Where is the best place to go for the best views in Hong Kong? Hong Kong is famous for its skyline, with thousands of skyscrapers lining along the Victoria Harbour. Many would opt for the Peak, for it's recommended in most travel blogs and books, even the locals. I also thought so before i went to this place which I'm going to recommend you to. But, after the experience, I have to say the best spot offering a sweeping view of Hong Kong is hands down, at the Ritz Carlton Hong Kong.
Ritz Carlton is located on the top floors of the International Commerce Centre (ICC), the tallest building in Hong Kong with 118 floors. The 5-star luxury hotel itself begins from the 103rd floor to 118th floor, with an express and stylish elevator transporting guests to a sky-high world.
HOTEL ROOMS :
The room I stayed in was the Deluxe Victoria Harbour Suite, with 800 Sq ft, it offers a massive modern living room, luxurious bedroom, marble bathroom with a separate bath and rainforest shower and a separate washroom.
The highlight of the whole suite is of course, its view. The floor-to-ceiling window offers a wide degree of the panoramic view of Hong Kong, from the bustling Tsim Sha Tsui, the iconic and colorful Central area to the soul-calming outlying islands with a wide sea view.
The thing I like the most is how I can just spend half of the day in the corner taking in the view, either by laying down on the sofa or doing yoga in front of the window. It almost feels as if I'm on an airplane overlooking the whole landscape, while everything is so small and you get to see how the blue sky is connected to the vast sea, all your troubles now just seem so little.
BATHROOM:
The bathroom of the suite is massive as well, with a spacious bathtub and an elegant designed mirror. Bathroom amenities are provided, but for me, I always go the extra step of bringing my own bath bomb and bath oil to truly utilize the bathroom and immerse myself in a relaxing environment.
Another thing I also like about the design of the bathroom is how the washroom itself is separated in another room with another door and it's accessible from the main entrance of your room. So, even if you are taking a bath and someone needs to use the washroom, they don't need to pass through the bathtub, instead they can go from another door to go into the separate washroom. How thoughtful it is if you are staying with your friends or family!
VIEW FROM THE HOTEL:
Views from the hotel is stunning as well. If your room is facing the harbour side, you can get a glimpse of the city side - Kowloon, when visiting their lounges where you have your breakfast/ afternoon tea. In this case, you would get a 360 degree view of Hong Kong!
SPA:
It's my first time getting a luxurious spa treatment from a five star hotel. The treatment of course is not cheap but the whole experience is divine and I think everyone should at least try once in their life!
I chose their 90 minutes Lava shell body massage, (priced HKD $2100). The lava shells are heated and act like a gentle version of hot stones to relax your body muscle. It is also my first time having lava shells or hot objects on my body! This full body massage is designed to sooth tensed and fatigued muscles and body and to help you to relax and rejuvenate with their therapeutic strokes with essential oil.
The whole experience was relaxing. My masseur was able to make my whole body relaxed with her professional skills. The private massage room offers a nice sea view too, (Although I wasn't able to see much at night as it's just the dark ocean, but who need the view here when your room has everything already!) along with some soft calming music to further elevate the relaxing atmosphere.
What makes this luxurious spa experience stands out is the staff would give you a questionnaire that you can fill out to jot down your massage objective, e.g. relieve tensed shoulder, then your masseur would focus more on that area. They also provide different scent of essential oil for you to choose from to best suit your personal need before your session starts.
RESTAURANT:
One of the most famous, two Michelin-starred Chinese restaurant - Tin Lung Heen, in translation, meaning, Sky Dragon Hub is located on the 102/F of the building. This fine dining restaurant offers traditional Chinese cuisine like dim sum. Here's a selection of what I ate:
Steamed shrimp dumpling with bamboo shoot (4 pieces) HKD $120
The outer translucent layer of this dumpling is of the right texture, not too thick or too thin and is chewy. It's very important that the outer layer isn't sticking to the shrimp and Tin Lung Heen is of course of no disappointment. The shrimp inside is flavourful. It is a light dish to fill your tummy!
Steamed rice roll with shrimp and flying fish roe (6 pieces) HKD $136
This steamed rice roll with shrimp is absolutely silky. With a dip in the soy sauce, it brings out the rich flavour of the shrimp. What's more, an embellishment of flying fish roe on the top adds an interesting twist to the rice roll by introducing a scent of freshness to the dish.
Wok-fried wagyu beef with pearl onion HKD $688
Wagyu! Who doesn't love wagyu. This wok-fried wagyu beef is tantalizing. A soft and tender texture with buttery flavour will engulf your senses and bring satisfaction to your taste buds.
SWIMMING POOL:
The indoor infinity pool is found on the highest floor in Hong Kong - 118/F. Usually swimming pool with cold water puts me off, or would take me 5 minutes to get in! But this swimming pool has an inviting temperature. Swimming here is absolutely unreal as it showcases the aerial view of Victoria Harbour. If you come here during sunset time, you can even see how the sun sets into the horizon, painting the sky with hues of red and orange!
FINAL THOUGHTS
The spectacular view, refined accommodation, luxurious massage and remarkable culinary experience truly sets Ritz Carlton Hong Kong's bar high, if not among the clouds, like it really is (based on how tall it is), it is one of the best luxurious hotels in in Hong Kong.