I’d like to think I’m a bit of a connoisseur of hotel club lounges (to be clear, I’m not trying to flatter myself — it’s like calling myself an expert on crudités and boxed wine). In the past, I’ve even posed the question of which hotel has the best club lounge in the world. There’s one answer I got more than any other, and after experiencing it myself, I am inclined to agree.
As I covered in a recent post, I just stayed at the Rosewood Hong Kong, and we had Manor Club access. Manor Club is Rosewood’s club lounge concept, and it’s only available at a very limited number of properties in the portfolio, primarily in Asia. The Manor Club is open to anyone who books a Manor Club room, as well as all suite guests.
I think this might just be the best hotel club lounge in the world, and I’d like to share some impressions of why (and then I’d love to hear from others as to whether there are any lounges you think are better). As I disclosed in the previous post, let me also acknowledge that we stayed as a guest of the property, as Ford had received a voucher through a Rosewood event that he attended, for a two-night stay.
In this post:
The Rosewood Hong Kong Manor Club is beautiful, with amazing views
In terms of hard product, I don’t think there’s a more elegant club lounge than the Rosewood Hong Kong Manor Club. It consists of several rooms — there’s one main room with a bunch of tables and couches. On top of that, there’s a bar area off to the side, a communal workstation area, and even a billiards room. Pretty nice, eh (in particular that bar area)?
What makes this even better is that it’s on the 40th floor overlooking Victoria Harbour, and the views are every bit as amazing as you’d expect. You have a direct view of the nightly lights show from here.
And it gets even better, because the Manor Club even has a terrace with outdoor seating. Outdoor seating on the 40th floor overlooking Victoria Harbor?!? Wow!
The Rosewood Hong Kong Manor Club has great service, food, and drinks
The Rosewood Hong Kong is an amazing city hotel, but with 400+ rooms, it definitely doesn’t feel boutique… unless you’re staying in a room with Manor Club access. It really gives the vibe of a hotel within a hotel, in terms of staff getting to know you, check-in and check-out in the Manor Club (or directly in-room), etc. Of course good service for club guests is something you’d hope for in a nice club lounge.
The Manor Club has three food presentations per day — breakfast from 7AM until 11AM, afternoon tea from 2PM until 4PM, and evening canapés from 5PM until 8PM.
The food selection is top notch with all presentations. There’s a high quality and extensive buffet, with many dishes from the hotel’s restaurants (including the Michelin-starred ones). We had an amazing lunch at The Legacy House (the hotel’s Chinese restaurant) one day, and there was one dish in particular that we loved. We were delighted when we saw that was also part of the spread that evening.
For example, below is part of the evening spread, which included beef sirloin, dim sum, sandwiches, salads, cold cuts, and much more.
The Rosewood Hong Kong Manor Club people watching is unreal
If you’re into people watching, the guest profile at the Rosewood Hong Kong is quite something. Even more than that, the Manor Club really has the most over-the-top of those guests. I’ll simply say that this place is like something from “Crazy Rich Asians” on steroids…
How much does Rosewood Hong Kong Manor Club access cost?
As mentioned above, the Rosewood Hong Kong Manor Club is open to all suite guests, as well as those who specifically book a Manor Club room. There’s no other way to get access, in terms of upgrades, supplements, etc. You need to be in an eligible room, and that’s that.
Obviously hotel rates vary greatly throughout the year, so there’s not some consistent upcharge for rooms with Manor Club access. That being said, I actually think the premium is often quite fair. For example, picking some random dates later this year where the hotel has a third night free offer:
- A Harbour View Room King costs $717
- A Premier Harbour View Room King costs $830
- A Club Premier Harbour View Room King costs $1,055
- A Kowloon Peak Suite King costs $1,266
- A Grand Harbour Corner Suite costs $2,265
Obviously these are all very expensive rooms, so I’m not trying to suggest “what a bargain!” However, I do find it interesting how Hong Kong hotels in general have relatively reasonable upcharges for suites, compared to some other markets. That top suite there covers an area of over 1,300 square foot, so it’s rather massive, and has the most breathtaking views imaginable of Victoria Harbour.
It’s just a contrast to suite pricing in many cities in the United States. I always like to give the example of the Tampa EDITION (Tampa isn’t Hong Kong, and EDITION isn’t Rosewood)), where a 1,200 square foot suite looking at Tampa Bay retails for around $5,000. What?!
Bottom line
If you ask me, what makes for a good hotel club lounge is a nice vibe and design, great views, friendly and attentive service, and an excellent selection of food and drinks. I’d argue that the Manor Club at the Rosewood Hong Kong checks all of those boxes.
In particular, having a 40th floor view of Victoria Harbour including an outdoor terrace is something that’s pretty magical. When you add in the excellent food and drink presentations throughout the day, this really is a very special setup. It’s the best hotel club lounge I’ve ever been to, though I’m curious if any OMAAT readers have others that they think are of this caliber (if so, I’d like to add them to my list!).
Thanks for the full disclosure Ben. It is the professional thing to do and is not taken for granted.
That being said - like other comments, I feel that something in the uniqueness of the blog is fading with the growing number of reviews where you and Ford are guests of the property or are staying at a much reduced rate.
I think this used to happen very rarely, but is now becoming...
Thanks for the full disclosure Ben. It is the professional thing to do and is not taken for granted.
