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Things to do in Hong Kong
The Hong Kong Peninsula Hotel is be a notable example of a historic building tracing back to the colonial period. With a history of more than 90 years, first opened in 1928, the hotel has witnessed all the turbulent times and epochal events that Hong Kong has trudged through. As such, the building has been evaluated as a Grade 1 historical building by the Antiquities and Monuments Office.
Having adopted the Baroque revival style architecture design, this western style, 7-storey building used to be the tallest building in Hong Kong at the time. In addition, located in Tsim Sha Tsui, where ocean liner passengers disembarked and wealthy travellers from Europe stopped by from the trans-Siberian rail link, the hotel had welcomed numerous guests from the far west.
The Peninsula Hotel brightly lit up as viewed from the Victoria Harbour
Before the hotel’s official opening to the public, the hotel was first used by the British military authorities temporarily. During the battle of Hong Kong, the Peninsula hotel was used for different purposes. For example, after Japan took occupancy of Hong Kong in 1941, it was renamed the ‘Toa (East Asia) Hotel’. In the meantime, most rooms were occupied by Japanese officers and important figures. The Hong Kong governor at the time was also locked up in one of the hotel suites for two months, before being transferred to a prison in Shanghai. After the war, the hotel was later used as a home for Jewish refugees, who were once living in Shanghai.
Since the British government took back control of Hong Kong after the war, the hotel had undergone expansions and refurbishments, eventually being shaped into today’s iconic, luxury hotel building. Regarded as one of the fanciest hotels in Hong Kong, it has hosted a number of worldwide and local celebrities including Leslie Cheung, Maggie Cheung, Hollywood stars such as Tom Cruise, Arnold Schwarzenegger. To elevate the hotel into a higher level of genteel elegance, unlike any other hotels would do, a series of world-class services and facilities have been introduced to the guests. For example, the upscale peninsula spa experience, with a number of luxury boutiques stationed in to enhance guests’ shopping experience, also high-end restaurants like Verandah Peninsula Hong Kong. If you feel like being posh for a day, go sip a cup of tea with some tea snacks in the hotel’s lobby.
Address: Salisbury Rd, Tsim Sha Tsui
More info: Peninsula Hotel Website
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