Review / Does Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong’s new look live up to the hype? The lavishly renovated harbour-view suites and gorgeous new Argo bar sure make for a sumptuous staycation

Sep 2 , 2021

Argo replaces Blue Bar as part of the Four Seasons Hong Kong’s hotel-wide refurbishment. Photo: Four Seasons Hong Kong

The luxury hotel is undergoing a complete reboot, adding two new restaurants to the three-Michelin-starred Caprice and Lung King Heen, as well as sprucing up all 399 rooms

Not only does the hotel boast two swimming pools – goodbye, long queues for socially distanced slots – those sprawling Victoria Harbour views make for a memorable Hong Kong staycation, too

In these pandemic times when most of us have been grounded by unpredictable quarantine rules, staycations have been the only way to fool ourselves into thinking we are escaping, if only for 24 hours. So when the invitation to try out the Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong’s newly renovated Grand Harbour-view Suite came, we were more than happy to jump at the chance to pack our little carry-on.

The past two years have not been kind to the Hong Kong tourism sector, with the double whammy of both social unrest and then the Covid-19 pandemic. Not everyone has survived unscathed, but it has given many of us a chance to take stock and make improvements, which is what the Four Seasons has done.

Taking centre stage at the hotel, Gallery offers comfort food with Asian flair. Photo: Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong

The new Grand Harbour-view Suites are part of the hotel’s first phase of refurbishment for its 399 rooms, which is only about a third done, with the rest of the rooms expected to be completed in 2022. The suite takes up the prime corner location on each of the guest room floors, from the ninth to the 20th, making for only 12 in total. As the name suggests, it is a grand view indeed: looking directly at the International Commerce Centre (ICC) and stretching as far as Stonecutters Island to the west and right up to the Hong Kong Coliseum to the east.

There are harbour views, and then there are Victoria Harbour views. Hong Kong’s harbour presents one of the most mesmerising skylines in the world but, if I’m being honest, usually only from the peninsula looking out to Hong Kong Island.

The Hong Kong views that never get old. Photo: Winnie Chung

The expanse that covers the Central Plaza and the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, all the way to IFC, is a feast for the eyes. Unfortunately, the view from Hong Kong Island to the peninsula is slightly less stunning, unless you happen to face ICC in West Kowloon – which is what greets me when I walk into my suite.

Large glass windows open up a view of ICC in the distance with Hong Kong’s outlying islands ferry piers in the foreground; it’s impossible not to stop and catch your breath at the skyline.

The suite itself, designed by Remedios Studio, has a homey feel. Wooden shelves stretch along the wall, decorated with art pieces and posh coffee table books.

The living room of one of the Four Seasons’ newly renovated Grand Harbour-view Suites. Photo: Four Seasons Hong Kong