Visiting This Landmark Hong Kong Resort Was the Restorative Journey I Didn’t Know I Wanted

I haven’t been again to my ancestral residence in Hong Kong since 2019, which was a tumultuous journey in and of itself due to the disheartening protests I witnessed first-hand. After 5 lengthy years, with a world pandemic and my very own “pandemic child” in between, I returned to the town with a renewed dedication and need to reconnect with my cultural roots. (I must also observe that as a lot as I’m fully in love with my toddler-age daughter, the journey was additionally to get a little bit of a parental respite, if I’m being sincere with myself.)

What I didn’t understand is how my soul would really feel so instantly soothed throughout my keep at The Higher Home, a landmark boutique property owned by the Swire Group (whose sister collective consists of The Reverse Home, The Temple Home, and The Center Home). Located in The Pacific Place, a procuring hub close to the maximalist motels of Shangri-La, Conrad, and JW Marriott, Higher Home is a non secular and bodily departure from these excellent properties.

Higher Home first beckons you in via its timeless Pietra di Bedonia stone façade, up a protracted escalator, and into one other realm of tranquility, because of its artistically endowed areas, all spearheaded by Hong Kong-based inside designer André Fu.

Fu curated a gallery’s price of sculptures, ceramics, marble, and bronze all through the resort’s frequent areas and rooms. Fu additionally mindfully chosen items by gifted Asian artists to showcase, with favorites such because the round yin-yang piece that greets you within the driveway of the resort by Korean artist Choi Tae-Hoon and the towering 98-foot steel wall sculpture (aptly named “Rise”) by Japanese artist Hirotoshi Sawada on the Thirty eighth-floor atrium. The overarching aim for Fu was to have these items epitomize his ethos of serenity to visitors.

Nonetheless, the noticeably curious factor about The Higher Home is that its traits and structure don’t precisely scream ‘resort,’ which is by (serendipitous) design.

“This was initially constructed out as a non-public residence with atrium-style flats, however as soon as the Swire Group took over, the group reached out to Fu to rework it right into a boutique resort,” Lili Chu, the senior advertising and marketing and communications supervisor for The Home Collective, advised me. The Swire Group acknowledged Fu’s rising skills and tenacity and took an opportunity on him and his lofty concepts. “He created what we describe as an ‘upward journey’ right into a realm of rest, tranquility, and serenity.”

The truth is, this property (erected in 2009 however nonetheless as clear and trendy as ever) is Fu’s unique muse, and he usually makes use of it as his present pony to current to present and potential purchasers. Finishing The Higher Home catapulted him to worldwide stardom, garnering crucial acclaim and resulting in different extremely regarded tasks reminiscent of Bangkok’s Waldorf Astoria and Villa La Coste in Provence, France.

For me, this was the sanctuary I used to be in dire want of: After a 30-hour journey on three flights, my frayed nerves lastly started to calm with the resort’s soothing amber tones, the scent of ginger verbena permeating the air (the property’s signature perfume), and calming chimes of the elevator doorways.

With one look, it’s obvious that Higher Home’s foundational pillars are grounded in holistic and non secular wellness, however such mantras are by no means pressured upon you. All paths of life are welcomed right here, from the wholesome to the hedonistic. Some will ardently partake in a scorching yoga class within the morning and immerse themselves in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber. On the identical time, others from the enterprise district will are available in for a gathering over afternoon tea time and devour egg tarts, specialty muffins, and inexperienced tea with ravenous satisfaction. Within the night, visitors and locals will meander to the forty ninth flooring, greeted by a 130-foot excessive skylit atrium illuminating the resort’s respective flooring, main you down a glass bridge into the property’s Sky Lounge. It’s the prime spot to linger over craft cocktails, graze on share plates, and watch the solar cascade over Victoria Harbor.

Right here’s my evaluate of what it was like to remain at The Higher Home in Hong Kong.

The Rooms

They take the entire ‘upward journey’ philosophy actually right here: The resort is perched atop the JW Marriott, with rooms spanning the Thirty eighth via forty eighth flooring. (The forty ninth degree is reserved for the Salisterra restaurant, the bar, and a communal assembly and occasion area.)

The property has 117 studio-style visitor rooms (beginning at a beneficiant 730 sq. ft of area), together with 21 suites, a penthouse, and a signature André Fu suite (at 1,960 sq. ft) full with eating room, lounge, pantry and kitchen space, and private spa room.

Contemplating the constructing was initially meant as a non-public residence, Fu pays homage to this with furnishings that make it really feel like a house away from residence. Areas use pure timber, shoji glass, limestone, and lacquered paper paneling, all beckoning you to the touch it (sure, the employees encourages you to really feel and have an unadulterated tactile expertise right here). Layered on high of this are two calming zen-esque colour schemes: bamboo coupled with amethyst upholstery and creme oak timber with emerald. Must you fall in love with any of the furnishings and accent items, you should buy and ship them on to your own home by way of André Fu Residing.

Loos listed below are notably luxe and allotted at the very least 300 sq. ft, providing Instagram-worthy free-standing tubs with shimmering views of Victoria Harbour. Prime-tier facilities are by Bamford, a holistic and sustainable line of luxurious tub and physique merchandise that align with Higher Home’s perception system.

