Hong Kong



The Experience

This massive hotel has, like Hong Kong itself, been through many refurbishments, which have kept it on the forefront of this city’s very competitive hotel scene. The spacious lobby shows off a rather bombastic face, with marble floors, huge pillars and a massive mural, but the rest of the property feels more intimate than its 700 rooms suggest. Its location, too, has kept it a longtime favorite: Not only is it just a 10-minute walk to lively Tsim Sha Tsui, but it’s just five minutes to a new train station with access to the Chinese mainland in under an hour.

The Rooms

While the rooms were starting to feel their age, a recent revamp has outfitted them with requisite essentials like flat-screen TVs and electronically operated curtains. They start at 450 square feet, a generous size for Hong Kong. And though there are a massive number of rooms, each one has floor-to-ceiling windows with a view of the city lights or Victoria Harbour (and both are equally exciting). Upgrades to the Horizon Club rooms get you only a touch more space: The biggest benefit is an entire-floor lounge where the (substantial and imaginative) mini-buffet is topped up all day long and includes an early evening happy hour.

The Service

The hotel service is like a well-oiled machine with many miles on the clock: A request to find a Guangzhou manufacturing factory is likely to be greeted with the same imperturbability that a club-sandwich order would provoke.

The Highlights

The constant reinvention of the Shangri-La is one of its strengths, but it has so far eschewed the luxury-spa trend, offering up only a minuscule health club, which has a sauna, gym and tiny swimming pool. Instead, cuisine is its strength. While excellent restaurants are nearby, the Kowloon Shang has a couple of wonderful in-house options. The newly opened Italian restaurant, Angelini, has super harbor views, a chef’s table and specialties that include wrapped and baked wild Italian sea bass. And its Cantonese restaurant, Shang Palace, is a huge favorite with locals, which says a lot for its quality.

--Mark Graham

Find Hotel Deals on Yahoo Travel»