The Hotel Dispatch

The Upper House: Hong Kong Without a Lobby

Admiralty, Hong Kong, Hong Kong · Opened 2009 · Swire Hotels · 117 studios and suites

By invitation. A city hotel that removed almost everything hotels normally add — no lobby, no check-in queue, no restaurant scene on the ground floor — and became the most admired house in Asia by subtraction.

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The building

The hotel occupies the upper floors of a tower above Pacific Place, entered through a sloping driveway and a lift rather than a lobby. Andre Fu's design was his first major commission and still reads as contemporary fifteen years on — a rare thing in a city that rebuilds constantly.

The rooms

Studios start at 68 m², which is enormous for Hong Kong, with a limestone bath by the window and a walk-in wardrobe. The minibar is free of charge — a small policy that removes the entire tally-keeping anxiety of a city stay. Harbour View rooms are the ones to take; mountain-facing rooms look at other buildings.

Service and Café Gray

There is no front desk; a host meets you at the lift with a tablet. Café Gray Deluxe on the 49th floor is the breakfast and cocktail room, with a long harbour view and one of the better Sunday tables in the city. The Lawn, a small outdoor terrace, is the only green space in this part of Admiralty.

Where it falls short

No pool, which for a hotel at this rate in Asia is a genuine omission — guests use the Pacific Place facilities. The gym is small. And the shopping-mall address, while superbly convenient, is not romantic.

Best suite for privacy

A Harbour View suite on the highest available floor, where the view runs across Victoria Harbour to Kowloon and the building's neighbours drop away. The Upper Suite has the corner aspect and the deepest bath.

Quiet luxury reading

The Asian benchmark. Andre Fu's interiors use limestone, bamboo and oak with no ornament, staff check you in on a tablet in your room, and nothing in the building carries a logo.

When to go

October to December — dry, clear and warm. Spring is humid; summer brings typhoons.

Indicative rate

from HK$5,500 per night

Frequently asked

Is The Upper House worth it?
Yes, in a Harbour View room. Sixty-eight square metres, a free minibar and service without ceremony make it the most comfortable business or city stay in Hong Kong. The absence of a pool is the one real trade.
Which room at The Upper House is best for privacy?
A high-floor Harbour View suite. There is no lobby to pass through and check-in happens in the room, so arrival is already private.
The Upper House or The Peninsula Hong Kong?
The Upper House for quiet, modern rooms and no ceremony. The Peninsula for the Kowloon harbour view, the lobby, the fleet of Rolls-Royces and a grander register.
Does The Upper House have a pool?
No. Guests use the neighbouring Pacific Place facilities. If a pool matters, the Four Seasons across Admiralty has the best one in the city.

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