If you are going to Hongkong on business (or even perhaps for pleasure), check out the EAST Hotel on Taikoo Place, one of the city’s best designed hotels catering to business travelers, conveniently located at Taikoo Place where many Fortune 500 companies, advertising and financial firms have their headquarters.

EAST calls itself a “lifestyle business hotel”, meaning it’s not just about working, but also about relaxing, eating well, and exercising during your stay in the city. Indeed, the EAST Hotel has all the comforts of home (light-filled rooms decorated in a contemporary style with cozy, warm fabrics and large beds), a pool where you can do laps, and a gym where you can work out alone or with a private trainer.

Good, healthy food is also a focus at EAST: Chef Davis Laris (who created Laris at Three, the highly regarded restaurant on the Bund in Shanghai), is behind the hotel’s “Feast” restaurant. For cocktails and tapas on the outside deck, head for “Sugar”, a popular place to hang out and relax.

EAST has 345 rooms including 6 suites, but what’s amazing about this hotel is that the average room sizes are 28 square metres (300 square feet) with high ceilings (2.9 metres or 9.5 feet). They all feature an iPod Touch and an iHome audio system, a rain showerhead and a work station with free Wi-Fi. For those like me who love true high-speed connections, you will be thrilled to know that the hotel gets their Internet service from PCCW, a Hongkong -based telecommunications firm that provides 100 Mbps symmetrical download and upload speeds. Here’s a business hotel that really means business by providing guests with very fast and free Wi-Fi! Frankly, I would stay at this hotel even if I were going to Hongkong for a holiday.

Rates for a double room start at US$180 or 127 EUR.

EAST Hotel
29 Taikoo Shing Road
Island East
Hong Kong
+852 3968 3968
Email the hotel to inquire about a booking.

The Luxe Manor in Hong Kong describes itself as a mystical emporium of serene comfort.  Upon closer inspection this is a perfect way to describe its rich eclectic mix of Oriental and European décor with post-modern sensibilities.  Regardless whether you decide to stay in one of their deluxe rooms or one of their six uniquely themed suites, they offer exceptional inviting and comfortable dwellings.

If you are feeling hungry you can head over to the exquisite “Aspasia” restaurant or spend the night sipping on delicious drinks as the seriously surreal “Dada” bar and lounge with heaving Salvador Dalia influences with contemporary touches.

Wi-Fi is offered throughout the hotel and there is a business center with full secretarial services available for any business needs.  If you are visiting more for a vacation rather than a business trip, desktop workstations are also available if you chose to leave your laptop at home.  Furthermore, there are facilities for the disabled and a gymnasium if you desire to burn off the few extra calories from the feast devoured at Aspasia.

Rooms start at reasonable rates: $115.

The Luxe Manor
39 Kimberley Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
Kowloon, Hong Kong
+852 3763 8888

But don’t worry: the rooms are cozy and livable, with warm fabrics and design furniture, plus amenities such as free Wi-Fi, LCD TV, iPod dock, and large luxurious bath tubs. If you like to swim, there is an indoor infinity pool with numerous LED lights to create an otherworldly experience as you do your laps. The spa has nine treatment rooms, sauna, steam room, hydro pool and VIP suites; there’s also a nail bar and hair salon.

The hotel has several restaurants, most notable of which are Cuisine Cuisine, which serves innovative Cantonese cuisine; Whisk, for those who prefer French food; and Vibes, if you want to dine al fresco on the fifth floor in a lush outdoor space with open fires and running waterways.

The Mira is located in Kowloon, across Kowloon Park, so you can enjoy an outdoor stroll in one of the rare patches of greenery in the city. If you prefer to shop, the Miramar Shopping Centre, which has designer boutiques and cool shops such as Muji and Uniqlo, is connected to the hotel via a footbridge.

Room rates start at around $330.

The Mira Hotel

118 Nathan Road,

Tsimshatsui

Kowloon, Hong Kong

+852 2368 1111

While other luxury hotel chains go for the Big Bang Glitzy look, which tends to attract an equally  gaudy clientele to match, the Swire Hotels has decided to go in the opposite direction with Upper House, its latest hotel in Hong Kong. Elegant and understated, the hotel will be appreciated by travelers who are a bit tired of the coldly efficient business hotels that dot the city. There are three types of rooms: studios, upper suites and penthouses. Rates at Upper House start at HK$2888 (US$370; €260) for the studios.

Upper House
Pacific Place
88 Queensway
Hong Kong
+852 2918 1838
www.upperhouse.com

See a complete list of our favorite hotels and restaurants in Hongkong. Click here for the Google Map of Hongkong favorites.

These urban retreats are right in the heart of the action, in the vast majority of cases converted from aristocratic townhouses or historical buildings. And for a real sense of place, of culture, of cuisine, a stay at a luxury boutique hotel really can’t be beaten.

Marrakech:
The city’s main square, Jemaa el Fna is bustling throughout day and night with snake charmers, dancing monkeys, street vendors and loaded donkeys, all fighting for space with the odd dilapidated car that comes fighting through the throng.

Stay at Riad Meriem, a tiny five-roomed guesthouse that’s just a short walk from Jemaa el Fna, and ideally positioned for sampling the finest street food. Think freshly squeezed orange juice, delicate cups of sugar-rich mint tea, steaming piles of couscous and hunks of roasted lamb meat.

