The Peninsula Hong Kong 
May 2016
by Kate McLean

I was fortunate to recently experience an amazing trip to Hong Kong hosted by Peninsula and Cathay Pacific staying at The Peninsula Hong Kong

The trip over to Hong Kong flying Cathay Pacific was great and the business class flat beds made for a very comfortable journey.  When we arrived, we were met by representatives from The Peninsula for our Rolls Royce transfers to the hotel. What a way to arrive! Highly recommended and we got the chance to catch up with our messages and emails on the way thanks to the in-car wifi.

Created in 1928, and Hong Kong’s oldest hotel, the legendary Peninsula offers a blend of Eastern and Western hospitality in an atmosphere of classical grandeur and timeless elegance. While staying here you can explore the many antiques and historical artifacts on display around the hotel.

The Peninsula is located in Kowloon on the waterfront. I loved the area and it’s local colour and feel. It was great to wander the busy streets, and I found some lovely gardens about 10 minutes from the hotel full of locals doing their morning Tai Chi and gossiping! It was wonderful to experience.

My room at the Peninsula was beautiful – a Grand Deluxe Harbour View Room which had been recently refurbished, with an amazing view over the harbour to Hong Hong Island. You can see the view in the first photo above.

The hotel has a wonderful array of restaurants and we were treated to some really amazing meals.

Our first night we had dinner at Gappi’s, the French restaurant with a lovely set menu for our group with sensational wines. We had a lunch and a dinner at Spring Moon, the hotel’s Cantonese restaurant and our last night included dinner at Felix, the hotel’s 28th floor Philippe Starck designed restaurant. From here we had a fabulous view over to the nightly 8pm light and laser show “A Symphony of Lights”. It’s been named the ‘World’s Largest Permanent Light and Sound Show’ by Guinness World Records with coloured lights, laser beams and searchlights performing to synchronised to music and narration (although we couldn’t hear this from the restaurant, you can experience the full spectacle outside on the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront). Again the food was amazing – a real fine dining experience.

A real highlight of my time at the Peninsula was a dim sum cooking demonstration in Spring Moon. Lots of fun and wonderful to learn from some of the best dims sum chefs to be found!

While the hotel is located in Kowloon, it’s a short ferry ride across the harbour to Hong Kong Island. The island has a very different feel to Kowloon, it’s pretty chaotic but I really enjoyed walking up and down the hilly streets around Poho with lovely little boutique shops, and wonderful bars and restaurants. You can also find street produce markets as you wander. While you’re here look out for Vickie’s Shoes – it’s an expat haunt with a great selection of shoes for the larger western foot at very reasonable prices. They will also make shoes to order (and to your size) and will ship home for you as well.

I really loved Hong Kong. The locals were really friendly and the city was busy but did not feel pushy. I’d highly recommend Hong Kong as a destination in itself, but it would also make a terrific stopover on the way to Europe especially if you are flying with Cathay Pacific.

Mary Rossi Travel is one of a select group of travel agents who have been awarded membership of The Peninsula Penclub. This means that our clients are able to access wonderful benefits like Peninsula Time with flexible check-in and check-out times, upgraded welcome in-room amenities and a welcome note, full daily set breakfast for up to 2, room upgrade to the next category upon arrival (subject to availability and eligible room types), unlimited in-room wireless internet access and more.

Please contact me if you would like more information or would like to book a stay at the Peninsula in Hong Kong by email or phoning me on 9957 4511