Hong Kong: Accommodations

Hong Kong Upscale Hotels: Conrad International Hong Kong 
Pacific Place, 88 Queensway, Hong Kong Island. Admiralty MTR. Rooms: 509, including 46 suites. Rates: single from HK$2,950, double from HK$3,150, suite from HK$5,600. Credit cards. Towering above the Admiralty banking and business district, the Conrad sits within Hong Kong's most exclusive hotel neighborhood. With views of the harbor and the Peak, the rooms are luxurious, and the hotel's restaurants, especially Nicholinis and the Garden Café, are perennial favorites among both locals and visitors. Facilities include a heated outdoor pool and a business center, and rooms feature local, satellite and cable TV. 

Hong Kong Upscale Hotels: The Park Lane 
310 Gloucester Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong Island. Causeway Bay MTR. Rooms: 760, plus 35 suites. Rates: single/double from HK$1,880, suite from HK$4,280. Credit cards. My company sets me up at this property each time I visit Hong Kong for work.  This is one of my favorite hotels.  Situated next to Causeway Bay's Victoria Park, The Park Lane is the ideal place to stay if you want shops, shops and more shops. Rooms have great views across the park and the harbor, and the lively bars are popular with local revelers. 

Hong Kong Upscale Hotels: Sheraton Hong Kong Hotel & Towers 
20 Nathan Road, Kowloon Tsim Sha Tsui MTR. Rooms: 780. Rates: single from HK$2,300, double from HK$2,500, suite from HK$3,900. Credit cards. I stayed at this property during my first visit to Hong Kong.  It's an ideal location for those who wish to stay on Kowloon and get the best view of Victoria Harbor and Hong Kong skyline from their room.  A chain hotel in the heart of the Nathan Road shopping area, this is clean and big, and although it lacks charm and humor it has some great restaurants and its bars are always lively. There's a business center, and rooms feature air conditioning, fax and butler service. 

Hong Kong Upscale Hotels: The Peninsula 
Salisbury Road, Kowloon. Tsim Sha Tsui MTR. Rooms: 300. Rates: single/double from HK$2,900, suite from HK$5,200. Credit cards. For sheer luxury and opulence, `The Pen' is the place to stay. Hong Kong's grade dame of hotels and the city's most obvious monument to colonial grandeur, it exudes history, and boasts the best views of any hotel in Hong Kong and the grandest of dining areas. Afternoon tea in its lobby café is an institution. One of the many perks of staying at the Pen is the famous fleet of beautiful British racing green Rolls-Royces it dispatches to pick up guests. 

Hong Kong Upscale Hotels: The Regent Hong Kong 
18 Salisbury Road, Kowloon. Tsim Sha Tsui MTR. Rooms: 602. Rates: single/double from HK$2,600, suite from HK$4,650. Credit cards. In the best location in Tsim Sha Tsui - right on the harbor front, with a stunning view of Hong Kong's skyline - the Regent approaches the splendor of the Peninsula but has the functionality of the chain hotels. Its bars and restaurants are notable mainly for the views they offer. Rooms have sunken jacuzzi tubs and steam-showers. 

Hong Kong Upscale Hotels: The Ritz-Carlton 
3 Connaught Road, Central, Hong Kong Island. Central MTR. Rooms: 216, including 27 suites and 2 Presidential suites. Rates: single/double from HK$1,650, suite from HK$2,850. Credit cards. As the name suggests, this is one of the grand hotels of Hong Kong. Sitting with quiet elegance in the middle of the island's hotel row, it's not as flashy as its neighbors but in terms of the quality of both rooms and service is superior. Hotel services include an outdoor pool, a jacuzzi, a gym, steam rooms and a sauna, and rooms feature Italian marble bathrooms and 24-hour in-room dining. 

