Kowloon Shangri-La

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Kowloon Shangri-La
九龍香格里拉酒店

Harbor view from the hotel.
General information
Status Complete
Type Hotel
Address 64 Mody Road, Tsim Sha Tsui East, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Coordinates 22°17′50″N 114°10′38″E / 22.297198°N 114.177361°E / 22.297198; 114.177361Coordinates: 22°17′50″N 114°10′38″E / 22.297198°N 114.177361°E / 22.297198; 114.177361
Opening June 17, 1981[1]
Owner Shangri-La Hotels
Management Ulf Bremer
Design and construction
Architect

Wong & Ouyang Associates

[1]
Other information
Number of rooms 688
Website
Kowloon Shangri-La Official Website

Kowloon Shangri-La (Chinese: 九龍香格里拉酒店) is a five-star hotel of the Hong Kong based Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts group (Chinese: 香格里拉酒店集團) group. It is located on Mody Road in Tsim Sha Tsui East overlooking Victoria Harbour and the Hong Kong Island skyline. It is the sister hotel to the Island Shangri-La in Admiralty district, Hong Kong.

History

The history of the Kowloon property is tied to the history of the Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, which began with the opening of the Shangri-La Hotel Singapore in 1971.[2] The Kuok Group that built the Singapore hotel put the management of it under Western International Hotels, before Kuok themselves entered the hotel management world in 1979 when Kuok Hotels was formed to manage the Rasa Sayang Resort and Spa in Penang, Golden Sands Resort in Penang, and The Fijian, Yanuca Island, on Fiji.[2] The Kowloon hotel opened on June 17, 1981 and was managed by Westin, but a year later the Kuok Group created Shangri-La International Hotel Management Ltd.

It would open its first property in Hangzhou, China, and then in April 1991,[3] thereafter Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts assumed management of the Kowloon, as well as all hotels it owned.[2]

The facade of Kowloon Shangri-La Hotel

The property was extremely successful in the late 1990s, when it recorded its best performance, and in to the early 2000s.[citation needed] As with all of Hong Kong's hotels, it suffered a significant loss in the first half of 2003 due to the sudden and unexpected outbreak of SARS which centered on the city. The hotel lost US$7.2 million along with the Island Shangri-La, as compared to a profit of $12.2 million in the same period in 2002. At the time, 13 per cent of guests came from Mainland China.[4] The hotel's occupancy rate fell to less than 10 per cent during the SARS outbreak and the Shangri-La group was forced to cancel its final dividend of five cents for the year in order to cut operation costs.[5]

By 2005 the hotel had well recovered, with profits for it and Island Shangri-La combined up 33% to US$150.99 million for the year. Kowloon Shangri-La charged US$250 on average per room and was 82% full for 2005.[6] In 2007 its growth continued as it achieved new record earnings, and in 2010 occupancy rose 53% as it continued its growth.[7] By 2009 guests from mainland China has increased to 32%.[8]

To celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2011, the hotel held an exhibition of photographs submitted by the public, from guests who had vistsed from around the world during the three decades since its opening. A judging panel of photographer Water Poon, president of the Institute of Professional Photographers Carsten Schael, and Anthony Lau Chun-hon, executive director of the Tourism Board selected the winners.[9]

In February 2012 the Kowloon Shangri-La and its sister property in Hong Kong, Island Shangri-La announced that they would stop serving all shark fin products in their restaurants as part of a sustainable seafood policy.[citation needed] Shark finning, in order to create the popular dish Shark fin soup had led the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Shark Specialist Group to state that "the rapidly expanding and largely unregulated shark fin trade represents one of the most serious threats to shark populations worldwide".[10]

Theme

The hotel's staff are chosen according to their ability to “engage customers and extend genuine care and hospitality.” According to Timothy Wright, General Manager in 2013, “The core values of helpfulness, flexibility, anticipation and honesty are very important” and are instilled via thorough training.[2]

Design and construction

Kowloon Shangri-La Hotel lobby

Kowloon Shangri-La is located in the tourist-heavy Tsim Sha Tsui East, within walking distance of the luxury boutiques on Canton Road, the Temple Street Night Market and Chungking Mansions.[11]

The interior design, which includes a lobby created from Italian Statuario marble and two murals of the Shangri-La Valley by UK artist Malcolm Golding,[11] was developed by Y Shibata & Associates of Japan, Don Aston Designers Asia Ltd., and Bilkey Llinas Design Ltd.[1] Attention to detail includes the changing of carpets in the elevators at midnight every night, to mark the days of the week.[11]

Malcolm Golding returned in 2003, 23 years after painting the original murals, to restore them. He became a tourist attraction as he used bamboo scaffolding to repaint his vision of Shangri-La as a "lush tropical valley hemmed by startling mountains, with colourful birds and huge flowering plants surrounding a stylised Chinese palace."[12]

