Few cities rival the visual drama of Hong Kong, where ferries crisscross Victoria Harbour, bamboo scaffolding climbs 60-story towers and green ridges linger on the horizon. It’s a city where urbanity collides with nature at every turn — and the best stays put those scenes at center stage.
Just in time for autumn’s clear skies and cooler temperatures, we’ve rounded up six luxury hotels that deliver unforgettable panoramas from guest rooms, restaurants, spas and pools.
With soaring vertical lines, wraparound windows and a prized waterfront location, Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star Rosewood Hong Kong’s suites are perfectly positioned for dreamy vistas. In a Grand Harbour Balcony Suite, you can sink into a plush patio chair and watch the Star Ferry skim across Victoria Harbour. Come nightfall, this same vantage point gives you front-row seats to the city’s light show — and on festive occasions like Chinese New Year and National Day, you’ll catch dazzling fireworks displays illuminating the skyline.
Not all the glimpses come via the city’s iconic waterway, and we love the variety. For instance, the Kowloon Peak View Suites offer a dramatic shift in perspective, gazing north toward the Kowloon mountain range, where Lion Rock stands proud amid the city’s elbow-to-elbow towers. Meanwhile, the Kowloon Bay View Suites angle east toward the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal, capturing the industrial edge of the city, the pearlescent Kai Tak Sports Park and slices of the seascape — a unique three-in-one experience.
The suite stays include Manor Club access, where sunset calls for drinks on the 40th-floor terrace. But even without club privileges, the scenery doesn’t disappoint. The hotel’s infinity pool overlooks the eastern side of the harbor and city, while dining venues like CHAAT, The Legacy House, BluHouse and Bayfare Social serve food that pairs wonderfully with the terraces’ knockout views.
At the western edge of the Kowloon peninsula, step into one of the world’s highest hotels. Set across the 102nd to 118th floors of the International Commerce Centre, Five-Star The Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong peers for miles in every direction. From this height, about 1,600 feet above sea level, you may find yourself eyeing passing clouds or marveling at Lego-like towers wedged between the mountains.
Whether you’re staying in a Deluxe Room or the palatial Ritz-Carlton Suite, you’ll enjoy epic panoramas — be that of Kowloon’s cityscape and graceful slopes to the north or the iconic Hong Kong Island skyline to the south. For an exceptional vantage point, we’d go for the Deluxe Victoria Harbour Suite, where broad panes frame the water’s heroic expanse.
The vistas continue across the Club Lounge and dining venues — including the Five-Star Tin Lung Heen and Four-Star Tosca di Angelo — which overlook the waterfront, skyline and rolling hills rising behind. At the Five-Star spa on the 116th floor, unwind with a view in one of the 11 treatment suites, the relaxation lounge or an indoor pool with in-water loungers right up against the double-height windows.
And two floors up, you’ll find Ozone. As one of the highest rooftop bars in the world, this futuristic space pairs a moody blue glow with inventive cocktails, shareable small plates and live DJ sets. Whether indoors or out on the rooftop, it’s the ultimate spot to sip a drink while gazing over Hong Kong’s electric nightscape.
While The Ritz-Carlton takes you sky-high, Regent Hong Kong offers a different perspective — low and close, right above the water. Built on pylons over Victoria Harbour, the hotel’s angular architecture, designed by Hong Kong-born architect Chi Wing Lo, maximizes the visual impact from every floor. The result is a sense of proximity to the water that’s rare in a city known for its verticality.
Inside, the majority of guest rooms and suites have a full or partial view of the famed waterway, including entry-level rooms with serene looks from both the bed and the Oasis bathrooms, so called for their Zen stone design and deep Japanese tubs. For an even more immersive stay, opt for a Corner Suite or one of the Signature suites — the latter of which provide expansive private terraces and uninterrupted vistas from your whirlpool or plunge pool.
In the Corner Suite – Harbourview, light floods through floor-to-ceiling glass that frames the harbor’s shifting moods: quiet mornings when tugboats glide across glassy water, golden-hour reflections on mirrored towers and the kaleidoscopic Symphony of Lights each evening. It’s all visible from the window-hugging daybeds, your king-sized bed or even the sculptural circular tub.
