vh_bu98

I was on the 15th floor. They did pull down the window covers for the restaurants. I was a little disappointed since I wanted to see outside while dining.

Pickles

So I guess you were OK then, as the waves didn't reach up that high. But I guess the lobby was flooded?

christep

Having lived here for 20 years I was surprised to hear about this tsunami as well - I wonder how I could have missed hearing about it previously?

vh_bu98

LOL, typo on my part. I meant typhoon, not tsunami. Although typhoon Hato did have tsunami like waves.

Pickles

It sure did!

tentseller

Especially when the wind and water are in sync.

High tide when the typhoon hit can cause some mighty swells. The HFC estate was built to proper drainage standards but the standard only cover 99.99% of the possibilities.

Nobody thought about flood insurance for their cars in HK.

mbloes

Can I go out on a limb and characterize you as a swimmer?

Not to totally derail the thread, but what are your recommendations for legitimate pools for doing laps in Hong Kong?

Thanks in advance.

evergrn

For lap swimming, I'd say the best are Peninsula and Cordis, followed by Conrad. These three have decent lengths (Pen might be shorter than the other two), are shaped right (esp Pen and Cordis), and are heated well. Conrad's jacuzzi is a bit inadequate, though. Asides from Conrad, I remember liking the pools at both of the other Admiralty hotels (Island Shangrila, JW Marriott) but it's been a few years since I stayed at either of those.

Intercontinental has probably the largest hotel pool I've seen in HK. But it's round (you can swim across it, but it's hard to know where you're headed) and they don't heat it enough, at least not when I've swam there.

I should note that most of my HK stays are either in TST or Admiralty. I've heard good things about the pools at W and Ritz, but I've not stayed at either. There are also public pools which I've never used.

azepine00

if you happen to be in that area hyatt sha tin has a proper 25m pool with 2 or 3 lanes...

Pickles

The GHHK has a 50 meter pool which is open year round and deserted in the winter months. The FS has two 25 meter pools, open year round, one of which is always deserted because it's a lap pool and it's unheated. The views from the FS pool is amazing. The W pool is also pretty nice, amazing view.

mbloes

Excellent information, everybody.

Thank you so much.

Annalisa12

I can't compare the lot but can say my Intercontinental HK stay was amazing too. I normally book suites but this time we had 9 days in a Harbour View Room and the view was fabulous. The room was exceptionally large and the windows were huge to look out of. The bathroom was huge as was the walk in robe. I was 100% satisfied with the room and never wanted to upgrade. We pulled up the sofa and it sat right in front of the large window for our 9 days. Housekeeping knew we liked it there and were wonderful in catering to our preferences. My husband loved looking out at the comings and goings on the harbour.

Have a wonderful trip.

dulcamara

The views from the Kowloon Shangri-La are very good and the prices can be far less than IC or Peninsula.