When I first saw the Peninsula Hong Kong in 2007, I described it as “the classic old grand hotel on Kowloon;” my original Hong Kong site inspections are
here. What a difference seven years and a renovation (completed in 2013) can make. The hotel felt old in 2007. It feels fresh and elegant in 2014.
In my first site inspection, I did not even write about the lead-in rooms, and I have discouraged clients from booking them. Located in the original, 1928 building, the lead-in room categories (Superior, Deluxe, Deluxe Courtyard) felt dated. The interiors were tired. The walls were plain, and the white crown moldings and pendant light (if I recall these details correctly) only emphasized the very high ceilings, making the room “feel” small.
We spent our one evening in Hong Kong in a Deluxe Courtyard room (#432) at the Peninsula, and I can report that the renovation is brilliant: new carpeting throughout the hotel, an elegant beige color scheme, a creative interior design concept that makes the high ceilings an asset, completely up-to-date bathrooms, and a digital bedside tablet that made sense. I could turn the lights on and off without having to put on my reading glasses. And the bed … the most comfortable mattress I can remember sleeping on. We requested soft, thin pillows, and the pillows were perfect.
Courtyard rooms look over the front courtyard entrance to the hotel. The windows were absolutely soundproofed; we could not hear anything from the street.
We also saw a Grand Deluxe Harbour View room, a Grand Harbour View Suite, and a Grand Deluxe Harbour View Suite. These are located in the tower, high enough to see over the museum directly across Salisbury Road. But because ceilings in the tower are a "normal" 8 feet, these higher room categories ironically did not seem quite as elegant as the Courtyard room in which we stayed… but that's the trade-off if you want a view.
My take-away — the Peninsula is now the most elegant of the traditional hotels in Hong Kong. If you want to be on the Kowloon side of the harbour, I highly recommend it.