There‛s something wrong with the Peninsula Hong Kong
The Iconic Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong has issues
Me Jamie, your host, I am English and I have lived in Hong Kong for 53 years - I know the place.
I have personally completed 2,300+ Private Tours and Experiences (over 6,000+ guests) since April 2011 and I am considered one of the finest Private Tour Guides in Asia.
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There‛s something wrong with the Peninsula Hotel Hong Kong
The Iconic Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong has issues
The Peninsula Hotel, a Hong Kong Icon, est. 1928
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You can clearly see 2 of the 4 available seats in the Peninsula Hotel Hong Kong Lobby
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There is no shortage of seats and tables in both sectors of the main lobby of the Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong, the catch is you have to order something to eat and drink and in the Peninsula, Afternoon Tea is always popular! but for many hours in the day there is no one in the lobby and in the past year many of my guests who stayed there have mentioned the lack of “buzz”
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I would like to make something very clear, the Peninsula Hotel is my favourite Hotel in Hong Kong period and I always recommend it when asked.
I am a Hotel lobby rat, I have picked up guests from Hotel Lobbies over 2,000 times since 2011, I am quite familiar with the importance of a Hotel Lobby.
I am in the Hotel at least a couple of times a week and I have been in the lobby thousands of times since my first visit in 1972, me and the wife stayed there many years ago, just the once but I have been in the rooms in recent years quite a few times. Management would not recognise me but the guys and gals on the main door do, as do the car attendants
The lobby is my spiritual home, I love to have afternoon tea there and quite often I will just sit there for an hour waiting for my guests and just people watch.
I was in the lobby in early January 1972, when we arrived in Hong Kong we were put into the Merlin Hotel which was opposite the back the of the Hotel, it was literally 30 yards from the Peninsula, although the Merlin Hotel was knocked down and replaced by the Kowloon Hotel, I was awestruck and I still frequent the Peninsula, that first visit had a great impact on me.
Hong Kong has no shortage of 5 star Hotels, with the Rosewood and the Regent Hotels just 5 minutes walk away from the Peninsula and then there is a whole bunch of them over on Hong Kong Island.
As a Private Tour Guide since 2010 I pick up my guests from Hotels so I am very familiar with all the major hotels in Hong Kong, sitting in the lobby has always been a thing for me, I like to people watch and soak up the vibe and have met more than my fair share of famous people in Hotel lobbies.
… and yet I am always drawn to the Peninsula, the Hotel goes back to 1928 and it really has an amazing and iconic lobby that unfortunately is quite empty for a lot of the day.
Since Covid things have changed at the Peninsula Hotel, at first I could not really put my finger on it but there is something wrong with the Peninsula Hotel and I have finally figured it out. For a lot of time during the day, the hotel lobby is eerily empty and it totally lacks the buzz of most 5 star Hotels in Hong Kong.
The main lobby is the focal point of all 5 star hotels, it where guests arrive (and in the Peninsula met by management) and it is simply the place where you meet people, with no where to sit and chat, you simply leave the Hotel as fast as possible.
I have always thought that the Peninsula Hotel is a step behind all the 5 star hotels in Hong Kong when it comes to Lobby seating, I actually think this is a big deal and apparently the Hotel does not.
In the Main Lobby of the Peninsula they have 4 single seats for people to sit and wait, yes, 4 only, I call them the Kings seat as they are like mini thrones but 4 seats is totally inadequate.
All the major 5 star Hotels in Hong Kong have a lot more seats in the lobby area including comfortable sofa’s, the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in the business district has an amazing lobby with a whole bunch of sofa’s and chairs and is very welcoming, the Four Seasons Hotel has a very large seating area as does the Regent Hotel and the Rosewood Hotel, they are in a different league to the Peninsula when it comes to seating for guests and for people meeting guests.
The Mandarin Oriental Hotel Hong Kong, main lobby, lots and lots of comfy sofa’s and chairs
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The Four Seasons Hotel has many, many comfy seats and soft sofa benches in the lobby and yes I got to shake hands with the Wu Tang Clan the famous hip hop group from the USA when they were in Hong Kong and stayed at the Four Seasons
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I have discussed this with my friends and we conclude that the reason (s) that there are only 4 seats in the lobby of the Peninsula are :
they do not want members of the public hanging out in the lobby ie riff raff!
they place more importance on monetising the lobby with 90% of the space taken up by tables and chairs where you have to order something to eat or drink and trust me the Peninsula is very expensive in the F & B area.
I should point out that I have no Hotel Training but I do have a bit of common sense, most mornings ( I tend to be in the lobby between 9am - 11am and 4pm to 5pm ) and in the morning the lobby is a ghost town, this is not just since Covid, it has been an issue for a long time but when occupancy rates are down you can see and feel the difference in the atmosphere.
There is something nor quite right.
You will note that in the old historic photo above there is a sofa!
The Hotel has a new General Manager who has been in the job for 6 months, he is French and the French know how to run 5 star Hotels and he has been tasked with revitalising the Hotel, my advice would be, visit the other 5 star Hotels in Hong Kong and spend 30 minutes in the lobby and see and hear the difference, I can assure you that they all have a better vibe, to me there is nothing worse than an empty lobby or worse, an empty lobby full of junior management types waiting for VIP guests!
I know people, I have had over 6,000+ guests since my first tour in April 2011, many of them very wealthy, they also want to see and be seen and everyone loves an atmosphere of a famous and busy Hotel, personally I hate sterile, understated luxury in a hotel lobby, it is a place to meet and greet people and sit and chat in comfortable surroundings.
Just a thought.
Oh, I forgot, the Peninsula Hotel Hong Kong has a huge fleet of Rolls Royce’s and Bentley’s, 3 of which are always parked on the forecourt of the Hotel, these cars are very famous (and many of them brand new as of 2025) and they attract a lot of tourists who love to take photo’s of them, the forecourt is much busier than the Hotel Lobby!
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