- The Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong, an iconic property that opened in 1928, offers a luxury experience.
- The hotel boasts nine restaurants, a spa, more than 50 suites, and a helicopter pad used by celebrities.
- This article is part of BI's 2024 Art Basel series, taking you inside the art fair's global scene.
Steps away from the glistening Victoria Harbour sits the Peninsula Hotel.
The flagship hotel in the Peninsula Hotels group, which boasts properties worldwide, opened in December 1928, making it one of the oldest hotels in Hong Kong. The original building only housed six floors and was the tallest building in the city when it was built.
Now, the hotel has a 30-story tower, more than 50 hotel suites, nine restaurants and lounges, a spa, and what they call a "shopping arcade," or an intimate mall featuring Chanel, Harry Winston, and other luxury brands.
The iconic hotel, one of the official hotel partners of Art Basel Hong Kong, sponsored by the global lead partner UBS, is nestled right on the Kowloon Peninsula in Tsim Sha Tsui. Thanks to their Art in Resonance program, it's also home to four memorable art pieces featuring "emerging and mid-career" artists.
I toured the 5-star hotel and saw exactly why the Peninsula provides the best in hospitality and accommodations, from the hotel's helicopter pad, which has welcomed Bon Jovi and Tom Cruise, to the gym that Madonna specially requested be outfitted in the hotel's biggest suite.
When you first walk up to the hotel, you're greeted by an art installation in the hotel's signature green.
Kingsley Ng, a visual artist based in Hong Kong, was the creator behind the art installation affixed to the hotel's exterior. During Art Basel, "Esmeralda," as it's titled, was unveiled revealing a sky-high art moment that mimics water waves.
You're also greeted by a fleet of Rolls-Royce cars.
Before you enter the hotel, guests know they'll be treated to a luxury experience thanks to the Rolls-Royce fleet parked outside. The hotel has 14 Rolls-Royce Extended Wheelbase Phantoms on hand for guests to use.
Every car is in the hotel's signature green with a peanut butter leather and wood paneling interior.
The cars are facing two stone Chinese lions, placed outside the hotel for protection, according to Kylie Cheung, the hotel's assistant director of communications.
There's also a vintage Rolls-Royce tucked away in the hotel's basement.
Housed in the garage is the hotel's most precious member of the fleet, a 1934 Rolls-Royce Phantom II, a tailor-made car that belongs to the Kadoorie family. The family owns the Peninsula Hotel Group along with China Light and Power, an electricity company servicing most of Hong Kong.
The car, built in antique fashion, is preserved beautifully. I got a chance to sit inside the car, to feel the buttered leather under my hands. There's even a rotary telephone inside the vehicle, a call back to an earlier time before cellular phones and devices.
The hotel lobby is lavish. It features tall white columns with 76 hand-painted gargoyles on top.
Walking inside the hotel, you're met with two sides, both for dining.
The hotel's communications director told Business Insider that the middle of the lobby was previously used as a dance floor and that men and women would sit separately on two sides "so as not to cause embarrassment."
Today, the lobby is the place for the hotel's famous afternoon tea, held from 2-6 p.m. local time for a minimum cost of $350 Hong Kong dollars, or around $44. The all-day menu features an assortment of salads, pastas, sandwiches, and what they call "Asian specialties."
The lobby also houses an art installation by French artist Elise Morin. The art dune-shaped piece, titled "SOLI," comprises broken CDs, a nod to the piece's sustainable message.
The 300-room hotel has over 50 suites, including its finest, the Presidential Suite.
BI toured two of the hotel's suites, including the 4,000-square-foot Presidential Suite that's welcomed presidents, billionaires, and business leaders, according to Cheung.
The room, number 2608, is the picture of opulence thanks to marble floors, an executive dining table, a piano, and custom-made furniture.
Walking in, you're greeted by artwork, a 2011 wooden sculpture by Sun Yi titled "Dancer II." To the left is a media room where guests can relax and enjoy a movie.
If you'd rather look at the Harbour, floor-to-ceiling windows and a terrace offer the perfect unobstructed view.
