The Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong

The Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong occupies the top seventeen floors of the International Commerce Centre, the tallest building in Hong Kong, on the West Kowloon waterfront above Kowloon station. It opened in March 2011 as the highest hotel in the world, with its lobby on the 103rd floor and its bar, Ozone, on the 118th. From every window the view is of the harbour from above, with the island skyline opposite and the airport road running west towards Lantau.

History

The first Ritz-Carlton in Hong Kong opened in 1993 on Chater Road in Central, a small hotel of a traditional kind. It closed in January 2008 and was demolished for an office tower, and the brand moved across the harbour into the 118-storey ICC, which Sun Hung Kai Properties was completing on reclaimed land next to the Airport Express terminus. The new hotel opened on 29 March 2011. Its claim to be the highest hotel in the world stood until taller hotels opened in mainland China, but within Hong Kong it is still unchallenged.

Architecture and design

The International Commerce Centre was designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox and stands 484 metres high, the tallest building in Hong Kong and among the ten tallest in the world. The hotel's lobby is on the 103rd floor, reached by express lifts from a ground-floor arrival hall. Guest floors run from 106 to 117, and the 118th floor holds Ozone, an indoor swimming pool and a terrace. The interiors use dark timber, bronze and silk with large windows left unobstructed; the Lounge and Bar on the 102nd floor faces the island skyline.

Rooms and suites

The hotel has 312 rooms and suites, all above the 100th floor. Rooms face either the harbour and Hong Kong Island, or the Kowloon hills and the airport to the west. Club rooms give access to the Ritz-Carlton Club Lounge on the 116th floor. The largest suites run to several rooms along the harbour side. Weather is part of the experience: on cloudy days the upper floors sit inside the cloud.

Dining

Tin Lung Heen, the Cantonese restaurant on the 102nd floor, holds two Michelin stars and is known for its barbecued pork and dim sum. Tosca di Angelo, the Italian restaurant on the same floor, is also Michelin-starred and has a double-height dining room on the harbour side. Cafe 103 serves afternoon tea and breakfast, and The Lounge and Bar on the 102nd floor runs through the day. Ozone, on the 118th floor, is among the highest bars in the world, with an outdoor terrace open in good weather and a late crowd on Fridays. The hotel also has a chocolate counter near the lobby.

Wellness

The Ritz-Carlton Spa by ESPA occupies the 116th floor, with treatment rooms, a thermal area and a fitness centre. The indoor pool on the 118th floor has a glass ceiling and panoramic windows, and is heated for year-round use.

Weddings and events

The hotel's ballroom and function rooms sit on the 103rd floor around the lobby, and all of them have natural light and views from the top of the building, which is rare for a banqueting floor anywhere. Weddings are a mainstay, both Western ceremonies with the harbour behind the couple and Chinese banquets of many tables, and the hotel hosts corporate dinners and product launches for companies based in the ICC offices below. Smaller boardrooms serve meetings.

Location

The hotel stands directly above Kowloon station on the Airport Express, so the trip from Hong Kong International Airport is about 20 minutes with no road traffic to contend with. Elements, the shopping mall at the base of the tower, connects to the station and to the West Kowloon Cultural District, home to the M+ museum and the Hong Kong Palace Museum, both reached on foot. A taxi reaches the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront in ten minutes, and Central is one stop away on the Tung Chung line or across the harbour by road. For a luxury hotel in Hong Kong chosen for its view rather than its neighbourhood, there is nothing higher.