Meals & Drink

Salisterra transports you from Hong Kong Island to the azure shores of the Mediterranean, particularly with epicurean pit stops that vary from Spain and France to in every single place in between, because of culinary advisor Chef Ricardo Chaneton, who helms Michelin-starred MONO within the Central District.

As Higher Home’s flagship restaurant, the all-day restaurant gives sustenance from morning into late night time. On the day I visited, I felt the set lunch menus (three programs for round $70) had been a wonderful worth, with highlights reminiscent of slow-roasted flank steak and trout terrine. In any other case, you will get the complete scope of their culinary skills with an à la carte dinner menu with favorites reminiscent of salt-baked Mediterranean Sea Bass to Share ($165) and grilled ribeye slathered with mustard beef jus and herb butter ($140).

Salisterra Bar, often known as the Inexperienced Room, preserves the soul of its sister adjoining restaurant however is extra sultry, swathed in jade tones with cozy banquettes, burgundy marble, and a centerpiece emerald-lacquered bar. It’s conducive to gentle social shenanigans and people-watching but additionally for refined cocktails just like the Salt & Earth (fortified with Olive oil gin, za’atar vodka, fino sherry, and Mancino bianco), native Hong Kong draft beers, and spirit-free choices like Saicho Glowing Tea in jasmine or smoky hojicha flavors. Nibbles might be over-the-top (suppose a full-fledged caviar expertise for $100) or extra reasonably priced, just like the fritto misto, a golden treasure trove of fried calamari, prawns, and fish.

Positioned off-property in The Pacific Place is The Continental — a verdant terrace anchored by leather-based columns, marble tables, and metallic trim — emphasizing European flavors. It gives all-day eating, however my favourite must be the indulgent three-course brunch with alternatives like whiskey porridge and salmon fish cake benedict and a should add-on: their two-hour free-flow wine, with a alternative of home prosecco, rosé, pink, white, and beer.

There’s additionally the The Garden, a secret backyard that is residence to activations, pop-ups, and basic merriment, and the light-and-airy sixth-floor Tea Room. Unassuming at first (it usually doubles as a pop-up retail area), its monochromatic tones of blonde and dusty pink evoke a soothing calm to the soul (and the abdomen), particularly when you possibly can get pleasure from extra North American staples like acai bowls, smoked salmon wraps, and detox lemongrass smoothies. (The café throughout the room gives the identical menu.)

Actions and Facilities

The Higher Home has created a strong health-focused ecosystem by partnering with third-party distributors and companies that align with its targets, in any other case often known as Wellness Residences. Together with the standard suspects (a 24-hour gymnasium and in-room therapeutic massage and facial therapies), the resort gives every thing from power therapeutic with Stone & Star, a 55-minute intensive conditioning exercise with Household Kind, and working and strolling excursions with native guides.

Household-friendly Choices

Positioned contained in the Pacific Place Condo, the Kids’s Residency, in collaboration with Bimbo Idea (a children’ luxurious way of life retailer), gives a cornucopia of kid-friendly activations that embrace Playroom Passes (kid-sized furnishings, toys, studying nook), Kindermusik and an elegant kids’s nail bar that gives manicures with use of water-based nail polish, stickers, and even short-term tattoos.

Hong Kong could be a family-friendly metropolis regardless of the managed chaos on the streets, and there are many child-centric museums scattered all through Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon (the northern a part of Hong Kong); moreover, in the event you plan upfront, there’s a Disneyland on Lantau Island.

Accessibility

Higher Home’s Studio70 room gives a rest room with out stairs for ease of entry, an emergency name button, bathtub and bathe handrails, a bathe chair, and an automated faucet.

Location

This resort is located on Hong Kong Island, particularly within the Central Enterprise District (CBD). Due to the sheer site visitors congestion within the metropolis, I extremely advise in opposition to renting a automobile — most locations are accessible by foot, transit, or taxi.

There’s a vary of procuring, eating, artwork galleries, heritage neighborhoods, and museum choices right here (reminiscent of The Pacific Place which homes luxurious retailers proper beside the resort, or extra lowkey Admiralty Centre, which is an eight-minute stroll away). In any other case, Hong Kong Park and the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens GreenHouse are a straightforward 10-minute stroll away. Cultural hallmarks embrace PMQ Central (a historic constructing now used for the humanities) and Tai Kwun (a former police station transformed into an arts and leisure hub).

Public transit by way of the town’s Mass Transit Railway (MTR) is sort of environment friendly and economical, however simply bear in mind to buy an Octopus card upfront.

How one can Get the Most Worth Out of Your Keep

Resort charges, generally, are at their lowest throughout the metropolis’s storm season (Might to September), however in the event you want touring when it’s not continuously raining with doubtlessly gusty winds, have a look at the resort web site’s itemizing of Particular Provides. They’ve a concise roster of bundle offers, reminiscent of a complimentary night time on them in the event you keep three or extra nights.

Higher Home (and its Home Collective of properties) are additionally a companion of Cathay Pacific, so you probably have their Commonplace Chartered Cathay Mastercard, you possibly can earn factors on miles with the airline if utilizing the cardboard to pay for meals and resort stays. Further advantages embrace 25 p.c off The Home Commonplace room price, every day breakfast, and a complimentary spherical of cocktails.