A pretty puzzle of forested mountains, towering skyscrapers, busy street markets, glitzy malls, golden beaches and smoky sea temples make Hong Kong a city that few others can compete with. It’s a place to taste dim sum and experience top-notch fine dining and pulsing nightlife, while being frenetic with trams, candy-coloured supercars, yachts, sampans and ferries.
I was raised in Hong Kong and continue to call the city home. While it’s easy to blow the budget, there are plenty of world-class attractions that cost next to nothing, including a 25p tram ride, a 50p crossing on the Star Ferry, popping into temples and visiting municipal museums for free on Wednesdays.
Not to mention it’s home to some of the world’s best hotels – The Peninsula, Mandarin Oriental, Swire Hotels, Regent and Rosewood all made their name in this city before going on to conquer the world of luxury travel. You’ll find plenty of wallet-friendly options too, some with harbour-view swimming pools, others with rooftop bars, head-turning art collections or bucolic rural locations.
Whether you’re looking for somewhere that puts you in the heart of the culinary action, a scenic stay, or to chill at an urban resort, these are the best hotels in Hong Kong.
There are plenty of world-class attractions that cost next to nothing, including a 25p ride on the trams, a 50p crossing on the Star Ferry, popping into temples and visiting municipal museums for free on Wednesdays.
Lee Cobaj
The best hotels in Hong Kong 2026
At a glance
1. Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong hotel
Taking up floors 102 to 118 of the International Commerce Centre – Hong Kong’s tallest building – Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong offers astonishing views, stretching all the way from the old Kai Tak airport in the east to the westerly Outlying Islands. But it’s not the only reason to book. Within its lofty confines are two double-Michelin star restaurants: Tosca di Angelo for Italian fine dining and Tin Lung Heen for sublime Cantonese dishes such as juicy barbecue pork, steamed lobster and scallop dumplings.
There’s also a futuristic rooftop bar, Ozone, a serene spa with pearl-based massages, and a swimming pool where you can do laps among the clouds.
Address: International Commerce Centre, 1 Austin Road West, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Price: Doubles from £349, room only, year round
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2. Four Seasons Hong Kong hotel
Celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2025, the Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong was the first hotel in the world to be awarded eight Michelin stars. They are portioned between Lung King Heen, the first Chinese restaurant to win three Michelin stars; French fine dining restaurant Caprice, also with three stars; Italian restaurant Noi, and Sushi Saito (the first overseas outpost of the Tokyo sushi restaurant) with one star each. There are more awards to be found at Argo (ranked ninth on Asia’s 50 Best Bars list) and at the Forbes five-star spa.
Thrown in sterling service and golden views of Victoria Harbour and it’s easy to understand why a loyal following returns year after year.
Address: 8 Finance St, Central, Hong Kong
Price: Doubles from £493, room only, year round
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3. The Peninsula hotel
This is simply one of the most glorious hotels in the world, a veritable legend. Affectionately known to locals as The Pen, few others can compete with its illustrious history, storied list of former guests – Charlie Chaplin, Elizabeth Taylor, Ella Fitzgerald, Muhammed Ali – and gilded Italian renaissance decor.
Arrive by helicopter on the rooftop landing pad or pull into the driveway, chauffeured in one of 14 signature green Rolls Royce Phantoms. Staff in pristine white uniforms with pillbox hats welcome guests into the lobby, where a string quartet plays from the balcony during afternoon tea. A world of its own, you could easily spend days flitting from the plush rooms and lavish spa to the Roman-style indoor swimming pool and the nine bars and restaurants (don’t miss the dim sum at Michelin-starred Spring Moon).
Address: Salisbury Rd, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
Price: Doubles from £510, room only, year round
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4. Tai O Heritage Hotel
A charming cross-harbour ferry and bus ride through the Lantau countryside takes you to this nine-room heritage hotel in the rural fishing village of Tai O. Staring out across the South China Sea, the colonial-era building was built as a remote maritime police station fending off pirates. Now, life here is much more serene.
French windows open onto verandas with gorgeous sunset views, Neoclassical columns frame gardens shaded by banyan trees, and arched corridors lead to white wood-panelled rooms decorated with vintage furniture, antique fixtures and marble bathrooms. There’s a small all-day restaurant at the Tai O Heritage Hotel, but it’s more fun to venture into Tai O village for jumbo fish balls, deep-fried shrimp toast and charcoal-grilled egg waffles.
