Review of The Landmark Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong

If you want to be at the heart of the action, then The Landmark Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong is the ideal choice with the entrance directly onto Queen’s Road Central. Located in the city’s premier business district on the lower floors of the Edinburgh Tower – part of the Landmark Atrium upscale shopping mall which features the first Harvey Nichols outside the UK - the property is adjacent to the Central MTR Station which will speed you swiftly to all the city’s attractions. It is just a few minutes’ walk to the city’s shops, restaurants and nightlife and the hotel is connected to Central’s air-conditioned sky bridges with Victoria Harbour being just two kilometres away and eight from Victoria Peak and the Avenue of Stars.

The main criticism of the hotel is that it has limited "views" but it makes up for that in spade loads.  

It is also just a short ten minutes’ walk to Hong Kong Airport Express Station, reaching Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) in about 25 minutes. By car or limousine, transfers are around 30 – 45 minutes, depending on traffic.

For the design literate, the 111 guest rooms and suites created by the sought-after interior designer, Joyce Wang, will have them purring with pleasure. Each room is a haven with luxurious fabrics, luscious soft leather quilted bedheads, Ploh 400 thread count bed linens and custom furnishings, the open layout dissected by wooden dividers with work, rest and play spaces clearly delineated. There is even a chilled vitrine of culinary delights. Who cares about a view when the interiors are this good? 

There are five categories of guest room – among the most spacious in Hong Kong - L450 (42 square metres) Superior, L450 Deluxe, L600 (56 square metres) Deluxe, L600 Premier and L600 Executive. The entry level rooms have indulgent sunken hourglass baths with separate rainforest showers and twin vanities with mirror televisions. There are also ample walk-in closets, high speed Wi-Fi for four devices, LED HD televisions, surround sound and a custom refreshment cabinet with all the normal luxury hotel toys.  If you upgrade to L600 rooms, there is an amazing 2.1 metre circular limestone bath with the Executive version featuring a unique layout similar to a suite. 

Moving up to the L900 (83 square metres) suite, this is a deeply glamorous one-bedroom space, flooded with natural daylight from the floor to ceiling windows with a living/dining room and a vast round bath. There is a marble entrance hall, a luxurious living room, a dining table seating up to four people, original curated artwork and custom wall coverings. The Landmark Suite (at 140 square metres) is more like a large residential apartment with a spacious living area, a dining table for six people, filled with flowers, objets d’art and bookcases, a sophisticated Gaggenau kitchen and even a cocktail bar – a lovely playful touch. There is also the option to add in another bedroom. 

The ”push the boat out” suite has to be the sultry Entertainment Suite at 167 square metres of space. This versatile space is purposely designed for a party with state-of-the-art audiovisuals; a B&O Beolab Sound System; a 5 x 3.5 metre cinema screen; a 2.2 metre LED TV, VR & PlayStation gaming equipment; a DJ booth and an entertainment wall. The master bedroom is equipped with a FreshBed Sleep System for optimal sleep quality with the bathroom featuring a freestanding Palissandro Blue natural stone bathtub. The hotel’s chefs can whip up a storm, performing in the sleek, open Gaggenau kitchen, serving up at the adjacent dining table seating up to eight guests. For nibbles and drinks, there is a popcorn machine and a fully accessorised mixology stand.

The perfect urban oasis to escape from the buzz of the city streets, the award-winning 1,951 square metre Oriental Spa is a serene space, split over two floors with a host of facilities including 15 treatment rooms including a 65 square metre VIP Sanctuary Suite for couples; an amethyst crystal steam room*; authentic Turkish hammam*, Moroccan Rasul, Roman Laconicum and an 18-metre indoor pool*. There are also experience showers, saunas *, vitality pools, ice fountains and Zen Relaxation Rooms. It is recommended that guests arrive at the spa a good hour before any booked treatment to take advantage of these holistic spa facilities in order to be in a better meditative place to enjoy the wide range of spa treatments. 

One of the most popular therapies is the Digital Wellness Escape, a 90-minute treatment concentrating on the head, eyes, neck, shoulders, hands and feet to ease stresses and strains caused by repetitive use of digital equipment. There is also a 90-minute Jet Lag Cure treatment to help your body adapt after a long flight. 

Those in the know come here to enjoy a pedicure at Bastien Gonzalez’s BGA Pedia:Mani:Cure Studio whilst workouts take place within the confines of either the hi-tech fitness centre*, the Yoga or Pilates studios*. Both group classes and individual instruction is available for fitness, yoga and pilates. 

