Among the top hotel groups in Hong Kong Harbour Plaza Hotels & Resorts has created a niche for themselves especially there two flagship hotels – Harbour Grand Hong Kong, Harbour Grand Kowloon. So when I decided to visit Hong Kong to cover an event I decided to use this opportunity to experience Harbour Grand Kowloon. Co-ordinating with Loretta Wong, Director of Marketing Communications, Harbour Grand Kowloon and Kevin Chu, Senior Marketing Communications Officer, Harbour Grand Kowloon, I landed at this multi-award winning hotel.

On arrival what probably catches most guest’s attention is the imposing lobby with the grand marble staircaseand the magnificent Swarovski crystals creating a wave. I was later informed that the massive 15-metre chandelier named the “Prisms of Light” is made up of approximately 150,000 Swarovski Element Strass Crystals.

Check in was smooth and though I arrived quite early they checked me in and gave me a room in the new tower with some stunning views of the harbor skyline. “The tower in which you are staying has our brand new guestrooms. The new Tower is connected to the hotel’s main building by a sky bridge making it convenient for our guests to move across the buildings without stepping out,” said Victor Chan Kok-wai, GM, Harbour Grand Kowloon, a veteran of 30 + years in the hospitality sector. He has also been the Chairman of the Hong Kong Hotels Association and a board member of the Hong Kong Tourism Board.

Although the hotel was under renovation (many rooms including the club lounge were not operational) the new tower rooms (you first need to take the lift to the 20th floor and then cross over) are quite comfortable with modern design, elegant furnishingsand a very comfortable sofa bed.What I liked was the handy master switch, as well as switches for the nightlight, ceiling lights, spotlight and foyer are easily accessible. The gorgeous marble bathroom (could have been more spacious) gives two options – a bath tub or a walk-in shower.

The hotel has 900+ spacious and well-furnished guestrooms including 360 brand new Tower rooms and suites. This sparkling glass structure, is right on the waterfront offering splendid views across Victoria Harbour. Infact you can get abundant views from the restaurants, fitness center, pool, and almost half of the guest rooms.

Location wise the hotelhas a great advantage of being right just a few steps from the MTR Whampoa Station. From the airport one can take a taxi or the hotels limousine or the Airport Express to Kowloon Station – then 10 minutes to the hotel. The hotel provides complimentary shuttle bus to downtown Tsim Sha Tsui every 30 minutes. In case you prefer the ferry it’s adjacent to Hunghom Ferry Pier travelling to North Point. Thus from the hotel one can choose transportation by either metro, road or water. But if you prefer to walk to the downtown you can do so relishing thegorgeous views of the harbour and surroundings.

On the culinary side thehotel has five distinctive restaurants with diverse dining options. The Promenade is the hotels all day dinning restaurant. Located at lobby level on the backdrop of the Victoria HarbourThe Promenade showcases abundant delicacies, including Chinese, Japanese, Southeast Asian, Western dishes, as well as delectable grills and handcrafted desserts. For breakfast they have a small Indian counter and every day morning I used to relish Indian tit bits. Inafct Surendran, the Asian chef also organized a nice Indian dinner for me. The Waterfront Bar & Terrace, located on the outdoor patio offers happy hour drinks and space for private events was recently refurbished.

The other restaurants are Robatayaki that provides guests an authentic Japanese culinary journey; Harbour Grill is a fine dining restaurant; Corner Café, located in the corner of the lobby, serves premium coffee and tea as well as a selection of homemade pastries, sandwiches and other delicacies; Hoi Won Teen specialises in Cantonese cuisine. Thanks to its extensive floor-to-ceiling glass one can enjoy 210 degrees of the Victoria Harbour without any obstruction.

Apart from the stunning views, Harbour Grand Kowloon with a private pier is a remarkable venue for MICE and weddings. With approximately 2,350 m² of event space and 12 functional venues including a brand new Whampoa Conference Centre on a dedicated floor Harbour Grand Kowloon can cater for large-scale conferences, small expos, corporate events, private parties etc.

The brand new Grand Ballroom spread over 4,500 square-foot in a pillar less hall is adorned with sculptural chandeliers made with crystals from Swarovski and equipped with state-of-the-art facilities including a high definition LED wall and built-in LCD projectors with screens. The venue can accommodate maximum 600 guests in cocktail style and 33 round tables in banquet style, the Grand Ballroom is a popular venue for grand weddings, annual general meetings, high-tech press conferences, and other large-scale events.

Talking on the MICE front Victor Chan said, “The addition of Whampoa Conference Centre with seven function roomshas almost doubled our hotel’s meeting and event space to 2,350 sqm. The best part is all them will have natural daylight. We must be one of the few hotels in Hong Kong to have 900 rooms as well as a good space for events.”