Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong

Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong opened on 25 Connaught Road in October 1963 as The Mandarin — the first international five-star hotel in the territory and the property that gave the eventual group its name when Hongkong Land merged it with The Oriental Bangkok in 1985. The original 25-storey tower, designed by Leigh and Orange, still anchors the corner opposite Statue Square; the 2006 nine-month refurbishment by Adam Tihany kept the public spaces (the lobby chandelier, The Captain's Bar, the Clipper Lounge mezzanine) intact while reworking every guest room. The result is the only major Hong Kong luxury hotel that has occupied the same building for more than 60 years.

The in-house restaurant collection is the property's defining differentiator and the strongest in the city: Man Wah holds one Michelin star for traditional Cantonese; Pierre held two Michelin stars under Pierre Gagnaire until 2014 (the space is now The Aubrey, an izakaya-style room); The Krug Room is a Forbes Five-Star private dining counter for 12; and The Captain's Bar runs as the city's most-recognised hotel bar with the silver tankard tradition still intact. Statue Square Harbour View rooms above the 15th floor are the upgrade to push for — the sightline runs between the IFC towers to the harbour and Tsim Sha Tsui beyond, and the room scale on this category is genuinely worth the rate step from the Deluxe entry.