Sheraton Hong Kong Hotel & Towers is celebrating 48 years on Kowloon’s harbour front with an upgrade, writes Carolynne Dear.
Hong Kong's Sheraton Hotel in the 1980s.
Sheraton Hong Kong Hotel & Towers opened its doors by the side of Victoria Harbour in the city’s Tsim Sha Tsui district in 1974.
Since then, it has witnessed the evolution of the city into the metropolis that it is today. Thousands of guests have passed through its doors, most recently residents returning to the city under Covid regulations; the property was listed as a quarantine hotel for a significant period of the pandemic.
A new-look guest room at the hotel.
As it undergoes its most recent refresh, the hotel is taking guests past and present down memory lane via a ‘Sheraton Showcase’ in the public areas of the hotel, with displays of historical items, ‘old-look’ room mock-ups and photography.
On the ground floor, guests can witness the changes to the hotel and its neighbourhood as team members over the years narrate their memories on video. Among them is chef Oscar Chow who has worked at Sheraton Hong Kong Hotel & Towers for 23 years and now serves up yesteryear anecdotes from the Pink Giraffe cabaret and bar and The Grandstand Grill, as well as more contemporary tales from the Oyster & Wine Bar.
A collection of photographs is displayed on the Lobby Floor, depicting the early days and the various furnishings and designs the hotel has witnessed. Vintage treasures from the ‘70s include hotel key chains, matchboxes, menus and even a jukebox.
The current redesign began in November 2021 and is scheduled to complete later this summer. Visitors can have a peek at the refurbished rooms by scanning QR codes on the showcase panels; a web page has also been dedicated to the renovation process and completion countdown.
Interior designs from across the decades are displayed at the showcase.
The revamped rooms boast light wood tones and soft finishes. Acknowledging environmental concerns, the hotel will also be ditching single-use mini toiletry bottles in bathrooms and moving to residential size amenities.
The new rooms look stunning, but having spent a three-week quarantine at Sheraton Hong Kong Hotel & Towers in the summer of 2021, my abiding memory of the property will be waking up 21 times to those infamous ‘old look’ stripey carpets. As the hotel’s 48 year history goes, they were tough times, but softened perhaps by Sheraton professionalism - and killer harbour views.
Sheraton Showcase runs until September 30; Sheraton Hong Kong Hotel & Towers, 20 Nathan Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
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