Hong Kong’s Best 5-Star Hotel Staycations: World-Class Luxury Wellness

With the explosion of the wellness scene in Asia, the detox getaway has become de rigueur. More and more hotels and spas now offer tailored packages that include some combination of healthy cuisine, natural beauty treatments and yoga sessions. Whilst we love the idea of getting away from it all in Bali or Phuket, traveling can be a faff. You may not be aware that there are some fabulous staycation options right here in Hong Kong. Our fair city boasts some of the world’s best hotels and lately, they have upped their game on the wellness front. So when you are in need of ultimate pampering, consider our below roundup of the best luxury staycations, zero traveling needed. It goes without saying that the budget quotient is high for all of these- for most of us, this is a very special treat but think of all the air miles you will be saving!

Editor’s Note: always make sure to call the hotel before you book and enquire about special packages and deals for room rates plus dining and spa treatments- these change often so it’s no use listing them out but it’s worth checking with them as you can enjoy substantial savings.

Four Seasons

When it comes to luxurious style, the Four Seasons is the ne plus ultra. For wellness addicts, there’s a great deal on offer: an in-room dining ‘design your own salad‘ menu, a wide range of vegetarian, gluten-free and sustainably-sourced seafood dishes created by their award-winning chefs, endless indulgent spa treatments during which you will be rubbed and scrubbed with cult natural beauty brand The Organic Pharmacy‘s herbal medicine inspired product line in what Forbes voted one of the world’s best 5 Star Spas not least thanks to their crystal steam room, rhassoul mud chamber and in-house flotation tank, not to mention a dip in the city’s most stunning infinity pool. Pure and utter bliss!

• Hotel: 8 Finance Street, Central, Hong Kong Island,  +852 3196 8888,  reservations.hkg@fourseasons.com. 
• Spa: +852 3196 8900, spa.hkg@fourseasons.com. Daily 8AM-11PM. Massages start at HKD 1, 200.

InterContinental Hong Kong

Just a short ferry ride away on the iconic Star Ferry is the InterContinental Hong Kong: the hotel’s many ocean-facing rooms offer the most breathtaking views of the city skyline. Start your day with their morning outdoor Tai Chi class on the pool terrace, then indulge in a full day spa package at their I-Spa (think organic coffee bean Detoxifying Body Scrub and  organic superfood Calming & Soothing Body Wrap) all using South African organic probiotic skincare line Esse) that includes a three-course ihealth lunch served poolside (make sure to take a dip in their infinity jacuzzi) so you can gaze wistfully at the harbour panorama. Created in partnership with the Hong Kong Adventist Hospital, the hotel’s ihealth menus provides guests with a range of healthy eating choices for breakfast, lunch and dinner at their Harbourside Restaurant or 24 hours thanks to room service. The InterCon is deeply committed to sourcing locally: most of their produce comes from their InterContinental Garden, which they run in partnership with social enterprise New Life Farm in Tuen Mun and they even have their own beehives on the hotel roof. Seriously eco!

• Hotel: 18 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon. +852 2721 1211. hongkong@ihg.com.
• Spa: hkghc.spa@ihg.com, Daily 8AM-10PM. Massages start at HKD 1, 340 for 75 minutes.

Landmark Mandarin Oriental

This autumn,  The Landmark Mandarin Oriental‘s Oriental Spa is actually launching a ready-made staycation with their series of Urban Retreats (try the Vitality & Vibrancy in the Modern World). These are lead by Naam Yoga pioneer Anastasia Williams and are sure to detox your body and soul. They include a morning and afternoon yoga session, morning smoothies, plant-based yogi lunches and access to the hotel’s spa facilities. Possibly our favorite spa facilities in Hong Kong, the holistic spa areas include experience showers, vitality pools, ice fountains, amethyst crystal steam rooms, saunas, and zen relaxation rooms. The Spa Cafe and in room dining menus offer a range of healthy vegetarian and gluten-free options: think vibrant salads with a side of gluten-free bread. The chef is also more than happy to prepare a special menu for you based upon your dietary needs. For treatments, the spa uses organic Aromatherapy Associates essential oil blends (they were one of the city’s first spas to use organic essential oils) and facial products from Sodashi, which many a beauty insider consider to be the purest skincare in the world. Nothing but the very best for you and yours!

