Advertisement

The best boutique hotels in Hong Kong, from sleek suites to heritage hideaways

The Pottinger offers a design vision of Chinoiserie-lite for a post-colonial, neon-lit, sky-scraping city - MWP
The Pottinger offers a design vision of Chinoiserie-lite for a post-colonial, neon-lit, sky-scraping city - MWP

Hong Kong is home to some of the most expensive real estate in the world so it makes sense that the majority of its 80,000 hotel rooms are found in big shiny skyscrapers. But dig a little deeper and you'll uncover a clutch of stylish small hotels, which add a more personal neighbourly touch. From swanky sky pads and minimalist hideaways, to heritage numbers and city centre boltholes, here's our pick of the best boutique hotels in Hong Kong.

Upper House, Hong Kong, China
Upper House, Hong Kong, China

The Upper House

Hong Kong

9Telegraph expert rating

As the name suggests, the idea is to lead you up, up and away from the city’s babble into your temporary home from home somewhere between the 43rd and 48th floors – a journey that begins with a wall created by Thomas Heatherwick (English designer of London’s Olympic Cauldron) entitled Stone Curtain. Beyond that, there’s a soothing entrance – no noisy lobby or reception – from which guests glide, via an escalator, then a lift, into a hushed Asian world of wood, glass and limestone. There’s no pool, no spa (although the hotel can arrange in-room beauty treatments) and only a tiny gym. What guests come for is 21st-century understated luxury combined with a more old-school level of service. Read expert review From £302 per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com

An insider guide to Hong Kong

The Fleming Hotel, Hong Kong
The Fleming Hotel, Hong Kong

The Fleming Hotel

Hong Kong

8Telegraph expert rating

Where most of Hong Kong’s hotels follow a minimalist ‘less is more’ approach, The Fleming does it refreshingly differently. Drawing inspiration from the Star Ferry, it goes all out with a highly conceptual design referencing the Hong Kong of yore. Throughout the hotel, brass fittings and nautical-themed furnishings complement a base of warm woods and navy blue tiles. Hints of bottle green and flaming red balance out the colour palette. From light switches shaped like brass dials to ‘clean my room’ and ‘do not disturb’ signs designed to resemble a ship’s telegraph – the attention to detail is exemplary. Even the hotel’s signature scent, a nostalgia-inducing blend of sandalwood and amber, is carefully thought out. Read expert review From £105 per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com

The best hotels in Hong Kong

Ovolo Hotel, Hong Kong
Ovolo Hotel, Hong Kong

Ovolo Central

Hong Kong

8Telegraph expert rating

The Ovolo, located in the hilly heart of Central, is urban, design savvy and youthful – a boutique hotel suited to both trendy business types and discerning tourists. The small lobby has a reception desk-cum-bar, a smattering of sofas, a glass-encased fireplace and a painting of Queen Elizabeth II blowing bubble-gum; Eighties hit music plays throughout courtesy of the hotel's own Spotify station, Radio Ovolo. Rooms feature cool but comfortable décor – lo-fi greys, touchy-feely fabrics, playful art – sockets and USB ports on both sides of the bed, easy to use light switches, Apple TVs and free help-yourself minibars. Downstairs is buzzing vegetarian restaurant Veda, which serves a delicious array of Asian-influenced dishes. Read expert review From £150 per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com

The best things to do in Hong Kong

TUVE, Hong Kong
TUVE, Hong Kong

TUVE

Hong Kong

8Telegraph expert rating

Minimalist and futuristic, this feels like a hotel straight out of the space scenes in Interstellar. In fact, there’s no sign outside the hotel, just a small metal plaque embedded into the sidewalk. The achingly cool reception area comprises a huge, solid concrete table with a smooth, copper top, and the walls feature rows of miniscule lights that simultaneously resemble twinkling stars (hence the outer-space feel) and thin columns of computer code running down a screen. On the upper levels, the vibe is softer, though still minimalist – think all-white hallways, polished concrete floors and walls in the rooms, and carbon steel wardrobes and door frames. Read expert review From £58 per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com

The best budget hotels in Hong Kong

The T Hotel

Hong Kong, Hong Kong

8Telegraph expert rating

The ‘T’ stands for training: this unusual hotel consists of one floor within the Vocational Training Council’s complex in Pokfulam, on the western side of Hong Kong island, overlooking the South China Sea. Ultimately, this is a school building, the sixth-floor of which happens to be a hotel with 30 rooms and suites. You’ll need a little patience with the students, who are overseen by trainers. They want to do their best – you won’t encounter more willing staff anywhere else in the city – but that’s a two-way process. You are there to help them. The impeccably clean rooms and bathrooms are far bigger than those in most Central hotels. Those facing the sea have magnificent views, especially at sunset, and the mountain rooms look towards the Peak. Read expert review From £96 per night

