Horizon Plaza in Ap Lei Chau on the south side of Hong Kong island is one of those “secrets that everybody knows”. It is a great shopping destination for locals and visitors alike, but hardly advertised or fully described. At the same time, every fashionista in HK and every person who loves interior design is very familiar with these building packed full of shops.
If you are interested in high fashion on a budget, like to browse great furniture and decor choices, or simply want to do something very different from Ladies Market and Causeway Bay for shopping then a visit to Horizon Plaza may be just the ticket for you!
In this guide to the plaza you will find:
- Where Is It
- How To Get To Horizon Plaza Hong Kong
- Horizon Plaza Operating Hours
- Directory Of Shops There
- Nearby
What is Horizon Plaza
A large multi-story factory building in an otherwise uninspiring light industrial area, the Horizon Plaza mall has grown over the years into a major shopping destination. Located beside other very similar looking buildings it stands out from the rest in that every shop space in the mall and above in the 28-floor tower is full of retail shops. And these shops are for the sophisticated shopper of clothes, accessories and furniture. Together with a few oddities that may well appeal to the same sort of people, it makes for a very interesting afternoon tour.
From the outside, the building looks like any factory or commercial building, unlike some of the similar furniture and fashion factory outlet choices in other parts of Hong Kong, there are very few clues from the exterior of the building. But when you get inside you’ll find floor after floor of nicely decorated modern shops.
Access to the floors is via lifts which are frustratingly slow, or by using staircases which were not really designed for the comfort of shoppers. So the recommended way of tackling the building is to wait patiently on the ground floor lobby for a lift, and when one finally arrives to take it all the way to the top. From up here on the 28th floor, occupied entirely by TREE the interior decor company, you can then walk down a flight at a time using the stairs to see so many different choices. If fashion is your thing then start at the 27th instead.
Every floor from the 4th floor upwards has shops which range from small units to entire floors. A couple of companies have shops on more than one level. If you are counting floors then you should know there is no “13th floor”, to avoid the superstitions of the western world, and also no “14th floor” to avoid the Chinese superstitions.
Fashion Outlets
Horizon Plaza is home to one of the highest concentrations of fashion outlets in Hong Kong. You will find here international brands from agnès b. to Salvatore Ferragamo. Each outlet provides a stock of older lines at discounts which range from small to large depending of course on demand.
The range of discounts available varies widely and as the shops in the main shopping districts of Hong Kong such as Causeway Bay, Central and Mongkok also regularly have large discounts it is not necessarily true that Horizon Plaza will be cheaper.
High-end shops such as Lane Crawfords and The Swank also have shops here which carry an even wider range of brands.
Hong Kong local brands such as Shanghai Tang and I.T are also well represented.
Due to the discounts on offer things sell out very fast, so you’ll have trouble finding sizes of some items. It makes it impossible to tell what will be available at any one time. But if you go along you are sure to find some great deals but be prepared to invest time in hunting around to find exactly what you want. And as you are buying from the official shops of the brands and authorised reputable shops you can be sure that what you are buying is the genuine article.
Out of the 100 shop spaces in the building about 40% are various fashion brands or department stores selling fashion, making fashion the largest single category of shops in the mall.
Here are some of the fashion brands that you can find in Horizon Plaza at the moment, though the list does gradually change over time and of course the bigger department and fashion stores represented here carry other brands as well.
- agnès b. STOCK
- Anteprima / Anteprima Wirebag / Atsuro Tayama / A.T by Atsuro Tayama / COCKTAIL / Henry Cuir / Marimekko
- Bluebell Fashion Warehouse
- Brooks Brothers
- Catalog
- Chloé
- DIESEL
- D-mop Outlet
- ECCO
- Ermenegildo Zegna Outlet Store
- ETRO China CO., LTD
- Fairton Labels Fashion Warehouse
- Folli Follie
- GEOX
- Giorgio Armani
- Gobi Mongolian Cashmere
- HUGO BOSS
- I.T Outlet
- IMAGINEX FASHION OUTLET
- J.Journey
- JOYCE WAREHOUSE
- Juicy Couture
- kate spade new york
- Lane Crawford Warehouse
- Marc Jacobs
- MARNI
- MAX & Co
- Max Mara
- Moda Mia Outlet
- MOISELLE Outlet
- Nicholas & Bear
- PAUL SMITH
- Pompei
- Ralph Lauren Factory Outlet
- S.T.Dupont
- Saint Laurent
- Salvatore Ferragamo
- Shanghai Tang
- Shiatzy Chen
- The Swank Outlet
Furniture
Although fashion outlets are the main draw to Horizon Plaza the other category of shop here that is most well represented is things for the household, from furniture to carpets to design accessories. If you add them all together a total of 48 stores out of the 100 here are something for the house. If you count only strictly furniture stores you’ll come up with just 34 though so it depends how you categorise some things.
