We chose to break our journey to New Zealand with a couple of nights in Hong Kong. From the point of arrival, the service provided by The Mandarin Oriental was exceptional. Although we had not pre-arranged transport from the airport, an employee of the hotel was there, aware of our arrival and able to give us good information about the plethora of travel options into the City.
The hotel is located in the central financial district and therefore very conveniently situated for all the essentials that my wife needs and only bankers can afford: Armani, Ferragamo, Gucci and their like. Our 6th floor Harbour Room did indeed have a fine background view of the harbour although this was slightly off-set by a foreground of a 10 lane highway, a large car park, some nondescript commercial premises, yet another motorway and the building site which will eventually be a (no doubt very attractive) sculpture park. I imagine that a room on a higher floor would be better from a scenic point of view although of course rather more expensive. That said, we did have an excellent location from which to view the spectacular evening light show at
8 pm and enjoyed it very much.
Service in the hotel is of a kind very rarely experienced by me in the UK. Although it can be a little wearing to run the gauntlet all day long of the multitude of hotel employees wishing you a happy holiday or the like, I am certain that it is better than having to put up with the opposite state of affairs. On our arrival by taxi our bags were whisked away from us in seconds and in our rooms only a minute or two after we were. The young woman who showed us to our room and introduced us to its many facilities was also back within seconds with a tray of his and hers (green and jasmine) pots of tea. In the various restaurants and bars staff lie in wait to snatch away each plate or item of cutlery as it is used and bring you fresh ones. They managed at least two completely new (to us) ideas, once inserting a book mark into the paperback by the bedside (although distressingly they failed to locate the actual page I was reading) whilst when my wife went for a swim at the Spa, her wet costume was spun dry before being returned in a plastic bag for fear she might not have the energy to hang it on the side of the bath. Naturally, the numerous concierges were only too happy to research various attractions and shopping highlights when asked and to advise on the various transport arrangements.
The room had everything one might expect at this level i.e. considerably more than we needed and much more than I could have thought of myself if pressed to do so. The bed was very large, very comfortable and had we been dissatisfied with the two varieties of pillow provided, another 10 or so were available on request. The bathroom was excellent - awash with Hermes toiletries and helpfully provided with every kind of necessity should a guest have forgotten that he might need to shave, brush his teeth, comb his hair or any number of other unusual activities. Two power showers, a large bath tub, mirrors of every shape and size, hairdryers, dressing gowns, towelling robes and slippers were all up to expectation. Similarly, had I still been a teacher, the drawer filled with hi-lighters, stapler, paper clips and various other items of stationery would have kept my class equipped for a week or so.
The 10 places to eat and drink mean that it would be perfectly possible never to leave the hotel if one chose. I hasten to add that we did but we still sampled a good many including the Man Wah Restaurant (see separate review), the Clipper Lounge (excellent breakfast buffet included in our room rate but otherwise about £24 a head and worth every penny), the Mandarin Cake Shop (exquisite coffee, French pastries and gateaux) and the M Bar on the 25th floor. Although horrendously expensive, the bar snacks in the latter were clearly prepared in one of the adjacent Michelin starred restaurants, beautifully presented in lacquered Bento boxes and included the best mini burgers and chicken satay I've tasted.
Although not quite the best hotel we've ever stayed in it comfortably out-performs 99.9%. This was an ideal place to break our journey and get a holiday off to an excellent start.