W Hong Kong

High-design style with luxury-hotel trimmings — that’s what the W hotels are all about, and nowhere is it more evident than the W Hong Kong, a riot of graphic color standing hundreds of feet above the waterfront in the up-and-coming West Kowloon district. It’s a massive development, with condo towers rising over an enormous mall, an expo center, even an indoor driving range, one that demands a pretty serious hotel to match. And this is that hotel.

This is a town that knows its high-end hotels, and it’s impossible to get by on good looks alone — though of course that doesn’t stop the W from pushing the aesthetics about as far as they will go. This brand has never been about subtlety, and it’s even less so here; fortunately they rise to the level of the competition in the area of services and amenities.

Rooms are faultless, plush and high-tech, and and the facilities are top-notch, from the restaurants and bar to the 73rd-floor open-air pool deck. The views, incidentally, are stunning — not just the exterior views over the city and the harbor, but the interiors as well, with the well-dressed guests and locals cavorting in well-crafted public spaces.


How to get there: the Airport Express is a dedicated airport railway service that's fast and reliable, operating at 12-minute intervals daily from 5:50 AM to 1:15 AM (last train departs from airport and Hong Kong stations at 12:48 AM). Tickets cost HKD90 each way and speeds you into the city in just 24 minutes. After alighting at Kowloon Station, just head up the escalators in Elements Mall to the hotel. Complimentary porter service is also available at Airport Express stations.