10 things you didn’t know about The Kimpton Tsim Sha Tsui
Hong Kong Hotels - location matters more than photographs
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Kimpton Tsim Sha Tsui Hotel | Location, Location | Hong Kong
Foreword by Jamie
I am finding my research into the top Hotels to be very interesting. I am not a food critic and I am not a hotel critic and to repeat a passage from a previous post
In addition and after more than 45 years of weekly hotel visits across Hong Kong and well over 2,000 individual hotel visits in the past 15 years alone - covering more than 100 different properties, I have a fairly good knowledge of the Hotel scene in Hong Kong, particularly in the 5 star sector, I have spent many thousands of hours in Hotel Lobbies and that makes you a keen observer.
When I am looking through the Hotel websites the striking thing is the disconnect between Hotel marketing blurb and actual reality particularly when it comes to room views and hotel location, this is not meant to be an exercise in criticism but guests need to know these things before booking a room, so far what I am seeing is that it does not matter what class of Hotel you want to book, you need to do some research of your own and when it comes to room views (a lot of people think this is important) then you need to have a conversation at check in and stand your ground and where possible get a change of room to give you better views.
Tsim Sha Tsui in Kowloon has seen its fair share of hotel openings over the decades, yet few have carried quite the same mix of maritime heritage and pure location advantage as the Kimpton Tsim Sha Tsui. Sitting quietly on Middle Road, tucked just behind the Sheraton Hotel and Towers and a stone’s throw from the TST East MTR (Subway) exit, this 50-storey tower rose from the site of the old Mariners’ Club and opened its doors in September 2025. It is the largest Kimpton property anywhere in the world, the brand’s first in Hong Kong, and one of the few places in the district where every guest room claims a harbour view of one sort or another and yes, more on that later.
What follows is a detailed look at the story behind the building, the ownership, the old club that stood here for decades, the rooms, the facilities and the practical realities of the views - the sort of details that matter when you are walking the streets of TST in Kowloon and explaining the place to guests.
Here is a little tip in Hong Kong we say TST not Tsim Sha Tsui as most people have a hard time pronouncing it!
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© Copyright Acknowledged | All rights reserved | images taken by Jamie
Kimpton Tsim Sha Tsui Hotel | Location, Location | Hong Kong
1. The complete and detailed history of the development from concept to opening of The Kimpton Tsim Sha Tsui
The site at 11 Middle Road had been home to the Mariners’ Club since 1967. By the mid-2010s the underlying economics had changed. Membership and actual overnight stays by seafarers had been declining for many years, and the Mission already operated another facility in Kwai Chung at the container port - that better matched modern crew-change patterns. Keeping a large city-centre building running purely as a seafarers’ hostel no longer made financial sense.
In early 2018 Empire Group Holdings secured the redevelopment, committing roughly HK$6 billion to a complete rebuild. An in-situ land exchange with the government was finalised in June 2018, allowing the Mission to retain a modern version of its welfare function on the lower floors while Empire took the development rights for the upper portion of the site. Demolition of the old club began later that year. The new tower was designed as a distinctive V-shaped structure so that rooms on both wings would face the harbour rather than each other. IHG signed on in 2019 to operate the upper floors under the Kimpton brand, positioning the property as the brand’s global flagship.
The hotel reached soft opening in md September 2025. A formal grand opening celebration was held on 13th March 2026. The finished building stands at 50 storeys, with the reconstituted Mariners’ Club facilities on the lower floors and the Kimpton occupying the floors above.- specifically the reconstituted club (with its 75 guest rooms, chapel, restaurant, gym, function rooms and other facilities) on floors 1 - 8. The Kimpton then takes the floors above that, with its main lobby and reception on the 15th floor and guest rooms running higher still up to the 50th-floor rooftop
2. Ownership breakdown and corporate connections - The Kimpton Tsim Sha Tsui
The freehold development and ownership sit with Empire Group Holdings, a Hong Kong-based company founded in 2010. Empire fully funded the redevelopment and holds a long-term arrangement with the Sailors’ Home and Mission to Seafarers covering the lower floors.
Day-to-day operation of the hotel is handled by InterContinental Hotels Group under the Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants brand. Kimpton itself was acquired by IHG in 2015 and sits in the group’s luxury and lifestyle portfolio. IHG already operates several other properties in Hong Kong, including the InterContinental Grand Stanford, Crowne Plaza Hong Kong Kowloon East and Holiday Inn Golden Mile. There is no shared ownership or direct operational link between the Kimpton Tsim Sha Tsui and those other IHG hotels beyond the parent company.
