Conrad Hong Kong

Although most people only know Hong Kong as Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula, the city is actually made up of almost 300 islands. One of the largest, Lantau, is home to not only the Hong Kong International Airport, but also charming beachside villages such as Pui O. From the Conrad, a short cab ride will take you to the Central piers. Pier 6 is where you can take the ferry to Lantau’s Mui Wo (40 minutes on the fast ferry, one hour on the regular ferry), then hop in a taxi or bus to Pui O Beach, where you’ll find Mavericks, a surf shop as well as a Hong-Kong-meets-California beachside restaurant. Dive into a burger and a shake and watch the kids build sandcastles. While the surf in Pui O can’t compare to what you get in Southern California or Bali, the gentler tides make it perfect for children and surfing beginners. For beach options closer to town, check out Repulse Bay, around 25 minutes by taxi from the Conrad, with its abundance of restaurants like hip Limewood for global beach bites. Here, we suggest you start with ceviche and progress to Vietnamese crab salad or a Hawaiian roasted baby pig leg. Craving Cantonese comfort food? Meen & Rice has you covered with flavorful congee (Chinese rice porridge), rice with char siu (barbecued pork), and wonton noodles.

Tailored clothing is still a big part of stylish locals’ wardrobes—though many Hongkongers claim that tailoring isn’t what it used to be. For men, quality craftsmanship and a great choice of materials can still be found at WW Chan, beloved for its classic aesthetics. Dapper dandies, however, head to the Armoury, whose founders focus on slimmer cuts and offer a range of ready-to-wear items as well as bespoke services. For gents looking for an Italian vibe, Il Sarto is the place to go. Don’t miss Chan Yee Jai a couple of doors down for some old-school Chinese candies and preserves. (Just don’t get any dried sour-plum powder on that new jacket.) Hong Kong’s expats swear by Margaret Court for ladies’ tailoring, especially for copies of favorite designer pieces. Reward yourself, post-fitting, by heading up the Mid-Levels escalator, getting off at the Hollywood Road intersection, and popping into The Woods, an artisanal cocktail bar that focuses on seasonal ingredients. We swooned over their classic oak whiskey sour—but you can’t go wrong with anything from the creative cocktail menu. Then walk to the corner of Elgin Street for dinner at Ho Lee Fook, run by wunderkind Jowett Yu, a Taiwanese-Canadian chef who trained in Australia, and who is now doing out-of-the-box takes on Chinese food. Highlights on the menu? The Roast Wagyu Short Rib along with Hong Kong style French toast.

For a one-stop shop of emerging local designers, make your way to PMQ, the former police dormitories (“Police Married Quarters”) turned creative retail hub. From sourdough bakers to potters, fashion designers, vintage collectors, and artists, this is the place to go if you want to pick up a piece by up-and-coming local talent, such Janko Lam, who designs cheongsams (see In the Mood for Love for inspiration) at Classics Anew. More established designers like Vivienne Tam and eccentric homewares label G.O.D. anchor the complex. For a casual lunch, Sohofama serves up wholesome Chinese plates like a Hong Kong mother would make, such as sweet organic miso eggplant casserole with minced pork. (It’s also one of the few places in Hong Kong where you can enjoy Chinese food alfresco.) Aberdeen Street Social is a good stop for sundowners with a British accent. We loved the Spanglish, a combination of raspberry, lemon, sherry, and, of course, gin. Hop out the back of PMQ onto Staunton Street to find Little Bao, known for obsession-worthy “Asian burgers.” Save room for the deep-fried ice-cream bao for dessert. A few steps away is Yardbird, the hippest yakitori joint in town, and for good reason—every single part of the chicken can be eaten here, and every part is done well. If you need a bit of liquid courage for the chicken heart skewer, try a Bloody Kim Jong Il (kimchi-infused Bloody Mary), or stay on the safe side with some wings, grilled to perfection and best with a squeeze of lemon and a dash of shichimi (Japanese “seven spice” chili powder). Ready for more shopping? Go down one more block on Hollywood Road to Gough Street, home to hipster boutiques like WOAW, with limited-edition sneakers and sleek designer phone covers, plus coffee nook Elephant Grounds at the back. A few blocks down, there’s kooky interiors and furniture shop Homeless.

The Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) opened in November 1988, after which Hong Kong's exhibition industry experienced a period of rapid growth enabling Hong Kong to establish its position as Asia's trade fair capital and a premier international convention and meeting location.

