InterContinental Grand Stanford Hong Kong
The ICGS is located on the waterfront in Tsim Sha Tsui (TST) on Kowloon, a 15 minute walk from the Star Ferry piers, and under 10 minutes walk from the closest MTR station (East TST, from which you can walk underground to the main TST station). Whilst not the closest hotel to the buzzing parts of Kowloon, I like the fact that the property is slightly removed from the hustle and bustle, whilst still affording great views across Victoria Harbour to Hong Kong Island.
We were warmly welcomed on arrival, our bags taken and escorted to the reception desk. The lobby is spacious with a dual level bar to one side, and although slightly dated, is still impressive. Whilst there was a small queue at the main desk, a separate Ambassador desk was available and empty, meaning we were checked in promptly. The receptionist offered check-in in the Club InterContinental lounge, but we wanted to get straight to the room so I declined on this occasion. I was handed a couple of complimentary drinks vouchers (not really needed with club lounge access, but a nice touch nevertheless), and we were given directions to our room on the 17th floor, one below the top floor. I should probably mention at this point the totally bizarre Ambassador gift that I was given on check-in - a blow-up travel pillow! I have never used one of these, and can’t imagine the average ICGS guest would have much use for one either.
Since my last stay, the majority of the rooms at the ICGS have been refurbished - these are now called ‘Premier’ and ‘Club’ rooms, whilst non-refurbished rooms are branded ‘Deluxe’. I had booked a Premier Side Harbour View room originally on the Club InterContinental rate, from which we would have been upgraded to a Premier Full Harbour View Room thanks to my Ambassador status. However, a few weeks before departure I re-checked the rates for the hotel again and noticed that a Club InterContinental Side Harbour View Room was showing as slightly cheaper than my current booking. A quick email to the hotel had us confirmed on this room and rate, from which we were upgraded to a Club InterContinental Special View Room (a full harbour view, on the top floors).
Whilst not overly large, our room was immaculately presented and overall amongst one of the best non-suite hotel rooms I have stayed in. The entrance hall featured a large wardrobe (including bathrobes and slippers) and mini-bar to the left, with the bathroom to the right. The room featured two comfortable small double beds flanked by separate stone-topped night stands, a chaise longue (that was annoyingly handed the wrong way round to make the most of the view), a large desk with comfortable desk chair, and a long bank of drawers (including a safe), one set of which doubled as a suitcase stand. There was not space for a proper table and armchairs, but this would perhaps have been better suited to the room than the chaise longue. Set just below the wall-mounted TV on the sideboard was the Ambassador welcome fruit and mineral water, along with a gift of chocolates in an attractive InterContinental-branded box. The fruit was replenished daily, which is a nice touch given I generally only expect the fruit on arrival. Filtered water was available in abundance, with bottles placed in the bathroom and the mini-bar, as well as beside the beds on turndown service - this didn’t taste particularly nice, but good to have this in the room rather than having to go out and buy bottles in a bid to avoid the expected exorbitant mini-bar fees.
Technology-wise, the room was well equipped with fast free wifi, a Nespresso machine, a Bose bluetooth speaker, large wall-mounted flat screen TV and a very handy Alcatel 4G-enabled smartphone that was complimentary for guests to take around Hong Kong - very handy for Google Maps on the move without using roaming or going to the hassle of getting a local SIM card. A newspaper was delivered to the room daily. I used the laundry service once during the stay as I had made a rare miscalculation in the amount of clothing required during packing - I appreciated the same-day turnaround and the discount offered to Club guests.
The bathroom was adequately sized, and featured a large vanity area, as well as a powerful shower over the bath (with shower curtain rather than screen). Whilst my preference is always for walk-in showers, I really didn’t mind on this occasion as the standard of fit-out in the bathroom was so good as to distract me from this minor inconvenience. The usual Agraria amenities were in abundance.
Whilst the room was always immaculately made up each day (including on our last day in the run-up to an extended 4pm check-out), I found it slightly odd that chocolates weren’t offered with the turndown service. The bathroom towels were a little on the hard side - I suspect they are imminently due for replacement, although this should have perhaps been done a few months ago. The only other slight annoyance was that the overhead ‘mood lighting’ was quite harsh, but this was easily turned off as the controls were intuitively aligned to each type of lighting in the room.
Here are some images of the spectacular view from our room:
The Club InterContinental lounge on the first floor doesn’t offer quite the same amazing view as the front-facing rooms given there’s a flyover partly in the way, however, what it lacks in an unobstructed view the lounge more than makes up for in its elegant design, excellent amenities and refined service. The long rectangular space is sensibly separated into separate areas, with private computer workstations (including PCs and printers) straight after reception, a long section of comfortable seating at both high and low levels, a couple of private meeting/lounge rooms at the far end, and a distinctive buffet area that takes up almost as much space as the seating. Whilst there are no washrooms in the lounge, there are some located just along the hall outside. Newspapers and magazines were available aplenty, along with board games. Something I hadn't spotted on my previous visit, there is a small outside terrace just off the lounge, which I guess is used more by smokers than anyone else as the space looks over a square to the side of the property rather than enjoying a view of the harbour.
I couldn’t fault the breakfast we enjoyed each morning in the lounge. An expansive buffet of juices, smoothies, breads, pastries, meat, fish, cheese, fruit, cereal, yogurt and selected hot items was available, along with an à la carte menu set on each of the beautifully laid tables. The lounge staff delivered just the right mix of professional, friendly and efficient service, and were more than happy to take orders for anything that wasn’t on the menu and to customise dishes as required. I should note at this point that some seats are more suited to breakfast than others - a number of low tables closest to the windows really are more for later in the day despite being laid for breakfast.
The same excellent service was offered during afternoon tea, during which a buffet of delicious finger sandwiches, wraps, scones, cakes, pastries and fruit was available. A packed itinerary meant we were only able to enjoy afternoon tea in the lounge on a handful of occasions, but we certainly made the most of them!
The lounge also offers an evening cocktail service, with both hot and cold canapés available at the buffet, accompanied by copious amounts of Moët (as well as a variety of other drinks, naturally). The staff are happy to take orders from the extensive in-room dining menu within the lounge, which offers a nice alternative to the hotel’s other restaurants and something which we appreciated on our first evening. We dined at the hotel on two other occasions - once in-room and once at The Mistral, the hotel’s Italian restaurant that has recently been refurbished. Set in the basement of the property, the lack of a view is not a concern thanks to the well laid out space and clever use of lighting, and aspect over the open kitchen. My handmade egg lasagne with pork and beef ragout was delicious, as was (I am reliably informed) the handmade ravioli filled with ricotta, spinach and butter and sage sauce, both enjoyed with a side dish of spinach leaves sautéed with shallots. For dessert, the Mistral chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream and whiskey vanilla sauce was simply superb, creatively presented by the waiter who poured over the hot sauce at the table to melt the chocolate surrounding the cake.
The ICGS is overall an excellent property that I look forward to staying at again on my next trip to Hong Kong. The fairly quiet but reasonably well-connected location, outstanding views from many rooms, smart modern interiors, warm service and the excellent lounge combine to create a very comfortable retreat from which to explore Hong Kong.
Next: Images from 6 days exploring one of the world’s most iconic cities.