Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong Review (Club Deluxe Victoria Harbour Room) [2021]

The Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong is still one of my favorite five star hotels I’ve ever had the privilege to stay at. The hotel had everything I loved about a great hotel: good location, stunning views, flawless service, a great club lounge, and beautiful facilities throughout the hotel. This review will give you an overview of the entire hotel and show you how I felt about my stay in a Club Deluxe Victoria Harbour Room.

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Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong Location

The Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong is located in the ICC Tower which is found in the peninsula of West Kowloon. This is the area opposite Hong Kong Island and is home to other popular hotels, such as the W and The Peninsula.

The ICC (International Commerce Centre) Tower is a 118 story, 484 m (1,588 ft) skyscraper that was completed in 2010. At the time of completion, it was the 4th tallest building in the world. Today, it stands around the 11th tallest building in the world but it’s still the tallest tower in Hong Kong.

The ICC houses the Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong on floors 102-118, which makes for absolutely spectacular views. Consider this: the sky100 is a 360-degree indoor observation deck on the 100th floor of the ICC Tower so the entire Ritz-Carlton is located above the level where people pay just to see the view — pretty impressive.

The ICC Tower is connected to a mall and it’s also hooked up to the MTR subway system, so it’s very practical to get out and explore the city. If you’re using the Airport Express, make your way to Kowloon Station and if you are transiting from the Central Station of the Hong Kong MTR, interchange from Island Line to Tung Chung Line. Take one stop to Kowloon Station then use Exit C1/D1 to access to The Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong.

I’m not going to pretend to be an expert on the beast of a city that Hong Kong is but I felt like Hong Kong Island had more going on than West Kowloon. Kowloon is good for shopping and is where you’ll be able to find luxury boutiques and shopping malls. But Hong Kong Island seemed to have more energy to it and many notable attractions like The Peak.

In reality, it’s very easy to get between these by public transport, taxi, or water taxi so there shouldn’t be a major convenience issue if you choose one side over the other.

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Getting to the hotel

We had made our way to Hong Kong flying first class on Korean Air from LAX->ICN->HKG. The flight on the A380 from LAX to ICN was excellent and it was very nice to be able to roam around the entire plane for a while and hang out at the in-flight bar for a while.

During our short layover in ICN, we checked out the ICN first class Korean Air lounge which was brand new and not bad for a smaller first class lounge but certainly not on the level of other flagship first class lounges like The Pier. the lounge has a hidden massage chair which can be a beast if you don’t know how to work it so be warned.

since we were arriving so late, we stayed our first night in Hong Kong at the Marriott Sky City airport hotel which is a great airport hotel and really surpassed my expectations. The next morning, we were picked up by a Rolls Royce and taken off to the Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong.

The Rolls Royce arrived a few minutes late to pick us up and the Ritz-Carlton ended up waiving the entire fee for the pick-up which I thought was very impressive and a great gesture by the staff.

Here are the prices for limo service (in HKD):

• Rolls Royce $2,300 (per car / per trip)
• Mercedes Benz S320 $1,400 (per car / per trip)
• Mercedes Benz S300 $1,200 (per car / per trip)
• 7 seaters Mercedes V Class $1,600 (per car / per trip)

As soon as we arrived to the hotel, they picked up our luggage and we were off to our room.

Check-in

The floor level lobby for the ICC is nice but there’s too much to it other than a Pierre Hermé Paris shop which was a nice surprise.

Since the hotel is located starting on the 102nd floor, you’ll need to fly up a very speedy elevator over 100 stories to get to the check-in lobby. This is a cool feature of the hotel but it’s also one that get’s a little old after a while since it means you have to wait to take two elevator rides just to get down to the lobby.

We didn’t use the check-in desk since they automatically checked us in to our Club Deluxe Victoria Harbour Room. I was hoping for an upgrade but knew that since it was the Chinese New Year, the odds of that happening were very low.

On the plus side, the hotel was tricked out with traditional Chinese New Year decorations which were pretty much everywhere (I thought they looked pretty cool myself).

As you can tell, the restaurants connected to the lobby are simply stunning.

Club Deluxe Victoria Harbour Room

The Club Deluxe Victoria Harbour Room comes with 540 square feet which I found to be reasonably spacious considering the location. I thought the room had a very elegant feel to it that wasn’t overdone.

The king bed was very comfortable with the right amount of softness with 400-thread count bed linens and down feather pillows and throws.

There’s a 42-inch flat screen LCD TV in the middle of the room directly in front of the bed.

If you need to get some work done, there’s a nice desk area with a comfortable ergonomic chair, which also allows you to swing around and admire the view.

There was also a relaxing seat which is set right next to the window.

The views out to Victoria Harbour are simply stunning. I found myself constantly gazing out to the views in amazement of how high we were — I simply couldn’t believe it.

I really like the cushions they have on the windows so that you can sit or knee and admire the view comfortably.

One drawback is that because you are so high, the clouds often come in and shroud your view entirely. There were a few times when all we could see is white right out the window. But if you are lucky enough to catch a sunrise from your room, you won’t be disappointed.

The bathroom

The marble bathroom is very nice with and it comes with a separate bathtub and shower complete with Rainforest Shower Head. The bathtub is average size and comes with a TV monitor along with a mirror that stretches across the wall. It also has a sprayer head handy for post bubble baths.

The shower is quite spacious and had easy to understand controls for the different shower heads along with a mirror inside.