• Hotel: 15 Queen’s Road Central, Central, Hong Kong Island. +852 2132 0188. lmhkg-reservations@mohg.com.
• Spa: +852 2132 0011, lmhkg-spa@mohg.com, Daily 8AM-11AM. Massages start at HKD 1, 200 for 60 minutes.

Mandarin Oriental

The Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong has most certainly embraced the healthy eating zeitgeist with a selection of dining options that underlines their commitment to wooing healthsters: the M Bar offers a totally vegetarian dim sum lunch, you can take the Vegetarian Tour at Michelin-starred Mandarin Grill followed by the restaurant’s gourmet vegetarian tasting menu. Oh, and did we mention that they now offer their own line of nutritionist-designed freshly-pressed juice blends and breakfast acai bowls down at the Mandarin Cake Shop. And here’s the cherry on this healthy cake: they source many of their vegetables from a local organic farm on Cheung Chau. In keeping with its Hong Kong heritage, the spa at the Mandarin Oriental showcases TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine)-inspired treatments: the epic Imperial Jade Ritual is a celebration of TCM’s many disciplines and involves herbal compresses, reflexology, a sesame and rice scrub, a green tea and algae body mask and a ginseng face mask during which jade rollers are used to smooth your skin, all using products from active plant-based Elemental Herbology, a line that was developed using TCM principles. Heaven!

• Hotel: 5 Connaught Road Central, Central, Hong Kong Island, +852 2522 0111, mohkg-reservations@mohg.com.
• Spa: +852 2825 4888, mohkg-spa@mohg.com, Mon to Fri 10AM-11PM; Sat to Sun 9AM-11PM. Massages start at HKD 1, 250 for 60 minutes.

Ritz Carlton

The Ritz Carlton Hong Kong occupies the top floors of the towering ICC building in West Kowloon and boasts the world’s highest swimming pool and the highest spa on the planet: being pampered in their luxurious treatment rooms (which offer truly magnificent views) will feel like you are walking in the proverbial clouds. There’s plenty of indulgence to be had: from the Lava Shell body treatment to the Sweet Dreams treatment that was developed for stress-crazed city folk who can’t catch a good night’s sleep (a sea salts and essential oil bath is following by a deep breathing session and a head, eye and body massage), the ESPA Skincare partner spa is committed to your wellness needs. On the dining front,  look no further than The Lounge & Bar’s Organic Salad Bar for the healthiest lunch fix: gaze out into the clouds whilst feasting  all-you-can-eat smorgasbord of organic produce choices and a huge selection tasty toppings to impress even the most ardent saladistas. Clean eating at its best!

• Hotel: International Commerce Centre, 1 Austin Road West, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon. +852 2263 2263.
• Spa: +852 2263 2040, spareception.hk@ritzcarlton.com, Daily 9AM – 11PM. Massages start at HKD 1, 250 for 50 minutes.

The Peninsula

The iconic Peninsula hotel has earned its spot as a Hong Kong landmark thanks to its moniker as the “Grand Dame of the Far East”. Now more than ever they are offering luxury with a side wellness, especially when it comes to dining. Their Naturally Peninsula  initiative, available at five of their seven restaurants (including award-winning Gaddi’s), proffers menus designed by their resident nutritionist with a focus on fresh, sustainably-sourced ingredients and organic slow food, many of which are gluten-free and/or vegan. Couple that with The Peninsula Spa‘s commitment to helping you decompress with their specially-designed Peninsula Wellness Journeys that you can enjoy along with their Roman-inspired swimming pool. (Try their Half-Day De-Stress Spa Journey or their Ayurveda-inspired Sattva Detox Signature Journey, both of which use their in-house Simply Peninsula natural product range.) And how about a tour on their signature helicopter rides so you can meditate on the city’s beauty from above? The ultimate in luxurious mindfulness!

• Hotel: Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, +852 2920 2888, phk@peninsula.com.
• Spa: +852 2696 6682, spaphk@peninsula.com, Daily 8AM – 11PM. Massages start at HKD 1, 200.

Images courtesy of: The Four Seasons (lead photo), Next Stop Hong Kong, The Landmark Mandarin Oriental, Mandarin Oriental, Ritz Carlton Hong Kong and The Peninsula Hong Kong.