Why stay?

Despite some tough competition, the Island Shangri-La remains a fixture on the short list of Hong Kong’s most popular and enduring luxury hotels (it opened back in 1991). Loyal returning guests keep the “Island Shang,” flagship of Hong Kong–based Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, at the top. The hotel’s edge is its extraordinary level of warm, attentive service (the entire staff, as if by magic, recognizes and greets you by name within from your arrival to your departure), and the Asian style and cultural savvy you’d expect from a hotel owned by a Malaysian family dynasty. While the property is well-known for its traditional, Chinese-inflected rococo elegance, a post-Covid design refresh is bringing a more contemporary look to many of the rooms and suites. And its new “club floor” for kids makes this a terrific choice for families planning a vacation in the heart of the city.

The neighborhood

As a base for business or leisure (or a bit of both!) Hong Kong’s Admiralty area can’t be beat. Central, the main financial district, is a 15-minute stroll or five-minute cab ride downhill, and the nearby bars and restaurants of Star Street and Wan Chai are easy to reach on foot, by car, or via public transport (there’s an MTR transit station connected to the hotel). If you don’t feel like wandering far, no problem! The Island Shangri-La sits atop the Pacific Place shopping mall, an elevator or escalator ride away from designer shops, a gourmet supermarket, Michelin-starred restaurants (including two in the hotel itself) and a movie theater.

Inside the opulent master bathroom of the hotel’s Shangri-La Suite.

The feel

A luxury Hong Kong hotel is practically required to have heart-stopping views, and the Island Shangri-La gives you that, with a plus: its hillside location offers a different perspective on the city’s iconic vistas. Front-facing rooms boast windows that frame a wide panorama of Victoria Harbour, and to the rear, the hotel looks out at the wild green foliage that runs up the mountainous spine of Hong Kong Island. The Island Shangri-la’s public spaces are big on elegance (the lobby’s high ceilings, crystal chandeliers, sweeping staircase, and marble floors can seem a bit intimidating at first if you arrive, jet-lagged, in shorts and sneakers). But that’s just the entrance — inside you’ll find casual private areas like the laid-back eighth floor garden with its inviting pool, wooden sun loungers, and green and white striped umbrellas, a tiny tropical resort tucked amid the skyscrapers.

Guest quarters

With 544 rooms and suites enjoying views of the harbor or Victoria Peak, accommodations range from entry-level Deluxe rooms to the truly over-the-top Shangri-La Suite, a 222-square-meter private residence that has a dining room, a kitchen, and a huge harbor-facing marble bathtub. The core accommodations, though, are the 44-square-meter Grand Premier rooms, which have been updated in contemporary style. The ivory tones, fresh white linens, and soft pastel Asian-inflected abstract landscape prints are soothing, and they allow the vistas from the wide windows to take center stage (it’s possible to pick a sea or mountain view when booking). Extra-special touches include an in-room pantry, a convenient walk-through wardrobe, a separate vanity with a Dyson hair dryer tucked in the drawer, and an adjustable lighted mirror that allows you to match your makeup to either “day” or “evening” light.

Food and drink

The Island Shangri-La has got its dining game well-covered, with four restaurants, a buffet dining café and a bakery shop on the premises. Among them are a pair of one-Michelin-starred venues: Restaurant Petrus (French fine dining) and Summer Palace (Cantonese cuisine). The ground-floor steakhouse Lobster Bar and Grill has a clubby feel, the best beef Wellington in Hong Kong, and an excellent old-school cocktail bar that draws a smart business crowd for martinis in the early evening. Japanese restaurant Nadaman is a great choice for its multi-course (and excellent value) kaiseki set lunch. Eighth-floor Ming Pavilion, the newest addition to the culinary lineup, stands out for consultant David Yip and Chef Lam Yeung’s unusual modern interpretations of Hokkien food — don’t miss the intensely flavored double boiled clam and chicken broth, and the rich mud crab with glutinous rice.

Looking out from a renovated Horizon Peak View room at the Island Shangri-La; a meal at Lobster Bar and Grill.

Wellness factor

The eighth floor, which houses the spa and 24-hour gym, is the center for all things wellness-related at the Island Shangri-La. Simply walking into the Yun Wellness space — all bamboo, wicker, and earth tones accented with greenery — is enough to bring those stress levels down. The spa treatment rooms are off a gently curving dimly lit corridor, and there is a tempting menu of massages (for the Chakra Balance, guests can choose from essential-oil blends prepared just for the hotel.) Or you could unwind in the heated 28.5-meter outdoor pool, backdropped by jungled hills on one side, skyscrapers on the other.

Family matters

Island Shangri-La’s revamped 45th floor is now entirely geared toward families with children. The 21 themed rooms and suites are the stuff of dreams: there’s one with a treehouse playground, another decked out as an underwater fantasy, and still another with a replica of a Hong Kong “ding ding” tram (two-bedroom suites measure from 82–88 square meters, while one-bedroom options are at least 41 square meters.) The kids’ floor also has an activity room, The Hangout, where junior guests can enjoy free play and guided workshops, and The Pantry, a children’s club lounge stocked with snacks like low-sugar madeleines, cereal, and ice cream. (Mom and dad haven’t been overlooked: the space also has a washing machine and tumble dryer, as well as bottle warmers, baby strollers, and cribs to borrow so parents don’t have to lug their own equipment on holiday.)

Sustainability cred

Under the hood, the hotel is quietly taking concrete steps to make the hotel as carbon-efficient as possible. All accommodations now have individual energy-saving thermostats, and in-room filtered water taps are being installed to replace those wasteful plastic bottles. Also gone: all the nasty plastic single use packaging for takeaway containers, cutlery, and bags.

What else?

Make sure to set aside a moment to visit the Island Shangri-La’s atrium, site of the hotel’s pièce de résistance: The Great Motherland of China, a 16-story high, 250-panel mural created by 40 artists who worked on the showpiece for six months. It’s said to be the largest Chinese silk painting in the world — and it’s certainly the only one that you can view from top to bottom from inside a glass bubble elevator.

Reviewed by Daisann McLane

shangri-la.com
+852 2877 3838
Pacific Place, Supreme Court Rd., Admiralty, Hong Kong

Island Shangri-La, Hong Kong: Attentive Service

Hong Kong Hotels

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