I’m currently working on efficiently publishing all the reviews from trips I took in late 2025, given just how much travel I did. However, that’s not stopping me from planning a last minute trip that I’m really excited about.
Let me explain what I’ve booked so far, and then I’d love some feedback, because there are still plenty of things I haven’t yet planned, including some of the hotels, plus the return portion.
In this post:
We’re visiting Taipei & Hong Kong, and I’m excited!
Back when Ford and I met over a decade ago, we’d travel to Asia all the time. For a variety of reasons (primarily family obligations), that just hasn’t happened for us as much in recent years, aside from an annual trip to Japan. However, there’s so much in Asia to enjoy, and there’s no denying that the general service level and value for luxury hotels is often so much better than in North America and Europe.
So I realize that on the surface this might not sound like the most exciting trip to some, but we decided to plan a trip to Taipei and Hong Kong:
- I haven’t “properly” visited Taipei in around a decade, and Ford has never been before, and I think it’s such a vibrant city that’s worth spending time in
- Hong Kong is one of my favorite cities in the world, and Ford also hasn’t been in nearly a decade, so we’re excited to spend a few days there
As I’ll explain below, for both cities, there’s a bit of a hotel angle…
We’re flying American, China Airlines, and Cathay Pacific
So far I’ve only booked the outbound portion of the trip, but let me share what I have planned. First, I’ve been wanting to check out American’s new A321XLR business class, so I booked that from New York (JFK) to Los Angeles (LAX) for 35,000 Alaska Atmos Rewards points.
That’s actually not terribly convenient for the purposes of this trip, but hey, I wanted to make it happen somehow, so I’m just tagging that onto the front, even if it requires me to then make an extra hop to get to the transpacific gateway.
What sort of motivated my planning of this trip is that I saw good China Airlines business class award availability from Phoenix (PHX) to Taipei (TPE), which is a new route on the carrier. Can I just point out how much I love this flight’s schedule? It leaves at 4PM, and arrives at 10PM the next day, and I just think that’s one of the best transpacific flight schedules I’ve ever seen, at least for my very strange sleeping habits.
Good transpacific awards can be hard to come by nowadays. I booked this for just 72,500 Air France-KLM Flying Blue miles per person, which I acquired with a 25% transfer bonus, meaning I really only redeemed 58,000 transferable points for these tickets. Not bad, eh?
Then from Taipei to Hong Kong (HKG), we’ll be flying Cathay Pacific’s regional A330 business class, which I haven’t reviewed in some time either. I booked that for 16,000 Cathay miles per person. That’s not the most exciting product, but it’s a short flight and you can’t beat the value, so that works for me.
Here’s the thing — we don’t actually have a return ticket booked yet, so that’s as far as I’ve gotten with planning. This is a pretty last minute trip, and we’re pushing up against the Chinese New Year holiday, but I think we should be able to find something decent.
I can’t wait to stay at the new Capella Taipei!
In Taipei, we’ll be staying at the new Capella, which is now considered to be the city’s best hotel. It’s by no means cheap, but honestly, it’s a bargain compared to what you pay for a true luxury property in the United States or Europe nowadays. It’ll also be my first-ever stay at a Capella property, and it’s a brand I’ve been wanting to try out.
Speaking of Taipei, it has been so long since I’ve properly visited, and Ford has never been. We just have a couple of full days there, so does anyone have any tips for things we can’t miss, any great dining experiences, etc.?
We’ll stay at “the world’s best hotel” in Hong Kong
Since we don’t have a return flight booked yet, we’re not actually sure for how long we’ll stay in Hong Kong, and so far, we’ve only booked one hotel. We will be spending a couple of nights at the Rosewood Hong Kong, which is the hotel in the city that I’m most curious about.
Not that I place much value on this, but the recent World’s 50 Best Hotels list put this property in the number one spot. While I’m skeptical about a property this size being the best in the world, I have no doubt that this will be a great city hotel, and look forward to seeing just how good it is.
After that, the plan is to pop into a couple of luxury Hong Kong properties for one night each. Given the Amex Platinum hotel credit, nothing is too unreasonably priced, so we’re flexible.
I think the one hotel we definitely want to check out is the Upper House Hong Kong, which I’ve heard great things about, and I’m curious to see what all the buzz is about, since on the surface, it doesn’t look that remarkable — there’s no pool, dining is limited, etc., yet people seem to adore it.
What about beyond that, though? I’ll let y’all decide where we should stay, though here are my general thoughts:
- I haven’t stayed at the Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong in over a decade, and I love super high hotels, so I’m considering that; however, it seems that at this point, the property might not be at its peak anymore, or at a minimum, isn’t terribly interesting?
