CMK10

A truly brilliant report. I can't decide what I like more, the excellent photography or the equally excellent writing. I eagerly await your next entries ^

aks120

Matthandy

Thanks - I look forward to reading the rest of your trip report. Can I ask you what you got in your amenity kit? The bag it came in looked quite nice.

aks120

ryanbryan

Some fantastic photography in here, and a great report!

Omar84

Great job Matthandy,

Really appreciate the effort and detail you put into the report, it shines though

mry

Simply WOW!!
Keep them coming...

Seat 2A

Yet another stylish and well photographed report from one of FlyerTalk's best reporters. Well done, Matt. ^^

I've never flown anything but First Class on Cathay and while that's a streak I'd like to maintain as long as possible, your pictures of Cathay's new Business Class show that if and when I finally do end up in Business, I'll still have a very nice flight to look forward to.

matthandy

Thank you everyone for your fantastic comments, they keep me writing these reports!

Thanks HighLife, you obviously didn't read the top section of my report then? All of the details are there

I'd say that you have to use what you are comfortable with. I use my iPhone in some cases but it really is a last resort. I've never had an issue with using my DSLR on an aircraft or at the airport. The trick is simply to be discreet and with practice, learn how to get a shot in one go. There's nothing worse than someone with a camera pointing it at you and taking loads of photos, checking them, and taking loads again. Very annoying!

It might also have something to do with the fact that I have short legs!

Thanks harrison. As I mentioned above, the key is to be discreet, and if anyone says anything, happily engage in a conversation with them. Most people are just interested in what you are doing and what equipment you are using.

Thank you noniron! Not sure about a CX TR comp!

Scanned. I used to type the menus out but now I can't be bothered...

That's very much appreciated FSUSeminole007. There are more updates to come.

Thanks for that stu1985. All I can say is, Lightroom.

Thanks for the geography lessons tmjimmy. I had no idea that there was anything really to see from that photo, as it was so cloudy. It's a shame as it sounds like I could have got a very good overview, if only those clouds weren't in the way!


exc3ll and CMK10 thanks for your positive comments. There's a lot more to come...

That's a good point aks120. I would normally photograph the contents and include it in the report. I'll try and do this tonight.


Thanks for your great comments ryanbryan, Omar84 and mry.

Thank you Seat 2A! I wish that I could say the same, but as you can see CX J is pretty good!

matthandy

The Four Seasons Hotel, Hong Kong

About the hotel

The Four Seasons in Hong Kong is a five star luxury property and one of the top rated hotels in the city. It is in fact the number one hotel on Trip Advisor. The hotel has 399 rooms and stands 45 storeys tall. It opened in 2005 and is the only hotel in the world with two Michelin starred restaurants on site.
With rates starting at around £400 per night my expectations were very high. This would be the most expensive hotel that I’d ever stayed in. The hotel occupies prime real estate on the front of Victoria Habour in Central. It is connected to the IFC mall and is near to both Hong Kong MTR and Airport Express stations. It is also close to the ferry piers at Central, making it convenient for transport.

I had arrived at the hotel at around 4.25pm and the place was heaving with people. As I got out of the taxi the kind porter took my bag and gave me a ticket. The bag would be brought to my room shortly after checking in. I was shown to the check in desks which were quite a distance from the main doors. The agent checked me in, welcoming me to the hotel and going through the motions. It all felt a bit rushed (probably because it was so busy) and forced. I had expected a bit more from a hotel that costs £400/$650 a night.

I was allocated a harbour view room (upgrade of one room type) and also given details about the free breakfast included in my rate etc. I was shown to the lifts but not escorted to my room.

As I entered the room a large smile drew across my face. This was certainly the most opulent and luxurious hotel room that I’d stayed in up to this point. The room itself couldn’t be called large but it was a very decent size. The overall styling was certainly to my tastes, luxurious, understated and not over the top.

There was a decent sized desk as well as a large flat screen TV on the wall with a Blu-ray player hidden in the cabinet below and a Bose iPod speaker system on the side. For those who are into such things, there was a Nespresso machine on the side, above the mini-bar.

The bathroom was also very well appointed, with a separate bath and shower, double sinks, a TV in the wall next to the bath and luxurious robes and towels hanging everywhere. The bathroom amenities were L’Occitane.

The from the room was excellent, looking right out over the harbour, towards Kowloon.

Room overview

The luxurious bed


Nespresso machine


The bathroom


The shower


L’Occitane amenities


Branded towels

After a few minutes there was a knock on the door and a pot of fresh green tea was delivered, and shortly afterwards, my suitcase.

I was rather tired at this point, so I decided to take a shower before heading out to explore. The view from my room was spectacular, and as the sun started to set, I was mesmerised by the effect on the buildings out on the harbour’s edge. From the room I was able to look West towards Tsing Yi, opposite to Kowloon and the International Commerce Centre (with the Ritz-Carlton at the top) as well as East to Tsim Sha Tsui and beyond.