Hong Kong:
No round-up of the world’s best street food would be complete without a mention of Hong Kong. From deep-fried pig’s intestines to vats of stinky tofu, by evening the city is alive with vendors hawking regional delicacies in fantastical flavour combinations.

JIA Hong Kong, with its location in buzzy Causeway Bay, is surrounded by some of the city’s best high-end restaurants. But it would be a fool indeed who did not spend a few nights prowling the streets in search of curried fish balls and sui mai.

Bangkok:
Bangkok is a serious foodie destination in Asia, with a wealth of street food vendors plus the infamous Damnern Saduak Floating Market (located just outside the city centre) to explore. Like Hong Kong, the real draw here is the exotic ingredients and buzzy atmosphere.

The LUXX is a great value boutique hotel in Bangkok, tucked away on Silom Road, just a few minutes from the Chao Phraya River. It makes for a great base to sample that Thai staple, noodles, as well as oyster omelettes, black sesame dumplings and somfak (fermented-fish) sausages.

Naples:
Naples offers a wealth of street food that is every bit as exciting and diverse as the more exotic locations above. Street food in Naples is fairly cheap and widely available; it goes way beyond the infamous pizzas and gelato.

Romeo Hotel is one of the most stylish boltholes in Naples. From the hotel, make for the far end of Spaccanapoli to sample the best of the city’s cafe culture, as well its street food: thin, crisp-based pizzas, sugared doughnuts and deep-fried bread stuffed with ham and cheese.

View from Victoria Peak

I have just posted my favorite restaurants in Hong Kong, so I decided to post my favorite hotels in the city. Hongkong is fabulous city for so many reasons: eating out, shopping, stunning views of the hills and the water. And it is easily the most intense urban experience on earth!

Hong Kong isn’t just about high-rises and neon. If you’re feeling stressed out by the crowds, take a boat to one of the islands. They feel like remote Chinese fishing villages. Or go to Victoria Peak and gaze down at Hong Kong (see photo above).

EAST Hong Kong
29 Taikoo Shing Road
Island East
Hong Kong
+852 3968 3968
www.east-hongkong.com
Email the hotel to inquire about a booking.

Upper House
Pacific Place
88 Queensway
Hong Kong
+852 2918 1838
www.upperhouse.com
Read review on Mapplr.

The Luxe Manor
39 Kimberley Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
Kowloon, Hong Kong
+852 3763 8880
www.theluxemanor.com

Jia Hong Kong
1-5 Irving Street
Causeway Bay, Hong Kong
+852 3196 9000
www.jiahongkong.com
Book online now

The Fleming
41 Fleming Road,
Wan Chai, Hong Kong
+852 3607 2288
http://sterlinghotels.com/sterling/hotels/index.aspx?from=search&id=63404

Langham Place
555, Shanghai Street
Kowloon, Hong Kong
+852 3552 3388
http://hongkong.langhamplacehotels.com/

Lanson Place
133 Leighton Road, Causeway Bay
Hong Kong, Hong Kong
+852 3477 6888
www.lansonplace.com

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Here is a map of my favorite Hong Kong hotels and restaurants.
View Larger Map

I love Hong Kong. It’s the ultimate urban experience: massive high-rise apartments, busy crowded markets selling pungent Chinese herbs and serpents, fabulous boutiques just doors away from obviously fake luxury goods vendor stalls. Yet, you can get away from it all by simply taking a boat to one of the islands around the harbor. Hong Kong is an absolute must-see for anyone traveling to Asia. So, here are my favorite restaurants in the city. If you  know of other great places to eat, please post them in the comments box below.

Bo Innovation
Shop No. 13, 2/F, J Residence, No. 60 Johnson Rd., WanChai
Hong Kong
+852 2850 8371
www.boinnovation.com

Fagara
Shop 105/A Water Margin, Discovery Bay, Lantau Island
Hong Kong
+852 2987 6222

Green T. House
No. 208 The Arcade, 100 Cyberport Rd., Island South
Hong Kong
+852 2989 6036
www.green-t-house.com/hong.html

Hutong
1 Peking Rd
28th floor, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon
Hong Kong
+852 3428 8342
www.aqua.com.hk

Yellow Door Kitchen
6/F, Cheung Hing Commercial Bldg., 37 Cochrane St., Central
Hong Kong
+852 2858 6555
www.yellowdoorkitchen.com.hk

Malouf’s Arabesque Cuisine
3/F elements, 1 Austin Road West, Kowloon
Hong Kong
+852 2810 8585

M at the Fringe
2 Lower Albert Rd
Central, Central District
Hong Kong
+852 2877 4000
www.m-atthefringe.com
Eclectic

Sevva
Prince’s Building
10 Chater Road
Central
Hong Kong
+852 2537 1388
www.sevvahk.com
Stunning views from this restaurant on the 25th floor penthouse

Café Deco
1/F & 2/F, Peak Galleria, 118 Peak Road
Hong Kong
+852 2849 5111
www.cafedecogroup.com

Mak’s Noodles
77 Wellington Street
Central
Hong Kong
+852 2854 3810
Terrific won ton noodle soup

Yan Toh Heen
Intercontinental Hotel
18 Salisbury Rd
Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon
www.hongkong-ic.intercontinental.com
+852 2313 2243
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Here is a Google map of Mapplr’s favorite restaurants and hotels in Hong Kong.