- I’m considering the Regent Hong Kong, which is the former InterContinental; as a lover of Hong Kong, I’m convinced this hotel has the best view of any hotel in the world, so I’m tempted to stay here for that alone, even if I think the experience won’t otherwise be remarkable
- The Peninsula Hong Kong is no doubt an iconic property, and is actually the most reasonably priced; however, this strikes me as a full-on “luxury factory,” with the lobby overflowing with non-hotel guests
- I’ve heard the Four Seasons Hong Kong is great as well, with very good restaurants, though I’m not sure there’s anything particularly remarkable about it otherwise?
Let me know if there are any others I’m not thinking of, that are worth considering. I recently reviewed the St. Regis Hong Kong, which is the other one that would be on my radar. It’s nice how even the most expensive hotel in Hong Kong goes for well under $1,000 per night, quite a contrast to some other major cities.
I’m open to ideas for after Hong Kong…
Since we have two little kids (who will be staying home with Ford’s mom/my mother-in-law), we of course try to minimize our time away from home, or at least the amount of time that both of us are away from home.
So after Hong Kong, Ford will definitely be flying home. My hope is that United opens up award space in Polaris business class, which tends to happen as the departure date approaches (at least through MileagePlus). Meanwhile I’ll likely have a hall pass for a few days, and can take a more roundabout routing home, and have some fun.
What should I do? Well, I’m all over the place:
- Should I have more of a hotel focus, and finally do the Jakarta “hotel shuffle” I’ve been wanting to do for some time, checking out the Park Hyatt Jakarta, all-club lounge Ritz-Carlton, etc.? Or should I check out the Park Hyatt Tokyo, or Osaka Station Hotel and Waldorf Astoria Osaka?
- Should I take more of a flight focus, and check out Thai Airways’ A321neo and A320 business class, or Aeromexico’s 787 business class from Tokyo (NRT) to Mexico City (MEX), or try to find a way to do SWISS Senses A350 first class, or maybe Air Astana through Kazakstan (okay, that’s way out there, but I’m game!)?
Bottom line
I’m looking forward to visiting Taipei and Hong Kong with Ford soon. We’ll definitely be flying American’s A321XLR business class and China Airlines’ A350 business class, though beyond that, everything is pretty open-ended. I’m also excited about the hotel angle here, ranging from the Capella Taipei, to the Rosewood Hong Kong.
As you can see, there’s still quite a bit that hasn’t been finalized, so if anyone has feedback on the above (flights, hotels, what to do in Taipei, etc.), I’d love to hear it! Thanks for reading, and stay tuned!
As for another hotel in HK: What about the K11 Artus? Though, the Upper House certainly is a fantastic property.
As for after HK: My vote would either go to Jakarta, or some other hotels in BKK (from where you could easily fly with Air Astana, or if you're adventurous, Uzbekistan Airways) like the new Andaz One Bangkok.
+1 vote for Langham Hong Kong. Since it's priced in the $300s I bet many of your readers would be interested in seeing that considering it's a good value use of the $300 Amex FHR credit. I'd also love to see your re-review of the Ritz Hong Kong given its impressive height. That's long been on my bucket list!
I think hotel reviews in Jakarta are going to be amazing, especially given how reasonably priced they are. Who’d say no to the Park Hyatt Jakarta?!
Would you ever consider trying zipair or air premia?
@ RandomTwoCents -- I've done ZIPAIR, see the review below. :-)
https://onemileatatime.com/reviews/zipair-full-flat-business-class-787/
I'm open to doing Air Premia as well, though can't say it has been near the top of my list. That being said, if enough people are interested, I'm happy to!
Thanks for the response. I ask because I probably would not try these airlines unless people like you review it beforehand.
It always seems like an option if I can't find a award redemption but so far it hasn't come to that yet that
Try the Rosewood Guangzhou.
Would love to get a Hong Kong Airlines review again to see how they're holding up, they seem to have reasonable fares to BKK, so you could combine it with a Thai A321neo review. I know it might not necessarily be the most comfortable, but it might also be cool to fly the IndiGo A321XLR from Delhi to Athens - Thai flies their A321neos to Delhi so you could also combine those two.
I recently flew CI from the US to TPE and enjoyed it very much... no more library with books onboard though (which I remember from Ben's review around 10 years ago). Soft product better than EVA I thought, seat maybe marginally better on EVA. Tea menu on EVA is amazing.