A gym, specially requested by Madonna, sits in one of the suite's rooms.
As you move through the suite's dining room, if you walk too fast, you might miss the hidden full-sized kitchen, which features Miele appliances, a wine fridge, and an espresso machine.
Along with a bedroom comes a his-and-hers closet and bathroom. There's also a gym, the brainchild of Madonna. Yes, that Madonna.
When she stayed at The Peninsula, she didn't want to go downstairs to the gym, Cheung told BI, with the other hotel guests, and requested a gym be built inside the suite for her. It's stayed there ever since.
The cost for the entire suite? A mere $234,000 HKD or around $29,900 per night.
A smaller suite, costing about $2,000 per night, includes a spacious vanity area and closet.
If that price tag gave you a bit of sticker shock, don't worry. There are plenty of smaller, more affordable suites that aren't as grandiose as the Presidential Suite but are elegant all the same.
One of the smaller suites I saw included a dining room table, a living room with a faux fireplace, and a sitting area in the bedroom, along with a roomy closet and vanity area. The room even came with a nail dryer in case you need an impromptu manicure.
Outside The Verandah, a buffet-style restaurant, sits another art installation.
Lachlan Turczan, a native of Los Angeles, created one of my favorite art pieces with his water sculpture titled "Harmonic Resonance."
This kinetic sculpture moves water, thanks to submersible low-frequency vibrations.
When staring at the drum, I felt a sense of calm, feeling the remnants of the vibration through my feet. Looking at the sculpture reminded me that every cause has an effect.
A tucked-away music room also serves as the hotel's archive.
With such a history, the Peninsula Hotel also houses an archive of its achievements. It also serves as a soundproof room for the many musicians who've stayed at the hotel.
The hotel houses nine restaurants and lounges, featuring different cuisines.
Dining is one of the best aspects of staying at the Peninsula Hotel. The hotel boasts nine restaurants and lounges with two restaurants earning a Michelin star.
A Swiss chalet inspired Chesa, a manager told Business Insider. In fact, the entire interior of the restaurants was flown in from Switzerland.
There's also Spring Moon, which has earned a Michelin star and features Cantonese on its menu, a Japanese-inspired restaurant named Imasa, and Felix, which boasts "Contemporary European" cuisine, according to the hotel's website.
There are also two lounges, The Bar, and The Lobby, which I previously mentioned, and The Peninsula Boutique & Café that serves coffees and delicate pastries.
There's a reason Gaddi's has a Michelin star.
Business Insider tried a six-course meal at the French restaurant Gaddi's, led by Chef Albin Gobil. He recently earned a Michelin star, and it's easy to see why.
He's clearly a thoughtful artist who doesn't skip any detail regarding presentation. He also served a foie gras that was my best this year.
The experience is complemented by a dining room featuring chandeliers and textiles from the Ming dynasty, part of the private Kadoori family collection.
While shopping in the arcade, don't miss Saya Woolfalk's art installation.
According to on-site materials, Woolfalk's "Visionary Reality Portal," is created by two kaleidoscope videos, 3D animation, live action, and hand-painted paper. The installation is meant to mimic the stained glass of churches.
Guests can skip Hong Kong traffic by landing at the hotel's private helipad.
Before walking out to the hotel's helipad, guests are treated to a small museum documenting the history of the China Clipper. The first plane, which could only go up about 10,000 feet in the air, lasted 10 years starting in 1935.
It's an area used for private dining and for going over safety precautions for anyone about to board the hotel's helicopter. And a few famous faces, including Tom Cruise and Bon Jovi, have walked this corridor since a helicopter is only an 18-minute ride from the city's airport, operator Paul Leigh, who's worked at the hotel for 30 years in various capacities, told Business Insider.
For any Batman fans, you might recognize the helipad from a 10-second shot in Christopher Nolan's 2008 film, "The Dark Knight," starring Christian Bale as the Caped Crusader and the late Heath Ledger as Joker.
Today, the hotel's helicopter is also used for many proposals. Leigh told BI he's never seen anyone say no to a proposal in the sky.
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