Can anyone let me know if their deluxe courtyard rooms afford good views? Their website says it's a view of the forecourt and partial harbour view. I realize that the best rooms are the harbour view rooms, but those are also their most expensive rooms. Thanks.

The deluxe courtyard view rooms are in the old part of the hotel. You'dd get a fine view of cars pulling into and out of the semi-circular hotel driveway, as well as a fine view of the stultifyingly ugly museum that blocks your view of the harbour. It's possible that you'll also see the tops of some buildings on the HK side of the harbour.

All of which is to say that if you're looking for a view of the world's finest cityscape, you'll need a different room.

Thanks for the honest comments. I may as well just pay less and get a lower category room or maybe just go with a different hotel, The Conrad or The Intercontinental perhaps.

Franco, It's a trade off. If your priority is view, then you can't do better, anywhere, than a harbour view room at the Intercon. If your priority is tradition, service and elegance then go with the Pen; you'll be well taken care of in any room.

The Conrad is one of my favorite hotels in Hong Kong but it has a completely different ambience from the I-C or the Pen. It's smaller and more business oriented, and of course on HOng Kong side, near HK Park. The views are not particularly distinguished but the service and aesthetic is very good.

I'd also recommend that you take a look at the Ritz Carlton which is more of a boutique hotel in Central Hong Kong. The views are of Kowloon and therefore not as spectacular as the hotels that are IN Kowloon looking at Hong Kong, but the hotel itself is elegant, stylish and very convenient.

I'm not sure that the Conrad is smaller than the IC or Peninsula. I like the Conrad a lot myself, but it does have 20 floors (compared to about 12-14 at the IC), and I believe there are more rooms/floor at the Conrad than at the IC.

You might find a good rate at the IC by contacting the hotel directly. I stayed there just before Christmas (often a slow week, anyway), and got a terrific rate of HK$2400 for a harbourview room (including breakfast) by calling the hotel.

There is a large promenade along the harbour just behind the IC. You might want to make the very reasonable compromise of staying at the Conrad and hopping over to the promenade in the evening to see what the fuss is all about.

Thanks for the tips; I do appreciate all of them. As you can tell Hong Kong isn't my forte at all. As to the Conrad they seem easy to deal with and they gave a fairly good rate for all types of rooms-the harbourview room being the most expensive choice naturally. And they are willing to reserve a renovated room for us. This is for summertime and the rates are not as low as in December it seems. I'll check the Ritz anyway. Thanks again and if you need help with Paris, do ask me. That's my forte.

Hi francophile!
I'm another one who can be found more often in Paris than Asia, usually in small boutique hotels rather than big ones, but we just got back from Asia, and I was completely in love with the Intercontinental, and can't imagine staying anywhere else!

The location of the IC is hands-down the best if you want a harbour view. This is one place where I would splurge on the hotel and pinch pennies on another aspect of your trip if necessary.

The Peninsula is a beautiful old hotel, but IMO it's location has been ruined by the buildings in front of it. Really a shame.

We loved everything about the Intercontinental. The buffet breakfasts were to die for- and once again, this is not usually my sort of thing, but I found myself feeling sad to leave those breakfasts.

And the view from our room!! It was like being right there IN the harbour. We could just sit in our room and watch all the activity of the harbour unfolding right in front of us. You get a great view of the light show every evening at 8:00.

We had joined the Intercontinental Ambassador Club earlier this year on the advice of a friend, and that was a great tip. You pay I think $150, but then you get one free weekend night, so it more than pays for itself right away. Then you get automatic room upgrades every time you stay with them, late check-out, and a few other perks.

You can collect points with them, or have the puts put in your favorite frequent flyer account.

We were upgraded to a suite in Hong Kong (reserved a regular harbour-view room) and it was just phenomenal.

Anyway, I would SERIOUSLY consider the Intercontinental in Hong Kong. You won't be sorry!

When you get to that point, I have restaurant recommendations if you want them!

Hi Marcy, I just commented on your beginning trip report by coincidence! Yes, thanks for the IC recommendation. They offered a pretty expensive rate for the harbour view room during our proposed stay. So I'm not sure if we decide to go to HK whether or not we'll stay at the IC. But it sounds like the type of hotel I surely would love to be at. That's too bad about The Pen. It really is old-world charming although so expensive.