by James Ruggia
Last updated: 8:00 PM ET, Tue February 17, 2015
Kowloon is Hong Kong's most lively, pulsing and energized district. It's a virtual labyrinth of sprawling Dim Sum restaurants, stores, nightclubs and a growing locus for Modern Asian Art. In other words, it's a perfect place for a W Hotel.
The Hong Kong W, which won a Travvy Award from thousands of travel agents as Asia's Best City Hotel, is located near an area designated to be the West Kowloon Cultural District. It's an area that planners promise will become "one of the world's largest cultural quarters, blending art, education and public space." The development plan comes from Foster + Partners' City Park concept, projecting "a world-class integrated low-density district comprising local and traditional as well as international and modern elements. "
That all adds up to an ideal location for a W and the sort of sophisticated travelers the brand attracts. For decades, Hong Kong has been the Asian city where hotels put their best foot forward. It's almost a museum of five-star innovation.
It would be easy for a hotel to get lost in all of that glitter, but the 393-room W Hong Kong uses quirky design elements, an eclectic art collection and motifs that communicate with that younger traveler that has embarked on a career path and is far enough along in that career to be carrying a brief case to Hong Kong. Don't be fooled though, in the back of his (or her) closet you might find a back pack.
That's a Western perspective, of course, but the W Hong Kong is drawing hip travelers, pursuing business and pleasure, from East and West. The hip traveler these days is calling Beijing and Bangkok home, as well as London and New York. How does the W reach these people? It does it through engagement with the energy of Kowloon. The five-star urban hotel of another time built a sort of inner sanctum of serenity within the busy cities they were found in.
The W Hong Kong says bring it on and bring it in, allowing the neon excitement of Kowloon to flow through the doors. From there the energy is channeled and diffused. A path of treelike columns in the lobby creates a gentle ratcheting down of that electric street surge. By the time the guests reach their rooms they are soft landing into a natural ambience created with motifs of wood, fire, earth, metal and water.
More playful design elements spill over into the Munchie Box, a snack bar with a taste for the quirky item. KITCHEN serves an a la carte menu of international and pan-Asian dishes. SING YIN serves a more traditional Asian cuisine in contemporary style. The W's Bliss Spa is complimented by the 76th floor WET pool and WET DECK, serving drinks. The hotel offers personal trainers, treadmills, elliptical machines and stationary bikes.
The rooms were designed in eight different styles with names to communicate the energy: Wonderful Room, Spectacular Room, Fabulous Room, Cool Corner Room, Fantastic Suite, Marvellous Suite, WOW Suite and of course, the Extreme WOW. The Extreme Wow Suite expands across 200 square feet of floor space with double-height ceilings.
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