Harbour Plaza in Whampoa Garden

While in HK, we stayed at 5-star rated Harbour Plaza Hotel in Whampoa Garden, which has a stellar view of Victoria Harbour. Inside, a first-time visitor must be awed by the famously graceful, Tara-esque winding staircase. In fact, it's so famous that most of the nights we spent in HK saw the telltale tulle and a variety of colorful flowers adorning Harbour Plaza's staircase, indicating that a bustling wedding was being hosted as I passed. And for several days before Christmas Day, the hotel invited various children's choirs to sing carols for hotel guests. Even return visitors are dazzled to be greeted by the lobby water fountain. And amidst of the notable service in HK, the service at Harbour Plaza - from the doorman, to room service, to the gym - was exemplary.

Teased by the notion of watching a Chinese drama the "proper" way - episodically every night, instead of a recording on tape or DVD - we returned to the hotel to watch "Dicey Business" every night we could manage. We also indulged in almost daily desserts from Corner Café in the hotel lobby, and to complete our nightly ritual, we strolled along the water at dusk, where we met a myriad of swimmers, joggers, and locals walking their dogs - all super friendly, none feeling the need to bark excessive. When I get a dog, I'd like to feed him whatever they feed their dogs in HK - they're the best behaved dogs I've ever met!

And to complete our absolutely favourable stay at Harbour Plaza, you can catch the Star Ferry from Kowloon to North Point, Wanchai, or Central only a few yards away from the hotel. Truly, the only letdown was that, while we visited, it was too cool to try out the rooftop pool.