Hong Kong Upscale Hotels: Grand Hyatt 
1 Harbor Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong Island.Wan Chai MTR. Rooms: 572. Rates: single from HK$2,900, double from HK$3,150, suite from HK$5,500. Credit cards. Part of the giant Wan Chai waterfront complex, which also includes the eye-catching Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, this is where the rich and powerful rich stay when they're in town - including Bill and Hillary Clinton, whose entourage is rumored to have taken up 10 floors of rooms and suites. The gigantic lobby bar, with its ever-popular dessert buffet, offers unparalleled views along the harbor. Former governor Chris Patten often popped into Grissini Italian restaurant with his family. It's worth staying here just to get a ride in the Mercedes Benz limos or the chauffeur-driven London cab courtesy rides. There's also a private yacht for rent, an airport limo service and valet car parking, and the Regency Club business center. 

Hong Kong Hotels: Grand Stanford Harbor View 
70 Mody Road, Tsim Sha Tsui East, Kowloon. Tsim Sha Tsui MTR. Rooms: 579. Rates: single from HK$2,350, double from HK$2,500, suite from HK$4,800. Credit cards. Attached to Tsim Sha Tsui's gigantic shopping centers and restaurant complexes, the Harbor View is not so much a hotel as a town in itself. It has fabulous view and is ideally located for the major museums and the Cultural Centre. Highlights include a rooftop pool, Tiffany's New York Bar and an executive lounge. 

Hong Kong Hotels: Great Eagle Hotel 
8 Peking Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon. Tsim Sha Tsui MTR. Rooms: 473, plus 27 suites. Single/double/suite from HK$2,400. Credit cards. A favorite among visiting pop stars and celebrities, the Great Eagle is as central as you can get for Tsim Sha Tsui's famed shopping emporia. Stately in a modern kind of a way, this plush property is a relatively undiscovered jewel with good restaurants and bars and great décor. 

Hong Kong Hotels: Holiday Inn Golden Mile 
50 Nathan Road, Kowloon. Tsim Sha Tsui MTR. Rooms: 600. Rates: single from HK$2,200, double from HK$2,300, suite from HK$5,500. Credit cards. If it's glitz you want, the Holiday Inn Golden Mile has it in spades. Slap-bang in the middle of the Nathan Road shopping `Golden Mile' of shops, the hotel is a bargain if you want to shop `til you drop or drink `til you can't think. It's popular with tourists and home to some of Kowloon's very best restaurants. 

Hong Kong Hotels: Hyatt Regency Hong Kong 
67 Nathan Road, Kowloon. Tsim Sha Tsui MTR. Rooms: 723. Rates: single/double from HK$2,800, suite from HK$4,400. Credit cards. Its name makes it sound grander than it is, but the Hyatt's location on the `Golden Mile' makes it quite a bargain. It's probably the best of the hotels on Nathan Road; its nondescript restaurants let it down but its rooms are spacious and amply appointed. 

Hong Kong Upscale Hotels: Island Shangri-La 
Pacific Place, Supreme Court Road, Central, Hong Kong Island. Admiralty MTR. Rooms: 565. Rates: single from HK$2,300, double from HK$2,500, suite from HK$5,300. Credit cards. Built above the plush Pacific Place shopping and entertainment center, the Shangri-La is among Admiralty's finest hotels and stands within staggering distance of Hong Kong Park and the Botanical Gardens - the city's only green lungs. It offers views of the harbor and the Peak, as well as fine dining and relaxing high tea in its cozy Library. 

Hong Kong Upscale Hotels: Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong 
5 Connaught Road, Central, Hong Kong Island. Admiralty MTR. Rooms: 542. Rates: single HK$2,800, double from HK$2,800, suite from HK$5,500. Credit cards. One of the oldest hotels on Hong Kong side, the Mandarin has an air of elegant sophistication that contrasts with the chrome and mirrors of the nearby skyscraping chain hotels. All its restaurants are considered to be among Hong Kong's finest and the adjacent shopping gallery is one of the swishiest in town. There's a Roman-style indoor pool, a range of restaurants, a business center and a barbers.