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© Copyright Acknowledged | All rights reserved | images taken by Jamie
The Mariners Club | Prior to demolition | Hong Kong
3. The story of the Mariners’ Club that occupied the site for decades and the connection to The Kimpton Tsim Sha Tsui
For the record I visited the M (I take iariners Club quite frequently from the late 1970’s until it was demolished, they had a great bowling alley and the wife would visit the chapel and meals there where pretty darn good (and cheap)
The roots of the organisation stretch back to 1863, when the Sailors’ Home was established on Hong Kong Island to provide affordable lodging, recreation and spiritual support for seafarers. The Tsim Sha Tsui site on Middle Road was acquired in 1965. The 12-storey Mariners’ Club building opened on 30 May 1967, with the then Governor Sir David Trench performing the official opening.
For more than fifty years it served as a practical home-from-home for visiting and local seafarers. The building itself was in perfectly good condition when the decision was taken to redevelop. What had changed was the pattern of use. Membership and overnight stays had been declining for years, and the Mission already had another facility in Kwai Chung in the container port that better matched modern crew-change patterns. The organisation therefore entered a commercial property arrangement that preserved a modern version of its core function while unlocking the development value of the site - a pragmatic move similar to decisions taken by a number of churches and long-established institutions in Hong Kong when they find themselves sitting on valuable land.
The lower 8 floors of the new tower still house the reconstituted Mariners’ Club with updated facilities, a chapel, accommodation for seafarers and the usual support services. Continuity has been maintained, but the scale and the atmosphere are different. The commercial logic was very sound.
4. Exact opening day and General Manager of The Kimpton Tsim Sha Tsui
The hotel began welcoming guests in mid September 2025. The larger public celebration and official grand opening event took place on 13th March 2026.
The General Manager is Mike Robinson, a long-serving Kimpton executive with roughly 18 years in the brand. He has previously opened or managed Kimpton properties in Amsterdam, Barcelona, Los Angeles and other cities.
5. Overview of reviews, positive comments, room numbers and suites - The Kimpton Tsim Sha Tsui
Guest feedback since opening has been broadly strong on the views, the freshness of the design, the location and the friendliness of staff. The most frequently praised points tend to cluster around five areas:
Genuine harbour views from every room category, not just the premium ones (I take issue with this, more on that later)
The distinctive design touches and local product details
The rooftop pool and Swim Club atmosphere
Helpful, approachable staff
The convenient position relative to the MTR, Nathan Road and the waterfront - absolutely true
Total rooms: 495. Breakdown is approximately:
Essential rooms: around 28 - 29 square metres
Premium rooms: 34 - 40 square metres, some with window-side marble plunge baths
Suites: 25 in total, roughly 68 - 74 square metres, including the Kimpton Harbour | Victoria Harbour suites, some with private balconies
Suite rates typically start in the region of HK$5,500 (around US$700+) depending on season and demand, while Essential rooms have been available from roughly HK$2,000-2,400 (US$255-310) in quieter periods. All rooms are pet-friendly with no extra charge for pets.
The hotel’s pet policy is real and applies to anyone who can legally get a pet into the building, but in practice it is almost entirely aimed at local Hong Kong residents (or people whose pets are already lawfully in Hong Kong).
Official details:
One cat or dog under 15 kg
Only on designated pet floors (limited number of rooms)
No extra charge
Advance request required (they ask guests to email reservations)
Guide dogs and service animals are exempt from the weight limit
Hong Kong’s animal import rules are strict. Most dogs and cats arriving from overseas need an import permit, up-to-date rabies vaccination, blood tests, and often a lengthy quarantine period (commonly several months unless the animal comes from a small list of approved low-risk places with perfect paperwork). For a typical short tourist stay of a few nights, bringing a pet from abroad is effectively impossible for the overwhelming majority of visitors.
So the “pet-friendly, no extra charge” claim is accurate for guests who already live here or who somehow already have their pet in Hong Kong. It is not a practical offer for ordinary international tourists flying in for a short visit.
6. Positive press reports in Hong Kong - The Kimpton Tsim Sha Tsui
The property has received solid coverage in both local and regional media. Lifestyle and travel titles covered the opening, the all-harbour-view claim, the Vicky Lau restaurant and the rooftop pool. Empire Group’s own announcements and IHG communications emphasised the “Global Flagship, Local Soul” positioning.
