Mandarin Oriental launches kids' club
- Aug 13, 2020
- 2 min read
Fun and games at Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong's new kids' club.
Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong has launched a kids’ club.
The city centre property is a perennial favourite amongst international business guests, but with Hong Kong shut to overseas travellers, the hotel is pivoting towards family staycations.
The kids’ club is open to children aged three to 12 years with plenty of games and entertainment to keep youngsters engaged. Which of course leaves mum and dad free to sample the adult-focused facilities at the luxe hotel.
Mini guests will be welcomed at the club with activities from Xbox game consoles to board game classics such as Monopoly, UNO and Jenga.
For families heading for a splash in the pool, water toys will also be available at the hotel’s indoor swimming pool, as well as cartoons played on the video wall.
The hotel is currently running a 'Staycation by MO' room package with a variety of curated experiences. Hong Kong is currently enduring a round of strict social distancing measures, meaning spas are closed and restaurants must shut at 6pm. As such, Mandarin is offering guests the opportunity to book now, stay later.
Along with the kids club, families staying at Mandarin Oriental will be able to take advantage of special child-friendly activities at the hotel, including a Chocolate Hunt, Manicure Workshop, Towel & Balloon Art and Amenities Memory Game.
Guests who book a two-night stay in a City View Room or a higher room category will be able to test drive a Mercedes-Benz for a day. Explore Hong Kong as a family, or treat yourself to a romantic drive a deux.
Further perks include a HK$1,000 dining or spa credit when booking a room, or HK$1,288 per stay when booking a suite; 24-hour check-in and check-out; complimentary room upgrade; daily breakfast for two adults and one child; complimentary meals for children under 12 years from the kids menu; one rollaway bed for children under 12 years; and a welcome amenity. Staycation guests will also receive dining privileges at sister hotel, The Landmark Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong, including 25% off food at MO Bar and SOMM.
‘Staycation by MO’ is available until December 29, 2020. Prices start from HK$2,880 per night on weekdays and HK$2,980 on weekends.
This kind of pivot makes me wonder if the “business hotel” label is going to blur long-term, especially in places that leaned hard on corporate travel. If the kids’ club is good, it becomes a reason to pick the property even when travel normalizes again. In a totally unrelated way, it’s like this site — small quality-of-life upgrades can change how you feel about the whole experience.
I like that they’re not pretending parents want a “romantic” staycation during restrictions — it’s more like: keep the kids busy and everyone survives. The manicure workshop and towel/balloon art sound fun, but I’d want to know if they’re included or quietly charged as add-ons. This whole family-staycation trend is everywhere lately; it even made me think of that Ghibli-style photo filter thing where people just want a little escapism without leaving home.
The indoor pool setup sounds like it’s designed by someone who’s actually traveled with kids — water toys plus cartoons on a wall is basically a guaranteed win. I’d be curious if the kids’ club slots are limited and need pre-booking, because that changes how relaxing it is for parents. Random aside: the “curated experiences” language pops up everywhere now, a bit like a place to submit ai tool listings where everything is neatly categorized, even when the real value is just convenience.
The “book now, stay later” angle really captures what that period felt like — lots of planning with everything still uncertain. I also wonder whether these kid activities (chocolate hunt, towel/balloon art) are scheduled enough that parents can actually plan around them, or if it’s more ad hoc. Not that it’s related, but it made me think of a Vigenere cipher tool I used ages ago — simple interface, but you still want clear steps and timing.
The mix of Xbox plus old-school board games is a nice touch — not everything has to be “educational” to keep kids happy on a staycation. When Hong Kong’s dining hours are chopped like that, having more on-site distractions probably saves the whole trip. Side note, I’ve seen kids decompress after hotel time the same way they do with BlockBlast for 10 minutes, then they’re human again.