Icon Hotel, Hong Kong — Top with kids

When in Hong Kong do yourself a favour: the Icon Hotel is not particularly a family hotel, but truly a pleasure for yourself. This award-winning hotel is luxuriously with a great design giving you an uniquely intimate feel. Hong Kong art is everywhere.

Also, the lobby is stylish: over eight thousand plants grow in the vertical garden that greets you in the lobby. We just love the Icon Hotel; when returning to Hong Kong we will be back!

The rooms differ; some are very spacious, especially for Hong Kong, some are rather small. Ours came with the most beautiful arm chair and a large bathroom. There are family-connecting rooms on every floor. The design of the bathroom is exemplary and very ritzy. The bed and pillows were soft and luxurious. The study came with lots of stationery and good quality paper and pen. We enjoyed the mini bar with free drinks for the whole family. There was a nice sound system that you can connect with your phone. And we have never seen a hotel which gives you a free mobile with free international calls to 25 countries and free data for the duration of your stay!

The young, enthusiastic staff is determined to do whatever it takes to make your stay happy. They’re eager to learn and open to suggestions – you’re helping with their training (and Hong Kong’s service industry), after all – so if there are moments of hesitancy, be patient and offer obliging advice. Housekeeping is top notch with a label on phones and remote controls saying these were sanitized. Even checked-out guests can use a separate lounge, sauna and shower if they’re waiting for a night flight. Breakfast was amazing – with so many options and we enjoyed having our juice made to order. Children under three aren’t charged for breakfast by the way.

Foodies will like Green: a chic French, brasserie style café for a café in the morning and pastries and croissants the rest of the day. The Market is a popular restaurant for its international classics. And there’s Above and Beyond with an amazing view of the Hong Kong skyline. It is one of the city's most celebrated Cantonese restaurants.

If you book a Club 36 or Club 38 room, you will be able to enjoy the free Above & Beyond Lounge. We really enjoyed the club benefits with afternoon tea and evening cocktails. The lounge has a warm interior design and is very comfortable. Snacks were deliciously, and secretly it made us even skip evening dinner sometimes. The club has an excellent selection of carefully chosen Hong Kong-related books.

The Icon Hotel is not that big, though it has all the facilities you may need: a small spa and a 24-hour gym. It has a heated swimming pool on the roof with great views on the city and harbour.

We would recommend this hotel to any traveler; in Hong Kong as a business town you will find several business travelers and it’s lovely for a romantic getaway. But with its sound proof rooms, its staff and its pool, it is very suitable for families as well. And it’s always a pleasure when paper and crayons are given at a restaurant. Children up to 11 years stay free when occupying the parent or guardian's room using existing bedding. Be aware though that the hotel does not allow additional beds in the rooms so if you need extra beds as a family, you must sleep separately or in connecting rooms; they do allow one baby cot per room.

The location of the Icon Hotel, in the Kowloon area, is not far from the centre, a 15 minutes-walk to the station, but the hotel offers a free, clean shuttle to the station and to the harbour city every 20 minutes which is very convenient. There are plenty of shops and a variety of restaurant in the area. The famous street that houses individual clothes shops was nearby, and even the Snoopy cafe. Also, there is a grocery store within walking distance and plenty of bakeries. Hong Kong of course has so much to offer that we didn’t need child entertainment programs during our stay. We were told nevertheless that sometimes during holidays activities are organized daily for both adults and kids; you might check the staff if you feel for it. And close by is the Star Ferry Hong Kong; a historic American-football-shaped boat that journeys from Central to Kowloon or Wan Chai to Kowloon in just a few minutes.

Of course, lots of families go to Disney Land. You might also opt for the Ocean Park, a sea-themed park on the south side of Hong Kong island, with its cable car and adventure trails. You’d better buy tickets in advance to avoid lines. The Hong Kong Science Museum is great for a rainy day.

WOW

# A great thing is the complimentary smartphone - we used it every day to search out attractions and find our way around - having it available made our holiday so easy.

# Being spoiled at the Above & Beyond Lounge! And a heated pool in the middle of a city is rare and great for children.

# The World’s Largest Permanent Light and Sound Show starts every night at 8:00pm; if you book a room with a harbour view you might have a chance of seeing the nightly lights over Victoria Harbor. You could even just lay in bed and watch the show. Coloured lasers and nightly lights shoot from the top of buildings lining the Hong Kong skyline. There’s music and narration available on the radio though it’s live near Avenue of the Stars in Tsim Sha Tsui and Wan Chai at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre.