New lap of luxury in the refurbished Island Shangri-La Hong Kong 

Hong Kong’s glittering skyline, home to over 550 skyscrapers sprinkled across Victoria Harbour, recently received yet another accolade — it came in at No. 7 on the list of the world’s most iconic skylines, according to a 2025 survey. 

The concrete jungle is punctuated by landmarks such as the International Commerce Centre and the Bank of China building. And you can admire the view in its full glory at the Island Shangri-La in the heart of the business district of Admiralty. 

The 56-storey hotel, which opened its doors in 1991 as part of the Pacific Place development, underwent a multi-year renovation, which was completed in 2024. Over half of the hotel’s 544 rooms and suites were refurbished in four phases. New room categories were also added including 21 family-themed rooms and suites on the 45th floor that are dressed up in themes like fairy garden and airship voyage and the ultra-luxurious Shangri-La Suite. During a recent visit, I stayed at the refurbished Grand Premier Harbour View room on the 56th floor of the hotel. 

“What a breath-taking view,” a thought bubble popped up the moment I stepped in the room, which is designed by world-renowned French interior designer Tristan Auer. The view of skyscrapers dotting around the harbour continues to enthrall me despite having visited Hong Kong six times.

Flanking the window is a spacious upholstered day bed that extends the entire length of the room. It doubles up as a bed for an additional adult or two kids. The day bed is a picture-perfect vantage point to take in panoramic views of the Symphony of Lights night show that dazzles the night sky with its light, music and laser display. 

That’s undoubtedly my favourite feature of the room, where I could watch the world or Hong Kong, in this case, go by —he relentless flow of human traffic and cars in Admiralty throughout the day. I also woke up earlier to catch the sunrise before Hong Kong wakes up to another bustling day. 

The refurbished rooms have been given a contemporary update that retains some of the oriental brand that has been associated with Shangri-La hotels. The room is dressed up in a calming palette of cream, grey and jade green on the walls, counter and furnishings. Paintings and bathroom screens of misty mountains add to the allure of the room.  

A nifty feature in the room is the pantry counter that is fitted with an in-built hydro tap for hot and cold water (goodbye electric kettles) and a refrigerated compartment, on top of the mini bar fridge, to store your stash of drinks or desserts. Consider me impressed. A wide variety of snacks and bottled cocktails are housed on the shelves if you feel peckish at odd hours.

Other well thought-out room features include a built-in speaker in the bathroom to answer unexpected visits by housekeeping staff or calls. The bathroom is not a cookie-cutter one. Instead, the hammam-style bathroom is decked out in blue and gold mosaic-style tiles surrounding a broad bathtub with in-built bluetooth speakers and a powerful rainforest shower.

The refurbished Grand Premier Harbour View room scores high on making life as seamless as possible, from all sorts of lighting and curtain controls within reach from the bed and features such as the toilet speaker system and extra refrigerator compartment that are not usually found in other hotels of similar calibre.

Besides the rooms, Island Shangri-la also added Yun Wellness, a one-stop wellness and fitness centre and a new Chinese restaurant, Ming Pavilion, which serves modern Hokkien, or Fujian cuisine. The restaurant, which is next to Yun Wellness, serves refined Hokkien dishes such as lychee pork, which is deep-fried sweet and sour pork that boast an irresistible crunch from its caramelised crust and water chestnut bits studded in the meat, and tea-smoked chicken with crisp, lacquered skin.