Review: InterContinental Hong Kong

The Trip of AA Lifetime (Asia, Australia, Middle East) – Introduction

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I was scheduled to be in Hong Kong three days and two nights and I decided to split my nights between two IHG hotels – the first one being the InterContinental Hong Kong. The nightly rate on my day was upwards of $400 USD and therefore I decided to redeem my Chase IHG Credit Card Anniversary Free Night, which I get yearly for keeping the credit card.

After an incredible Cathay Pacific First Class flight from Frankfurt, I decided to take an uber to the hotel. The ride took about 40 minutes and cost about $20 USD, which was totally reasonable. Initially when I was booking hotels in Hong Kong, I didn’t really know what areas to stay in since I hadn’t been to Hong Kong yet and therefore I decided to spend one night in Victoria Harbour and one night on Hong Kong Island.

The InterContinental Hong Kong is a five-star hotel located right next to the harbour with some incredible views from the hotel’s lobby and outside areas, externally it isn’t beautiful at all, but inside the hotel is very modern and clean. Enjoying a waterfront location, the InterContinental Hong Kong features multiple pools, a spa, celebrity restaurants, a fitness centre, and more. The hotel is located near the ferry terminal, which can take you across the harbour to Hong Kong island in about ten minutes.

Perhaps the most gorgeous part of the hotel is the grand lobby – it’s huge and is connected to one of the hotel’s restaurants. Upon arrival, I was greeted by a very friendly woman who check me in and explained all of the hotel’s features and my benefits as an IHG Spire Elite.

She explained I had been upgraded to a Deluxe Room (from the original Superior Room that was booked), and that I could enjoy late check-out the following day. She also presented me with a free drink voucher which could be redeemed at one of the hotel restaurants. She also thanked me for redeeming my free anniversary credit card night at their hotel and showed me to my room. Every person I came in contact with at the hotel was super friendly and very helpful, as I find is the norm at many places in Hong Kong.

My room was fairly large and was located on a high floor. Sadly I didn’t have a harbour-view room, though the room was gorgeous, modern, and clean. My deluxe room featured a large, king bed, huge desk, a big bathroom, a walk-in wardrobe, and an awkwardly-placed flat-screen TV.

The bed was super comfortable and I was able to have some amazing sleep and woke up fully refreshed after the night. I didn’t use many of the amenities in my room as I spent virtually the whole day outside of the hotel, exploring Hong Kong. I also thought I would be super tired after my red-eye flight, but since I wasn’t, I decided to go out and explore Hong Kong right after arriving at the hotel.

The desk was perfect for working (even though I didn’t) and featured plenty of guides about the hotel, about Hong Kong, local restaurants, etc. What is great about hotels in Hong Kong is that most of the more exclusive hotels feature a smartphone with free, unlimited local phone calls and internet. This is awesome since I was able to use the smartphone (named “Handy”) as a hotspot for my laptop and iPhone and receive fast, free internet. The smartphone also features a tourist guide about Hong Kong and mine even supported free international calling to eight countries!

A welcome amenity consisting of a banana, orange, and pear was waiting for me in the room, along with a welcome letter from one of the hotel’s managers.

The deluxe room’s large king bed featured many pillows and very comfortable bedding. Complimentary bottles of water were placed in convenient locations throughout the room.

The tea centre, minibar, and wardrobe were all located right next to the room’s entrance. Various types of tea (including a tea guide) and coffee were included in the tea centre. I decided to try all of the various types of tea and was amazed at how well they all tasted, of course all of the tea and coffee was free of charge.

Below the tea centre was a minibar with snacks and drinks. The refrigerator was very well stocked with all of the different types of drinks you could think of.. and more. Additional drinks that wouldn’t fit were placed next to the packaged snacks. I seriously don’t think I’ve ever seen such a thoroughly stocked minibar anywhere.

The deluxe room’s bathroom was large and clean – it featured a separate shower, bathtub, and toilet “room”. I’m also positive there were over fifteen towels located in various places around the bathroom. Two, comfortable bathrobes were conveniently located next to the shower.

The sink was surrounded by millions of different types of amenities, including shampoo, soap, body wash, conditioner, lotion, mouthwash, a toothbrush, toothpaste, a comb, shower cap, and many other useful hygiene accessories. I’m happy that all of the amenities were already in the bathroom as in some hotels you have to additionally request them.

In addition to the bathroom being very well stocked with amenities, it was very clean and beautifully designed. In my opinion, it perfectly matched the colours in the room, and everything was conveniently located.

I didn’t use the bathtub since I didn’t spend much time in my room (apart from sleeping), but it looked super comfortable and inviting for a bath.

The shower featured excellent pressure and an additional set of shower-specific amenities.

As previously mentioned, the view from my room wasn’t towards the harbour, though it wasn’t an issue since I spent most of my day exploring Hong Kong and only returned to the hotel at night.

The InterContinental Hong Kong features a few swimming pools, though for some reason only the main pool was open and not the smaller, infinity pool which provides gorgeous views of Hong Kong. The pool’s water temperature was excellent as it wasn’t too hot or cold, so it was perfect to swim and relax after a long day of sightseeing.

I spent a few minutes drinking my welcome drink at the lobby restaurant upon returning from a long day of exploring, and was amazed at the views from the lobby – just beyond gorgeous. You could see all of Hong Kong from the lobby, through the floor-to-ceiling windows. Needless to say, it was the perfect place to relax after a long day of exploring.

My welcome drink consisted of mango juice, which was accompanied by some nuts and olives; the juice was delicious as it wasn’t too sweet.

Early next morning, I went swimming and later exploring more of Hong Kong before checking out of my hotel early afternoon. All in all, I really enjoyed my stay at the InterContinental Hong Kong as I found the hotel to be in an excellent location. All of the staff and people I interacted with were beyond friendly and helpful, and most importantly of all, virtually every part of the hotel was clean – which is important.

My upgraded room was perfect and featured many amenities and a fully-stocked minibar with a tea centre, which contained some of the best teas from Hong Kong. I definitely wouldn’t hesitate to return to this hotel in the future – my stay was perfect and I couldn’t have asked for a better first night in Hong Kong!