fellini77

I'm new to the forum and have very much enjoyed reading the tremendous wealth of information here. Given this is my first post, I hope you'll forgive me asking for some advice...

I'm traveling to Hong Kong for pleasure later in the year and I'm trying to decide between the Four Seasons, the Mandarin Oriental and Upper House. These 3 hotels seem to be the best on the island side. I imagine I'll be happy in each but I'm hoping to tease out what distinguishes them. For example:

Does one have more character than the others?
Which has the best breakfast?
Which has the best concierge for local knowledge?
Does one have the edge over the others in terms of bathroom and toiletries?

I'm really interested in the experience as a guest. Which is to say that the restaurants and spas are not that important as, presumably, one can enjoy those amenities as a non-guest too (ie if I stay at Upper House I could still eat at FS's Lung King Heen and have a shave at the MO's barber).

I've read a great deal on these threads already - ACfly's comparison of the FS and MO was superb - but I'd love to get some opinions on the nitty-gritty details. What really stands out for you all?

Many thanks.

aa4ever

Of these, I've only stayed at the MO, but I went to the FS a ton for meals. Also, I (and I believe most) would consider the Landmark MO to be a better place than the Upper House.

To answer your questions:
1)I'd say MO has much more character than FS. FS is a great place with beautiful facilities, but it was built in the mid-2000s and doesn't have any of this history/character of the MO. It feels much more "international." The MO has a ton of character to it.
2) Can't compare here, but I thought MO's breakfast at Cafe Causette (the a la carte one) was pretty good.
3) Can't compare here, but MO concierges were decent, not wonderful
4) Bathrooms at the MO are a bit small. I prefer the L'Occitane at the FS, but I know many prefer the Hermes/Acqua di Parma at the MO. I guess I'm easy to please

Lung King Heen at FS is fantastic, and that would be one thing that would push me towards it (I really enjoy when I can just go down to restaurant from room...one of the reasons we stayed in MO last time was that previously, we had loved Man Wah)

Blackbook

The new September issue of Gallivanter's reviews all these hotels except for the MO....

From my experience, the FS and Pen are my two personal favorites. I would say these days even with the Pen renovation, the FS has the best all-around product from service to dining to rooms. The MO would be third and the Upper House would be behind the RC HK.

FlyerEC

^
My vote goes to MOHK - she celebrates her 50 th this year so you may just get to enjoy some of the celebratory specials.
The MOHK concierges are more than decent & if you encounter certain ones , they are really rather excellent . Sometimes, they may not understand my request the first time but once they get it , you can expect great delivery.
Same with the porter team.
I do prefer Aqua di Parma - suites bathrooms are large & Hermes is fine too for the rooms.

Enjoy the convenient location plus if one doesn't dine out at the many nice places, choice of her numerous varied restaurants just an elevator ride away or room service if too jet lagged

quitecontrary

Have you stayed at all of these - Blackbook? I've only stayed at the MO and visited the FS, UH and the Pen. I would only go to the RC for a drink on a very clear day!

Position wise the MO and the FS are best followed by the UH. If you have a Harbour view room at the Pen that might be best of all as you'd have great views of the island and it's only a hop on the Star Ferry over to Central.

Blackbook

HK is one of my favorite cities and have stayed at all of them. I haven't stayed at the MO in awhile. I prefer the Pen over the MO because of the harbor view rooms. The renovation was well done. FS remains my preferred choice. I found the RC ugly.

FlyerEC

speedbird001

Are you going on business or pleasure?

Alone or with spouse?

How long will you stay?

Answering these questions will help us guide you.

fellini77

Many thanks for all your thoughts on this. I'll be going for pure pleasure and traveling with my wife and young son; we'll be there for 4 days.

I guess I'm really trying to find out about the specific things that people really appreciate about these hotels.

Baghoarder

My favourite is the MOHK. It has the most character of the three you mentioned, as others have said. As a former HK resident I have a sentimental attachment to the hotel. I am not a heavy user of concierges in Hong Kong, but the concierge here did once manage to arrange for the repair of a broken heel on a shoe within 90 minutes of my arrival at the hotel.

Upper House is good, especially the bathrooms if you like a bath with a dramatic view! I found the service there to be very good: I stayed there on my birthday and once they worked this detail out from my documentation they had a birthday cake in my room within 20 minutes. For a leisure trip, though, I have a slight personal preference for a Central location (MO and 4S) over an Admiralty location (UH).

Can't comment on the guest experience at the 4S but it is popular with many on this board.

BENLEE

FS would be my clear choice out of the three but it is in the end really a matter of personal taste. Not sure what you mean by "character" though but if you are referring to history, then obviously MOHK as the oldest of the bunch. Breakfast I would say about the same for all three. Never use concierge service in Hong Kong so can't comment on that. For bathroom and toiletries, depends what type of room you book. All FS bathroom are very luxurious with beautiful marble, deep tubs and for suites you get Bulgari bath amenities. The bathroom in the Oriental Suite at MOHK is one of the best but their standard rooms ones are just OK. Upper House bathroom is nicely designed but I don't like their toiletries ( REN ) and low water pressure.

Would also recommend you take a look at the Landmark Mandarin Oriental. Rooms have no views but bathrooms are fantastic and very good breakfast.

Cheetah_SA

We stayed at the MO in an Oriental Suite last December and it was a superb stay in many ways (including being showered with gifts as it was over Xmas).

However, two things bothered me. One was that after a day or so the rather low ceilings started to make the suite feel somewhat oppressive despite its otherwise generous proportions. The other was that at night I was aware of a deep thrumming noise intermittently. It sounded like some massive engine in the bowels of the hotel or perhaps of a large boat in the harbour (though surely that would not be possible, given the distance to the water and that the bedroom actually has no windows?).

I'd be interested if others have observed either of these drawbacks.

Pausanias

I'm booked in at the FS in a few months' time. However, the last time I went to Honkers (ages ago) I stayed at the (then) Regent on Kowloon and enjoyed the most gobsmacking view from my room. I still reckon the views from there are the best of any hotel in the city.

grumbler

If you are going with a family (with a little one), then choices might differ - and I might frankly choose the Pen, because the rooms are large and the pool is good. Of the choices you have outlined, I would avoid Upper House (I agree with previous posters that in any event, it is not as good as LMO). MO is great for business, but not sure ideal if you have a kid with you. FS is good, but as others have noted, it is kind of bland.

fellini77

Thanks, all. There seems to be an even spread here and, as BENLEE says, it comes down to personal taste. I will be looking at rooms, not suites, if anyone has any advice on direct comparisons.

I'll go for a harbour view but it's not actually the most important thing for me as I'll surely be enjoying the views from all over HK while I'm out and about. I'm most interested in those details, big or small, that make you really enjoy being in that particular hotel.

Grumbler, I'd be interested to hear specifically why you'd avoid Upper House?