Was at Park Hyatt Jakarta last month and hotel is amazing with room view straight on Monas ( National Monument) park, luxury vibe, great food and staff, and crazy bargain at 12000 points for night , but suggest you also new Keraton right in Jakarta center, all club lounge just reopening last year and at just 20.000 Hyatt point at night
Also - second Jiufen and the waterfall nearby. And... the Starlux themed 7/11 is right next to the Capella and sells all the Starlux merch :)
I recommend a free walking tour with the Taipei Greeters. If you don’t know the International Greeter Organization, you should! What makes them unique is it’s really, really free. Tips are strictly prohibited, though always nice to take your Greeter to lunch, or for coffee along the walk. I did a walk with the Taipei Greeters a year ago, FANTASTIC! Be sure to book well in advance!
https://internationalgreeter.org/destinations/taipei
I recommend a side trip from Taipei to Jiufen...as seen in the anime movie 'Spirited Away'. It's less than an hour away.
I still remember you taking a taxi to the W Taipei; you loved the Bliss toiletries at the same time enjoyed having ice cream for breakfast!; I did the same about a few months later after you hah.
Yes, I do remember those little details! ;)
@ Mike O. -- Your memory never ceases to amaze me, and I very much appreciate the interest! :-)
That's not the only thing I remember haha and you're welcome. While you're at it, say hi to your dad. Miles & Jet, Ford and Winston :D
Check out the Miniatures Museum in Taipei.
Maybe Philippine Airlines new A35K to JFK?
How about Condor's A339s via FRA and HKT?
@ Mike O. -- I've reviewed Condor's A330neo, so I feel like there's not a whole lot new there since the last time I flew it? :-)
https://onemileatatime.com/reviews/condor-business-class-a330-900neo/
If you do the Jakarta Hotel Shuffle, I would throw in the Mandarin Oriental there too for comparison sake
Looking forward to reading about this trip! I’ll be going to Asia in August (starting in Taipei and ending in Hong Kong), so I should get some good info from your trip. Also booked the XLR on my journey home to PHX from JFK just to try it out (got it at a good award rate but I’m extending my trip a night to do it). Tempted to stay at the TWA hotel on that layover add to the AvGeek level.
Ben, I know that review flights and hotels for a living, and it's a privilege to do so, but I'm curious if you ever get tired of doing something like three hotels in four days. Do you ever think deep down, I'd really just like to stay put for a few days ...
@ Malc -- 100% I do. In an ideal world, I'd stay at one hotel for my entire time in a city, so that I can have less of a focus on checking out every aspect of hotels, and more of a focus on the destination. However, it's always tough to strike the right balance, and I also know people enjoy reviews of different products.
Stayed at Regent HK back in November 2024. Can confirm the view was incredibly breathtaking. Conveniently located next to ferries and subway as well! Would 10/10 recommend!
Good opportunity to fly Starlux F since you're in the region.
Just saying!
@ yoloswag420 -- As you know, as soon as there's any opportunity to fly it for under $9K one-way across the Pacific, I'm in! I'm open to doing it short haul, but that also seems silly. I still feel like the airline will eventually have to introduce some new opportunity for monetizing the cabin.
Stayed at the Regent 2 years ago. Beautiful hotel, but only worth it if the weather in Hong Kong cooperates! On a clear day, 100% worth it especially considering sometimes it’s less than 80k points/night. The views are fantastic. However if its rainy or foggy, maybe Peninsula or Mandarin Oriental would be better
Looks like NASTY LITTLE FARONKEY's comments has been Purged! Great day for OMAAT and its many GREAT and likewise WONDERFUL commenters!! I grew very tired very quickly of his disrespectful and mean-spirited commentaries! Thank you!
Recommendations for Taipei:
Yang Shin Vegetarian Dim Sum - among the best I've ever had
And of course see all the Hello Kitty stuff... both in the airport terminal with the EVA checkin counters and shops, and in the city including the branded 7-11 stores
You could fly HKG-ICN on Korean Air's new A350 business class (might be award space/cheap fare), and ICN-YVR in T'Way A330 business class (going for around US$1,100)? Or Hawaiian to Seattle? Or fly out of Gimpo and do a Japanese airline (which for some reason seems to be cheaper than flying out of Incheon)? ICN is really great for cheaper origin fares.
@ Alvin | YTHK -- That's a fun and very creative idea, thanks!
The Rosewood HK is incredible, I hope you get a suite, they are incredible and most importantly it gives you access to the Manor Club - which had really great food although it's always a better idea to eat out in HK. It was one of my favorite hotel stays ever. Room design looks a little random on the pictures, but in person it's stunning.
I would recommend against the Peninsula - I went...
The Rosewood HK is incredible, I hope you get a suite, they are incredible and most importantly it gives you access to the Manor Club - which had really great food although it's always a better idea to eat out in HK. It was one of my favorite hotel stays ever. Room design looks a little random on the pictures, but in person it's stunning.
I would recommend against the Peninsula - I went a couple of months ago and it was completely forgettable. Like you said, "luxury" factory with lots of influencers and the likes, rooms are nothing special and neither is service.
