Hong Kong - The Peninsula

The Peninsula Hong Kong basked for many years in the reputation of being the world’s finest luxury hotel.

Any establishment to have enjoyed such prolonged adulation risks becoming a bit too big for its boots!

Not so, The Peninsula Hong Kong.

Start with the Rolls Royce pick up from the airport. (The fleet has recently been updated).  Where else can you arrive at a hotel with the style of a legendary Bond villain?

Being part of the American Express “Fine Hotels and Resorts” programme means that Platinum and Centurion Amex card holders can benefit from the usual rates, upgrades and perks.  We have stayed here on a number of occasions and Amex have never failed us.

As the hotel is on the Kowloon side, harbour view rooms and suites are at a massive premium and there are not particularly good Amex deals available for these.  However “City view” rooms (which means looking over the YMCA or other equally unappealing parts of Kowloon) are where the Amex deals are best.

2,295HKD (approx 200 UKP) should, with the Amex upgrade, secure you a large very well equipped room with bath and walk in shower.  Some hotels would describe it as a junior suite.  Toiletries are the usual Peninsula branded bottles which look suspiciously like Molton Brown.  Unusually, the TV has a separate auxiliary Scart socket which enables you to easily plug in remote portable devices such as an Archos video box.

Breakfast is a buffet which is up to standard but not out of the ordinary.  Afternoon tea is a Peninsula institution and is included in the Amex deal. It's nothing to get excited about. The queues for tables can be long and it’s simply the sandwiches, scones and cakes you would expect.  Don’t rush back for it.

The 4pm late check out can be a godsend depending upon the time of your onward flight.

Felix restaurant (reviewed separately) and bar are interesting.  However, the bar at Aqua (almost next door) is better, although we found the Aqua restaurant to be very disappointing!

In summary, if you are on a one or two night stay in HK, The Peninsula is a safe bet and certainly worth visiting once.  The biggest issue most travellers seem to have with the Pen is that it is on the wrong side of the harbour.  Next time we will try out the newly refurbished Mandarin Oriental!

The Peninsula

Kowloon

Hong Kong

+852 2920 2888