The western stretch of Hollywood Road in Sheung Wan is Hong Kong’s antiques hub—even auction houses like Sotheby’s and Christie’s go rummaging here. Anyone with even the slightest interest in Asian art should make a stop at the Asia Art Archive to read up first. As the region’s foremost nonprofit art resource, it’s an invaluable trove of knowledge, from contemporary to classical. Also book a visit to Liang Yi Museum, Hong Kong’s largest private museum dedicated to a world class collection of antiques, where you can marvel at priceless pieces of Chinese furniture from the Ming and Qing dynasties, as well as one of the finest compendiums of European bejewelled clutches, compacts and powder boxes. For contemporary art, start at the westernmost end of Hollywood Road at Contemporary by Angela Li, followed by Cat Street Gallery and Sin Sin Fine Art (on nearby Sai Street). Grab some lunch at Corner Kitchen Café—try the smoked-salmon-and-yogurt wheat wrap—or have a mixed mushroom linguine at Grassroots Pantry, a pioneer of sustainable, vegetarian cuisine. If it’s closing in on cocktail hour, have a drink at Bibo, where contemporary and street art cover every inch of the bar and restaurant, whether you’re sitting in the shadow of a giant KAWS sculpture or admiring one the Damien Hirsts in the WC. Continue along Hollywood Road towards Central, landing on Gough Street, where you’ll find age-old noodle shop Kau Kee. Be aware, locals cross town for the flat rice noodles topped with slow-cooked beef brisket, not the service. If you’re looking for meals art, downstairs you’ll find two more options. The first is Japanese dining bar Ronin, hidden behind an unmarked gray sliding door, where seats for the full seafood-heavy degustation menu are among the hardest in Hong Kong to snag (but standing-room nibbling is an option for walk-ins). Don’t miss the crab dressed with sea urchin or the impressively thorough selection of Japanese whiskies. Just down the way, the Chairman is quietly reviving the philosophy at the core of Cantonese cooking—using the freshest ingredients at their prime, and doing as little as possible to them. It charters its own fishing boats to bring in ingredients such as flower crab and creates an irresistible dish by steaming it with hua diao (yellow rice wine) and chicken fat, then layering it on top of flowing rice noodle sheets.

The venerable Peak Tram is, as most passengers agree, the only way to truly experience the beauty of Hong Kong's natural wonders. Tens of millions of people from every corner of the globe have taken the ride, which affords a uniquely spectacular perspective of the city.

One of the most dramatic vistas of Hong Kong (hello, Instagram!) can be had by looking back at the skyline and Victoria Harbour from the Kowloon side at night. So, in the late afternoon, head across the harbor either by taxi or MTR (the Conrad is directly above Admiralty Station, and one stop on the red Tsuen Wan line will get you to Tsim Sha Tsui Station in Kowloon). Start off with some light shopping at Sogo, reachable by the well-marked underground tunnels from the MTR. There, you’ll find the only stand-alone boutique of Fiona Kotur. The New York transplant’s exquisite minaudières and red-carpet-worthy footwear are go-to’s for the glam set from Hong Kong to London to Los Angeles. Directly above ground is the waterfront precinct, where you can board a cocktail cruise on the Aqua Luna, a restored junk boat (traditional Chinese sailing vessel) for an elegant sunset glide across Victoria Harbour (yes, it’s a little touristy, but the pictures alone will be worth it). Insider tip: if you board on the Kowloon side for the 6:30 sailing, you’ll have your choice of seats on the deck or on the banquettes inside, before the boat pulls in to Central to pick up the remaining passengers at 6:45. The whole excursion lasts approximately 45 minutes; once back in TST, make sure to take in the nightly synchronized light and laser show from 40-plus buildings on both sides of Victoria Harbour. The show lasts under 15 minutes so you can easily make that 8:30 dinner reservation!

Ocean Park Hong Kong is a marine mammal park, oceanarium, and animal theme park, situated in Wong Chuk Hang and Nam Long Shan in the Southern District of Hong Kong. With the MTR South Island Line, it takes only 4 minutes from the hotel to the Ocean Park. Founded in 1977 by the then Governor of Hong Kong Sir Murray MacLehose, Ocean Park has now grown to about 35 attractions and rides. The theme park currently has 19 rides, including two rollercoasters, but also houses 11 animal exhibits, such as a Giant panda habitat, a jelly fish and Chinese sturgeon aquarium, as well as a four-story aquarium displaying more than 2,000 fish. Besides being an amusement park, Ocean Park Hong Kong also operates observatories, well developed laboratories, an education department and a Whales and Dolphins Fund.