What that doesn’t tell you though is that some of the furniture shops are positively massive, taking up entire floors of the building. Those are more like an entire shopping experience and even include places to have a coffee, snack or even lunch, to make a whole day of the visit to just one store. By far the most impressive is the top floor entirely taken over by TREE, a Hong Kong brand that focuses on traditional materials and craftsmanship, you’ll find a lot of hand-worked wood here, but with a modern sensitivity to style as well.
Three companies here are dedicated to carpets, and this is one exceptional place in HK for finding a choice of rugs and floor coverings.
- Shop Orion
- Le Carpet Studio
- CarpetBuyer
The over 30 interior furniture stores include these choices:
- Tequila Kola
- Aluminium
- Indigo Outlet
- Areahome Limited
- Jacky Lamp & Wood Limited
- EURO M&D
- The Red Cabinet
- Spaceman
- Infurniti Homes
- ArturaFicus
- Old Shanghai Limited
- JMStyle Furniture & Gallery
- The Birdcage
- Marc James Design
- HC28
- OVOSTUDIO
- Oriental Home
- Ad Lib
- TREE
- OVOHOME
- Indigo
- MOD – European Home Furniture
- Attitude Furniture & Interiors
- Bowerbird Home
- Organic Modernism
- Nook Living
- EUROSOFAMONDO
- Roche Bobois
- Savoir Beds / Luxury Bed Studio
- Natuzzi
- NESTNORDIC
- COMMON ROOM
- SONDER living
- Natuzzi Editions
If you have a garden, patio or open roof and want some outdoor furniture then go to one of the specialists in that. There are several choices within the plaza including:
- Sun Garden Premium
- Irony Home
- Patio Mart
- Zzue Creation
- Garden Gallery
- Harbour Outdoor
- Everything Under The Sun
- Barbecue In All Limited
Finally round out your home choices with Phoenix Curtains, MATTRESS ARTE, Piano One Two which buys, sells and refurbishes pianos, and the wonderfully named Fink which sells everything from vases to soft furnishings via candle holders, lacquerware and more.
BowerBird
Named after the Australian bird that makes a decorative little house for itself out of interesting things it has collected, the Bowerbird Home offers a great range of modern interior items for both the Asian and International styled residence.
Aiming to provide classic and elegance with a touch of chinoiserie, Bowerbird Home offers a collection of furniture and homewares that will have lasting value. The showroom is the epitome of what you would want in a modern interior decore place, with products sourced in small quantities from around the world.
Look out for dining tables and chairs, Belgian linen sofas, Chinese antiques and ceramics. For the Asian enthusiast the chinoiserie element provides a unique edge and just like the nest of the ‘bower bird’, there is an abundance of blue and white, including hand-painted ceramics, textiles and accessories from all around the world in striking colours and patterns.
Find the showroom on the 8th floor in units 1 and 2. The opening hours are 10:00 – 18:00. To see what they have on offer at the moment before visiting check out their website.
Other Shopping
There are few other shops in the building, and while they are not directly related to the main theme of outlets and furniture you can see that they may well appeal to the same consumer so if you live in Hong Kong and shop at Horizon Plaza there is a good chance you will have wanted to drop in on one of these stores as well.
Food and drink from:
- Pacific Gourmet
- Limestone Coast Wines Limited
- Boutique Wines
- Sift Patisserie
You will also find coffee with some food options inside the Tequila Kola store, which is run by Pacific Coffee, and a cafe on the top floor inside TREE also provides a place to rest and refuel!
Your furry friends are catered for by Whiskers N Paws, while parents kind find a range of things for their kids at FLEXA – Children’s furniture, Mothercare, Nerd Kids For Living, PAIDI Kidsworld and finallyToys Club.
Toys Club Horizon Plaza
Toys Club is one of the best-known toy shops in Hong Kong and one of the few that can hold its own against the major chain stores. They have two branches, one in Central Hong Kong, and the other in Horizon Plaza. With ample space to spread out on the 19th floor of Horizon Plaza, they have a great range of both traditional and trendy choices.
Ages from toddlers up to young teens are catered for through the latest gift choices of both trendy brands and traditional items. If you want a big bucket of LEGO then this is the place to come, as it is also if you need party favours, fancy dress costumes, kids scooters or bikes and the latest movie-tie-in merchandise.
