Peninsula Hotel

The Peninsula Hotel was not used for its intended purpose - a hotel - until two years after its completion. In 1926, during the war with China, it served as the British military headquarters, a function it performed again during the Second World War. When the Japanese occupied the colony in the 1940s, it was the headquarters of the occupying forces.

The hotel is still owned by the Kadoorie family, who originally came from Baghdad.

Innumerable crowned and uncrowned heads of state have stayed at the Peninsula, which is one of the best (and most expensive) hotels in the world.

In Hong Kong the Peninsula is more than an institution. When, in the 1970s, the owners considered pulling it down and replacing it with a new building there was a storm of protest. At least the impressive neo-classical façade of the "grand old lady", a relic of the great days of colonial rule, has remained unchanged, although the interior has been renovated on a number of occasions; and it has maintained its reputation as the best hotel in Hong Kong.

In 1994 an extension was built at the rear to provide extra rooms and also an office and business center. The Peninsula also houses one of Hong Kong's finest shopping arcades, with branches of many high-class firms.

Even if you do not want - or cannot afford - to stay here it is worth looking in and, over a cocktail or a cup of tea, savoring the atmosphere of its elegant lobby.

Opposite the hotel is the Tsim Sha Tsui Cultural Complex, with the Space Museum and the Museum of Art.