Address: 14 Shek Tsai Po St, Lantau Island, Hong Kong
Price: Doubles from £132, B&B, year round
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5. Mondrian Hong Kong hotel
This design-led brand has revamped the old Panorama Hotel into an artsy hangout in the heart of Tsim Sha Tsui, one of Kowloon’s most atmospheric neighbourhoods. Rooms at Mondrian are compact but have big V-shaped windows to maximise the city and harbour views, as well as box-fresh interiors filled with subtle nods to Hong Kong – lacquered sewing box minibars, tailored wall panels and lamps inspired by the fan sails of junk boats.
There’s no pool or spa but Avoca bar does a mean line of locally inspired cocktails (don’t miss a claypot negroni) and the Italian steakhouse, Carna, is one of the buzziest spots in town.
Address: 8A Hart Ave, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
Price: Doubles from £189, B&B, year round
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6. The Upper House
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Tilda Swinton is among the many celebs thought to have stayed at The Upper House. Sleek André Fu-designed interiors take guests away from the Hong Kong hubbub through a creamy modernist atrium. At the top is sultry Mediterranean restaurant Salisterra and date-night bar The Green Room. Below are 117 rooms – some of the largest in the city – with warm woods and rich fawn and mauve fabrics that never detract from the sparkling views.
The hotel doesn’t have a spa. It has a Longevity Centre. Set in an adjacent building, the low-lit space has all the latest anti-ageing innovations: a hyperbaric chamber, cold plunge, infrared beds, PRX “no peel” face peels and microneedling treatments with exosomes. In-room massages can also be arranged and a roster of monthly wellness activities includes a running club and yoga on the sixth-floor al fresco lawn.
Address: Upper House, 88 Queensway, Admiralty, Hong Kong
Price: Doubles from £557, room only, year round
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7. Eaton HK hotel
The Eaton‘s 1970s-inspired design, art installations, funky food hall, pet-friendly rooftop bar and allyship with the LGBT+ community make it one of Hong Kong’s favourite hangouts.
The guest rooms are compact but cleverly put together with cork walls, geometric print carpets, old-school flip clocks, smart shower rooms and a copy of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in every bedside drawer. Elsewhere, there is a dinky rooftop pool, 24-hour fitness studio, radio station, movie screening room, Michelin-star restaurant Yat Tung Heen and an outdoor terrace hosting regular free-to-join wellness activities.
Address: 380 Nathan Road, Jordan, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Price: Doubles from £85, B&B, year round
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8. Hotel Icon
You would never know that this Sir Terence Conrad-designed hotel was a training school run by the neighbouring Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Switched-on staff are on hand from the moment you stroll through the door into a light-filled triple-height lobby festooned with Asia’s largest indoor vertical garden.
Restaurants at Hotel Icon deliver award-winning cuisine at reasonable prices (Cantonese at Above & Beyond, nutritious comfort food at Green, belt-busting brunches at The Market), while most of the spacious mineral-hued rooms come with beautiful harbour views. This is a view that can also be enjoyed from the excellent executive lounge, the expansive gym and the temperature-controlled outdoor swimming pool.
Address: 17 Science Museum Rd, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
Price: Doubles from £160, B&B, year round
9. Regent Hong Kong hotel
The Regent Hong Kong has come full circle, having first graced the Kowloon waterfront in 1980s before rebranding as the Intercontinental in the early Noughties. A three-year closure and multi-million dollar refurbishment saw the group’s flagship hotel returned to its glory days when it reopened at the end of 2023 with the Regent name restored.
The interiors have been completely renewed by Hong Kong-born designer Chi Wing Lo, with rooms that now feature granite open-plan bathrooms with Japanese soaking tubs and day beds in box windows that frame pinch-me views of Victoria Harbour. What remains unchanged is the hotel’s stellar lineup of drinking and dining establishments – NOBU, two Michelin-star Lai Ching Heen, and all-day dining favourites Harbourside Grill, The Steakhouse and Qura Bar.
Address: 18 Salisbury Rd, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
Price: Doubles from £535, B&B, year round
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10. East Hong Kong hotel
The Upper House’s business-leaning sibling East Hong Kong is located in Taikoo, seven MTR stops from Central in, you guessed it, the east of Hong Kong Island. It’s just as hip as you might expect. The woody double-height lobby has hot desk-style seating fitted with sockets and a USB port, as well as a contemporary bird’s nest staircase spiralling upstairs to popular semi-buffet restaurant Feast.
