In November 2023, I checked into the One Bedroom Suite at The Langham, Hong Kong. Located in the heart of Tsim Sha Tsui, the 498-room property is just steps away from East Tsim Sha Tsui MTR station and shopping destinations such as Canton Road, Harbour City and Victoria Dockside. Getting to Hong Kong’s Chek Lap Kok International Airport will take approximately 35 minutes by car or, should you want a more cost-friendly route, a 45-minute journey if you travel on the Airport Express Train to Kowloon MTR Station and then take a taxi from there.
For the uninitiated, The Langham Hotels and Resorts is the flagship brand of Langham Hospitality Group, which has properties in various major cities in Asia Pacific, North America, UK and Europe. The Langham name is taken from the legendary Langham in London, which was widely recognised as Europe’s first Grand Hotel when it first opened in 1865.
Nearby hotels in the vicinity include Rosewood Hong Kong, Regent Hong Kong as well as Mondrian Hong Kong. Other notable Langham properties include The Langham, Jakarta; The Langham, Sydney; The Langham, Gold Coast; and The Langham, London.
The UTW (“Under Ten Words”): Iconic European luxury with stellar dining in Tsim Sha Tsui.
The must-dos (if any): Enjoy champagne and bites at The Langham Club, go for lunch at the three-Michelin star T’ang Court, have a gin cocktail at Artesian, indulge in the weekend brunch at Bostonian Seafood & Grill.
THE LANGHAM, HONG KONG
Set within the bustling Tsim Sha Tsui area in Kowloon, the iconic Hong Kong hotel (everybody has heard of the Langham) serves as an elegant oasis of calm. The elegant marble lobby with its gleaming chandelier, floral centrepiece and dramatic Art Deco stylings set quite the mood, with the Langham brand’s British/European influence coming through in various ways, from the neoclassical design of the glamorous Artesian, an off-shoot of the award-winning bar in London, to the afternoon high tea experience at Palm Court, inspired by its namesake at the legendary The Langham, London where the first ever traditional British afternoon tea was served more than 150 years ago.
The hotel boasts five different dining concepts – the three-Michelin star Cantonese restaurant T’ang Court; afternoon tea destination Palm Court; the lobby bar Artesian, which offers an extensive gin selection; the Bostonian Seafood & Grill, which boasts a wicked weekend brunch; and international buffet concept The Food Gallery.
The hotel’s wellness facilities are all located on the 15th level – a split-level health club, a rooftop outdoor heated pool with hot tub area as well as Chuan Body + Soul, a Langham in-house spa concept.
ONE BEDROOM SUITE
The 58sqm One-Bedroom Suite plays it all refined residential with a stately living room with an artificial fireplace (complete with fake firewood!) beneath a marble mantelpiece, plush carpets, Wedgwood serviceware, flashes of elegant teal across the rooms and St. Regis-esque floral wallpaper in the bedroom. A dining table next to the large windows in the living room provides opportunities for sunshine-drenched afternoon tea with city views.
The pantry comprises a Nespresso coffee and Ronnefeldt tea-making facilities (as well as a tea-timer for that perfect steep), while the mini-bar is stocked with bottles of wine, beer, juices and even sparkling teas from local Hong Kong brand Mindful Sparks.
The luxurious white marble bathroom offers an enclosed rainfall shower area and a large soaking tub, with bathroom amenities courtesy of luxury French fragrance brand Diptyque.
DINING
Breakfast is a buffet affair at The Food Gallery, the international buffet restaurant located on the ground level. Most of the obligatory breakfast offerings you would expect – egg station, pastry section, salads and cold cuts – are all present and accounted for, with a few Asian dishes such as Steamed Pork Buns, Fried Noodles with Soy Sauce, Steamed Rice Rolls, Wok Fried Rice with BBQ Pork. My personal highlight would be the Soup Noodles, which can be customised based on your desired choice (and quantity) of noodles, vegetables and balls (cuttlefish, fish, pork, beef etc). During peak periods, some guests are seated at the nearby afternoon tea destination Palm Court instead but with the breakfast offerings being substantially similar.
Situated on the lobby level, Palm Court serves a bespoke Afternoon Tea menu of handcrafted confections and savoury pastries. Interestingly, the restaurant also offers Southeast Asian specialties such as Hainanese Chicken Rice, Thai Green Curry and Indian Butter Makhani on its a la carte menu.
