View from the Hotel Intercontinental Hong Kong: Hard to beat
At Hong Kong airport, a PA announcement warns us about two viruses – one that sounds like a beer and one that rhymes with beer (Corona-something and MERS) – and advises us to refrain from touching “poultry, birds and camels” on our travels.
Having just zipped through Abu Dhabi and Dubai, where there are more skyscrapers than andromedas, and I did not see any live chickens at all, I felt confident striding through the terminal – there’s something about Hong Kong that brings out the strider in me.
It’s that or get hissed at by locals who walk faster than wombats – and I was told by Australian friends that wombats can even out-run horses.
A sign on the baggage conveyor belt tells us of the potential of traffic problems due to “incident” in parts of the city. The driver who picked me up shrugged off the “incident”. “It doesn’t affect us, he said, as he drove very efficiently and purposefully towards the Hotel InterContinental where I was staying.
One mark up for Hong Kong vs Dubai or Abu Dhabi. Hotel limousines in this city built on rocks have wi-fi. The same is not true of its hotels though. I had to pay for wi-fi in my room whereas it came as part of the package in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Get with the times, Intercontinental.
Dubai airport: The work doesn’t seem to stop.
Another mark for Hong Kong – hotel service is of another level altogether compared with anywhere else. Efficient, purposeful with just the right dose of “respectful” friendliness. Software, Hong Kong definitely trumps. Hardware though, it’s hard to beat those spanking new hotels that keep popping up like concrete popsicles in the sand in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
The Intercontinental is one of the grand dames of Hong Kong. Built as the Regent, it has an imposing view over the harbour. Its rooms are a bit tired though in comparison to where I’ve just stayed – Yas Viceroy in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi and Sofitel Downtown Dubai – and I am reminded by how the Middle East is clearly a region on the rise.
Not that Hong Kong is on the decline – this city is built on resilience-plus – but with the “incident”, the streets are quieter and the images being shown on media are definitely keeping some people away. At the hotel investment conference which I attended, there was not much talk about Hong Kong, more about China. Money talks at this event, not politics – though of course there are unvoiced concerns, the two are intertwined.
Abu Dhabi: A more open, laidback feel compared with Dubai.
Abu Dhabi is competing with Dubai in hardware but what I like about the former is that it has more open spaces, more greenery. How that will be in a few years’ time when everything is complete – include the Louvre and Guggenheim – I don’t know but for now, Abu Dhabi has a laidback feel and the best thing, no traffic unlike Dubai which is struggling with major traffic problems.
Yas Viceroy: Interesting architecture and a nice relaxed feel to the hotel.
I liked the Yas Viceroy because the room is spacious and well-designed for work, relaxation and sleep. The danger is when technology takes over. When the automatic switches don’t work, you’re in trouble. I couldn’t get the curtains to open so I was in the dark most of the time.
Lobby of Sofitel Downtown Dubai: It makes a statement.
If you want a hotel to have a sense of place, then Sofitel Downtown Dubai (left) has it in spades. You know you are in Dubai where everything is new, flashy and fancy.
Just opened a few months ago, the hotel, I believe, nearly touches the sky until I look out across my room at the Burj Khalifa and I realise it is but a minion in comparison.
The room is beautifully-designed but for the life of me, I couldn’t find any electrical outlets near the work desk. I think the designers thought it’d spoil the aesthetics. Everything is controlled electronically – lights, curtains – and I basically pushed all buttons available because the icons were unrecognisable, hoping one would work.
I had dinner at the Grill, the fancy steakhouse, where you can eat all the cows you want for one price. Great view, good food until the singer started. Too shrill and loud for a dinner place where you’re paying top dollar for the experience.
So while hotel service in Hong Kong is finely-tuned, there’s still a lot of tuning to be done in Abu Dhabi and Dubai – but fair enough, they are young kids on the block compared to Hong Kong which has been around the block several times.
Covering these three cities in four days made me think of how rapidly our world is being urbanized, and how we as humans will cope.
In Abu Dhabi, I asked three working women what they liked best about living in this place which, at first glance, wouldn’t strike you as the kind of place you would want to live in. Let’s just say, I haven’t seen it in any of the lists of the world’s most desirable places to live.
A Chinese girl from Chongqing said, “No traffic.”
A woman from Yemen said, “It’s very laidback.”
A Malaysian hotelier said, “Work-life balance. You switch off at 6pm and you stop working.”
It strikes me as interesting that for career professionals, who have choices, we’re increasingly making lifestyle choices and cities will have to heed that if they wish to attract talent. Of course, I forgot to mention my Malaysian friend drives a Porsche.