Where Is Horizon Plaza
Horizon Plaza is located on the south side of Hong Kong Island, or more accurately it is located beyond the south side as it is on the island of Ap Lei (鴨脷洲) which is just off the southern coast of HK island. The name of the island literally translates to “Duck tongue island”, presumably a reference to the shape prior to reclamation which has made it roughly triangular today. Because of the easy access to the island via the bridge over the Aberdeen channel, you might not even notice it is actually on an island.
Ap Lei Chau is a bit of a mix of a place with some nice up-market residential property at South Horizons and elsewhere, a public housing estate that provides social housing, a small local market town feel along the Ap Lei Chau Main Street, Hong Kong’s largest motoring school, and a rocky southern tip that attracts rock climbers and those interested in water sports. There is even a tiny lighthouse along at the end of a hiking trail with great views over the south china sea.
The Horizon Plaza itself is on the westerly side of the island in an area next to docks and with buildings originally intended for light industrial use. A small amount of such use still exists in neighbouring buildings, things like small printing presses but mostly it has been taken over by warehouses and shops that need a little more space or lower rent. Hence the furniture showrooms and the outlet stores that make Horizon Plaza famous.
How To Get To Horizon Plaza Hong Kong
There was a time when reaching Horizon Plaza was a bit of a treck, busses or minibuses the order of the day. However with the opening of the MTR station on Ap Lei Chau that has all changed and it is now an easy, if a bit long, train ride followed by a 15-minute walk.
Horizon Plaza MTR Exit
The South Horizons MTR stop is right at the end of the South Island MTR line. If you take the line from Admiralty Station on the north coast of Hong Kong the total train trip time is only about 11 minutes though of course, it takes a bit longer to get into and out of the stations.
Not familiar with the MTR system? Read our Ultimate Guide to the MTR.
When you arrive at the South Horizons MTR station take exit C and use the lift or stairs to exit onto Lee Nam Road. Follow the road but if you get lost just head downhill and towards the sea. The road curves along the coastline and if you walk with the sea on your right then you are going in the correct direction. It is not a particularly picturesque walk, despite the sea views, and there is little shade but after 10 minutes you’ll see the industrial towers ahead of you.
By the time you reach the first building on your left, you can see the very large sign for Horizon Plaza ahead of you. Want to avoid the walk? You could catch a cab, or take bus 95 or 671 from outside The Oasis, also near to MTR Exit C, but that will take longer than walking.
Horizon Plaza Shuttle Bus
While there used to be regular shuttle buses for customers leaving from the Ap Lei Chau bus terminal and going to the Plaza these are no longer running as of 2018. There is a staff mini-bus on the same route but that is for shop staff only.
Driving and parking
For those living in Hong Kong, the plaza is approachable by road, it is an easy drive from the southside and with parking available on-site it makes a great choice, particularly if you are going to be picking something up that could go into the car to take home!
Although the car park in the Horizon Plaza building is a paid car park you can get free parking most of the time if you are actively shopping in the shops in the plaza. Customers can get a complimentary parking voucher from any shop, which allows them either 3 hours (on Mondays to Fridays) or one hour on weekends and public holidays.
What counts as a big enough purchase to get the parking voucher depends on the shops, there are no set rules.
If you are just browsing and need to park will be paying a fee of $30 for two hours for cars, and $40 for bigger trucks, so it is very reasonable anyway.
The streets around the plaza allow free parking but are often full of lorries serving the industrial buildings in the area.
To enter the parking of the Plaza itself drive past it staying on the main Lee Nam Rd and take the first turning on the left beside it, drive slowly past all the good lorries and you’ll find the turning into the building which then winds up a slope to the multi-story parking area. Payment is made on the way out, with vouchers as mentioned above. Payment is via cash or Hong Kong’s ubiquitous Octopus card.
Also don’t forget that the plaza is right next to the largest motoring school in Hong Kong, the “Hong Kong School of Motoring”, so there are plenty of learner drivers around on these streets and even though they all have instructors beside them a little extra caution driving would not go amiss!
Horizon Plaza In Chinese
Want to take a taxi and need to ensure that the driver understands where you want to go? Show them this on your phone to ensure you arrive at the right place. The name of the building is on the first line while the second is the full address.
新海怡廣場
香港鴨脷洲利榮街2號
Here is a picture of the words in case your phone doesn’t show the Chinese fonts correctly.
Horizon Plaza In Chinese 新海怡廣場
In practice though most taxi drivers on Ap Lei Chau are going to know that any overseas visitor is probably going to the Plaza and may even take you there when you wanted to go somewhere else! Either way, the wording above should make things a bit clearer.