The three-Michelin-starred T’ang Court on the second level serves authentic Cantonese cuisine in a plush, stately setting decked in dramatic crimson textures. The appetisers (Fried Diced Cod Fish with Honey Syrup, Cantonese-style Barbecue Pork and Crispy Fried Bean Curd Skin Rolls Filled with Celery and Mixed Fungus) set things on a suitably promising note, with the meal’s highlight – the restaurant’s signature and very memorable Baked Stuffed Crab Shell with Crab Meat, Onion and Cream Sauce – making a very early appearance. Elsewhere, the Baked Stuffed Sliced Grouper with Shrimp Paste and Port Wine similarly contained textural secrets and surprises, while the Braised Noodles with Whole South African Abalone was a luxurious conclusion to the proceedings.
During my stay, I enjoyed the Weekend Brunch at Bostonian Seafood & Grill, which is tucked away near the back entrance on the lower lobby level. The luxurious brunch experience starts you off with unlimited Seafood on Ice, which comprises lobsters, mussels, prawns, oysters and delectable jade whelks. Once you have demolished the first round, you are able to replenish whatever favourites you like throughout the entire 4-hour feast, and I went for multiple top-ups of the oysters and jade whelks.
Each person gets to select one choice of main, with options such as US Pork Chop, Pan Seared Seabass Fillet, Boston Lobster and Roasted US Prime Rib served from the carving wagon. In addition, there is access to charcuterie, cheese and salad buffet stations alongside a buffet of bites such as Beetroot, Saffron and Dill Salmon, Lobster Brioche and an extensive array of desserts. Degenerates can enhance their brunch experience with an alcohol supplement, with Lunetta Prosecco and Taittinger Brut Champagne being the bubbles on offer.
Located on the lobby level, Artesian Bar boasts an extensive variety of specialty gins, many of which feature across their cocktail menu which includes GR5ENS (Tanqueray No. 10, shiso liqueur, lime juice, celery, cucumber), Garden of Eden (Irish whiskey, osmanthus syrup, calvados, jasmine green tea) and Tea with Miss Yang (bourbon, peach liqueur, kwai feh lychee liqueur, assam tea). My favourite would be the stiff Negroni Vesper (Gordon, vodka, lillet blanc, suze, carpano bianco), which combines two of my favourite classic cocktails into one heady, elegant concoction.
THE LANGHAM CLUB
Located on the 11th floor, The Langham Club offers breakfast, afternoon tea and evening cocktail food presentations in a tea-room setting – think yellow floral wallpaper, glistening chandeliers and flashes of teal and burgundy amidst the furnishings. Appropriately, the club carries an extensive tea collection with flavours such as West Lake Dragon Well, Iron Buddha, Aged Pu-Erh and Osmanthus Jasmine, and the selection certainly livened up my time spent at the club planning my itinerary for the day ahead or the next.
Breakfast is a fairly modest buffet affair – you can expect morning essentials such as Hash Brown, Dim Sum, Chicken Sausage, Grilled Tomatoes and Muffins, with a small selection of a la minute dishes such as Soup Noodles and Eggs. The most commendable aspect of breakfast at The Langham Club is that you get to enjoy the same dishes but completely avoid the potentially chaotic and busy situation down at The Food Gallery…and, more importantly, you can request for a glass of Taittinger champagne to set your day on a zesty note (an unadvertised benefit, shhhhh).
While afternoon tea was an enjoyable session with an array of scones, sandwiches and egg tarts (best enjoyed with those lovely teas mentioned above), my favourite food presentation was evening cocktails, during which bites such as Blueberry Cheesecake, Mango Coconut Mouuse and Fried Spring Roll are paired with Taittinger champagne, Lunetta prosecco as well as various classic cocktails such as Negronis and Manhattans.
CONCLUSION
While the hotel’s location may mean you would not be getting any of those harbour views so famed amongst Hong Kong properties, the hotel makes up for it with its proximity to the popular Harbour City, some very superlative dining experiences as well as great service at The Langham Club (a consistent feature, this being my second Langham Club since The Langham, Jakarta).
The Langham brand is boutique, but definitely one to watch – I am looking very much forward to The Langham, Tokyo.
The Langham, Hong Kong
8 Peking Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
Kowloon, Hong Kong
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