H OT E L S T E CH
shared veranda, which is also a great space. All through the hotel, you have small corners and spaces of which many are exclusively for residents.” The daily rate at Raffles Hotel (including a limousine
transfer) starts from US$764 for a midweek stay in an entry-level 58 sqm Courtyard Suite King (in early December). Whilst many would consider laying down that much cash worth it for a residence at one of Singapore’s most coveted and storied addresses, business travel these days often comes with strict budgets. For a more modest – yet still comfortable and practical – suite stay, Hong Kong’s Harbour Grand Kowloon might offer a good solution for budget-conscious business travellers. At the start of August, the hotel, set beside Victoria
Harbour in Hong Kong’s Whampoa district, opened 360 new guestrooms (including 100 suites) in its Tower. The hotel’s total room inventory will reach 967 by the middle of next year, including 216 suites. Of the six room types in the new Tower, four of these
are suites, including Tower Superior Cityview (51 sqm), Tower Superior Harbourview (41-47 sqm), Tower Premium Harbourview (56-57 sqm) and Tower Premium Cityview (52-58 sqm) suites. I stayed in a Tower Premium Harbourview suite at the
start of November. My stay was fantastic, but I would not describe the suite as the height of luxury compared with other properties I’ve seen in the Asia-Pacific region. However, it was extremely well appointed, with brand-new furnishings and practical amenities that would definitely make any business traveller’s stay more convenient. You could even catch a glimpse – albeit a rather
distant one – of the city’s Symphony of Lights show that sees several skyscrapers along Victoria light up at 8pm every night and is a favourite of tourists, who flock to the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront to watch it.
bus ine s s tr a v el ler .c om DE C EMB E R 20 19
Victor Chan, general manager of Harbour Grand
Kowloon, says his intention was not to make the suites “ultra luxurious or excessive”. Rather, he and his team wanted to design them at a reasonable price point, whilst providing all the amenities necessary to ensure a comfortable and convenient stay for both business and leisure travellers. Chan says Harbour Grand Kowloon has listened to its
customers and the suites were designed based on customer feedback, rather than looking at what other hotels are doing. “This hotel has been around for 20-plus years. We have a good base of regular customers who have given us feedback. That is more important than looking at other hotels’ suite features and trying to copy them,” he says. “The in-room sockets are very handy – which is something that people always look for. Te first thing they do in a hotel room is plug in their USB, be it by the bedside or the writing desk.”
41
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68
