A Luxury Holiday in Hong Kong

If you love the vibrant city life, Hong Kong is the luxury holiday destination for you.  The island city is all about style and changing culture, with plenty of hidden nooks and crannies to explore, a high street to rival New York City, and is brimming with history and culture.

Hong Kong was formerly a fishing village on the island where Chinese emperors sent the officials they chose to punish.  After the opium wars, Hong Kong was ceded to Britain, leading to a century of relative prosperity.  Wealthy Europeans moved in but kept totally separate from local Chinese people, only hiring them for service.  During World War II, Hong Kong was seized by Japanese forces, who treated the local population terribly.  When Japan surrendered in 1945, Britain once again took control and restored Hong Kong’s economy and infrastructure.  Hong Kong was only returned to China in 1984.  The city celebrates its heritage with a variety of museums including the Hong Kong Heritage Museum, the Hong Kong Museum of Art, and the Hong Kong Science Museum.  There are also plenty of listed buildings to explore if history is your favourite subject.

At present, Hong Kong is a bustling international city full of modern skyscrapers but with little back alleys still playing host to traditional Chinese shops and restaurants.  Due to its unique heritage, Hong Kong often calls itself “East Meets West” and provides British culture that you’ll be familiar with right alongside its own longer standing Chinese heritage.  Builders in Hong Kong still hire Feng Shui consultants before laying out rooms and tall buildings often leave out the fourth floor because the sound of four in Cantonese is too similar to the word for “die”.  Yet Hong Kong also has a thriving entertainment and cinema business with its own TV broadcasters and film stars.  It’s a curious dichotomy that will lend extraordinary flavour to your luxury holiday.

That isn’t even to mention the shopping available on Hong Kong.  The city is recognised as a true shopper’s paradise with Central and Causeway Bay having an extraordinary range of malls, department stores, and specialist Hong Kong and international designers.  While you’re shopping, you might take a break to eat at one of the city’s world class restaurants.  And if the nightlife is your thing, prepare to be busy because Hong Kong has an incredibly vibrant and active social scene.

Hong Kong’s hotels are similarly world class.  If glamour is your aim, you might choose to stay at the Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong.  This hotel has been in operation since 1963 and is the flagship location for this luxury hotel chain.  Even though it has been open for almost fifty years, the hotel has undergone a recent redesign and now offers the ultimate in twenty-first century luxury.  Each room boasts an iPod docking station, high speed wireless internet, a DVD player, and a flat screen television, all supported by an “IT butler”.  With ten restaurants and bars, a Michelin star among them, you won’t be at a loss for great dinner selections, and the spa will provide all the relaxation you could ever want.

Hong Kong is a luxury holiday destination that is perfect year-round with a hot and humid climate.  Those who would like to avoid rain may want to avoid the island between June and September, but since you’ll be spending most of your time indoors, it shouldn’t be a problem.  Just make sure your activities are comfortably air conditioned.