InterContinental Hong Kong

The constant activity in this iconic Kowloon waterfront lobby belies the Zen calm of the guest rooms here, many with sublime Victoria Harbour views.

• Watching the Symphony of Lights show over a cocktail
• Victoria Harbour views from every dining outlet, the lobby and most guestrooms
• Super Harbour View Rooms with Patio turns even a business trip into a tanning opportunity

Designed around the principles of feng shui, the Kowloon InterContinental is best known for its unequaled views of the harbor. Primarily a business hotel the property boasts slick service and a range of excellent restaurants that cater to all tastes. Spoon and Nobu are its two flagship dining spots, each with grand vistas of the ever-busy harbor and down the winding staircase from the triple-height lobby the Steak House offers what must be Hong Kong’s largest salad bar, enormous American strip steaks and a stupendous chocolate tart. The highly rated Cantonese restaurant Yan Toh Heen is popular with locals.

All 503 guestrooms and 87 suites here are generously proportioned, well-equipped with modern technology and successfully confer a sense of place without feeling too kitschy. There are nine Superior Harbor View Rooms with patios on the 3rd floor, which offer guests the indulgence of a harbor-facing deck, with cushy loungers for resort-like respite amidst Hong Kong’s madness. Serious spenders should consider the Presidential Suite, a pleasure palace with a duplex living room with two-story windows overlooking Victoria Harbour. Outdoors, there is a wrap-around terrace with an infinity swimming pool and Jacuzzi. Guests of the suite also get a 24-hour personal butler service, round-trip airport limousine service in a Phantom VI Rolls Royce, Bentley or Mercedes limousine plus access to the hotel’s executive lounge.

One bonus for business travelers staying here is proximity to the train station, a five-minute walk away, which gives direct access to Shenzhen, at the China border. Another notable amenity is the Club InterContinental Executive Lounge — with all the freebies of a typical corporate level lounge, doesn’t require you to stay in a corporate level room. Those uninterested in access simply sign up and pay a fee for the privileges.

Rock stars and those seeking similar treatment will be most comfortable in the ultra indulgent Presidential Suite while the other accommodations will more than suffice for travelers with business on Kowloon side and those who wish to gaze upon Hong Kong’s sparkling skyline.