Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong
One of the best perks for business travelers is a hotel executive club lounge. The exclusive spots offer everything from champagne brunches and dim sum to garment pressing and personalized business cards. Whether you’re traveling on group business or just want to treat yourself after a grueling day of meetings, here’s where to do it in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Singapore.
Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong
The 45th-floor Executive Club Lounge at this Five-Star hotel offers sweeping views of Victoria Harbour and Hong Kong’s iconic skyline. Snag one of the 11 club-level rooms or 54 suites and you can visit the 24-hour lounge for a hot breakfast buffet, all-day snacks and drinks, and a light buffet supper with hot and cold stations. The food isn’t an afterthought here; expect standout dishes like cured salmon with smoked caviar served in a martini glass and foie gras terrine in mini brioche. Don’t miss the lounge’s cocktails — watching the sun set over Hong Kong’s towering skyscrapers is even better with a martini in hand on the terrace. Other executive lounge perks include express check-in and checkout, garment pressing, complimentary local calls and one hour of free use of the board room. There are no computers in the Executive Club Lounge, but the business center is open 24 hours. Plus, as a club-level guest, you can take advantage of round-the-clock business and concierge services.
China World Summit Wing Beijing
China World Summit Wing Beijing
In China’s capital city, this Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star hotel treats all guests like club-level members. If you’re staying in one of the hotel’s 249 rooms and 29 suites, you’ll gain entry to a lounge perched on the building’s 64th floor that affords bird’s-eye views of the surrounding Central Business District. Dubbed the Resident’s Foyer, the lounge offers plush couches, club chairs, a well-stocked library and telescopes set up by the windows so you can fully appreciate the vista. Open 24 hours, the lounge supplies soft drinks, coffee, tea and fresh fruit throughout the day, as well as other refreshments served three times daily. Beyond 24-hour secretarial and concierge services, all guests at China World Summit Wing Beijing also have complimentary access to two computer stations with Internet, a scanner and a printer, and can book the meeting room for free for up to two hours per day.
The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore
The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore gets a lot of kudos for its 4,200-piece contemporary art collection — featuring heavyweights such as Pop pioneer Andy Warhol, painter/printmaker Frank Stella and glass master Dale Chihuly — but its business lounge is also a masterpiece. The sunny Ritz-Carlton Club Lounge sits on the 32nd floor, the Four-Star hotel’s highest, and features Italian marble, hand-woven carpets and Indonesian teak wood floors. The space is a hive of activity for guests in the 100 club-floor rooms and suites because of its daily events. Head to the lounge to enjoy a Sunday champagne brunch, partake in a wine tasting or sit for the resident caricaturist (and take your picture home). If your caricature or the hotel’s cool art inspires you, duck into the lounge’s Drawing Room. Easels, paper and pencils are set up next to windows that look out over Marina Bay. Of course, the lounge also provides a spread of refreshments, including hot and cold canapés, a morning egg station, cheese, fruit, coffee, tea, juice, wine and desserts. A classic afternoon tea is served daily (2:30 to 4:30 p.m.), as are hors d’oeuvres and cocktails from 5 to 8 p.m., and chocolate pralines and cordials from 8:30 to 10:30 p.m. Aside from the treats, club-level guests can check in and out in their room or in the lounge as well as enjoy free Internet access, personalized stationery and business cards, laundry on arrival, garment pressing and limousine service in the Marina Bay area.
Four Seasons Hotel Pudong, Shanghai
The executive rooms at this Five-Star property are sprinkled throughout the Shanghai hotel, but head to the 35th floor for the chic, gray-filled Executive Club. It’s a prime position for peering out at the surrounding cityscape, including the futuristic Oriental Pearl Tower. In addition to staff trained to anticipate your every need, the lounge gives you an exclusive check-in/check-out desk, concierge and business service access from 6 a.m. to midnight, garment pressing, complimentary Internet access and in-room calls, and one hour’s use of the board room. Breakfast and all-day refreshments, including a delightful afternoon tea, are served in the executive lounge, as are cocktails and canapés from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. If you didn’t manage to snap up one of the executive rooms, you can still receive a lounge day pass for about $25 for kids ages 6 to 10, $148 for adults and $198 for two people (all prices exclude service charge).
Island Shangri-La, Hong Kong
Reserve one of the 131 club-floor rooms or suites and you can use the Five-Star hotel’s 56th-floor Horizon Club lounge, a spacious, elegant and private place to entertain clients or kick back after a long day of meetings. Plus, it offers plenty of perks: The harbor-facing meeting room can be booked for two hours daily, laptops are loaned out, a private check-in and checkout takes place in your room, you’re guaranteed a late 4 p.m. checkout and a club concierge will make any travel arrangements and provide basic translation services. With business travelers in mind, Horizon Club puts out an ample breakfast spread that includes hot and cold stations offering cold cuts, pastries, fresh fruit, yogurt, cereal and — a must-have when in Hong Kong — dim sum. Chocolates, cookies, finger sandwiches, scones and drinks are available all day, while cocktails, champagne and canapés are served nightly 6 to 8 p.m. Before going to a meeting, take advantage of the hotel’s shoe-shining and suit-pressing services and coffee or tea delivery with wake-up call. For a retreat from the city, relax in the lounge’s adjoining roof garden. Furnished with Dedon pieces, it’s a lovely, secluded place to take in the view.
Photos Courtesy of Four Seasons and Shangri-La International Hotel Management Ltd
