International hotel review

Hong Kong’s Rosewood

WHO STAYS? High-end travellers, special occasion guests, business travellers with mega expense accounts.

HOW BIG? 413 keys

COST From $HK4800 (about PGK2100) + 10 per cent surcharge.

CHECK IN 2pm CHECK out Midday

Highlights Big rooms with views stretching from Causeway Bay across Victoria Harbour to East Tsim Sha Tsui, polished and attentive staff, impeccable art, design and luxury detail.

NEAR BY It’s right on Victoria Harbour, which is strolling distance along the waterfront Avenue of Stars to the Star Ferry terminal. New K11 Musea, a world-class art and culture-led retail destination, is next door and opens in September.

Wi-Fi: Fee for Wi-Fi: TV: Air conditioners in room: Ceiling fan in room: Business centre: Gym: Room service: Swimming pool: Free airport transfers: Hotel arranges tours: Breakfast included in room charge:

LOCATION

The new hotel, in Tsim Sha Tsui on Hong Kong’s Kowloon side, is as close as it gets to Victoria Harbour with only the Avenue of Stars overwater promenade sitting between the 65-storey building and the water.

the place

It has ‘Hong Kong’s best hotel’ written all over it and probably will for some time. Owned and developed by generations of the Cheng family, this opulent hotel has been designed with legacy and longevity in mind. Quality fittings, attention to detail, fastidious taste and a fit-out that feels more like a contemporary gallery than a hotel imbues the place with aesthetic opulence.

ROOMS

There are four room categories, all generously proportioned at 53 square metres, and five suite categories, which range from 118 to 174 square metres. Choose from north-facing Kowloon Peak views or, for more coin, be gobsmacked by south-facing Victoria Harbour and neon-lit city skyline scenery. All rooms and suites have curated collections of books, art, furniture and fittings, gourmet mini-bars, twin marble bathrooms and basins, and walk-in robes. The lifts on each floor open onto large communal salons. Pour yourself a drink, relax in a tub chair, flick through a magazine, talk to other guests.

FOOD AND DRINK

The Legacy House is an informal but high-end Chinese restaurant on the fifth floor with a menu inspired by the cuisine of rural Shunde in Guangdong Province, known as the cradle of Cantonese cuisine. Sup on exquisite traditional dishes such as stir-fried noodle made from rolled fish with bean sprouts and mushroom, or opt for crowd favourites such as Peking duck, which is carved at the table. On the lobby level, Holt’s Cafe is a fabulous eatery and tearoom modelled on the grand cafes of Europe. The Butterfly Room hosts exquisite afternoon teas while the Darkside bar has daily jazz muso sessions, whiskey and cigar collections and a decadent chocolate bar.

WHAT GUESTS LIKE

“There is so much detail and care put into every private and public space in the hotel. The pool, gym, club house are all extremely sumptuous with great views.” – TripAdvisor