Tsing Yi

Kowloon and Tsim Sha Tsui


The ICC and the Ritz-Carlton

After snapping away it was time to go exploring. First up I wanted to take a look at the famed swimming pool with it’s infinity pool that overlooks the harbour front. Wow, it was pretty spectacular, even in the dark and the rain. There were two pools, a ‘lap’ pool, with lanes as well as the large infinity pool. There was also a Jacuzzi and a bubble bench that overlooked the harbour. In addition, there was a poolside bar, serving drinks and snacks, although waiter service was available at the poolside if using the pool itself.

The cover photo for this report is a panorama that I took at that point, but here are some more photos as well:

Looking back towards the Peak


The pool bar


The lap pool


Looking towards the IFC

It was really starting to rain at this point so I headed back inside and made my way through the reception area and into the connecting escalators to the IFC mall. As per usual, these malls are massive and this one was certainly no exception.

I had a quick wander around, looking at many of the shops that I couldn’t really afford to step foot in and then realised that I was starting to get hungry. I wanted to eat in the hotel, but wasn’t really sure of the options. However, as I was making my way back towards the hotel I heard two guys complaining that the hotel restaurants were all booked up, so that effectively ended any thoughts of eating at the hotel tonight. Room service would have to do.

I made my way back to the up the room and placed my order. This was promptly delivered along with some chips and a lovely serving of chilli jam. Yum. For room service, the food was pretty good.

Room service – toasted chicken ciabatta with chips

After that I retired to bed and watched a bit of TV before dozing off, catching up on the sleep that I’d missed the night before.

I woke at about 6.30am which wasn’t too bad I suppose, given the two hour time difference. I had to be out of the room by 12pm so had planned to go down for some breakfast and enjoy the pool for a couple of hours before checking out. My flight to London wasn’t until 11.55pm so I had a rather long wait before I’d be able to travel to the airport to check in.

I lounged in bed for a bit before getting up, showering and then heading down the ‘Lounge’ bar for breakfast. This was included in my room rate and unlike many hotels, breakfast was a full a-la-carte service. I was shown to a table presented with the menu asked if I would like a newspaper. I decided to go for the eggs with sausages and hash browns. Bread was offered so I chose some croissants. To drink I chose a fresh apple juice, with green tea to follow after the meal.

The restaurant wasn’t too busy but unfortunately there was the most awful specimen of human kind on the table behind me. A terribly arrogant and rude South African man with his wife who were giving the waiter all sorts of hell. First up, she wanted to inspect the granola in case it had sultanas in it, which it didn’t. Then she wanted warm milk and toast, but only after their tea had arrived. He wanted tea, but his toast should arrive at the same time, but not before his porridge. You get the idea? The waiter was so confused, because (although they didn’t recognise this), they were confusing him. He tried to read back the order several times and each time they changed it again. In the end the husband shouts “friend, listen to me, toast first!” in a most condescending and disrespectful tone, the tone that you might use with a naughty child. Truly awful people. If staying in a luxury hotel means that my encounter rate with these types of people is likely to increase then I’ll think I’ll stay elsewhere. They made me so angry.

Anyway, my croissants arrived. They were warm and easily the most flaky that I’ve had before. I ended up making a right mess, it was impossible not to! I noticed that one of the serving staff actually had a little hoover which he used to suck up all of the crumbs under someone else’s table. Shortly afterwards the main arrived. Everything was ok, but not spectacular. I can’t say that it was the most amazing breakfast that I’ve ever had, because it wasn’t. It was fine though.

The Lounge


Breakfast setting


Breakfast

After breakfast I went back to my room to change before heading down to the pool. For a Sunday morning the pool was not busy at all.

The sun lounges were laid out with two towels each so that you could relax on one and dry off with the other. As soon as I sat down the waiter bought over a small tray with a cold towel, spritzer (for the cold towel) and some chilled water.

I went for a quick dip, taking in the surroundings. This really did feel luxurious, especially the infinity pool. I could soak up that view forever.

After my swim I went back to the sun lounger to dry off and to get a drink. I should mention at this point that the hotel provides Wi-Fi throughout all areas of the hotel, including the pool area. I was provided with a card as part of my check in package which gave me unlimited access for the duration of my stay.

The waiter came over and asked if I wanted to order anything and then came back with the menu. As expected, it was reasonably expensive, but not over the top. A glass of Tattinger for example, was about $25AUD. I had to have some ‘Tatty by the pool’ so I promptly ordered some and after it had arrived, took a photo and sent it to some colleagues. Yes, I’m that annoying guy that enjoys sending holiday snaps to people whilst I’m still on holiday .

matthandy

Amazing view from my sun lounger


Amazing view from my sun lounger


Tatty by the pool

As I was enjoying the Champagne one of the waiters was making his way around the pool with free sorbets shaped into lollies, yum, and there were even two flavours to choose from.

At about 11.30am I headed back up to my room to shower, change and then check out. Check out was efficient and reasonably friendly. I enquired about still being able to use the pool and other facilities until I had to leave in the evening for my flight and this was fine.