The best restaurants in Hong Kong

The Pottinger hotel, Hong Kong
The Pottinger hotel, Hong Kong

The Pottinger Hong Kong

Hong Kong

8Telegraph expert rating

The hotel’s name comes from the first governor of Hong Kong, Henry Pottinger, who took office (for a year) in 1843. The design, however, is a modern take on nostalgia. There are black-and-white photos of 1950s and 1960s Hong Kong by Fan Ho (one of the city’s most renowned photographers), delicate sage-green backdrops of flowers and birds, pale wood, clean lines and clever lighting. This is Chinoiserie-lite for a post-colonial, neon-lit, sky-scraping city. There’s just one in-house restaurant, Gradini – Italian for ‘steps’ – which also has a bar. Both spaces are small but, like the rest of the hotel, charmingly designed and have become popular with locals in the evenings. Read expert review From £143 per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com

The best Hong Kong hotels with pools

The Mira Hong Kong, Hong Kong
The Mira Hong Kong, Hong Kong

The Mira Hong Kong

Hong Kong

8Telegraph expert rating

This 492-room hotel received some unexpected publicity when Edward Snowden retreated here in 2013 and proceeded to spill the beans on America’s spy network. (If you want to assess room quality watch Oliver Stone’s Snowden, which was filmed in the hotel). It prides itself on its design elements, some of which verge on the weirdly cinematic – you can easily imagine Snowden skulking around its dark maze of low-ceilinged, stripy-carpeted and mirrored corridors. Rooms are clean, simple (no artwork, wooden floors), stylish (the bigger rooms have Arne Jacobsen-style egg chairs), and much more cheerful than the gloom of the corridors might suggest. Read expert review From £87 per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com

The best nightlife in Hong Kong

One96, Hong Kong
One96, Hong Kong

One96

Hong Kong

8Telegraph expert rating

One96 is an all-suite property which ticks many boxes: rooms are spacious; the location is fantastic and within walking distance of many interesting neighbourhoods; and there's rooftop access with stunning views. Each suite occupies an entire floor with its own private lift from the lobby – a luxury usually reserved for the top suites in hotels. Also expect floor-to-ceiling windows which bathe the room with natural light and frame impressive city views. The penthouse suites have views out across Victoria Harbour. Each also has a separate living/dining room, in-room washing machine and dryer, fully equipped kitchen and walk-in shower with L’Occitane amenities. Read expert review From £135 per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com

• The best Hong Kong hotel bars with amazing views

Hotel Stage, Hong Kong
Hotel Stage, Hong Kong

Hotel Stage

Hong Kong

7Telegraph expert rating

Hotel Stage is one of a crop of pleasant boutique hotels mushrooming in the traditional, ungentrified district of Yau Ma Tei. The plan, as the name suggests, is to provide a stage for local artists within the community. The idea is that guests should experience a sense of the area's heritage inside, without the occasional chaos that exists outside. So there’s a tree delicately painted on the wall behind reception; the lights above it resemble the bird cages you’ll see dangling in local parks. Rotating art installations emphasise the history of local crafts and are genuinely interesting. The 97 rooms, including 11 suites, all have a near-Shaker simplicity to them – stone floor, white linen, wooden table. Read expert review From £78 per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com

The best free things to do in Hong Kong

Little Tai Hang, Hong Kong
Little Tai Hang, Hong Kong

Little Tai Hang

Hong Kong

7Telegraph expert rating

The Tai Hang district is one of Hong Kong island's most characterful neighbourhoods. Little Tai Hang sits in a purpose-built complex which also houses serviced apartments. The logo – four animals, including Toad, pedalling one bicycle – suggests a Wind-in-the-Willows homage, although in this case Toad's pals include a monkey and a tiger. The idea is to combine traditional Asian with the adventurous hipster; a 1960s vibe is evident in some of the furnishings and fixtures (e.g. framed pictures of Dormobiles). It's all very simple, clean and unfussy. No demarcation line exists between hotel and serviced apartments – you can stay in any room for a single night or for months. Read expert review From £78 per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com

Contributions by Fionnuala McHugh, Chris Schalkx, Rebecca Tay & Chloe Sachdev

The best hotels with pools in Hong Kong