Horizon Plaza Operating Hours
The Plaza itself is always open but the various shops inside all keep their own hours. If you arrive by mid-morning though you’ll find everything available. Early birds or those suffering from Jet Lag who decide to take advantage of waking up early to it an early trip should know that most fashion shops don’t open until 10:00, with a few not accepting customers until midday.
If you are getting there later in the day, perhaps planning on combing some shopping with a dinner at the Jumbo Floating Restaurant in nearby Aberdeen Harbour, then you will find fashion outlet shops are open until 7pm on the whole.
The hours of the furniture shops tend to be shorter and while about half open at 10 there are quite a few that don’t do business until 10:30 or even 11am. They tend to close earlier too with many locking up by 6pm or 6:30 athough a few do stay open to 7pm.
Most shops operate 7 days a week on the same schedule, but a few have different weekend timings. Opening hours are longer on weekends at some stores and shorter in others, generally by later opening hours as nobody wants to shop at 9 or even 10am on a Sunday! The bottom line is that it is best not to go early on a weekend, but if you have no other chance then don’t worry as at two-thirdsthirds of the shops will be open anyway.
Directory of Shops There
For a full list of all the shops in the Plaza go to the building management website which, while a little hard to navigate, does have all the latest information. Visit it here.
Nearby
While you are planning a trip to Horizon Plaza you can consider some of the interesting things that are nearby that can be worked into your plan to make a day of it.
Taking the MTR all the way to South Horizons station is an interesting experience in its own right, the above-ground part of the trip is one of the interesting sightseeing MTR lines in that it gives you an up-close look at some typical HK districts. The passage over the bridge with views down into Aberdeen Harbour is interesting if fleeting.
Aberdeen is, of course, one of the attractions that people come to see anyway, as one of the traditional harbours still operating as a location for fishing boats it shows a side of Hong Kong that hasn’t changed in many years. While not as rural as Tai O or Cheung Chau the harbour filled with boats, including many commercial fishing vessels, is a break from the glitz of modern Central Hong Kong.
Inside Aberdeen is the famous Jumbo Floating Restaurant which is just this side of being interesting instead of merely kitsch. Elaborate carvings of dragons and red lanterns decorate this converted barge, and while the food may not be Michelline star quality it does serve a range of local dishes. Don’t miss out on the seafood options while you are here, it is in the middle of a harbour after all!
Jumbo Floating Restaurant. Aberdeen
For those wanting to get some serious relaxation in the beach at Repulse Bay beach is only 20 minutes away by cab, though public transport isn’t so good at over an hour. The beach is a favourite place to soak up some rays, and see how the local Hong Kong’ers enjoy the beach. Plenty of sand, suntan lotion and swimming to be seen. No ball games though as unlike beaches in most parts of the world in Hong Kong ball sports are forbidden on beaches, at least in those parts where people swim. A full live guard service is operated during the swimming season from April through to September, closing only for typhoons.
Even closer is Ocean Park, Hong Kong’s own Theme Park. If you have an interest in animals, and not just ocean ones, then Ocean Park is a must visit. It is effectively a small zoo combined with a theme park, hosting the usual choices of roller coasters and the like, but with a fishy and ocean-based themed. The giant aquarium is impressive, and the cable car ride is a great alternative to the Nong Ping cable car. And of course, Ocean Park has Pandas, which are just as impressive in real life as you might imagine.
Horizon Plaza to Prada Outlet (Space)
If you are most interested in haute couture fashion outlets then you may be surprised that one of the biggest in the area is not in the plaza at all. The Prada Outlet store in Hong Kong is on Ap Lei Chau, but is located near the South Horizons MTR exit. As well as Prada you will also find Mui Mui in this large space.
Unlike most outlets, the Prada outlet not only sells older lines of Prada but also things created specifically for the “Prada Outlet” line. That can mean more choices, but they tend to be clothing and shoes. At least you are more likely to find your sizes here, but you won’t see so much leatherwear nor any recent fashions from the main Prada line.
When you leave the MTR station use exit A to reach the store. The entrance is at ground level and as you exit onto the street just turn your head 90 degrees left and you will see a giant black banner over the door.
Opening hours have changed recently but are now:
- Tuesday to Sunday : 10:30 – 19:30
- Monday and Public Holidays : Noon until 19:00
For a larger Prada Outlet try their branch in Florentina Village in Kwai Hing in the New Territories, that is also right next to an MTR and in a similar building to the Horizon Plaza without a range of fashion outlets. It is much more modern, looking like a regular HK mall, and has a different range of designers.