The Upper House, Hong Kong

Pick any top Hong Kong hotel and it will daze you with glitz and grandeur. Book a stay at a small boutique hotel and you may encounter innovative ideas and daring style. The Upper House combines the best of both.

With over a hundred rooms the Upper House is larger than a boutique hotel, but its interiors bet on confident, elegant minimalism, breaking away from the ubiquity of big hotels.

The architect Andre Fu used natural materials: stone, bamboo, glass Shoji—and slightly provocative sculptures—to create understated and sophisticated, yet dramatic spaces.

Style and Technology

The Upper House has all the attributes of modern Asian luxury. Each room is spacious, sporting a large bathroom with a freestanding bath, and with windows from floor to ceiling. These ensure wonderful views, either of the Hong Kong metropolis and Victoria Harbour, or towards the mountainous interior of the island. The clean edges and large surfaces seem to speak the same visual language as the brilliant, quasi-futuristic views.

At every turn, modern technology enriches the hotel experience. Airport shuttle is a BMW limousine (also in a fully-electric version), equipped with WiFi. The rooms, also with free WiFi, have automatic curtains and motion sensors, so the cleaning staff does not even have to knock to check if the guests are inside. Each room has other mod cons too. There are an in-room coffee maker, complimentary snack bar and luxury cosmetics.

Café Gray Deluxe, located on the 49th floor, is named after the celebrated Singaporean chef Gray Kunz, who designed a menu of simple but exceptionally executed international dishes. The Michelin-listed restaurant offers panoramic views of the city and harbor. The Café Gray Bar hums with well-heeled locals every night.

in our opinion

Centrally located Upper House impresses with its crisp-edged modernist look and stunning views. Its peaceful atmosphere is the antithesis of the frenetic pace of Hong Kong.

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What we love

• The Upper House is a hotel with a difference in many ways. We like that the hotel has no lobby. Check-in takes place in the room, on a wireless terminal. And check out can be as simple as sending them an email!
• The guests are taken care of by the excellent Guest Experience Team, which is a concept of reception and concierge rolled into one. The hosts personalize the service to the guests and are available round-the-clock. They are excellent at booking a table at the best restaurants, advising on the best places to shop or arranging last-minute dry cleaning.
• The hotel offers great views of the harbor and the city, or the interior of the island
• Café Gray Deluxe restaurant is excellent. The menu is international, favoring organic seasonal ingredients, and is inspired by the finest kitchens in Europe, Asia, and America
• The hotel has accessible rooms, specially adapted for the physically disabled guests
• Each room has free Internet access and its entertainment system is loaded with on-demand shows and cinema

What you should know

• Some facilities normally expected at a city hotel of this class are missing. There is a gym, but there is no swimming pool at The Upper House (they provide complimentary access and transfers to the heated outdoor pool at Swire Hotels’ EAST, located in Taikoo Shing, but that's not the same thing)
• Similarly, there is no dedicated spa, although the hotel offers in-room spa treatments. Body massages, facials, nail treatments, and styling sessions are available.
• The Upper House is located in Hong Kong, directly above the luxury Pacific Place retail complex. Guests are within walking distance of many attractions and entertainment options.