There’s a double sink and a lighted shaving/make-up mirror to make your life a little bit easier. The drawers underneath the sinks are stockpiled with Asprey amenities — everything from soaps, shampoos, and toothbrushes is supplied by them and they are of high quality.

The Ritz-Carlton Club Lounge

The Ritz-Carlton Club Lounge really was a huge perk when staying at this hotel. First, it’s just a beautiful lounge with sweeping views all over Hong Kong. The staff is fantastic in the lounge and is always willing to help you out with whatever you need.

The Club Lounge is open 24 hours so you can enter it any time to relax and grab a couple of drinks or some light snacks. However, during designated time slots throughout the day, they offer specific food and beverage offerings.

These include:

• Breakfast: 6:30am to 10:30am
• Light lunch: 11:30am to 2pm
• Afternoon tea: 3pm to 5pm
• Hors d’oeuvres and cocktails: 5pm to 8pm
• Desserts and cordials: 8:30pm to 10:30pm

We tried out every meal except for dessert and found that there were tasty items offered throughout the day, including a great breakfast. It’s very easy to fill yourself up with a lounge visit at anytime so if you have Club access you should be able to easily maintain a full stomach during our stay.

The views never really get old and we returned to the lounge time and time again to enjoy some lite snacks and a good number of glasses of champagne.

You can get some great views of the Harbour from the lounge.

I’ve probably had better breakfasts before but the breakfast at the Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong was still a terrific breakfast. There’s an omelette station which I highly recommend and then you’ll have a lot of great pastries, fruits, breads, and other Asian food items to choose from for breakfast so there’s something for just about everyone. You can read more about the club lounge here.

During the light lunch, it’s definitely possible to fill up on sandwiches, noodles, and other items.

The afternoon tea time will also provide you with more than enough food and drink items to appease your appetite.

And did I mention that they have wine on tap in the lounge?

Other cool features of getting a club level room beyond lounge access are the following:

• Direct Arrival of the Guest to the Room
• Complimentary 1 hour Pressing Service upon arrival
• Expertly served Tea or Coffee in guest room anytime of the day
• Exclusive Afternoon Tea in the Club Lounge
• Guest recognition of all Club guests by name
• Drop-off Limousine services from within the vicinity, subject to availability
• Check out services at the Club lounge

I gave them a shirt to press and they literally had it perfectly pressed within about 25 minutes — the level of service at the hotel amazed me at every turn.

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The Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong pool

The pool was recently remodeled and it’s one of my favorite pools I’ve visited in a hotel. It’s got a brilliant mirror on the ceiling that allows you to observe your own swimming technique which I thought was interesting. There’s also a large screen at one end that’s almost hypnotizing to watch. I’ve heard it’s the highest swimming pool in the world though I’m not sure if any newcomers have surpassed it.

One of the highlights to the pool area is the view, which looks out onto the surrounding peaks and skyline. You’ll be hard-pressed to find more stunning pool views from a hotel. If your schedule allows, I highly recommend a swim just before sunrise so you can watch the city come to life.

There’s also a a couple of hot tubs and a small cold water plunge pool to relax in as well. One of the hot tubs is more of a warm water tub while the larger hot tub is a proper jacuzzi. The larger tub pictured below is located on the outdoor terrace portion of the pool area.

One slightly annoying thing about the pool area is that you’ll be required to remove your shoes and put on some slippers to walk around so be ready for that.

They’ve got some really nice locker rooms attached to the pool and I especially liked the sauna.

The Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong gym

The gym is opened up from 6 AM to 10 PM everyday and is full of all the equipment you’d need for a solid work out. I frequented the gym every day during my stay and it rarely got very packed. The gym isn’t as big as I thought it might be but it’s still a good-sized gym for considering the size of the hotel.

While I did most of my workouts early in the morning when it was dark, I did enjoy some workouts during the day. This side of the building doesn’t face the main downtown area but it’s still a nice view that you get so I recommend trying to fit in your workouts when there’s some day light so you can enjoy the view.

There’s an outdoor terrace just outside of the gym with a row of comfortable outdoor chairs that also offer you some privacy, which is nice. This area is closed off at night time but it’s got a cool, relaxing vibe to it when it’s open during the day. You can read more about the pool and gym here.

Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong Ozone

The Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong is home to (arguably) the highest bar in the world known as Ozone. The bar is truly a spectacle that sits on top of the ICC Tower. Even if you don’t drink, you should still go up there and check out the bar, especially at night.

The OZONE is also a popular place to catch the nightly light shows. There’s an area of the bar that is outdoors and it’s a pretty cool feeling to be hanging around up there on a cool night admiring the city lights. There’s also a famed Sunday brunch offered at OZONE that you might want to check out. You can read more about the Ozone experience here.

Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong restaurants

The Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong is home to two Michelin rated restaurants. We never got around to trying them out but they look like amazing restaurants to dine in.

• Tosca
• Tin Lung Heen
• Ozone
• Cafe 103
• The Lounge & Bar
• Almas Caviar bar 

Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong FAQ

Final word

The Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong is a stunning hotel. It has some of the best views I’ve seen from a hotel and the service was over-the-top. With beautiful facilities throughout the hotel, you can’t help but to get a little inspired when hitting the gym or going for a swim. I’d have to rate this hotel as one of my favorite luxury hotel stays in recent memory and wouldn’t hesitate to return.