Downstairs, the Lobby Lounge greets you with three-story windows, ideal for afternoon tea or cocktails during the light show. At Qura Bar, sip creative pours (like the citrusy “Symmetry” served in a graceful coupe) amid a salon-style setting full of vintage furniture and floor-to-ceiling windows. And for meals with a view, Lai Ching Heen serves beautiful Cantonese dishes, Nobu Hong Kong perfects Japanese-Peruvian cuisine, Harbourside does a roaring buffet and The Steak House grills up premium aged steaks — all with the shimmering skyline as a backdrop.
Over on Hong Kong Island, you can enjoy all the best scenery — harbor, peak, downtown or all of the above — at Four-Star Island Shangri-La, Hong Kong. Rising 56 stories above the city, this recently renovated hotel delivers a taste of contemporary Hong Kong luxury with tapestry-like wall coverings, modern chinoiserie-style furniture and handcrafted details around every corner.
But, of course, you’ll gravitate toward those soaring windowpanes. In a Premier Harbour View Suite, for instance, you can stretch out on a daybed tucked right next to the sea. But the real showstopper is the graceful Shangri-La Suite. Here, the design sprawls across a harbor-facing dining room, living area, bedroom and spa-like bathroom, complete with window seats and a dramatic, mirrored marble bathtub.
Even during typhoon season, which peaks from July to September, the sights are mesmerizing. You might even witness one of Hong Kong’s dramatic summer storms whipping across the harbor, turning the water into a theater of wind and motion, from your suite.
For a breathtaking dining experience, Four-Star Restaurant Petrus is the place to be. Set way up on the top floor, the regal French restaurant delivers nearly 270-degree views stretching from Central to Wan Chai and across to Tsim Sha Tsui.
The Murray, Hong Kong, a Niccolo Hotel
It’s easy to argue that the best views in Hong Kong are of Victoria Harbour. But perspectives that reveal the city’s many layers — thickets of high-rises, pockets of leafy parks and Victoria Peak’s broad shoulders — can be just as captivating.
That’s why we love the vantage points from Four-Star The Murray. At this 1960s landmark reimagined by Foster + Partners, one side of the hotel overlooks the canopies of Hong Kong Park and the nearby botanical gardens; the other faces the high-rise drama of Central’s skyline with a sliver of the water for good measure. The architecture plays a role, too — recessed, angled windows boost energy efficiency while softening the light and revealing unexpected scenery as the day unfolds.
For the greenest sights, book an aptly named Park Suite, where picture windows frame a sea of treetops. Another great option is the Explorer Suite, a corner gem that delivers the best of both worlds: from the living area and bedroom, it’s all emerald canopies; from the ovoid tub, you can spy architectural icons like the HSBC Main Building.
The cherry on top? Popinjays, the 26th-floor rooftop bar and restaurant with a 270-degree terrace that sweeps from Victoria Harbour to the peak and across the skyline — a real treat come sunset, when pastel light washes over the city’s steel and glass grid.
Occupying prime real estate on the Central waterfront, the recently renovated Five-Star Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong offers uninterrupted peeks of the water that linger in your mind. The Deluxe Harbour View Rooms make the most of the prime address, with oversized windows framing the namesake waterway, Kowloon’s shimmering neon skyline and the toothy ridges beyond.
For a scene-stealer, the Superior Harbour View Suite — there’s just one per floor — is cleverly designed with the bed facing the wall-to-wall glass. Simply press the bedside button to draw the curtains and let your morning unfold alongside the tranquil waterway. When you want all-out luxury, try the Chairman Suite, where every corner — living room, dining area, bedroom or bar — faces stratospheric towers and arresting water scenes.
Beyond the guest rooms, the sixth-floor infinity pool appears to spill into the harbor, with the nightly light show and seasonal fireworks visible from a side angle. On the same floor, select treatment rooms at the Five-Star spa spoil guests with waterfront panoramas, including the Aqua Suite and its soaking tub.
Mealtime is just as dramatic. From French fine dining at Five-Star Caprice to Cantonese at Lung King Heen to inventive cocktails at Argo, nearly every venue is designed to show off the city’s beauty.
