Kowloon, China
The Peninsula Hong Kong

Detailed Review

First opened in 1928 and now one of the world’s legendary great hotels, The Peninsula is located on Victoria Harbour with unparalleled views of Hong Kong Island, and in the heart of Kowloon and its shopping, dining and entertainment district.

Voted the “Best Hotel in the World” by the Zagat Survey for 2001 and 2002, together with countless other honours and awards, The Peninsula is currently celebrating its 78th anniversary.

The 300 luxurious rooms and suites feature Hong Kong’s most spectacular views, together with the most advanced technological innovations and facilities, including CD and DVD players, fax machines, marble bathrooms with televisions, electronic safes and executive desks with dataports, multi-voltage universal connectors and complimentary high-speed broadband internet access.

Eight restaurants offer French, Chinese, Swiss, Japanese and Continental cuisines respectively, while The Lobby features the famous English afternoon tea. Felix, the spectacular rooftop restaurant designed by Philippe Starck, serves Pacific Rim cuisine.

Other facilities comprise a Roman-style swimming pool, sun deck, a hairdressing salon, and The Peninsula Spa by ESPA which spans over 12,000-square-foot and houses 14 treatment rooms including two VIP suites.

Transportation choices include a Rolls-Royce fleet and helicopter for sightseeing trips and airport transfers from the hotel’s helipads. The Peninsula Academy offers residential and à la carte courses in Chinese culture, cooking and pampering Peninsula-style, while The Peninsula shopping arcade is a shopper’s delight, featuring the world’s most exclusive brands.

Long renowned for its impeccable service and outstanding attention to detail, The Peninsula remains, in every sense, the ultimate Hong Kong experience.

Press Quotes

"Built in 1928, the "Grand Old Lady of Hong Kong" lives up to expectations. From the minute you arrive, you become part of a history of excellence in service that is hard to find elsewhere. It offers every possible modern technological convenience without losing its charm and standing as the centre of both social and business life in Hong Kong." Telegraph 07

Independent Reviews

The Peninsula
By Caroline Major

Every great lady has a history. At 75 years old, the Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong is no exception, intimately involved in the history of Hong Kong. "The Pen’s significance lies in the fact that it is the last remaining truly historical hotel in Hong Kong. It has witnessed riots, war and occupation - the British surrender to the Japanese on Christmas Night 1941 was signed there - as well as tremendous social and economic change in Hong Kong over the past seventy-five years." Jason Wordie, Hong Kong historian. At the Pen, as she’s affectionately known around town, silver teapots and flatware are shined to perfection and dimpled smooth from their years of service. Silver domes warming food on its journey from the kitchen to the table ceremoniously reveal peninsula club sandwiches alongside fresh lemonade and other colonial teatime treats. Afternoon teas with frothy milk and bespecticled waiters swirl in sync with the string quartet. Strauss wraps around the neo-classical cherubs and columns and amongst the palms in gilded urns while elegant Chinese sip tea and chatter. With seven restaurants, and extended afternoon tea, there is always a reason to meet at the Pen. Upstairs, the rooms are lavishly appointed, and much more than comfortable. For a real treat, splurge on a deluxe corner suite for floor to ceiling views of Hong Kong harbour from your Jacuzzi bath-tub, and while you’re there, phone a friend, champagne firmly in hand to describe the sunset. Afterward, sharpen the telescope for a different kind of entertainment. Know also, that if you really want to treat someone special, their granddaddy suite, ‘The Peninsula’, was recently named the most decadent hotel suite in a global survey by Elite Traveller. For indulgence, take a helicopter from the rooftop on a scenic flight over the city, or just to the airport. Dine at Gaddis, the 50year old French restaurant where even the lemons are flown in from France, or take some stress off in the Clarins spa, specializing in treatments for men. 2003 is the time to visit this Grand Dame. She’s celebrating her 75th birthday and has some excellent value packages. I felt right at home here, and bore a huge and joyous smile my whole stay.

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• The Peninsula Hotel
  By Daniel Scott

  As you first enter the cool honey-hued lobby of the Peninsula Hotel, Hong Kong, to the accompaniment of Vivaldi from the string quintet and raised eyebrows from westerners sipping Darjeeling, it is hard to escape the impression that you have come to clean the chimneys. Yet, at this original hotel in the Peninsula chain, thanks partly to the beaming staff, it doesn’t take long to feel both comfortable and equally convinced that, for once, the hype about the hotel is close to the truth. Settle into an upper level suite and the views - through the panoramic windows - of the bathtub of Hong Kong harbour are like a Maxvision film seen from above. The room itself seems like the embodiment of the territory’s “can-do” ethos: this bedside button closes the drapes, this one dims the lighting and that one calls the valet. The suite’s third television set is positioned in a waterproof bathside panel, distracting you from the developing circus of lights that defines Hong Kong by night, as you marinate in the jacuzzi. Downstairs, the Roman-style indoor pool tiled in vivid blue and surrounded by columns beckons, while, by day, the broad outdoor deck (with views of course) invites you to absorb some of Hong Kong’s humidity, while virtually having your brow mopped with cooling towelettes by pool attendants. Upstairs, at the 28th floor Felix restaurant and bar, you fully expect to meet beings with odd-shaped heads, so spacey is Philippe Starck’s aluminium design. In reality, the Felix is usually wall-to-wall with aspirant local Chuppies, international models, airline types and cocktail-swilling ex-pats. The Peninsula also wins the prestigious “hotel toilets with the best view” award for the adjacent urinals placed up against a wall of sheer glass!

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• The Peninsula
  By Michelle Jana Chan

  Think perfect Eastern service laced with the best of British traditions, like the green Rolls Royce from Chep Lap Kok to the hotel. The deluxe harbor view suites in the tower offer ceiling-to-floor glass on two sides framing the most beautiful harbor in the world. Lie back in the Jacuzzi bath, sipping steaming jasmine tea and watch the Star Ferry chug across the harbor.

  © Travel Intelligence. All rights reserved

• "A true Hong Kong grand dame of spacious proportions and scampering bellboys in pillbox hats."

  Kowloon classic with great views of the Hong Kong skyline from across the water, the Peninsula has lost none of its gloss since Secession. Great food and extensive facilities make it the top choice here, at the usual prices.