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Peninsular Hotel

The Peninsular Hotel is itself something worth seeing, a magnificent piece of colonial architecture, and one that is still used for its original function.  So even if as a hotel it is well out of your range, as it is for most of us, it is worth a look. 

Situated at the tip of Kowloon Peninsular it must once have commanded an unbeatable view of the harbour but this is today obstructed somewhat by the reclamation.  It was also of course right next to the main railway station at the time as many of the great city hotels of the time were in the fashionable age of railway.  Today that railway station is gone except for the clock tower.

Still within walking distance of Star Ferry, Nathan Road and other major hotels the Peninsular remains in a central location for tourists.

When you visit note the traditional architecture of the main and original building, but also that the huge tower at the rear was added in a modern style yet still fitting in passably.  That tower is now more hotel rooms and on the roof has the only private helicopter pad in Kowloon.  Yes, the Peninsular is the sort of hotel where VIP guests get whisked from the airport direct to their hotel in 10 minutes where the rest of us cattle have to sit on a train for a good half an hour!  If your time is so valuable that saving 20 minutes is worth serious $$$ then you are probably staying at the Peninsular and not just sightseeing!

Inside the public areas are luxurious as befits a hotel of this level.  But perhaps more crowded that you might expect or like.  You the sightseer are contributing to this of course and you'll realized a lot of people around you in the reception are in fact not guests but are just dropping in to gawk or at most to have the famed "afternoon tea at the peninsular", which while very good is not earth shattering.

On the way out look out for the dark green Rolls Royce limos that the hotel provides to take you to and from the hotel, presumably if you don't like helicopters.  They have around 7 and apparently they form the biggest Rolls Royce hotel fleet in the world.  They even get a mention in the Bond film The Man with the Golden Gun.

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