What: You’ll be hard pressed to find a hotel better suited to comfortably accommodate both business and leisure travelers than the posh Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong. If you’re on a working vacation—or just want to treat yourself—an impressive Executive Club upgrade includes use of a private boardroom, daily clothes pressing, personal concierge service and access to a classy 45th-floor lounge where breakfast is served in the morning, cocktails in the evening, and snacks and beverages 24 hours a day. Families with kids will love the hotel’s children’s program and special touches like milk and cookies at night, while the views will impress even the most discerning guests. Every room here has floor-to-ceiling windows with postcard-worthy vistas of either Victoria Peak or Victoria Harbour.
Where: The contemporary hotel has 399 rooms and is located within the International Finance Centre on the banks of dazzling Victoria Harbour. It’s a short walk through Hong Kong’s buzzing Central District to the trendy bars and restaurants packed into heaving nightlife hot spots Lan Kwai Fong and WynHo. The efficient subway system and piers for the world-famous Star Ferry can be accessed from the connected IFC mall, an upscale lifestyle complex with a gourmet grocery store, movie theater, more than 40 restaurants and cafés, and four floors of great shopping.
When: Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong opened in 2005, and earned its first Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star award in 2009. And with its stellar accommodations, there’s not a bad time to stay at this luxe hotel. The two outdoor pools (a lap pool and an infinity-edge pool) are heated and open year-round—and feature classical music piped in underwater—but Hong Kong’s notoriously unpredictable weather could put a damper on poolside cocktail plans. If you’re looking for pristine weather, plan a trip between September and mid-December, when humidity is low, temperatures are mild and skies are mostly clear.
Why: Not one but two of the city’s most decorated chefs flex their culinary muscles at Four Seasons Hong Kong. You’ll feel like a runway model as you parade down the illuminated catwalk entryway at famed French eatery Caprice, where, in an open kitchen, executive chef Vincent Thierry and his craft team prepare decadent plates of specialties such as langoustine ravioli and Larzac suckling pig. And at the newly opened Caprice Bar, you can savor a pre-dinner glass of vino (the bar specializes in unique French wines) in an exclusive, yet welcoming setting. At Lung King Heen, executive chef Chan Yan Tak’s daily dim sum lunches—seasonal feasts of everything from steamed sea bass dumplings to baked scallop puffs—enjoy legendary status among locals and tourists alike.
But it’s not all about the food at this Hong Kong hotel; a trip to Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star The Spa at Four Seasons Hong Kong is a must. With its long list of pampering treatments ranging from detoxifying mud baths to fully customized massages, it’s no surprise that The Spa at Four Seasons Hong Kong has stayed nearly fully booked since opening in September 2005. You’ll have no trouble unwinding beforehand in the immaculate locker rooms that include a eucalyptus-scented steam room, bubbling vitality pool and plush relaxation lounge. If that’s not enough, let the unrivaled views of the cityscape and Victoria Harbour through the oversized windows in the treatment rooms ease you into bliss.
Photos Courtesy of Four Seasons