Features

Rooms and suites

The rooms of the hotel were developed by LRF Designers Limited[1] and number 688, of which 646 are guest rooms, and 42 are Suites.[11] Suites include the Executive, Harbour View Premier Harbour View, Specialty and Presidential Suite. The rooms average 485 square feet, some of the largest available on the crowded peninsula of Kowloon. Rooms on floors 19 through 21 directly overlook Hong Kong Island waterfront.[11]

Restaurants

As of 2014, the hotel holds five speciality restaurants serving a variety of cuisines under Executive Chef Gael Moureau, as well as two bars, Tapas Bar and The Lobby Lounge.[13] Both bars were designed by Bilkey Llinas Design Ltd., and the Tapes Bar was honored with the "Wine by The Glass Restaurant Award", organized by Restaurant & Bar Hong Kong, in 2011.[13]

Previously, the hotel hosted Californian restaurant Napa, described as a "Hong Kong institution" when it closed in June 2005 after 12 years. It was the first fusion restaurant of its kind to appear in a Hong Kong Hotel and was led by chef David Monson. The hotel's French bistro Margaux closed down the same year, replaced by Italian restaurant Angelini.[14]

Kowloon Shangri-La Café Kool
  • Angelini - Italian

Chef Marco Medaglia leads the hotel’s Italian restaurant, which was honoured as "One of Hong Kong’s 50 Finest Restaurants" in Dining with Stars 2008, organized by Hong Kong Tatler and supported by Hong Kong Tourism Board. The restaurant was designed by Zanghellini & Holt Architect and seats 69.[13] Medaglia, from Chieti in central Italy, trained in the Republic of San Marino and worked the Michelin Star Di Gennaro restaurant in Stuttgart, Germany. He also worked at the Michelin Star La Terrazza restaurant in Rome, as well as in Myanmar and Indonesia, joining Angelini in 2009.[15]

  • Cafe Kool - International

Led by Chef Lou Kuok Kam, Cafe Kool is the hotel’s largest, with 322 seats. Serving Global cuisine, it was designed by Bilkey Llinas Design Ltd.[13] with a hard wood ceiling and marble desktop. The restaurant offers a buffet described as "one of the most popular in town," including Western, Chinese, Indian, Malay and Japanese cuisines.[16]

  • Nadaman - Japanese

Serving Kyoto-style Japanese cuisine in kaiseki style and also including a teppanyaki grill and sushi bar, Nadaman is led by Chef Takao Kojima and can host 138 guests. Nadaman first opened in Osaka in 1830, and the Kowloon Shangri-La restaurant which opened at the same time as the hotel, in 1981, was its first overseas outlet. Kojima spent 20 years at Nadaman in Japan before moving to Hong Kong, where here changes the menu every month.[17]

The restaurant's interior was designed by CL3 Architects Ltd. and Kanko Kikaku Sekkeisha Consultants & Designers Ltd., Tokyo.[13] In 2010, the Kaiseki cuisine Japanese fine dining restaurant, Nadaman, was listed along with its sister outlet at the Island Shangri-La, as the 'Best Japanese restaurant' on the Hong Kong Best Eats 2010 list complied by CNN Travel in 2010.[18]

Michelin two-starred Shang Palace's grand private dining room
  • Shang Palace - Chinese

Shang Palace, led by Chef Mok Kit Keung is a two-Michelin-starred Cantonese restaurant, received in the Michelin Guide's inaugural 2009 Hong Kong and Macau edition.[19] Designed by LRF Designers Ltd., it holds 160.[13] Mok Kit Keung won Gold Medal Award in Chinese Cuisine from the Restaurant Association of Singapore in 2001 and 2004, and the Gold Medal Award in the Food Hotel Asia 2008 Imperial Challenge. He has prepared meals for King Mohammed VI of Morocco, the President of Russia and numerous prominent dignitaries.[20] The restaurant was entirely refurbished and reopened in September 2012 by design form LRF Designers, in red, gold, white and beige, with a 42 square meter private dining room for 20.[21]

  • Deli Kool - Delicatessen

Chef Wins Hung creates fresh breads, pastries and desserts at the 24-seater delicatessen located at the hotel’s mezzanine.[13]

Awards

Kowloon Shangri-La frequently receives recognition as one of the top luxury hotels in Asia, featuring in media such Condé Nast Traveler.[22] It has won the following awards.[1]

