THE FACTS ABOUT THE LANDMARK MANDARIN ORIENTAL

China Hong_Kong

There's no quibbling with The Landmark's pedigree. Junior sister to the 45-year-old Mandarin Oriental (now under renovation), it is in an unbeatable location in the heart of Central, orbited by Louis Vuitton, Harvey Nichols et al. Hong Kong has never really gone for boutique hotels, so The Landmark's 113 very generously proportioned rooms cunningly and contemporarily primped by Adam Tihany and locally born Peter Remedios set it apart from the pack in more ways than one. And the whole place just warbles style, from iPod-pluggable entertainment systems and designer-label sales staff from nearby shops who can be summoned to your room, to the resident Norwegian boxer/ballet dancer turned yoga guru Alexander Medin. It's rare to find a hotel that has integrated so swiftly and effortlessly into the community. The city's jeunesse dorée party nightly at the MO Bar, where just hours earlier their aunties may have been taking afternoon tea between a spot of retail therapy and a pedicure at the 1,950-square-metre spa. Nor is there any discernable generation gap at Amber, the hotel's one restaurant (with its sensational floating ceiling sculpture constructed from copper tubes), where Dutch-born Richard Ekkebus triumphantly combines his French training with Asian and southern European cuisines. Finally, for discreet getaways, the second floor, mall-level entrance is hard to beat; and an 18-metre pool opens this autumn. WHEN TO GO DecemberJanuary and JulyAugust for the sales. ROOM TO BOOK One of the two dozen L600 Spa Corner rooms, which could almost be suites. CONTACT 15 Queens Road, Central, Hong Kong (00 852 2132 0188; www.mandarinoriental.com). COST Doubles from HK$3,277 (about £245)