13 Best Hotels in Hong Kong, China

At the world's third highest hotel, occupying the 102nd through the 118th floors of West Kowloon's ICC skyscraper, every large, luxurious guest room enjoys a stupendous vantage point. While the many restaurants and bars enjoy the same stratospheric outlooks, high tea served at window-side seats in the Lounge & Bar is an especially memorable, vertigo-inducing experience; at Ozone, the highest bar in the world, the terrace is downright dizzying. A beautiful view-filled pool takes swimming to new heights.

If you need an escape from the city, Auberge Discovery Bay offers up sea views, spacious rooms, and a decadent spa. For outdoorsy types, there's easy access to hiking paths, as well as to Lantau Island’s main tourist draws: the Big Buddha, Disneyland, and Tai O fishing village. Many of the rooms come with panoramic views and sunken bathtubs, and all guests have access to a sprawling swimming pool and 27-hole golf course. Don’t be surprised if you watch a wedding unfold during your stay: the waterfront setting has a following thanks in part to its striking glass chapel and horse-drawn carriage rides.

At this sleek glass-and-steel box that transformed a once seedy block, whimsical sculptures of Mao's Red Guards greet you at the entrance, and luxurious guest rooms feature floor-to-ceiling windows, mirrored walls, mood lighting, and glass-walled marble bathrooms. The Cantonese restaurant Ming Court is Michelin starred, and the open atrium lounge, Backyard, is a great place for drinks. While the hotel is about playful luxury, the surrounding area provides a look into local life in an unwesternized neighborhood.

This is Disneyland, so the focus is on kids—from chef Mickey restaurants to the piano-shape pool to well-stocked playrooms—but adults might enjoy the theme of silver-screen glamour that extends to art deco styling in the cocktail lounge and the small but comfortable guest rooms. Rooms also come in a few different styles, including the predictable Mickey and friends, and a newer one with Marvel characters.

A direct connection to the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre makes this a business-first hotel, but leisure travelers also enjoy the elegant rooms, with sweeping harbor views and luxurious touches such as an oversize square bathtub and mirror TV. The restaurants are excellent, in particular One Harbour Road; the handsome Grand Hyatt Steakhouse; and Tiffin, with its legendary buffet spread and live music performances. Sports facilities include a curvaceously beautiful pool, 400-meter jogging track, children's playground, and some rent-by-the-hour facilities such as a driving range and tennis and squash courts.

This hotel offers a long list of amenities: most of the large, comfortable, contemporary rooms have harbor views, and the year-round outdoor pool, spa, gym, and array of lounges and restaurants are spectacular. If you prefer to cook, the hotel's serviced suites have fully equipped kitchens. Taxis and ferries take you to the heart of town in just a few minutes, and it's a three-minute walk from the Whampoa MTR station. 

Modeled in Victorian style after the Grand Floridian at Florida's Disney resort, this hugely popular resort is beautifully done, from the spacious rooms with balconies overlooking the sea to kids' activities hosted by Disney characters. A sense of whimsy reigns supreme everywhere, including at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, where girls can transform into Disney princesses. Adults can partake of horticulture tours. For adults and kids alike, days begin in the Enchanted Garden Restaurant, where Mickey and his pals appear at a lavish buffet breakfast.

A luxury hotel residence designed for small families in mind, K11 Artus offers ultrastylish accommodations that range from spacious studios to one- to three-bedroom residences to penthouses, all equipped with kitchens, balconies, and modern interiors. Most units---though not all---have floor-to-ceiling windows that offer breathtaking views of Victoria Harbour. There is an infinity pool, though the views are blocked by the surrounding buildings.

Spacious rooms with sweeping views of Hong Kong Island are near the shopping hub along Canton Road and linked to Harbour City's immense shopping complex. The place is especially popular when the hotel hosts its acclaimed German Bierfest celebrations: an upper entrance leads to an open-air terrace (with unsullied harbor views) that serves as a venue for a 23-day-long Oktoberfest, so depending on your fondness for beer and those who swill it, you may want to plan a stay accordingly. The hotel shares its pool and fitness facilities with two other nearby Marco Polo properties.

Tucked away off a narrow street, Pentahotel is deceivingly large, with 32 floors and 695 rooms. At the entrance, there’s a pizza bar on the left, hipster-tastic Hong Kong–inspired murals on the right, and cultural knickknacks showcased throughout. A matrix of escalators carries you up to the first floor “pentalounge” reception, where two game rooms await, as well as the signature eatstreet@pentalounge restaurant, which puts a modern twist on the city’s traditional cha chaan teng diners, with local drinks and street-food dishes like “cart” noodles, milk tea, and egg waffles. The area is a bit out of the way, but it's close to a few tourist attractions, including the Kowloon Walled City Park, Chi Lin Nunnery, and Nan Lian Garden.

The modest guest rooms in this Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre hotel are simply outfitted with attractive modern decor; although many have harbor views, some overlook a sprawling outdoor pool, a driving range, a jogging trail, and a playground that should help keep the kids busy. A popular rendezvous spot for locals and visiting businesspeople, the lobby bar and restaurant offers creative cocktails in the evening.

As part of the massive Grand Century Place complex, Royal Plaza's environment may be overwhelming. The mall is almost always swarming with dense crowds of shoppers, and it's easy to get lost in the maze. Simply but comfortably furnished rooms have views of Lion Rock and the rest of Kowloon, and are surprisingly quiet, with some intelligently laid-out family rooms. It's also home to a couple of good restaurants, including a heaving buffet at Scala and sleek Lion Rock Bar, which has lovely views of the eponymous peak. Just across the street, you'll find a string of Kowloon's best markets: the Bird Market lies at the end of Flower Market Road, and pedestrian overpasses will lead you past the Goldfish Market and into the Ladies Market.