I’d arranged to meet my colleague for lunch and just as I had checked out he arrived. I asked the concierge to store my luggage and then we went up to the pool for some lunch. It was really great to catch up with him as we haven’t worked together for well over a year and a half. Some of the work that I had done was still helping the company out so that was good to hear.

After lunch I decided to take a wander around Central. I’d worked out that if I left the hotel at around 8pm I’d arrive at the airport at about the right time (if not a bit early) to check in.

I’ve spent time in Hong Kong before and I love Central, it’s so full of life and it has a very interesting mix of old and new, West and East.

The streets around Central


The streets around Central


The streets around Central


Fish anyone?


I thought that seafood was generally healthy?


Local butchers


West meets East

After an hour or so it really started to chuck it down with rain so I scrambled back to the hotel and sat myself down at the bar. The bar is a full table service affair and as I still had Wi-Fi I was able to kill a few hours with a couple of cocktails in hand. The service was pretty good and I wasn’t allowed to actually top up any of my drinks, as this task was completed by one of the many waiting staff.

A mai tai and a coke


Interesting architecture in the bar

At about 5.45pm I decided to catch the famous Star Ferry over to TST to watch the sun set and the building light up. I’ve done this before, but not with my new camera, and not when I had several hours to kill before a flight!

The Star Ferry is pretty easy. Everything is in English. You need a token to actually go through the barrier but can use either coins or notes to buy one. A one way trip costs $HKD which is about 24p or $0.40c, so rather cheap.

Walking to the ferry was pretty easy, I made my way out of the IFC mall and followed the signs to the appropriate pier. In doing so I walked past the mighty IFC building and also the rather impressive looking Apple store.

Suspended Apple store


The IFC and the Four Seasons

The journey was pretty quick and luckily the weather held off so the ride was reasonably smooth. The beauty of the Star Ferry is that it is completely no frills. Tourists and locals are in it together. It’s simple, cheap and does what it says on the tin.

We bundled off the ferry and I made my way down to the promenade, choosing the lower, covered section as it was clearly going to rain again. There was already a reasonably large crowd gathered but I was able to secure a decent spot.

On the Star Ferry


Docking at TST


Prime view


The boats start to take up their positions


The boats start to take up their positions


Bye bye Star Ferry

matthandy

As the sun started to set the clouds rolled in and soon it was raining again. It actually made for a very dramatic start to the evening, with the clouds providing a menancing back drop to the brightly lit buildings.

Looking over to Central and the Peak


Looking over to Central and the Peak


The IFC and the Four Seasons

Photos snapped and it was time to head back as it was about 7pm at this point. As I left the crowds the rain intensified to the point where it was almost not possible to see across the water. Definitely time to leave then.

I took the Star Ferry back, passing a poor wedding couple who were trying to get some snaps in the pouring rain. I definitely felt sorry for them.

Poor couple


Star Ferry waiting area


All aboard!


Rain sheets down in front of the IFC


Where is the Apple store?

I made my way back through the mall and to the hotel where I collected my suitcase and went to into the toilets to change into something more suitable for the flight. I then went back out into the mall, dragging my rather heavy suitcase with me and then down to the Airport Express station to head to the airport.

Verdict

There’s no question that the Four Seasons is a truly luxury hotel. The room was incredibly well appointed and luxurious with lots of little touches and features that really added to the experience. It was certainly the nicest hotel room that I’ve had the pleasure of staying in.

The swimming pool is also something else! It really is amazing and the location, nestled between the tall buildings and looking out over the water only adds to the effect.

However, I found the other public areas of the hotel a little underwhelming. The reception area was plain and did not shout luxury, even in an understated way. The hotel also seemed very busy a lot of the time, and I felt that it was somewhat of a tourist attraction, with lots of people coming to visit just to take a look and gawp.

This hotel is supposedly famed for it’s service. Well, I certainly didn’t receive bad service, that’s for sure, but for the price I certainly didn’t feel that the service stood out at all. Check in was rushed and impersonal (compare that to my check at the Ritz-Carlton at the end of the report) and nothing left me with the impression of being a valued guest. I might as well just have walked in off the street as a tourist because I would have been treated the same. Maybe if I had stayed there for more than the one night? I’m not sure.

Overall, I had a good stay, but for me personally, it was difficult to justify the price tag.

frankxinyu

As always a well constructed report! Keep up the good work

000

Amazing TR report. Thanks. Really looking forward to the rest.

I thought your photos in the first installment were amazing, but those in your second are even better!

If you don't mind sharing, what settings did you use to get such vibrant colours on the Four Seasons shots by the pool?

SFore

As a fellow Nikon lover, I am loving this TR! Looks like some HDR? Excited to read the rest of your trip report. I'll be transiting through HKG in nov on my honeymoon and am planning on touring the city for a few hours. Any recommendations for a memorable lunch with a great view?

Jinxy

Genius as always. Was wondering when you'd post something new. Are you single? Lol sound like a great guy for a few friends of mine!

robofski

A new Matthandy trip report...yeah! Never fails to impress with pictures and words, looking forward to the rest!