* Facilities temporarily closed at the time of writing

With so many luxury properties in Hong Kong, visitors are spoilt for choice but this discreet boutique little gem stands out from the rest for those who want to be in the thick of things. 

Perfectly located for both business and leisure, The Landmark Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong is a beautifully considered property of immense style with accommodation having a residential feel and even the lead in rooms feeling spacious and cleverly designed. If you add onto that the Michelin starred dining options, the highly acclaimed spa and the legendary Mandarin Oriental service standards delivered by the highest staff to guest ratio of 3:1 in Hong Kong – unobtrusive, welcoming and intuitive – you have yourself a winner. No wonder the great and the good head through its unobtrusive doors.

The beckoning allure of a Michelin star or two, normally draws the crowds and with two such restaurants at The Landmark Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong, the hotel has become a popular haunt for local and international gastronomic travellers. 

The signature two Michelin starred restaurant is Amber, designed by NY based Adam Tihany and under the toque of Culinary Director Richard Ekkebus, offering contemporary cuisine crafted from a masterful understanding of French culinary traditions. Committed to showcasing ingredients in their purest form, Amber’s seasonal changing menu addresses diner’s changing tastes with subtle, nuanced dishes. 

Adjacent to Amber is SOMM, with a concept managed by sommeliers. With a décor reminiscent of a wine barrel complemented with wine-coloured banquettes, the wood panelled restaurant offers a selection of over 1,600 champagnes, wines and sakes matched against a menu of French neo-bistro dishes. Try the SOMMsupper for night owls and the SOMMkind of Brunch for a weekend experience. 

MO Bar is a city hotspot serving fresh organic food throughout the day whilst when the sun sets, turning into a nightspot with innovative cocktails and light fare, set against DJs sets in the evening and during weekend brunch. Regularly hosting international musicians, the MO Unplugged concerts has hosted Annie Lennox, Alicia Keys and John Legend. 

Accessed via a secret phone booth on the mezzanine level is the second bar – the first international outpost of NYC’s speakeasy *PDT (Please Don’t Tell) – an intimate space seating 25 guests with an innovative cocktail menu. Alongside, popular snacks include PDT Hot Dogs and tater tots, created by two Michelin-starred Chef Richard Ekkebus and the meatless Impossible Burger served with waffle fries. 

The intimate and interactive Sushi Shikon offers a quintessentially Ginza sushi experience serving traditional Edomae style sushi. The first branch of Sushi Yoshitake founded by three Michelin starred chef, Masahiro Yoshitake, guests interact and watch Master Chefs at work across an eight-seat wooden Hinoki counter. The second collaboration with Chef Yoshitake is Kappo Rin, another tiny venue for just eight diners, serving a chef’s choice menu focused on both cooked and raw items imported daily from Japan. 

* Venue temporarily closed at the time of writing.

Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group has a guiding principle of “Acting with Responsibility” through their Naturally Better Plan. As well as embracing global sustainability initiatives such as eliminating single-use plastics, the group has established a programme for responsible procurement including coffee, tea, cocoa, vanilla, paper and seafood. In 2018, the group made a conscious decision to prioritise sustainability in the ways in which they operate, setting up an executive advisory panel for sustainability which guides and champions their initiatives. The UN Sustainable Development Goals serve as an important reference for the panel when deciding how to tackle the pressing issues of energy, water, waste and carbon emissions. 

The Landmark Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong is a pioneer in sustainability and advocates ethical souring and the removal of single-use plastic. In 2018, the hotel was the first to introduce in-house filtered water with the Nordaq FRESH filtration system to both front and back of house areas, eliminating plastic bottles and replacing them with refillable glass bottles. At Amber, it took Culinary Director Richard Ekkebus and his brigade six years to eliminate the use of single use plastic right down to cling film. MO Bar also ensures it minimises harm to the environment. They use sustainable seafood and support charities with causes close to their heart. MO Bar works with Food Made Good, an organisation that helps food orientated businesses with understanding and auditing their sustainable efforts. 

The property also works with a partner that converts the restaurant’s oil waste into biofuel that is used in the harbour. Old linens, uniforms and soap are also recycled. 

If a guest is an M.O. fan, they can select their sustainability preferences in their member profiles or by an in-room green card if they want to reuse their towels and refresh their bed linen less frequently during their stay.