A hotel that has been repeatedly described as one “in the heart and hearts of Hong Kong” over the past seven decades, it seemed wholly inevitable that we’d eventually get around to tackling a full-scale review of the Mandarin Oriental — the people’s champion insofar as luxury hospitality in the +852 goes.
Bewilderingly glamorous and yet eminently approachable, this property is one of two Asian hotels to bequeath the eponymous Mandarin Oriental Group with its corporate identity and moniker.
That, in and of itself, feels significant: as the Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong (affectionately nicknamed by locals and veteran leisure travellers alike as “Old MO”) is the spiritual forefather to the group’s 33 other properties across the globe. The Grand Vizier, if you will.
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Fortunately, on the occasion of its 60th birthday, the legacy of the Hong Kong hotel’s all-encompassing approach to luxury remains steadfastly intact. Since 1963, the hotel has occupied the space where superlative accommodation, dining, spa treatments, and geographic convenience converge: hence why its fans are as varied in character as they are numerous.
In a city that is almost groaning under the weight of splashy new luxury hotel openings, the fact that ol’ MO in Central remains the benchmark is no small feat. How exactly? Read on to find out…
Check out our full Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong review below.
Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong
Exceptional
96/100
SCOREPROS
- Unbeatable location
- Sumptuous dining options
- Inimitable, culturally significant décor
- Recent addition of club lounge
CONS
- Compact indoor pool
Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong Review – Table of Contents
Location
Honestly, the hotel’s slogan about being “in the heart and hearts of Hong Kong” is supremely well-put.
Located on a prime stretch of Connaught Road Central that is surrounded by iconic architecture and historical landmarks at every turn, the Mandarin Oriental boasts peerless connectivity to the adjacent commercial complexes precisely because the latter have all been built in deference to it.
The hotel is linked via a series of concourses to almost every other major hub in the CBD: with slow walkers capable of reaching the Airport Express hub (at Hong Kong MTR station) in a little under five minutes. Jardine House, St. George’s Building, and the palatial Landmark retail complex, to name a few other POIs, present an even easier commute.
Design & Aesthetic
You get a good sense of what the Mandarin Oriental’s overarching aesthetic inclinations are just by looking around its lobby.
Positively diminutive by the standards of most modern uber-luxury hotels, this ground-floor staging area is resplendent in dark, ivory-flecked marble columns; chandeliers of glittering Murano glass; and, most impressively, wall-to-wall carvings of spectacular detail, originally sourced by Don Ashton (of Bridge on the River Kwai fame) for the hotel’s 1960s opening.
The hotel’s signature bouquet of freesia and osmanthus lingers in the air, exerting a calming effect on the majority of patrons; something that’s noticeable at all times of day, no matter whether you’re checking in amid the lunchtime rush or sauntering into the elevator after a few too many pints at nearby Lan Kwai Fong.
The majority of the hotel’s communal areas cleave to Don Ashton’s age-old vision of sumptuous Eastern beauty. However, thanks to a number of site-specific renovations over the past few years (chiefly, in the hotel’s F&B offering) not every space is as uniformly classic as you’d expect.
On the 25th floor, Man Wah and The Aubrey both espouse their own highly distinctive décor, while the Mandarin Club Lounge area takes a leaf out of the high-end members’ club playbook — with its modernist bar carts, self-service stations, and eye-catching staff uniforms.
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Rooms
This time around, I was lucky enough to snag digs in the one of the hotel’s 67 Statue Square Suites. Occupying the corner of guestroom floors, this 72-sqm layout is a firm favourite among Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong veterans — owing to its splashy views out onto Statue Square.
In the evenings, the illuminated façade of I.M. Pei’s iconic Bank of China building will provide you with ample eye-candy; whilst the bathroom — equipped with a generous tub and walk-in shower — looks out onto the opposing Kowloon waterfront. A real living mural with its patchwork of passenger ferries and container ships trundling back and forth.
Intriguingly, as a holdover of the top-to-bottom renovation that the hotel underwent back in 2005, bedrooms in these Statue Square suites are located in the midst of each floorplan — functioning almost like a vestibule.
The advantage to this is that, inside these sleeping quarters, there’s no direct window access; and if you’re the sort of light sleeper who chafes at the idea of even the slightest environmental light or noise, then this is a fantastic set-up to get some quality shut eye (without resorting to the use of electronic blackout screens).
