I’ll admit it: Because the editor of {a magazine}, I’ve stayed in my fair proportion of spectacular luxurious motels the world over, from Singapore to Seoul, the Maldives and past. However on my most up-to-date journey to Hong Kong, I had the chance to remain at one of many cities’ new additions—the Rosewood Hong Kong—and I used to be blown away by the sheer luxuriousness of all of it.
Towering on the banks of the Kowloon waterfront, the gleaming “vertical property” (because the property refers to itself), opened its doorways 4 years in the past to a lot fanfare in Hong Kong. Boasting 413 rooms, eleven meals and beverage ideas, a fully-equipped spa and wellness centre, a shocking swimming pool overlooking the Victoria Harbour, a luxurious govt lounge known as the Manor Membership to cater to the wants of its top-tier company, the property positively oozes luxurious from each crevice.
Proper off the airplane, I’m greeted by a devoted employees member who escorts me by means of immigration and baggage declare, earlier than delivering me to a nattily dressed chauffeur ready by a steel-blue Jaguar XJ, who then whisks me off to the resort. Getting into the dazzling foyer, one wonders if it’s a resort or a cavernous artwork gallery—sitting on the garden is British up to date artist Thomas Houseago’s monumental bronze sculpture, Sleeping Girl, whereas the resort is residence to extra distinguished artists and their works, together with Damien Hirst’s Zodiac work in The Butterfly Room (I’m advised the artworks are from the Cheng household’s in depth non-public assortment—swish, certainly).
However there’s additionally historical past and coronary heart right here: constructed on the previous website of New World Centre, CEO Sonia Cheng selected this actual location for the Rosewood model’s seventh location in Asia as an homage to her grandfather, enterprise tycoon Cheng Yu-tung, and her household. The bustling waterfront was as soon as the crown jewel of the Cheng household’s burgeoning property portfolio, boasting leisure retailers, buying centres and motels within the ’70s and ’80s, so it’s a homecoming of types to have the Rosewood Hong Kong located right here.
All through the resort, you’ll additionally discover intelligent nods to the household’s historical past: ornamental parts akin to horses and racing posters and illustrations communicate to the Cheng household’s equestrian ties; Chinese language restaurant The Legacy Home pays tribute to their roots by serving up jazzed up Shunde delicacies; and conventional Chinese language ornamental parts—the auspicious Eight Trigrams octagon and fortunate bat motifs, to call a number of—have been integrated inside the resort’s inside design.
With their driving philosophy being “A Sense of Place”, the Rosewood Hong Kong imbues its rooms and areas with this ethos. I had the pleasure of staying in a Grand Harbour View Room on the fortieth ground, with its sweeping view of Hong Kong Island, the place I can solely describe the quantity of consideration paid to consolation with one phrase: lavish. For one, the partitions are decked out in Loro Piana cloth (one thing you’d solely word when you really feel compelled to the touch and admire it, as I used to be); the toilet is a palace of marble that makes the act of bathing and preparing an opulent expertise; and the art work by Hong Kong artist William Lo was a pleasant contact of grounding the room and tying it in to the heritage of Hong Kong.
For these trying past leisure of their rooms, the Rosewood Hong Kong additionally has probably the most in depth wellness choices on either side of the harbour. Slip into Asaya, the built-in wellness centre that occupies your complete sixth ground of the resort, the place it is possible for you to to have a soothing therapeutic massage, get your hair and nails achieved, partake in health lessons starting from vinyasa to qigong, seize a chew on the health-focused eating outlet Asaya Kitchen, or simply lay down by the infinity pool and revel in breathtaking views of the harbour and metropolis. For these seeking to recharge and reinvigorate their drained muscle tissues, I might extremely advocate the 90-minute Aroma Atelier, for which you’ll choose your individual aromatherapy oils on your remedy.
To finish off your day, a drink (or three) at Darkside, the resort’s award-winning bar, could be the right capstone. Right here, you may be get pleasure from traditional cocktails jazzed up by the knowledgeable bartenders, peruse the bar’s sizeable assortment of darkish spirits—nice rum, whisky and calvados—and an expertly curated collection of nice cigars. Fortunate patrons may even be supplied a dram proper out the barrel—Darkside retains one growing older in its spirits library.
However, when you’re a mahjong fanatic like me, the bar’s fabulously ingenious “The Artwork of Mahjong” cocktail menu is a must-try. Taking inspiration from the beloved tile-based sport, the bar’s eight star cocktails draw on Hong Kong’s wealthy meals heritage: private favourites of mine included the cognac-based Chrysanthemum for its floral profile, and the Winter, a rum-based cocktail that jogged my memory of the comforting candy potato soup dessert that’s ever-so-popular within the metropolis. Scorching tip: ask assistant bar supervisor KT for his suggestions—they’re all the time spot on.
In my thoughts, the Rosewood Hong Kong is undoubtedly making its mark as probably the most luxurious motels in Asia. From the luxurious interiors, to the beautiful artworks, and their unparalleled service, Kowloon is actually no “darkish facet” any longer with this magnificent new oasis by the harbour.
Rosewood Hong Kong
Victoria Dockside, 18 Salisbury Highway, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong
+852 3891 8888
rosewoodhotels.com/en/hong-kon
This story was first seen on Grazia.Sg
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