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Island Shangri-La

• T+L 500 Winner

COST: $$$$$

<p>One of three hotels attached to the posh Pacific Place shopping mall (on the edge of Central where it segues into Wan Chai), the soaring, 56-story Shangri-La has the city's highest-altitude lodgings. Most of the 565 spacious rooms, spread between the 39th-55th floors, have enormous windows that capitalize on the views over the Victoria Harbour and the Kowloon skyline beyond; all are outfitted with elegant mahogany furniture, crystal chandeliers, lacquered Chinese cabinets concealing flat-screen TVs, and silky fabrics in tones of cream, gold, and burnt orange. The marble baths have bidets, magnifying mirrors, and scales (best avoided after indulging in chef Frederic Chabbert's fabulous French cuisine at the top-floor Restaurant Petrus). Business travelers can take advantage of the free hourly shuttle between the hotel and the nearby Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre; hedonists will appreciate the plant-surrounded, 28-meter outdoor pool (heated during the winter)—and, of course, the ritzy shops just an elevator ride away. The extremely solicitous staffers, trained by the U.K. Guild of Professional English Butlers, jump through hoops to cater to guests' whims.</p> <p><strong>Room to book: </strong>Room numbers ending in 01 through 16 on floors 48-55 overlook the harbor.</p> <p><strong>Tip:</strong> The 16-story silk mural in the lobby atrium—titled<em> The Great Motherland of China</em>—is the largest Chinese landscape painting in the world.</p>

Last updated January 2008