vegas

I am going to do a 2 daystopover in Hong Kong on my way to Manila. I am travelling alone and would like to have luxury and convenience. Any suggestions would be much appreciated. I am going on Feb 3 which I believe is the beginning of the Chinese New Year.

Kathie

There are two Shangri-La hotels, one in Kowloon and one on Hong Kong island. Both are lovely, though I prefer to stay on the Kowloon side.

rkkwan

Luxury and convenience?

Kowloon side: Peninsula, Intercontinental and Kowloon Shangri-La.

Hong Kong side: Ritz Carlton, Island Shangri-La, Mandarin Oriental, and perhaps the Grand Hyatt and the Conrad. The Grand Hyatt isn't the most convenient, but it's okay if you take the taxi.

Chinese New Year is Feb 9, 2005, so you're there before it.

mjs

There are many luxury hotels in Hong Kong. On the island side there is the Mandarin,Conrad, Ritz Carlton, Shangri-la, Renaissance, Grand Hyatt and JW Marriott. On the Kowloon side there is the Shangri-la, Penninsula and Intercontinental. I prefer the Kowloon side so would recommend any of the three above. There are others on this board however who are much more experienced with Hong Kong than I am so I would wait for their comments. Personally stayed at the Kowloon Shangri-la recently and liked it but also visited the Peninsula, Intercontinental, Ritz and Island Shangri-la and thought they were quite nice as well. If cost is no issue the Penninsula would probably be my choice.

Cicerone

While the holiday does run from the 4th the public holidays and fireworks for Chinese New Year this year start on February 9. While you will miss the fireworks and other celebrations, you won’t find and shops closed and will get some of the pre-holiday celebrations.

If money is no object I would take a harbour view room on a high floor at the Penn. Second would be a harbour view room at the Intercon, only second because the hotel is not quite a luxurious as the Penn, but certainly acceptable. The Penn is also a bit closer to the Star Ferry. Third choice would be harbour view at the Mandarin, then harbour view at the Ritz. I am not a fan of the Grand Hyatt at all, esp. for a 2-day holiday as you will spend more time getting to and from the tourist places. I am also not a fan of the Kowloon Shangri-La, again esp. for such a short visit as its location is not ideal. In terms of location the Mandarin is the best, then the Ritz, then the Penn then the Intercon. I just prefer the views from the Penn over those from the Mandarin and the Ritz, and the 5 minute Star Ferry ride is the best ferry ride in the world, IMO, and a pleasure to take even several times a day. The Island Shangri-La’s and Conrad ‘s location are OK (they are in the same complex), very good for shopping but for a 2-day visit I don’t think you are going to be concentrating on shopping anyway.

One pre-holiday event worth seeing is the flower market at Victoria Park which is just for Chinese New Year and is huge, besides flowers there are lots of other items for sale. It is in the Causeway Bay area on Hong Kong Island. A tram ride from Central to Causeway Bay is a great way to see these interesting and vibrant pars of the city and get to the flower market. Sit upstairs for a bird-s eye view of street life. There are lots of interesting food, veg and other stall markets in the streets leading off the street on which the tram runs, including some designer discount shops, esp around the Causeway Bay tram stop.

chicago999

We'll be doing a stopover in HK arriving Feb. 5, 2006 and departing Feb. 8th. Will there be any Chinese New Year activities going on or will we be too late? (such as the Flower Market you mentioned in this old posting...)

Cicerone

The Flower Market closes the night before the first day of New Year's so it will be over on January 28. By the 5th, there will not be much going on, although the skyscrapers should most likely still be decorated which is a sight to see, and you may see lion dances going on in the streets or in front of shops to bring good luck and good business for the year.

Peteralan

I'd agree with Cicerone. If you get into the Peninsula you have to make sure you get a room on a higher level with views.Otherwise take a harbour view room at Intercontinental ( and what a view!)

barnetda

I recently returned from HK>

I stayed at the intercontinental kowloon side. It was amazing, i strongly recommend it.

hobbes

Depends really on what you want to do with your 2 days...if night life, nice restaurants, maybe The Peak are on the agenda consider the newest hotels on HK Island. The Four Seasons cannot be beat for airport access as you can walk from the Airport Express thru IFC Mall to the hotel! The other is the Landmark mandarin Oriental tho rooms are a bit small.

rkkwan

I thought the Landmark MO says their rooms the biggest in HK?

Cicerone

I see that claim on the Mandarin Landmark's website, I can't believe they get away with it, as I have seen their rooms. They say "average size of 540 square feet". In fact, none of their rooms are 540 square feet; they have three room types which are 450, 600 and 900 square feet, respectively. (They even refer to them this way on their website.) I think what they did was add up all the sizes and divide by the number of rooms and got that average. Sneaky but probably true. The suites at 900 square feet will tip the average over toward the higher side. Plus they must have added in the presidential suite.

Also, I think they are talking about gross area, not net, and are including the closet and bathroom. In Hong Kong, it is also legal to include a proportion of the lobby and other public areas when describing room size, so they may have done that as well. Having seen the Four Seasons standard room which is NET area of 450 square meters, it is much bigger in actual size than the L450 rooms at the Mandarin. Really there is no room to walk around in at in the smallest room at the Mandarin. I guess they have to say something, because they have no views. . . .the L600 rooms are nice, but no views and for that money (currently showing US$475 a night) you can get a view almost anywhere else.

DonTopaz

I'm actually in HK airport now, after a terrific 3-day stay at the InterContinental. I had actually planned to stay at the Kowloon Shangri-La, but the room they gave me was hopelessly disappointing: tired-looking, no separate bath and shower, and nowhere close to the rooms at the Island Shang. I checked out in an instant and moved 2 blocks to the IC, where the renovated contemporary rooms are terrific. Good size, big flat-screen TV, and the city's best harbour views, bar none.