Hong Kong Trip Part III: Hotel Excelsior Hong Kong

On the final leg of our stay in Hong Kong, we stayed at the Excelsior Hotel. It is now part of the Mandarin Oriental group. According to wikipedia, the hotel is located on the 'first plot of land sold at auction after Hong Kong became a British Colony in 1841.' The Noonday Gun, is located right in front of the hotel. This is owned and operated by Jardine Matherson. The location of the Noonday Gun was known as East Point and it was the first plot of land in Hong Kong to be sold by the colonial government by public auction in 1841, and was purchased by Jardine Matheson. 

I can only conclude that the Excelsior Hotel is owned by Jardine Matheson as it sits on its own land. Furthermore, the hotel is is now part of the Mandarin Oriental Group, which is also a member of the Jardine Matheson Group.

The Excelsior Hotel from the harbour.

Another view of the hotel

This is the main entrance to the Excelsior. One thing to 

take note, there is no ramp. It is a bit troublesome if

you are bringing a pram or not using the bellboy's services. 

There is a ramp located at the side entrance. 

(photo take from here.)

The lobby, taken from oyster.com. On the right is the check-in

counter. On the background, is the main entrance. There are

occasions when there are queues to check-in and the yellow pillars 

block a proper queue being formed.

The hotel is a child friendly hotel. When we informed them

that we have a child together with us, they put us up on a special

room, next to the Presidential Suite!!!

The Wife, on the way to our room.

No, that is not it. Ours is next door to it.

The view upon entry. Behind the screen is a nice seating area.

The mini-bar on the left and around the corner...

..is the mini walk-in wardrobe.

Another view, with the safe on the floor.

The mini-bar.

As you can see, the room is quite large. We suspect this room

could be used for the VIP's delegates, since it is next door

to the Presidential Suite.

The study/make-up area with TV.

A view of the bed.

The door to the right leads to the bathroom.

Double sink!!!

But no shower area.

One quirky device found in the bathroom, a bottle 

cap opener.

And an in-built tissue dispenser.

The view from the window from the study table

Another view.

The view from the window by the bed

A view of Kowloon and the Star Ferry Pier. 

 Overall, it was good stay. The hotel was good and the location of the hotel is quite centralised.

Hong Kong Trip Part II: Sheraton Macao

On the 2nd leg of our Hong Kong trip, we went to Macau for a night. We stayed at the Sheraton Macao at Cotai Central, which is part of the Cotai strip. According to Wikipedia, the term Cotai Strip is a trademark granted to Las Vegas Sands Corporation. The group 'envisioned that their development of several adjacent properties would comprise an area that would resemble the Las Vegas Strip.' So I believe, Sands own a majority of the land around this area.

The hotel row on the Cotai Strip. The Sheraton we stayed was 

at the last building.

The hotel row was right in front of the Venetian Sands, which

was a plus.

The check-in lobby at the Sheraton Macao. There are several

check-in counters because a queue can form up very quickly due

to the number of guests coming in.

Another view of the lobby. 

The ceiling structure.

Behind the screen on the background is the Casino.

Onward to our room.

The hallway.

On the left of the hallway is the bathroom. Very bright.

I am glad they include a separate shower area and bathtub.

The shower comes in a funny matte gold colour.

Large area on the counter-top.

With the usual amenities.

The huge bed.

The colour decor comprises of splashes of red

against a cream background. It makes the room

very bright.

With a questionable Eames Executive chair.

Wifi is not complimentary though.

At that time, the Sheraton Macao was newly opened with 4000 rooms. It is part of the Starwood Preferred Group (SPG) which also includes Meridien and the Westin. When we were there, there was a parade conducted by Dreamworks characters like Madagascar, Shrek and Puss in Boots. I think Macao is slowly trying to incorporate family entertainment other than relying on gambling as its core business.

Hong Kong Trip Part 1: Hyatt Regency Kowloon at Tsim Sha Tsui

The family and I went to Hong Kong for our year end family trip. The trip was from 17th Dec to 21st Dec 2013 and we stayed at 3 different hotels at 3 different locations.

The first was the Hyatt Regency at Tsim Tsa Tsui in Kowloon. A brief introduction taken from the website: The hotel is situated in one of the tallest skyscrapers of the Kowloon area, K11, in the heart of the Tsim Sha Tsui business and tourist district. The 5-Star hotel occupies Level 3 to 24 of the mixed-use complex K11 and sits atop the six-story K11 Art Mall. It provides direct access to the Tsim Sha Tsui and Tsim Sha Tsui East MTR stations within the building, allowing guests to travel around the city conveniently.

The taxi drop-off is on the 3rd floor. The hotel lobby is on the 5th floor. According to hotel-online.com website, Hyatt Regency Hong Kong was the first Hyatt hotel established outside the US and throughout its 36 years, maintained its position as one of the premier locations to stay, wine and dine in Hong Kong. It opened on Nathan Road in 1969 and closed its doors on New Year's Day 2006. Only to reopened in the K11 buiding in 2009.

 A view of the Kowloon skyline, with the K11 buidling prominently featured.
It is walking distance from Victoria Harbour.

Another view of the K11 building.

The 3rd floor lobby from the taxi/car drop off area. From here,

you take the lift to the 5th floor lobby.

A view of the Hyatt lobby on the 5th Floor.

Next to the Christmas Tree is the lift lobby to the room floors.

The lift floor.

The corridor to the rooms.

The room entrance hallway.

The layout of the room reminds me of the Grand Hyatt Jakarta.

The study table. With the bed in the background.

The phone is very high-tech.

View of the toilet facilities.

The shower area is quite big. This is on the right hand side of

the picture.

View from the room. It was drizzling the day we arrived.

Another view.

The hotel also has a street entrance. The signage is quite discrete

You would not know its the Hyatt if you walked pass it.

The view inside of the street entrance.

Overall, its a very nice hotel, suitable for families as well as business. Its central location is an advantage and its close proximity to Victoria Harbour makes it a pleasant walk in the cool evenings.