My husband, my adult daughter and myself stayed at InterContinental Hong Kong on Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui for 5 nights from Dec 20 to Dec 25, 2015.

No words could actually describe the WOW factors of our stay. We were treated like royalties from the beginning to the end. Staff members from the front desk, concierge, housekeeping, bell service, business centre, reservations and hotel managers were just unbelievably professional. I am so excited to share my fantastic experience at the InterContinental Hong Kong here in my blog.

Pros:
1) Every morning, my family of 3 woke up to a stunning panoramic view of the beautiful Victoria Harbour (so rare & expensive in HK), sometimes sunny, sometimes foggy, sometimes overcast. There’s nothing we could do but to be thankful to God.

2) Being an InterContinental Ambassador, I accumulated a lot of points & were able to redeem my stay using 50,000 points per night. (I just got an email announcing that starting mid-February in 2016, this hotel needs 60,000 points for each standard room redemption!!) Then I paid HK600 per night to upgrade it to a harbourview deluxe room when I made the booking. When I got to the hotel, they gave me a complimentary upgrade to a harbourview junior suite (Room 716) with a sitting area, walk-in closet, separate toilet & a Jacuzzi. An extra single bed was added for my daughter sleeping in the sitting area beside the single sofa…a perfect spot in terms of privacy…we couldn’t see each other while in bed.

It would be quite unpleasant if I didn’t upgrade the city view room to harbour view as there were still 2 big construction sites on both east & west sides of the hotel. When we were swimming in the pool or enjoying ourselves in the whirlpool, it’s hard to totally relax with the noises and views around us.

3) The hotel offered a free mobile smartphone for us to use with data & WIFI, and it’s the best to bring with us while touring around Hong Kong with all the apps & free unlimited local calls.

4) The location of the hotel is super convenient as it’s close to Tsim Sha Tsui MTR station, with lots of bus routes & Star Ferry nearby. Eateries were everywhere, less than HK$40 for a breakfast with coffee/tea, or highly recommended expensive restaurants on Michelin lists.

Cons:
1) Since we were there on Dec 24, Salisbury Road where the hotel is located was closed to all traffic. It’s only for pedestrians so we had to make a LONG detour to go from Nathan Road back to the hotel. A normal 5-minute walk became a 30-minute one with the crowds & the constant stops as we were not allowed to “CROSS” the road using the intersection. We chose to use the Tsim Sha Tsui East detour as we would like to see more light decorations but we could also use the “U-turn” outside the HK Cultural Centre, but not directly from the Peninsula Hotel as we normally crossed from. Underground exits from the Sheraton Hotel were also blocked so allow more time if you are there on Dec 24, Dec 31 or when Chinese New Year Fireworks are on.

2) There was no airport hotel free shuttle from the airport. A one-way taxi was HK$240. With 3 adults, 3 large suitcases, 3 carry-ons plus 3 backpacks, we could load everything in a taxi sedan with the trunk half-closed. This is the phone number to reserve a taxi van: 8191-1219 for more passengers. Taxi vans were not easy to get at the airport without prior reservations.

3) Not many rooms & suites could accommodate 3 adults. Extra beds need to be reserved in advance. That took up quite some space in the room if staying in a standard one. There was also an added cost for the 3rd adult.

Since both my husband & myself got our IHG Capital One MasterCards linked to our IHG rewards accounts, we were able to get a lot of signing up bonuses. We also put most of our daily expenses on the credit cards to enable us to get free points. Joining the IHG InterContinental Ambassador program also gave us free points and free nights, that’s why we got so many points to redeem for expensive stays at InterContinental hotels in Hong Kong, London (England), Wellington (New Zealand) and Sydney (Australia).

My family stayed in many luxurious hotels when we travel, the InterContinental Hong Kong was by far the best. At least it’s a much better choice than another 5-star hotel that we stayed at after our Asian cruise on the other side of the Victoria Harbour in January 2016. I would totally recommend the InterContinental Hong Kong to everyone.

Wow! Wow! Wow! Just 3 Wow’s are simply not enough to show the WOW factors of Hotel Bristol! Its location, its authenticity, and best of all, its hotel personnel are just incredible! We were so blessed to stay there for 2 nights after our Danube River Cruise on Crystal Bach in July 2018.