The hotel that any true Hong Kong native prefers is the Mandarin Oriental. I have tons of friends from Hong Kong and that's the only hotel they even really consider for out of town guests or look at with much esteem. Definitely consider it. And it's the original Mandarin Oriental, not the Landmark one.
You are going to love Regent Hongkong. Nothing beats waking up with a view of sunrise on Victoria Harbour. Why not going into mainland China from Hongkong? Maybe hop on the train from Hongkong to Guangzhou or Shenzen. Just less than 1-2 hours on high speed train away, you may find same level of luxury but at a much more affordable price than Hongkong.
Yeah, mainland China is one of the options. I'm flying to HKG on Wednesday and taking ferry to Shenzhen to stay there for couple of days. And then back to HK on high speed train or maybe hoping to Guangzhou for a day, before HK.
Just spent some time choosing hotels in both places. St Regis in Shenzhen is very tall building. Might be something interesting.
In my case, I'm flying simple route LHR - PKX - HKG RT on China Southern. I'm not reviewer, just a flyer.
Go to a night market in Taipei! Can't go wrong with any of them but if you're there for a few days you could try a few different ones. I went to Raohe and it was wonderful (and I went early as it opened so was able to make 2 passes and not have to wait in some of the longer lines, though it meant not everything was open).
You could also take the high...
Go to a night market in Taipei! Can't go wrong with any of them but if you're there for a few days you could try a few different ones. I went to Raohe and it was wonderful (and I went early as it opened so was able to make 2 passes and not have to wait in some of the longer lines, though it meant not everything was open).
You could also take the high speed rail and explore others parts of Taiwan besides Taipei that might be a bit quieter -- or perhaps a day trip if you've already got the reservation at the Capella.
And imagine you would enjoy the Starlux-themed 7-11 (https://taiwanderers.com/starlux-themed-7-eleven-taipei-taiwan/) too :)
Just visited Taipei. What a great city. Best Night Market for food is Raohe St Night Market. Michelin recommended Black Pepper Pork Buns. On Chifeng St in Zhongshan, try Chiyin Chicken Ramen. Get there relatively early for shorter line. So worth the wait and a great neighborhood to walk around. Also walk around and shop in Ximending and Xinyi!
You could try and work in China Airlines A321neo or Malaysia Airlines A330neo
Ao you’ll be flying MIA-JFK-LAX-PHX-TPE just to get to Taiwan? Ouch.
you must be new here. this is a review blog. to review different products.
No, not new here. But even for review purposes, that is one heck of a positioning route. Especially since only half of those routes will be probably be reviewed.
Nice try, though.
@ Aaron -- Hah, indeed. And yes, JFK-LAX and PHX-TPE will be reviewed. But there's another reason to go to New York, as I'll have a hotel review there as well (which I haven't yet written about here). :-)
Uh oh, American, yet no Delta? Tom "The Dunce" Deuce's nipples will be chafing hard out of anger!
Having spent two months this fall living in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia, this is where I recommend you visit after HK. A lot of Americans don't have a clue as to how amazing a country Malaysia is and how vibrant and modern KL is. Plus, since you like luxury hotels, you have excellent choices in KL, including the recently completed Park Hyatt at the top of the second tallest building in the world, Merdeka 118.
Ben reviewed the PH KL in November:
https://onemileatatime.com/insights/park-hyatt-kuala-lumpur-hotel/
Maybe the ambassador-only lounge at Osaka Station?
Keeping an eye out for imitation first on Skylux PHX-TPE?
Check out breeze right across from Capella- small but one of my favs when I visit!
"Then from Taipei to Hong Kong (HKG), we’ll be flying Cathay Pacific’s regional A330 business class, which I haven’t reviewed in some time either."
Last minute swaps can happen especially on a such short flight. You can get everything from the 77W, 773 down to the A359.
And on a flight out of Hong Kong, snag a seat on the right hand side for great views of the city as well as a parallel departure (if the weather is nice and you're lucky! (excuse the pun))
This makes me think of one of my favorite stories around word origins. The word POSH came about when passenger ships would leave London. The more expensive seats had the better view. Hence Port Outbound, Starboard Home.
@Tom I, that's an urban tale or folk etymology. The exact origin of the word posh is uncertain.
hiking in Hong Kong
Oh yeah. Hike the morning trail on the peak. It is a bit over an hour but amazing scenery. Take the peak tram but don’t get the ticket to that observation tower (packed with tourists), then just hike the trail.
This won't help your question, but it would be interesting to see some expanded commentary from this line:
"'luxury factory,' with the lobby overflowing with non-hotel guests"
I know exactly what you're talking about, but am wondering more specifically what you think of these places and how it has an effect on which hotels you choose to stay at
@ betterbub -- Great topic! Stay tuned, I'll cover this in a post shortly.