Asian Opulence at Shangri-la Hong Kong Island
The Island Shangri-la Hong Kong isn’t exactly new, in fact it opened way back in 1991, well before I knew what a Shangri-la was. Back then, it was one of Hong Kong’s most exciting and cutting edge hotels and while the world and the city of Hong Kong has moved on considerably this property still remains an ode to classic opulence and class.
To be sure, you’re not going to find many gizmo’s or fancy room tech but what you will find is an old school luxe sensibility that is still quite endearing. You’ll also encounter some of the warmest and most personable service in a hotel anywhere in the world, as they say true classics never get old.
At a towering 56 stories high the hotel has 500 plus guest rooms spread across three main categories, Deluxe, Horizon and Suites. For this trip we opted for the Horizon Club Peak View Room which comes in at 41 squares and features some quite beautiful views of Hong Kong Park and its surrounds with Victoria Peak in the distance.
And this is where you’ll be checking in - the Horizon Club Lounge Members Check In on the 56th Floor.
Staying in the Horizon Club Rooms isn’t exactly the cheapest option but it does come with a whole host of added benefits that go a long way to ensuring that your stay is a great one and ultimately this is where the value lies in making such an investment in the room.
The Horizon Club is also particularly handy if you arrive at the hotel at odd hours as you can immediately settle in and refresh before making your way to your room.
Aside from the added space, you’ll be finding yourself invited to the cocktail hour on the top floor of the hotel in the Club Lounge as well as being able to enjoy snacks and refreshments there 24/7. On top of that, you’ll no doubt enjoy the complimentary breakfast, along with the superior service and luxe toiletries by L'Occitane which you’ll find in your magnificent and very spacious bathroom.
I’ve got a bit of thing for hotel bathrooms and this one is right up there with the best.
When it comes to the Horizon Club Rooms themselves, as you can imagine they are quite large and very well appointed. The overall style and decor is all about chandeliers, silk bed covers and antique lacquered furniture - still it doesn’t necessarily feel old and stuffy.
A writing desk sits close to the window and contains everything you will possibly need for your stay along with some electrical outlets, while a copy of James Hilton’s novel sits bedside along with a little teddy bear. The beds are as always, large and super plush with the kind of pillows that just make you want to stay in bed all day.
Not long after your luggage is delivered, no doubt another delivery will also be made to the room in the form of a welcoming tea, along with a cool refresher towel and some hand crafted chocolates which provides the perfect opportunity to just sit back, relax and take in the views. This is the perfect segue to move into planning the next parts of your trip or to do a little house keeping and get some complimentary dry cleaning done for instance.
If you’re the type that can’t sit still for more than ten minutes then you may even want to go grab a refreshment and explore the Club Lounge a little.
The Horizon Club Lounge is one of the key perks on offer at all of Shangri-la’s hotels worldwide.
It’s a place where you can mingle or relax and read the paper over a coffee while taking in the magnificent views as you graze on the ready supply of hors d'oeuvres. The visual style of this particular lounge is rather stately with its all encompassing regal red wood paneled walls which are offset by a series of large chandeliers, while gold trimmed ornate furniture abounds at almost every turn. A large oil painting of ancient Hong Kong frames the scene which comes across as being a kind of antique French / Asian fusion.
Beyond this area lies a secret roof top garden which is much more colonial in style and sits in stark contrast with its lovely champagne white walls, timber flooring and lush greenery. It is here as the large ceiling fans gently spin, cool drink in hand that you may feel a few steps closer to the rarefied imaginary world depicted in the Lost Horizon.
The is also the perfect spot to gaze out across the bay towards Kowloon.
There are also other places of interest in the hotel, not least of all the main Lobby Lounge where you can have a lovely afternoon tea as the piano player softly serenades guests. It is here that you’ll find a rescued 140-year-old Banyan Tree out the window which reputedly cost over US3 million dollars conserve. Then of course there’s the remarkable and gigantic silk mural that proudly rises 16 stories high from the atrium garden titled The Great Motherland of China. It was created by 40 artists at an art school in Beijing and is the largest painting of its type in the world. And there I was thinking Dubai had the biggest of everything…. Its a rather apt gesture for such a vertical city and the only way to really look at it in any kind of detail is to ride one of the glass elevators up from the 37th Floor.
The hotel also boasts a range of fine dining restaurants from the two Michelin stared French Restaurant Petrus, through to The Oyster Bar and the highly acclaimed Japanese Nadaman, which is the first outside of Japan. There’s also the all day dining Cafe Too which is where the pretty amazing buffet breakfast is served each morning.
One of the great things about the Island Shangri-la’s location is its walking distance proximity to Pacific Place and Hong Kong Park, two places which are definitely worth exploring. There’s actually quite a bit to see at Hong Park including the Hong Kong Visials Art Centre and the Forsgate Conservatory which is filled with birds and rain forest. On the way in from the hotel there’s also the colonial Flagstaff House which is a Museum of Tea Ware but my favorite bit was climbing what seemed like thousands of steps to get to the top of the Vantage Point in the Tai Chi Garden.
My to my surprise, in the plaza area between the hotel and the Marriott, I stumbled across a series of remarkable sculptures by the renowned American Artist Seward Johnson. These life like works have no doubt fooled many a passer by from afar and really are worth seeking out as you stroll the area.
In all, the Island Shangri-La is perfectly positioned as a luxury launch pad to explore the Central region of Hong Kong.
While the setting doesn’t break any new ground in same way that other more contemporary - boutique hotels do, it certainly is a lovely place to spend some time and indulge in a little bit of luxury escapism which is exactly what this hotel delivers in spades.