That being said - like other comments, I feel that something in the uniqueness of the blog is fading with the growing number of reviews where you and Ford are guests of the property or are staying at a much reduced rate.
I think this used to happen very rarely, but is now becoming much more common.
I am not going to speculate how much of the free stuff Ford is getting is related to the property expecting you will join and review. I may have a guess based on knowing people in the industry but will keep it to myself. Let’s agree it’s a number lower than 100% but definitely higher than 0%.
I am in no way suggesting you should not join Ford or refuse to receive these invitation. What I am saying is that maybe rethink your policy and exclude these properties from what you’re reviewing in the interest of blog ethics.
Food for though. Your blog is definitely evolving, and not all the ways it is evolving in are necessarily positive.
$700 per night per room and up? (and no way to redeem on points or other methods) Regardless of how nice it is, another place I likely will never get to visit. I guess this is another voyeur post to see what I'm missing out on.
Hong Kong is not worth the risk, especially for anyone with an online or social media presence. If the CCP reviews your comments and has a problem, then you will definitely find out when you travel there!
Hmm sounds exactly like a certain western country that is currently prosecuting people for social media posts that don't align with their leaders viewpoint that somehow still proclaims to be the most free best country
i don't get it. you are in hong kong, why in god's name are you paying a premium so you can spend more time cloistered in your hotel.
Humidity?
"Humidity?"
Amongst a million other possible, equally valid, reasons.
One senses that the majority of commenters here have only travelled to Hong Kong (or any other country that's not the USA for that matter) as tourists, not for business, which almost *always* changes the calculus for how, where, and when one spends one's time.
@ Ben -- I know you love to take pictures of empty lounges, and you say the experience was like "Crazy Rich Asians". Was the lounge overrun and were people eating like hogs at the buffet? That was our recent experience at an upscale Asian hotel at the new Korean Airlines business class lounge at ICN. They both felt like Delta Sky Clubs full of people who had been starved for a week.
Drinks menu, do they serve champagne all day long?
A couple months ago you posted asking for suggestions and advice on how to position yourself going forward. I'm not sure how sponsored content raving about overpriced hotels was your conclusion from all of the feedback you received.
Regardless, I struggle to think you truly believe it makes sense to spend $300 a night extra to have access to a hotel buffet when you're in one of the best food cities in the world....
A couple months ago you posted asking for suggestions and advice on how to position yourself going forward. I'm not sure how sponsored content raving about overpriced hotels was your conclusion from all of the feedback you received.
Regardless, I struggle to think you truly believe it makes sense to spend $300 a night extra to have access to a hotel buffet when you're in one of the best food cities in the world. You should obviously do what makes you happy with your website, but a lot of your recent content, particularly when you review hotels that are not available on points, seems better left to the people of Conde Naste and similar.
Again - probably should state it very very overtly that you got this stay for free.
On the topic of lounges, to go to lounges, in cities like Hong Kong, Tokyo, Seoul, Singapore, etc. lounges are almost redundant given the properly good food that you can get in the city if you're a willing traveller. Most of these lounges are either for foreigners or for local people on staycations to take selfies.
Understand there are some crazy US prices, but to be fair, some of these are just ripoffs. E.g., picking a random 3 days in San Francisco in April, the Golden Gate Suite with an amazing view at the Fairmont at the top of the hill is 1300/night. The massive 1500 sq ft, 270 degree view Fairmont Suite is under 4k/night. Other than penthouses, this is probably the fanciest suite in the most expensive city in...
Understand there are some crazy US prices, but to be fair, some of these are just ripoffs. E.g., picking a random 3 days in San Francisco in April, the Golden Gate Suite with an amazing view at the Fairmont at the top of the hill is 1300/night. The massive 1500 sq ft, 270 degree view Fairmont Suite is under 4k/night. Other than penthouses, this is probably the fanciest suite in the most expensive city in the US.
I actually find the hotel room prices at top city hotels in European cities in summer to be particularly crazy. But the common denominator is "these are places where the global very rich stay".
View is indeed amazing but I question how much I would use this lounge while in an amazing city like Hong Kong. I expressed my thoughts on how I personally pick hotels and in places where I want to be as much as I can exploring the city I don’t think it is worth to spend that much money for something I will barely use. I would happily pay for something like this in a...
View is indeed amazing but I question how much I would use this lounge while in an amazing city like Hong Kong. I expressed my thoughts on how I personally pick hotels and in places where I want to be as much as I can exploring the city I don’t think it is worth to spend that much money for something I will barely use. I would happily pay for something like this in a remote location where the hotel is the main part of the trip but not in big cities that offer so much outside the hotel.
I totally agree. This might be the "best club lounge in the world" in a vacuum (simply comparing lounges side-by-side), but I would personally give more weight to a fantastic club lounge in a more remote resort property, given the lack of competing food/drink options in easy walking/driving distance.
On the extreme end, I guess a fantastic club lounge at a super expensive Maldives or Bora Bora property (I'm not sure how many Maldives/Bora...
I totally agree. This might be the "best club lounge in the world" in a vacuum (simply comparing lounges side-by-side), but I would personally give more weight to a fantastic club lounge in a more remote resort property, given the lack of competing food/drink options in easy walking/driving distance.
On the extreme end, I guess a fantastic club lounge at a super expensive Maldives or Bora Bora property (I'm not sure how many Maldives/Bora Bora properties have club lounges) might take the cake here. But I'm sure there are plenty of other remote luxury properties with lounges outside of those areas.