Description: We might as well start at the top. The Peninsula has long been hailed as one of the finest hotels in the world. Since opening in 1928, the hotel has brought the best of Eastern and Western hospitality together in an atmosphere of timeless grandeur and elegance.
Over the years the original hotel has expanded to 300 rooms and suites. A Peninsula room is spacious and luxurious; a suite, more space and more luxury. All have marble bathrooms with a TV, flat-screen television with satellite channels and in-room movies, CD andDVD players with a DVD library, dual line telephones with voicemail, wired and wireless broadband, in-room fax machine, work desk, lounge chair and safe. Superior rooms start at HK$4200 while deluxe rooms begin at $4400. Suites start at HK$6800 and go right up to a nose-bleeding $68000 for the one bedroom Peninsula Suite.
Apart from luxurious rooms, Peninsula guests can enjoy 24-hour room service, 24-hour valet, same-day laundry and dry cleaning, a great fitness centre with indoor pool and landscaped sun terrace, and a state-of-the-art business centre. For travel from the airport, you can use one of the 14 chauffeur-driven Rolls-Royce extended wheelbase Phantoms for HK$1200 one way or a helicopter to the hotel’s heliport for HK$12000 one way.
Now the restaurants and bars! Gaddi’s is renowned as the finest French restaurant in the East. The food is spectacular and there is live music and dancing in the evenings. Don’t think that the Peninsula is staid and old-worldly. Felix, the spacious rooftop restaurant and bar has a spectacular interior designed by Philippe Starck and the contemporary cuisine is outstanding. In contrast Spring Moon has authentic Cantonese cuisine and selected Chinese teas served in a serene Art Deco setting. The options don’t stop there. Chesa has Swiss dining, Imasa has Japanese gourmet dining in a contemporary ambience and the brand-new Salon de Ning is a "Shanghai Deco" lounge serving Asian-inspired light fare.
I have left the best till last. The Lobby at the Peninsula has been a legendary meeting place that has welcomed travellers for 80 years. I enjoy the traditional afternoon tea whenever I can, even when not staying at the hotel. It is an ideal spot to watch the world go by while listening to live music. Light meals and drinks are available all day. I agree the cost for afternoon tea is high (why wouldn’t it be when you often have to wait 30 minutes before you get a table) but it is a great experience.
The other highlight of the Peninsula is the shopping arcade. It is a place I totally avoid. The best luxury brands are all here including haute couture, jewellery and fine tailoring. Frankly I can’t afford to buy anything here and window shopping is not my scene. Others will be in paradise.
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