Tag: INTERNATIONAL COMMERCE CENTRE

Island Hopping

Taking a break on an island can mean many things. Beyond sun, sea and surf, there’s also the small matter of the right kind of accommodations. Kenneth Tan looks at three unique offerings that conjure the magic of vacation time.

THE RITZ-CARLTON, HONG KONG, KOWLOON, HONG KONG

The island of Hong Kong, throbbing with commerce, people and bustle, is about as far away from an island resort destination as they come. Across the narrow strip of water that separates the island from the mainland, one cannot help but to affix one’s gaze across Kowloon at the towering International Commerce Centre (ICC) tower, the fourth tallest building in the world.

At 484 metres, the ICC tower is home to the spacious Elements shopping complex, a slew of international financial institutions and, most famously, the recently opened The Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong. The hotel, which occupies floors 102 up to the topmost 118, is the crowning jewel on a man-made feat of construction.

Elevators whisk visitors up from the ninth floor to the reception on Level 103 in 52 seconds, a speed that averages out to about nine metres per second. The seduction though, really begins when you take your fist glimpse out of the windows from this vantage point.