The story behind JĪJĀ by Vicky Lau
Vicky Lau is one of Hong Kong’s most respected chefs. Born and raised here, she first trained as a graphic designer in the United States (New York University) and worked in advertising before deciding to change direction. She enrolled at Le Cordon Bleu in Bangkok, then cut her teeth in Hong Kong at the Michelin-starred French restaurant Cepage under Sébastien Lepinoy. In 2012 she opened Tate Dining Room, which evolved into a two-Michelin-star restaurant and made her the first female chef in Asia to achieve that distinction. In 2015 she was named Asia’s Best Female Chef. She later opened Mora, a one-Michelin-star (plus Green Star) restaurant focused on soy and sustainability.
JĪJĀ is her more relaxed, bistro-style project. It opened inside the Kimpton Tsim Sha Tsui (on the 15th floor) after the hotel’s launch. The concept grew out of trips she made to Yunnan and Guizhou in Southwest China around 2023. She was struck by the region’s bold, sour, spicy and aromatic cooking, its wild mushrooms, fermented flavours and tea culture. Rather than create another formal fine-dining room, she wanted something warmer and more communal - a place that felt closer to a modern teahouse or lively neighbourhood bistro.
The name “JĪJĀ” (吱喳) comes from a colloquial Cantonese expression for cheerful chatter or lively conversation, which captures the atmosphere she wanted. The kitchen is led day-to-day by Head Chef Sean Yuen, applying fine-dining technique to the robust flavours of the Southwest without losing their character. The restaurant is relatively intimate (around 50 seats) and is operated in partnership with Leading Nation Hospitality.
In short, it is Vicky Lau stepping away from the high-wire precision of Tate and the focused soy philosophy of Mora to explore a different, more relaxed side of Chinese cooking while still applying her own exacting standards.
7. Facilities overview of The Kimpton Tsim Sha Tsui
Five distinct food and beverage outlets:
Birdsong - lobby café and bar on the 15th floor
Hillside - all-day dining
Swim Club - 50th-floor rooftop pool bar
High Dive - intimate speakeasy-style bar
JĪJĀ - the signature restaurant by two-Michelin-starred chef Vicky Lau (see Chef details above)
Other facilities include a 20-metre heated infinity-style rooftop pool on the 50th floor, a 24-hour HYROX-affiliated gym, a spa scheduled to open in 2026, and event spaces with harbour views.
8. Location of The Kimpton Tsim Sha Tsui
The position on Middle Road is genuinely excellent. Exit K of TST East station is only seconds from the hotel entrance. Nathan Road is a one-minute walk. The Sheraton Hotel and Towers sits immediately in front, the Rosewood and the Regent are close neighbours as is the Peninsula Hotel, and the Star Ferry, Avenue of Stars, Harbour City and the museums are all within easy reach. No alternative sites were publicly considered; this was always the redevelopment of the specific Mariners’ Club plot.
Location, Location Location - sometimes I get tired of saying this, in case the Kimpton is in just about the perfect location, it does not border Nathan Road like the Sheraton or the Peninsula but it is less than a minutes walk away so it is a lot quieter
9. Top five competitors in Hong Kong close to the The Kimpton Tsim Sha Tsui
In the immediate TST Kowloon luxury and upper-upscale segment the clearest rivals are:
Rosewood Hong Kong
Regent Hong Kong
The Peninsula
The Langham Hotel
Sheraton Hong Kong Hotel & Towers
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© Copyright Acknowledged | All rights reserved | image courtesy of the Kimpton Tsim Sha Tsui Hotel
Kimpton Tsim Sha Tsui Hotel | view from the top ? | Hong Kong
10. Detailed analysis of the potential for harbour views and practical tips - The Kimpton Tsim Sha Tsui
The building’s V-shape was deliberately planned so that rooms on both arms look outward toward the water. Official claims state that all 495 rooms offer Victoria Harbour views of one kind or another. In practice the quality improves markedly with height, the higher the floor the better the view and the Kimpton is surrounded by very tall buildings, to the left, to the right and immediately in front of it which means for most guests the postcard harbour views with Hong Kong Island in the nackground simply do not exisit unless you are at the very top of the hotel.
