places I pass all the time but did not notice until this weekend when looking for it). There is also a Mix shop next door, so between those two, you will have 8 free internet terminals to pick from. (In theory, you should buy something like a coffee or juice when using a terminal and this is Hong Kong where they don’t like to give anything away for free...) On weekends they will be jammed, but on weekdays you should have them pretty much to yourself except around lunchtime I would think. To get there, don’t go through the Mall entrance from inside the hotel lobby, as that will involve going up and down escalators that are unnecessary (and the Mall is somewhat confusing and has poor signage IMO). Instead, go out the front door of the hotel into the driveway entrance, walk across the circular drive (from 6 o’clock to 12 o’clock) and look for the outside pedestrian walkway that starts there. Take this to the set of glass doors which is another entrance into the Mall. Once through the doors, go to the left in this circular area and then straight on, looking for a McDonald’s sign; but keeping the McDonald’s sign on your left as you walk down a hallway about 100 feet. On your left is the Pacific Coffee Company and just past this is the Mix (green sign, you may notice this first).

The covered walkway from the Four Seasons driveway, by the way, will take you to the escalator to Soho and midlevels. Go through the same glass doors into the Mall, but then bear right around the circular lobby and go out through the glass doors on the right, turning right again and walking across the elevated walkway above the street. (If you go left, you can take this outside elevated walkway all the way into Central and to the Star Ferry as well.) Follow the covered walkway inside a building and out above another street and you will come to the start of the escalator. You can take this up to the Hollywood Road area and to Soho, very easy and convenient.

We used the pcs in the 4s business center on the 45th floor. charge by the minute and less than $20 for a reasonable time. High charge for using the inroom tv internet.