Being an SPG Gold member, I got a free upgrade to the most gorgeous Opera Suite of over 1,000 sq. ft., opposite to the famous Vienna State Opera.

Our suite was Room 475, with a balcony wrapped around the corner suite from the sitting room to the bedroom, providing a stunning panoramic view.

We were in the Chinese Suite full of precious antiques and pictures.

We even invited our friends who also stayed at the same hotel to enjoy the complimentary champagne with us. For both nights that we stayed we bought take out to enjoy eating in the sitting room at the round dining table. We also used an HDMI cable to connect to the large flat screen TV to watch our Danube river cruise pictures and videos. 

The concierge was extremely helpful and gave us lots of tips on how to get to various attractions using public transport. They helped us make reservations for the guided tour of the Spanish Riding School, the morning horse show “Piber Meets Vienna”, and confirmed our taxi that we booked in advance. With the red Vienna Card that included public transport, we loved using Bus Route 2A to go from the hotel to most famous sights like the Spanish Riding School, Sisi Museum and the Vienna Ring Tram at Schwedenplatz. Tram D or #71 took us to Upper/Lower Belvedere. Mozart’s statue was only 1 bus stop away. All these bus/tram stops were just right outside the hotel, super duper convenient!

While we were there, we had a fabulous lunch at the restaurant.

For dessert, we thoroughly enjoyed the coffee and delicious apple strudel at Gerstner K. u. K. Hofzuckerbäcker, just a few shops next to the hotel on Kärntner Strasse.

A huge and special thanks to Kathleen S. for showing me around the hotel and shared Hotel Bristol’s history with me.

Classic Room #368 is the most basic room in the hotel.

Then we were in Penthouse Suite #663. All rooms on the 6th floor have beautiful terraced views.

President Suite #174 was absolutely incredible with so many rooms. Guests were also offered free limousine service from the airport.

Here comes the Grand Deluxe Bristol Suite Room 52.

I would definitely recommend Hotel Bristol to everyone to enjoy this “home away from home” in Europe.

My husband and I stayed at the University Arms Hotel, Autograph Collection, on a warm sunny day in early Spring 2019. Being a Marriott Platinum Elite member, I used my Suite Night Award to get a complimentary upgrade on top of my free night certificate, so the room cost us nothing but just a very steep parking fee of £30 (equivalent to CA$57) per night.

Check-in was fast and easy. We were greeted by the bell boy/concierge who took care of our luggage immediately after we stopped our rental car in front of the hotel. A few days before arrival I already received an email from the hotel saying that they have reserved the Terrace Suite on the top floor for us. Though we already had some expectations of what the room was like, we were awed by the lay-out and loved the ambience of the super comfortable and well-designed corner suite #907. After the fire, many areas of the hotel were remodelled to keep the authentic look with modern comfort. Kudos to the architect and the designer!

The bell boy from the concierge who was like a butler explained to us all the special room features like the 2 terraces.

The bathroom has 7 big and small windows and heated bathroom floor that was controlled by a thermostat behind the bathroom door.

We were offered complimentary alcoholic drinks like brandy & whisky and the tea/coffee machine with numerous selections.

The suite was so wonderful and relaxing that I just wanted to spend the whole afternoon lying around on the terrace with a glass in my hand, watching the passers-by on Parker’s Piece. However, with just 1 day to spend in Cambridge before attending a wedding on the following day, we had to leave the hotel for some sightseeing and punting on River Cam.

The hotel was so well-located that we felt safe walking around in the area after dinner. There were lots of restaurants and shops on Regent Street.

The next morning, we enjoyed our complimentary breakfast buffet in the restaurant as there was no club lounge for Platinum members in the hotel. The food was nicely-presented with bread on one table, hot entrees on another table and drinks,
fruit and cold meat/cheese selections on the 3rd table. It was a sumptuous breakfast though they didn’t offer our favourite big and lean English bacon.

Check-out was prompt and valet parking staff were quick and efficient. We would definitely stay at the hotel again if we’re in Cambridge.