Lower and mid-level rooms typically give genuine but more restricted outlooks - stretches of water, ferry movement and pieces only of the Hong Kong Island skyline, often still framed by neighbouring buildings. Once you move over 30 floors the outlook opens up. The higher floors above the 40th floor and the suites with the window-side plunge baths come closest to the more open panorama. The 50th-floor pool deck itself offers the widest and least obstructed view the building can deliver.
Even the taller, waterfront Rosewood does not deliver a classic open harbour panorama from every room. In Tsim Sha Tsui orientation and height matter as much as absolute elevation. The main marketing photographs lean toward the very best angles the Kimpton can produce but that amazing panoramic view is not available on the 20th floor!. Most guests will see a solid harbour outlook rather than the wide, almost aerial sweep shown in the signature image.
There is a clear disconnect between the language on the corporate site and what most guests will actually experience. The statement that every room has a harbour view is technically defensible, yet “harbour view” covers a wide range of outcomes. The signature marketing image - the wide, almost aerial sweep - is the sort of perspective you only properly get from the 50th-floor pool deck or the very highest suites on a clear day. It is not the everyday view from the majority of the 495 rooms. Glimpses of Hong Kong Island and the harbour are not the same as the unobstructed panorama the photographs suggest. For a first-time visitor who has booked on the strength of those images, the difference can be noticeable.
After decades in marketing for me the reality is straightforward. Hotels need one or two iconic images that stop the scroll, and only a handful of properties on the Kowloon side have both the height and a clear enough line of sight to deliver them. (The Ritz Carlton Hotel is one) The Kimpton’s main marketing shot is one of those images. It is not dishonest, but it is selective. What actually sells the hotel for most people is not that single dramatic photograph - it is the location.
Middle Road remains one of the smartest spots in Tsim Sha Tsui. You step out of the TST East MTR (Subway) exit K and you are almost at the door. Nathan Road is a one-minute walk. The waterfront, the Star Ferry, Harbour City and the museums are all within easy reach without fighting the denser crowds further west. That practical convenience is the genuine USP, and it holds up far better than any carefully framed rooftop panorama.
Insider Tip
Still, for anyone who does care about the view, a few practical notes are worth including. Higher is better. Rooms above 30 floors already improve the outlook; even better over 40 floors and the suites with the window-side plunge baths come closest to the open panorama. When booking, request the highest available floor at the time of reservation and again at check-in. Mentioning a preference for a higher-floor harbour view, a Premium room with plunge bath, or a Harbour Suite improves the odds. Loyalty status can help but is never a guarantee. Mid-week arrivals and quieter periods increase the chance of a free move upward.
None of this changes the fact that the location itself is the strongest card the hotel holds. The views improve with height, the better rooms are worth seeking out, and a polite, specific request at booking and check-in is the practical way to improve the odds. Guests who understand the difference between a partial harbour outlook and the full marketing panorama, and who know how to ask for the higher floors, will usually leave satisfied
So there you go
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I do not do Food Tours in Hong Kong but I know people that do!
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The information above can be shown to restaurant managers in Hong Kong if you are intolerant to gluten and nuts,
I do not do food tours as mentioned above, I have very specific reasons and part of it is that I do not speak Cantonese or write Chinese, I am from Yorkshire in England and I lack the language gene and it is not through lack of trying and yes a lot of restaurants do not have English menu’s or staff who speak conversational English.
.. and yet I have eaten at close to 1,400 restaurants in Hong Kong since January 2nd 1972, my wife was born in Hong Kong and we have been together over 40 years and her first language is Cantonese and a lot of her family are Chinese or half Chinese so I have never had much of an issue!
This does not translate to doing food tours though, yes, I could do them, no problem there but they would never ever be as good as the food tours done by my friends (see the 3 links above) most of their awesome guides are locally born Hong Kong Chinese and obviously food culture is part of their DNA, it is impossible for me to compete with that!
So please feel free to contact them for food tours
I do not do Hiking Tours in Hong Kong but I know someone that does!
I do not do Hiking Tours, never have and never will even though I used to go Hiking a lot when I was a lot younger, The Hong Kong Government is promoting hiking tours so I urge you to contact my friend Sabrina at Hong Kong Trails and Tours, she is a long time Hong Kong resident and and a very experienced hiker with close to 700 Hikes in 15+ years under her belt, please click on the link below
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Jamie’s Hong Kong | Some of my favourite images | Hong Kong 101
