Hong Kong
A skyline everyone knows, and 25 country parks almost nobody mentions. You can be on a ridge trail forty minutes after leaving your hotel, and back in the city for dinner at eleven.
Where to stay
Tai O Heritage Hotel
Lantau · above Tai O fishing village
Nine rooms in a 1902 marine police station, above a stilt-house fishing village.
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Built in 1902 as a marine police station to deal with piracy around Lantau, restored and reopened as a nine-room hotel in 2009 by the Hong Kong Heritage Conservation Foundation, under the government's Revitalising Historic Buildings Through Partnership Scheme. It sits above Tai O, the stilt-house fishing village, between the mountains and the sea — about as far from postcard Hong Kong as you can get while still being in it. There's a restaurant, a garden and a rooftop.
Built 1902 as a marine police station, reopened 2009
Nine rooms only
Run by the Hong Kong Heritage Conservation Foundation under the government's heritage revitalisation scheme
Above Tai O stilt-house fishing village on Lantau
Restaurant, garden and rooftop
Eaton HK
Kowloon · Jordan · near Temple Street Night Market
An outdoor pool in Kowloon, with the night market minutes away.
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Four hundred and sixty-five rooms in Jordan, close to the Jade Market, Temple Street Night Market and the Xiqu Centre. There's an outdoor pool with loungers, a fitness centre, two restaurants and two bars. It holds EarthCheck certification and makes a genuine thing of its sustainability practices. It's the sensible-money option on this page, and the location is superb if you came to eat.
465 rooms in Jordan, Kowloon
Outdoor pool and fitness centre
Two restaurants and two bars
EarthCheck certified
Walk to Temple Street Night Market and the Jade Market
The Upper House
Hong Kong Island · Admiralty · above Pacific Place
The quietest luxury hotel in Hong Kong, sitting above one of its busiest malls.
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One hundred and seventeen rooms in Admiralty, above Pacific Place, with harbour views and rooms noticeably larger than Hong Kong norms. Frette sheets, rainfall showers, a pillow menu, two restaurants, two bars, a gym and free bikes. It made the Condé Nast Traveler Gold List. It's the splurge here, and what you're paying for is calm — a genuinely quiet building in the middle of one of the loudest cities on earth.
117 rooms in Admiralty, above Pacific Place
Harbour views and unusually large rooms for Hong Kong
Two restaurants and two bars
Gym, terrace and free bicycles
Condé Nast Traveler Gold List
8 Bucket List things to do in Hong Kong
10 of the best Hong Kong Tours
The best places to stay in Hong Kong
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Hong Kong has 25 country parks and 22 special areas covering around 44,800 hectares — roughly 40% of its land.
There are more than 260 outlying islands, most of them reachable by public ferry.
The Star Ferry has crossed Victoria Harbour since 1888, and still costs a few dollars.
The Octopus card pays for the MTR, buses, ferries, trams and most convenience stores. Buy one on arrival.
Signage is bilingual and English is widely spoken, which makes it one of the easier Asian cities to arrive in cold.
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Best time — October to December: dry, clear and comfortable. March to May is pleasant but hazier. Summer is hot, humid and typhoon season, and January and February can be surprisingly cold and grey.
Getting around — The MTR reaches almost everywhere and is fast, clean and cheap. Ferries to the outlying islands leave from Central. Taxis are plentiful — have your destination written in Chinese.
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Hong Kong is one of the easiest cities in Asia to travel alone: low crime, excellent public transport that runs late, and eating by yourself at a noodle counter is entirely normal. At dai pai dongs and cha chaan tengs you'll often share a table with strangers — that's standard rather than intrusive. The main practical issue is heat and humidity from June to September, so plan the middle of those days indoors.
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