For years, one of the world’s most well-known hotel chains lacked a presence in Hong Kong. While the Conrad and Intercontinental reserved spots in Hong Kong Island’s immense skyline, there was no sight of the acclaimed Ritz-Carlton luxury hotel on either side of the city’s harbour. Was it a lack of corporate interest, or merely an oversight in one of Asia’s most popular tourist destinations?
It appears to have been neither, as the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company recently announced it will return to Hong Kong with a spectacular new Kowloon-based property. The luxury hotel chain has bought a sixteen-floor share in the brand new International Commerce Centre – Hong Kong’s tallest building and the world’s tallest mixed-use commercial office and hotel building.
Ritz-Carlton will be joining Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley in the building, which is currently one of Hong Kong’s most expensive office spaces. With the ICC nearing its official opening, hotel employees expect that rooms will be ready within the coming months. The hotel itself will occupy the building’s top sixteen floors, stretching from level 102 all the way to the building’s peak at 118.
Rooms are expected to stretch from fifty to three-hundred square metres, each offering a different experience for guests and a variety of harbour views. The hotel itself has been designed to use both Hong Kong Island and Kowloon as part of its panoramic display, billing itself as one of the world’s best in-room views and offering an unparalleled experience for international visitors.
Expensive? No doubt. While high-end travel has taken a hit throughout the recession, the timely opening of the Ritz-Carlton reflects an upwards turn in global travel spending. Boasting one of the world’s most impressive views and an untouched level of luxury, we’re betting this one’s worth the price tag, however opulent and nonsensical it may be.
