As I mentioned in the first installment, I won’t be covering every aspect of this trip with this report. After flying to Bali we stayed at the St. Regis Nusa Dua and W Seminyak, and then we flew Cathay Pacific business class from Bali to Hong Kong. So that’s where we’ll pick up.
We had an overnight layover in Hong Kong, as we were arriving from Bali at around 8PM, and continuing the following day to London at around 3PM. So we needed a hotel for one night.
In looking at the options, it occurred to me that I had an IHG free night certificate expiring in a couple of months. Just for having The New IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card you receive an annual free night certificate valid at any IHG hotel costing 40,000 points per night. That most than justifies the card’s annual fee, given that a vast majority of IHG hotels retail for well over the annual fee.
We were booking only a couple of days in advance, and they have availability at one of InterContinental’s flagship properties, the InterContinental Hong Kong. I reviewed this hotel eons ago, back when I was a Royal Ambassador member with InterContinental, while in this case I was returning as “just” an IHG Platinum member.
The paid rate at this hotel would have been ~$326 including tax, which is actually on the low end for this hotel. However, my real out of pocket for the stay was just the cost of the annual fee of the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card.
We took a taxi from the airport, which took about 30 minutes, thanks to the fact that we were arriving fairly late in the evening.
The InterContinental’s exterior is pretty bland, and looks like it could be an office building.
InterContinental Hong Kong exterior
InterContinental Hong Kong exterior
As we pulled up at the hotel we were assisted by the bellmen and directed to reception.
InterContinental Hong Kong lobby
InterContinental Hong Kong lobby
InterContinental Hong Kong lobby
The reception desk was located directly ahead of the main entry doors.
InterContinental Hong Kong reception
We were helped by an associate immediately, and he informed us that we had been upgraded from a superior room to a deluxe room (whatever that means). Having stayed at the InterContinental before, I know there’s one thing that makes this hotel special — the views. The hotel is known for its views, so you’ll want to do everything in your power to stay in a harbor view room.
I asked how much it would be to upgrade to a harbor view room, and was informed it would cost 400HKD (~$50). It might seem silly to spend that much for a view upgrade on an overnight stay, but I thought it was well worth it (as you’ll see in the below pictures).
For being an IHG Rewards Club member I was also given two drink vouchers for the bar, which we didn’t have time to use.
InterContinental Hong Kong IHG Rewards Club drink vouchers
We had been assigned room 1022, so took the elevator up to the 10th floor.
InterContinental Hong Kong elevators
InterContinental Hong Kong hallway
We tried to follow the signage towards our room, but…
InterContinental Hong Kong confusing signage
Okay, I’ll admit we were exhausted at this point, but it took us a good five minutes to find our room. It’s not like room 1022 is right by the elevator, so it’s rather puzzling that they don’t list it on the sign.
InterContinental Hong Kong hallway
InterContinental Hong Kong room exterior
InterContinental Hong Kong floorplan
Our room featured an entryway with a mirror on the right and the bathroom on the left.
InterContinental Hong Kong harbor view room entryway
InterContinental Hong Kong harbor view room entryway
The room itself was beautiful, though I’d say felt slightly dated. I don’t think that translates in the pictures, as the pictures mak the room look nicer than I recall it being. However, for what we were paying and for a quick overnight, this room was great.
InterContinental Hong Kong harbor view room
InterContinental Hong Kong harbor view room
InterContinental Hong Kong harbor view room
The room featured a comfortable king size bed.
InterContinental Hong Kong harbor view room king bed
Across from that was a console with a flat screen TV, as well as a desk with a comfortable office chair.
InterContinental Hong Kong harbor view room
The desk was actually a legitimate office desk, which aren’t as common in hotel rooms as they used to be.
InterContinental Hong Kong harbor view room desk
On the desk was a free smartphone you could use for the duration of your stay to make calls, tether off of, etc. Many hotels in Hong Kong seem to have this feature, and it’s something I really appreciate (though it’s not quite as useful to me as it used to be, given that I now have T-Mobile).
InterContinental Hong Kong free smartphone
Then by the window was a daybed of sorts.
InterContinental Hong Kong harbor view room daybed
Back near the entrance was a tea set and kettle, as well as the minibar.
InterContinental Hong Kong harbor view room kettle and teacups
InterContinental Hong Kong harbor view room minibar
Also waiting on the table was a small fruit plate.
InterContinental Hong Kong fruit plate
The bathroom was classically elegant, with a sink, tub, walk-in shower, and toilet.
InterContinental Hong Kong harbor view room bathroom
InterContinental Hong Kong harbor view room bathroom
InterContinental Hong Kong harbor view room tub
InterContinental Hong Kong harbor view room shower
However, the toilet felt rather, um, industrial, for a luxury hotel.
InterContinental Hong Kong harbor view room toilet
The toiletries were Agraria branded, and had a nice scent.
InterContinental Hong Kong harbor view room toiletries
Now, as I hinted at above, this hotel is all about the views. The InterContinental Hong Kong is right above the Avenue of Stars, along the Kowloon waterfront. The views from these rooms are incredible.
InterContinental Hong Kong harbor view
InterContinental Hong Kong harbor view
Being able to raise your curtains in the morning and wake up to the below view is well worth the upgrade cost, in my opinion.
InterContinental Hong Kong harbor view
My one slight complaint about the room is that while the Wi-Fi was reasonably fast, it kept disconnecting, especially on my phone. I constantly had to reconnect, which was annoying.
After a good night of sleep we headed down to the lobby. In case I haven’t made the point clear yet, the InterContinental has incredible views, and that includes from the lobby. 😉 Harbourside Restaurant is located on the ground floor, and then one level above that is the lobby lounge, with live music in the evenings.
InterContinental Hong Kong Harbourside Restaurant
InterContinental Hong Kong lounge
I also checked out the pool and gym area.
InterContinental Hong Kong walkway to pool
The hotel has a pretty nice pool for a city hotel, though there’s construction going on next to the hotel. While the pool doesn’t have views of the harbor, it does face the Peninsula.
InterContinental Hong Kong pool
InterContinental Hong Kong pool deck
The best views from the pool deck are from the hot tub, which overlooks the harbor. Unfortunately it was closed for maintenance when we were there, and the water was largely drained. Oh well.
InterContinental Hong Kong hot tub
The hotel also has an impressive gym.
InterContinental Hong Kong gym
InterContinental Hong Kong gym
InterContinental Hong Kong gym
InterContinental Hong Kong gym
In the morning we were just going to go to Starbucks to grab a coffee, but the nearest Starbucks wasn’t yet open, so we decided to instead have breakfast in the hotel’s restaurant, given that they have an a la carte option (we didn’t want a heavy buffet, especially if we had to pay in cash).
InterContinental Hong Kong Harbourside Restaurant
InterContinental Hong Kong Harbourside Restaurant
The breakfast menu read as follows:
I just ordered an omelet and coffee, both of which were great.
InterContinental Hong Kong Harbourside Restaurant breakfast
I spent the morning getting some work done and walking around my favorite city in the world. Then at around 11AM we headed to the airport, so we’d have plenty of time to enjoy Cathay Pacific’s two great first class lounges — The Wing and The Pier.
InterContinental Hong Kong bottom line
While there are more modern 5-star hotels in Hong Kong, the InterContinental continues to boast the best views available in the city. There are other places I’d rather stay at the hotel’s price point, though all-in I paid $100 for the one night stay, which was an incredible deal.
The InterContinental also has an ideal location, as you have easy access to both Kowloon and Hong Kong Island. In a similar situation I’d definitely stay here again.
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