  • Certificate of Excellence, Daodao.com (Trip Advisor China), 2013
  • World's Top Hotel Gold List, Condé Nast Traveler (USA), 1997 to 2013
  • Best Hotels for Service (Asia) Category, Condé Nast Traveler Readers' Awards (UK), 2011
  • China's Top 10 Most Popular Business Hotels, The Golden Pillow Award of China Hotels, 2009 and 2011
  • Top 10 MICE Hotels in China, China Hotel Starlight Awards, 2011 and 2012
  • Top 10 Best Business Hotels in China, Travel + Leisure (China), 2010 and 2011
  • Guide to the World’s Best Hotels T+L 500 (Ranked 6th among hotels in Hong Kong for in 2011), Travel & Leisure (USA), 2003 to 2011
  • Top 25 Luxury Hotels in China, Tripadvisor (UK)'s Travellers' Choice, 2012
  • One of the Top 25 Hotels in Hong Kong / Macau / Taiwan, TripAdvisor (UK)'s Travellers' Choice, 2010

Corporate Social Responsibility

Kowloon Shangri-La, Hong Kong has worked with a number of local charitable organisations such as Christian Action, offering financial assistance to guest donation programmes, as well as arranging numerous charity visits to those in need, and sponsoring venues for charity events. Projects include a School visit and Easter egg-painting workshop for students from Ebenezer School & Home for The Visually Impaired, a Tree-Planting Challenge organised by Friends of the Earth, a Mid-Autumn Festival Lunch Party for elderly in collaboration with The Rotary Club of Channel Islands, and food donation and serving to refugees and asylum seekers at Chung King Mansion in association with Foodlink.[23][24]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "Fast Facts". Shangri-La International Hotel Management Ltd. Retrieved 2014-01-08. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Susie (2012-04-17). "Hotel chains in Asia". Travel Weekly. Retrieved 2014-01-26. 
  3. ↑ Steve Shellum (2002-01-04). "Shangri-La CEO Giovanni Angelini Spending US$130 million to Move the Chain to the Top of the Ladder". Hotel Online. Retrieved 2014-01-26. 
  4. ↑ Sandy Li (2003-08-23). "Shangri-La optimistic on recovery". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2014-01-26. 
  5. ↑ Sandy Li (2003-07-28). "Shangri-La mulls Sars claim". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2014-01-26. 
  6. ↑ Denise Tsang (2006-04-05). "Shangri-La's HK hotels thrive on travel boom". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2014-01-26. 
  7. ↑ Denise Tsang and Lulu Chen (2010-08-26). "Shangri-La posts profit of US$71m on travel growth". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2014-01-26. 
  8. ↑ Denise Tsang (2009-09-12). "Shangri-La sees pick-up after earnings dive 92pc". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2014-01-26. 
  9. ↑ Vivian Chen (2011-06-08). "Kowloon Shangri-La seeks photo to tell its three-decade long story". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2014-01-26. 
  10. ↑ Buckley, Louis (2007). The End of the Line (PDF). WildAid. p. 21. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 Barry Hertz (2013-03-03). "Room Keys: Shangri-La Kowloon, Hong Kong". National Post. Retrieved 2014-01-26. 
  12. ↑ Kevin Sinclair (2003-09-08). "Artist returns for another brush with Shangri-La". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2014-01-26. 
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 13.6 "Dining". Shangri-La International Hotel Management Ltd. Retrieved 2014-01-08. 
  14. ↑ Andrew Sun (2005-05-29). "Last orders". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2014-01-27. 
  15. ↑ "Chef Marco Medaglia". Shangri-La International Hotel Management Ltd. Retrieved 2014-01-08. 
  16. ↑ "Cafe Kool". Hong Kong Tatler. 2013-12-01. Retrieved 2014-01-27. 
  17. ↑ Janice Leung Hayes. "Fine things in life: Nadaman's secret is seasonal ingredients". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2014-01-27. 
  18. ↑ "Winners of Hong Kong Best Eats 2010: The best of the best of our selection of Hong Kong's most noteworthy dishes and restaurants". CNN Travel. 2010-10-18. Retrieved 2012-12-06. 
  19. ↑ Lim Le-Min (2008-12-02). "Michelin Hong Kong Gives 3 Stars to 2 Restaurants (Update1)". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2012-12-06. 
  20. ↑ "Cooking for kings". Shangri-La International Hotel Management Ltd. Retrieved 2014-01-08. 
  21. ↑ Nicholas Olczak (2012-06-09). "Sneak peek: Refurbished Shang Palace at the Kowloon Shangri-la". Business Traveller. Retrieved 2014-01-26. 
  22. ↑ "The Gold List 2011". Condé Nast Traveler. Retrieved 2014-01-26. 
  23. ↑ "Corporate Social Responsibility". Shangri-La International Hotel Management Ltd. Retrieved 2014-01-08. 
  24. ↑ Lo Wei (2012-12-06). "Kowloon Shangri-La gives neediest mouths a taste of fine hotel dining". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2014-01-26. 

External links

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