Meanwhile, accents across the living spaces are of the patrician Chinese variety, meaning silk wall panels and a judicious application of regional elm wood — both of which are charmingly offset by more modern creature comforts (ergo, a full suite of lighting controls and USB charging).
Food & Drink
The real meat and potatoes (if you’ll pardon the expression) of what imbues Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong with its wow factor, there are no less than nine full-service dining options at guests’ disposal. At a less historic hotel, any one of these would be worthy of its own standalone novella with destinations like Captain’s Bar or 50 Best awardee, The Aubrey, playing host to its own unique culinary specialties and intriguing cast of regulars.
For the purposes of this review, I had the opportunity to rack up some serious calories at Man Wah — the hotel’s Michelin-starred Cantonese fine diner — and The Chinnery, a historic British gastropub that is one of the last vestiges of a bygone era (the venue was for “gentleman only” from its inception until 1990).
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It should come as no surprise that neither lets the side down (even for a moment) as far as food, drink, ambience, or service goes.
The Chinnery — a hallowed institution among the city’s legislators and banking crowd — remains a tip-top spot for a quietly satisfying lunch: a clandestine leather alcove, where you can settle in reliably with a silver tankard of Guinness and whopping great plate of chicken tikka masala (~$66.17). Do be sure to inquire about the off-menu specials, though.
By contrast, Man Wah is a restaurant that wears the customary Mandarin Oriental penchant for grandeur proudly on its sleeve. Numerous restaurants claim to offer “breathtaking panoramas” of Hong Kong’s skyline (or similar marketing puff to that effect). And yet there’s a reason why guests clamour to make a reservation here during sunset hours just before the daily dinner rush.
Eyes trained toward Victoria Harbour with a perfectly moreish bowl of wok-fried lobster in hand (part of Man Wah’s ~$359 signature set dinner), a good deal of my sky-high dining escapades in the past year were rendered immediately and irrevocably moot.
Service
As if my earlier praise was not already a giveaway: yes, the service at Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong hits all the right notes and then some.
Management trainees from the eponymous hotel group’s many overseas locales come here to learn the near-mystic art of world class hospitality. But one would be wrong to suspect that this has any connotations of stuffiness or rigid formality.
Whether it’s the smartly turned out bellboys or the Mandarin Club’s own dedicated team of receptionists, the staff at this hotel are adroit at perceiving, anticipating, and adapting to your needs.
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That attention to detail feels especially palpable should you get the chance to sample the hotel’s Oriental Spa: a maze of wood-panelled treatment rooms inspired by the traditional Shanghainese bathhouses of the last century.
From the time you’re received to the completion of your treatment — in my case, the “trigger point release” focused Intelligent Movement option (~$399) — every effort is made to tailor your appointment to unique, personalised concerns.
Despite my arriving 15 minutes behind schedule, there was none of the panicked scrambling you’d encounter whilst attempting to finagle a lunchtime shoulder massage at the local mall. Again, guests can do no wrong as far as this hotel is concerned — at old MO, the universe bends to your will.
Verdict & Value
Of course, all of this fearsome splendour must surely come at a cost: a rhetorical question if ever there was one — because it does. There’s no beating around the fact that, at time of writing, the best available rate for a Statue Square View Suite (without Mandarin Club access) is HK$10,400 (~$1,978).
One way to eek a little bit of value out of this admittedly tidy sum is to book direct through the hotel’s website using your Fans of M.O. membership. In doing so, you’re always guaranteed the lowest possible available rate and granted two value-adds during the duration of your stay.
Reasonable minds will differ. But I find that the room upgrade and late check-out perks tend to be the most useful.
In the late 1960s, at the dawn of the Mandarin Oriental’s inception, writers from Fortune magazine were already describing it as “an impenetrable [oasis] in a clamourous world.” Six decades on, I’m not sure I can put the matter any better.
A hotel that means something to everybody who resides in Hong Kong (or indeed, visits regularly) there’s a kind of magic it conjures whenever you pass through its doors. All of the world’s great luxury accommodations share this characteristic: the sensation, like a wave of full-body euphoria, that within these walls you can live as vividly as you dream.
The Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong
Address: 5 Connaught Road Central, Central, HKSAR
Contact: +852 2522 0111; [email protected]
The author stayed as a guest of the Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong for two nights.
