Rainy Day Retreat at the Conrad Hong Kong
After breezing through immigration, made easier by Thai Airways’ complimentary cart service from the plane, we made our way to the taxis to catch a ride to our first hotel in Hong Kong.
One of the challenges of visiting Hong Kong is how expensive hotels can be; for our dates, the advance purchase rates were over $300. So I was really happy that I’d be able to get one night at the Conrad Hong Kong using the free night cert I got from my Hilton HHonors Gold credit card.
We arrived around 2PM and were promptly escorted to their HHonors member desk and offered a welcome drink. They explained that the lounge was being renovated and we would be able to have afternoon tea, evening drinks and appetizers, and breakfast in the temporary lounge which was located directly behind the desk on one side of the Lobby Lounge.
Our room was on the 60th floor and we were escorted up. It didn’t look like many of the rooms had great views of the harbor, so I was quite happy to get a good view of the peak, which was essentially directly behind the hotel.
The room was very old school, but given the day was rather gloomy, I rather liked the warm yellow coloring. I was less fond of the musty smell that went with it, but we’d only be there for a night.
The bathroom was awash in marble.
And I liked that they sent up some welcome tea as well as fun little chocolates.
We ventured out to go to the Peak Tram, which was less than a mile away and easy walking distance, only to get rained out. And when I say rained out, I mean sideways rain that made having an umbrella (which the hotel readily supplied) completely pointless.
So we went back and arrived in time for the last half of afternoon tea which also included access to the restaurant tea buffet which featured outstanding desserts.
I had to catch up on some work emails and other projects, so we wound up staying through to the evening happy hour–winding down drinking prosecco and watching the wind tearing the trees outside and the rain reducing visibility to less than a block. Yay for coziness!
When we returned to the room, turn down service had already come — leaving the iconic Conrad bears to keep us company.
The next morning we grabbed breakfast from the same lounge, which was quite good although not as good as the Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit. It had a lot of options, but I wound up sticking mostly to dim sum and my friend the fresh strawberries with mascarpone.
We were leaving fairly early that morning to get a head start on all the sight seeing we’d missed the day before. The front desk was eager to provide us with umbrellas and store our luggage until we returned. And when we did come back to catch a cab to our next destination, they didn’t bat an eye when we said “Hyatt.”
Cons: Not amazing views and on the older side. Pool was smallish, restaurants felt rather crowded. If you’re big on walking to see sights, it’s not the most central location.
Pros: GREAT customer service and nice lounge amenities, even as a gold. Seems like a business hotel, so much quieter and less touristy.
I would definitely stay here again if the price, points, or free night cert were right.
Another fabulous post
You know I have been to Hong Kong maybe half a dozen times now and every single time it has poured with rain. It just seems to be the way it is out there!
Nice write up, sorry you were rained out. I’ve stayed here before and had a stunning harbor view, next time see if they’ll hook you up. Also the longe when open assuming they keep it in the same place is great. We really enjoyed the food, drinks and service. Lastly although the hotel is not in the thick of things there is a large mall below it and a metro station in the mall. So getting most anywhere dry is quite possible.
I really liked the high-profile, knowledgeable staff and service at the Conrad. I was a bit disappointed by the lounge and the size of rooms. But well it’s downtown Hong Kong…