Energy-efficient rooms – 345 in total – blend warm woods and clean lines with panoramic views of high-rises and harbour. There’s also an outdoor swimming pool, which is heated in winter, and a rooftop bar that sizzles whatever the time of year.
Address: 29 Tai Koo Shing Rd, Quarry Bay, Hong Kong
Price: Doubles from £282, room only, year round
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11. Grand Hyatt, Hong Kong hotel
Gracing the Wan Chai waterfront overlooking Victoria Harbour, the Grand Hyatt delivers on all levels with a wide range of business and leisure facilities. Conference-goers love the close proximity to the Hong Kong Exhibition Centre and swish executive lounge with its gourmet nibbles and flowing champagne.
Holidaymakers can take full advantage of the Plateau Spa and one of Hong Kong’s best hotel swimming pools, a tropical lagoon trimmed with palm trees. Everyone will find something to love at the 10 bars and restaurants.
Address: 1 Harbour Rd, Wan Chai, Hong Kong
Price: Doubles from £235, room, year round
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12. The Hari Hong Kong hotel
Opened in 2020, this boutique beauty has a brilliant location in Wan Chai surrounded by street markets, shopping malls, smoky old sea temples and some of the city’s liveliest nightlife. The tactile Tara Bernerd interiors – caramel leather sofas, tweed armchairs, bookcases, custom-made rugs, digital artworks, flattering lighting – combined with the efficient service and tasteful rooms make you want to stay a while.
A smartly-dressed crowd inhabit the bar and restaurants at The Hari – Lucciola’s is the place for perfect bowls of pasta, while moreish Japanese bites are served Zoku. Follow with drinks on the terrace peering at the crowds ambling along Lockhart Road.
Address: 1/F, 330 Lockhart Rd, Wan Chai, Hong Kong
Price: Doubles from £180, B&B, year round
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13. Mandarin Oriental hotel
Located in the heart of Central, this mid-century marvel celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2024. Its guest list is a roll call of the 20th century’s most famous names, but it is most beloved by locals, many of whom are greeted by name by long-standing staff.
Well-heeled Hongkongers fill the Clipper Lounge for afternoon tea with rose petal jam, tuck into tiffins of curry in The Chinnery, and celebrate special occasions at Michelin-star Cantonese restaurant Man Wah. They have their names engraved upon silver tankards at The Captain’s Bar, peacock around The Aubrey and stay looking their best thanks to the Mandarin Spa, which offers everything from haircuts to Shanghai pedicures to Chinese Therapy Retreats. Those staying at Mandarin Oriental can expect classic rooms dressed with thick rugs, walnut marquetry and tasteful Chinese art.
Address: 5 Connaught Road Central Hong Kong
Price: Rooms from £492, B&B, year round
14. Rosewood Hong Kong
Owned by the billionaire Cheng family, the Rosewood Hong Kong opened on the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront in 2019 and was quickly established as one of the city’s most exclusive addresses. Here, everything feels well-oiled – from the suave Tony Chi design and the museum-worthy artworks to the consistently brilliant restaurants (don’t miss Chaat) and ever-thoughtful service.
Of the 413 rooms, 80 per cent come with dazzling Victoria Harbour views, which are at their most impressive in the vast corner suites. Tactile interiors feature thick plaid rugs, bespoke furniture and jade-green lacquer doors that open onto Hollywood-worthy white-marble bathrooms. Make time for some self-care at Asaya, which offers life coaching and art therapy alongside therapeutic massages and Guerlain facials that have been specially designed for the hotel.
Address: 18 Salisbury Rd, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
Price: Doubles from £514, room only, year round
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Why trust us
The hotels featured in this list have been carefully selected by The Independent’s expert travel writer Lee Cobaj, who grew up in and is currently a resident of Hong Kong, with a deep knowledge of the destination, ensuring a personal and informed perspective. When picking which hotels to include she considered her own experience staying in the hotels and evaluated location, facilities, service and all the other details that make for an exceptional stay for all types of traveller.
FAQs
When is the best time of year to visit?
Hong Kong is a sub-tropical region with hot muggy summers and temperate winters. The best months to visit are between November and March, when the humidity drops and temperatures sit between 20-28C.
What is Hong Kong most famous for?
Hong Kong has more skyscrapers than anywhere else, with 564 buildings soaring over 150-metres tall, so you might be surprised to learn that nearly 70 per cent of the territory is protected green land.
How many days do I need in Hong Kong?
Hong Kong is a small but multi-layered city that deserves at least five days to soak up the sights, street life, food and countryside.
