At Hong Kong International Airport was a longer wait at immigration than we did anticipate. When it was our turn we were granted entry into Hong Kong for 90 days. German citizens and many other nationalities don't need a visa to enter Hong Kong or Macau. A visa for Mainland China is required.
The airport is huge, but its good signed in English and Chinese. Be careful, when following the signs to the transportation center. You must choose the right queue (There are two: one for Mainland China, one for Hong Kong and its territories.), but don't worry, there are also airport employees, who guide you and double check, that you are on the correct way. Our hotel was the Langham Hong Kong. There is also a Langham Place in Mongkok, so to be on the safe side to get to the right hotel, we stated it's the Langham in Tsim Tsa Tsui.
The ride cost around 230 Hong Kong Dollars (HKD) or ca. 20 Euro/30 USD. The car was clean and the journey took ca. 30 minutes.
Why did we choose this hotel, you might ask? Well, it wasn't easy and we mulled probably much longer over this one than the Sherwood Taipei (see review). There are without any doubt many beautiful and outstanding hotels in Hong Kong. It was our first time to Hong Kong. We didn't know, if we wanted to be on Hong Kong Island or Kowloon. Did we want a grand hotel like the Peninsula or the Mandarin Oriental or maybe something striking modern like the Upper House (owned by Swire, which is also the owner of another heavyweight in the airline industry: Cathay Pacific, see also this review) or the Conrad? Or should it be something in between?
We had as white knight the Grand Hyatt, but after long thinking we dismissed one hotel by the other.
One of the reasons why we didn't take for example the Ritz Carlton was because it was new, so there were hiccups to expect. Analyzing my feelings, I also guessed it would be wrong to stay there, because it was more an ego thing, like staying in the highest hotel in the world (102nd to 118ths floor) or being the first on Flickr to stay there. We plan to stay there in the future, though.
We were looking for something established and where we both would be happy with the room, the design and the food outlets.
The one that met our criteria’s the most was the Langham. We could even afford a suite, like at the Sherwood, in this case an Executive Suite.
When we arrived, the doors of our taxi were opened for us and we were greeted: "Welcome to the Langham." We were asked for our name, our suitcase was taken, and we were escorted to the reception. On the way more employees welcomed us to the hotel. We admired the astounding public spaces and the grand lobby. The Palm Court is also located on the lobby level as well as the gift shop.
We were accompanied to our room and it was a delight. As welcome gift we received fresh fruits and an array of international water (still and sparkling). It lasted for the whole 2 nights.
The mini bar and storage space were to the right side of the entrance. Next was the living room with a writing desk, a sofa, chair and coffee table, large LCD screen TV and DVD player. Guests can lend DVD's free of charge from the concierge. A very long list of movies is available on the room. There was a small hallway; on the left was the wardrobe on the right the bath room, straight ahead the bed room. The bath room had a sink, separate bath (Jacuzzi) and shower, a Japanese toilet, no special features, and Penhaligon's toiletries. The bed room was large with a king sized bed, a cupboard with a large LCD screen TV on top and a chair. Langham Hotels want to give a traditional British and enchanting experience, even though, they are based in Hong Kong. The materials used were interesting in textures. The furniture was dark wood; the upholstery of the sofa and chairs was grey with splashes of colors provided by cushions. The mini bar contained interesting beverages including juice by Sunrasia, normally only available at First/Business Class flights/lounges or in delicatessen. In Dublin for example Fallon and Byrne stocks a small range of the company, too, and the price ranges between 4 and 6 Euros / ca. 6 USD to 9 USD for 500 ml. We love them, though, and based on the quality and taste, the price is okay.
Overall the living room was very comfortable, only gripe was too little space for the chair at the writing desk. It was directly placed between the wall and the desk. The internet access was included in our room rate as well as club lounge access. The internet was fast, but every time we logged out, we had to re-enter user word and password again. Trying it for the first time, we couldn't log in. While checking in, we were told our pass word would be the last name. Because the room was booked in my name, we presumed it would be mine. Wrong guess. Guest relations quickly solved the issue and told us the pass word was my fiancé’s name.
The Jacuzzi was really great and relaxing (in our bath room was a rubber swan instead of a rubber duck), the bed comfortable, too.
The hotel has five restaurants and bars. There is L'Eclipse for Chinese, Asian and Western cuisine with open kitchen, Tang Court (Chinese), The Bostonian (steaks and seafood), Main Street Deli for American dining and as mentioned earlier The Palm Court for cocktails and afternoon tea.
There is a tailor in the hotel; it also has a spa/fitness room and one of the most romantic pools I've ever seen. The pool is Roman style with columns. It seems larger on photographs. The Langham is a "no view" hotel. Of course there are views, but none to Hong Kong Harbor or the Island. We could look out to shopping central, though, and it was fun to see how busy the street below was.
The club lounge is gorgeous with at least two different rooms, where one can sit and relax. There are different textures and it's very colorful.
There are different food presentations during the day including breakfast, snacks, afternoon tea and Happy Hour, where also appetizers and alcoholic drinks are served. It was one of the finest club lounges we have so far been to. The eggs benedict in the morning (on one day with ham, the other with salmon) were outstanding. In the evenings we had sushi, soup, smoked salmon and foie gras among other delicacies.
We were fairly busy during our too short stay, so we didn't use all the facilities, but managed to go to The Main Street Deli for dinner once. He had pizza, I gnocchi from a special menu and root beer. We shared a Caesar Salad. The portions were huge and we were too full to eat any dessert. They looked tempting, though, and again were huge, like cheese cake.
The hotel organized a Mercedes limousine transfer for us to the airport. When leaving my fiancé received Langham smints as a good bye present and before entering the car we could choose from an assortment of free beverages, like mango juice, water (still and sparkling), coke and much more. It cost 750 HKD or around 70 Euro/97 USD.
The Langham Hotel comes highly recommended with attentive staff; all try very hard to make your stay memorable and comfortable. Security is also high with a guard in the lobby. We felt much pampered and well taken care of. Beside the small issues mentioned above everything was perfect and smooth running. More to follow from Hong Kong.
©2011
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