The Peninsula

The Peninsula Hong Kong is the city's oldest surviving luxury hotel, open since 1928 and still called the Grande Dame of the Far East. Its 300 rooms sit opposite the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront, with two MICHELIN-starred restaurants, two MICHELIN Keys, an indoor Roman-style pool and 14 bespoke green Rolls-Royce Phantoms.

"The 1928 Grande Dame of the Far East, with two Michelin Keys, two starred restaurants and fourteen Rolls-Royce Phantoms in bespoke Peninsula green."

Aggregate 9.7/10 on our editorial scale (Room & Design, Service, Location). Independently scored; see our methodology. This is our opinion, not an aggregate of user reviews.

Affiliate disclosure: we may earn a commission from bookings at no cost to you. We never accept payment for placement. Hotel status, room product and Michelin ratings were verified against official sources and the 2026 Michelin Guide in July 2026.

What makes The Peninsula special?

The Peninsula is the oldest surviving luxury hotel in Hong Kong and the founding property of The Peninsula Hotels, owned and operated by The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited, incorporated in 1866. It opened on 11 December 1928 and is still called the Grande Dame of the Far East. The Italianate building's Edwardian and Second Empire lobby carries stained glass, woodwork, carpets and draperies dating from 1928, which is why the HK$450 million refurbishment programme launched for the hotel's 85th anniversary in 2013 deliberately left the lobby, restaurants and bars unchanged. A 30-storey Peninsula Tower was added in 1994, taking the room count to 300 and bringing spa and fitness floors, twin rooftop helipads and Felix, the 28th-floor restaurant designed by Philippe Starck. The other signature is mechanical: 14 extended-wheelbase Rolls-Royce Phantoms in the hotel's bespoke Peninsula green, ordered in December 2006 in the largest single order in Rolls-Royce history and handed over that month to Michael Kadoorie, plus a restored 1934 Phantom II Sedanca de Ville. MICHELIN awarded the hotel two Keys in the inaugural 2025 Hong Kong selection, citing world-class service and old-world glamour.

Which room should you book?

The Peninsula has 300 rooms and suites split between the original 1928 building and the 1994 Peninsula Tower, and that split matters more than the category names. Tower rooms are higher and brighter and are where the harbour views live, looking across Victoria Harbour to the Hong Kong Island skyline. Entry-level rooms in the original wing are noticeably more traditional and darker, and they generally do not see the harbour at all, which is the most common disappointment at this hotel. The harbour-view supplement here is one of the steepest in the city, and the difference between a city-view and a harbour-view room is dramatic rather than marginal, so decide before booking rather than hoping for an upgrade at the desk. The 1994 tower also brought the spa and fitness floors and the twin rooftop helipads, so the higher categories sit close to the wellness offer. Whichever wing you book, the service is the reason MICHELIN gave the hotel two Keys.

Where should you eat and drink?

The Peninsula runs eight restaurants and bars and holds two MICHELIN stars in the 2026 guide, one each at Gaddi's and Spring Moon. Gaddi's has served French cooking since 1953 and had one of Hong Kong's first chef's tables; its star is now in its seventh consecutive year. Spring Moon, open since 1986 and credited by some accounts with the invention of XO sauce, is in its tenth consecutive starred year. Neither is a two-star or three-star restaurant, and Felix is not starred, despite being the best-known room in the building: it opened in 1994 on the 28th floor to a Philippe Starck design and still trades in 2026 for contemporary European food and the view. Chesa is one of very few classic Swiss restaurants in Hong Kong, Imasa handles Japanese, and The Verandah covers all-day dining. The Lobby serves the hotel's colonial-era afternoon tea, a Hong Kong institution in its own right, and The Bar completes the list.

What is the spa and pool like?

The Peninsula Spa, historically and still widely branded The Peninsula Spa by ESPA, occupies around 12,000 square feet across the tower's spa floors, with 14 treatment rooms including two private spa suites and six rooms with floor-to-ceiling harbour views. The pool is indoor and Roman in style, with full harbour views, plus sauna, steam room, sun terrace and an adjacent bar. Be clear on what that is and is not: it is not an infinity pool and not a rooftop pool, so guests who want to swim outdoors above the water should look at Rosewood or Four Seasons instead. The separate fitness centre has an open-air terrace, Life Fitness equipment, whirlpools, cold plunge pools, saunas and steam rooms, which makes these among the more complete wellness floors in Tsim Sha Tsui.

Where is The Peninsula, and how do you get there?

The Peninsula stands at 22 Salisbury Road, at the junction of Salisbury Road and Nathan Road in Tsim Sha Tsui, which is the most central address on the Kowloon side. The hotel faces the harbourfront across Salisbury Road, so the Hong Kong Island skyline is in view from the tower, and the Tsim Sha Tsui Star Ferry Pier is about 5 minutes on foot. Nathan Road, the main Kowloon shopping spine, begins at the door, and the Hong Kong Museum of Art and the Cultural Centre are on the same waterfront block. Tsim Sha Tsui MTR station is directly adjacent and reachable through the hotel's own shopping arcade and the Salisbury Road subway, roughly a 3 to 5 minute walk under cover. Hong Kong International Airport is about 35 to 40 minutes by car. The hotel also runs a helicopter transfer from its rooftop helipad, a seven-minute flight recorded in its own history.

What do guests consistently say?

Guests come here for ceremony, and that is what the feedback rewards. MICHELIN's inaugural 2025 Hong Kong Keys selection gave the hotel two Keys and cited world-class service and old-world glamour, which is close to how returning guests describe it: the fleet of green Rolls-Royce Phantoms at the door, the 1928 lobby, afternoon tea, and staff who remember names between visits. The complaints are structural rather than about service. Guests regularly report that entry-level rooms in the 1928 wing feel dark and traditional next to the Tower, and a recurring complaint is that the harbour-view supplement is among the steepest in Hong Kong. The other consistent theme is privacy: The Lobby is a public institution, so afternoon tea queues and lobby traffic are constant and can undercut the sense of staying somewhere private. Book a Tower room on the harbour side and most of the criticism falls away.

Honest cons: who should skip it?

Three honest drawbacks. First, the wings are not equal. Entry-level rooms in the original 1928 building feel noticeably more traditional and darker than Tower rooms and generally do not see the harbour, so the cheapest rate here buys a different hotel from the one in the photographs. Second, the harbour-view supplement is one of the steepest in the city and the difference between a city-view and a harbour-view room is dramatic, which pushes the real cost of a satisfying stay well above the entry category. Third, privacy. The Lobby is a Hong Kong institution, so afternoon tea queues and lobby crowding are constant, and guests regularly report that arriving and leaving through a public spectacle undercuts the sense of a private hotel. One more for swimmers: the pool is indoor, so this is not the address for outdoor swimming above the harbour.