Hong Kong



The Experience

Who stays at the priciest hotel in Hong Kong? Mainly CEOs, which seems fitting, since rooms were once prime-space offices. But the new design has removed all traces of those corporate antecedents, replacing it with a minimalist boutique hotel with aspirations to be a little bit funky, a world away from the Mandarin Oriental group's generally conservative style. Offices are still all around, of course, as the hotel is right in the middle of Central District. And when evening comes around, it's only a short stroll to the nightlife zone of Lan Kwai Fong and its lively near-neighbor, Soho.

The Rooms

Rooms are designed for the traveling generation that has decided that the bathroom, after all, is the most important feature (in addition to standard items like a big TV and oversize bed). The cream-colored bathrooms take up to a third of the room space, and come equipped with tubs that make bathing à deux a realistic option. Some are even housed in an enclosed central space to be quirky and different, rather than to offer any practical advantage. Fortunately, the rooms are large overall, starting at a generous 600 square feet; though no matter how fabulous the interiors, there is no disguising the view, or lack of it. Peek out of the window and the vista is of tower blocks, with not so much as a glimpse of the city's most famous sights, the harbor and Victoria Peak.

The Service

This is the hotel group's first attempt at modern, minimalist boutique style, so the lived-in feel, where guests are greeted by name, is impossible. Youthfulness and perkiness are more in evidence than experience and obsequiousness, a tone set by the young female general manager, who counts surfing among her off-duty pastimes.

The Highlights

The new agey theme extends to yoga mats in every room and a cavernous 21,000-square-feet spa that covers two entire floors. The decor and furnishings -- mostly wood, bamboo or stone -- give the space an intimate and relaxed mood (the total antithesis of the chaotic Hong Kong that prevails immediately outside), while treatments are from both East and West. Also mixing and matching is the chef of flagship restaurant Amber: While the culinary world may not yet be ready for breakfast cereal bars with sourdough bread shavings, gourmets will be titillated by signature dishes such as sesame oil-seared yellowfin tuna cubes with crispy chicken skin.

-- Mark Graham

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