Kerry Hotel, Hong Kong

A Waterfront Giant Built to Feel Intimate

Kerry Hotel, Hong Kong rises sixteen storeys above the Hung Hom waterfront in Kowloon, a former industrial shoreline now turning upscale. At 546 rooms it ranks among the larger hotels on this list, and the design team, led by André Fu with architect Rocco Yim, set out to solve the obvious problem of scale: how to keep a hotel this size from feeling anonymous. Their answer runs through outdoor terraces threaded into interior spaces, landscaping chosen as carefully as the furniture, and a lobby that rises some twenty-four feet under full-height glazing. It reads less like a single building than a small waterfront district.

Why It Works

The hotel backs its scale with substance: more than a thousand commissioned and curated artworks run through its public spaces, including a pair of sculptures by Zhu Ming that greet arrivals at the entrance, alongside pieces by Sacha Cotture, Jinggoy Buensuceso and Camie Lyons. The palette of mauve, bronze and mineral grey, set against Botticino marble, keeps the art from overwhelming the architecture. Over sixty percent of the guestrooms face the sea, with beds deliberately angled toward the harbour rather than the room's centre, a small adjustment that changes how the space is used every morning.

Why This Location

Hung Hom sits on the Kowloon side of the harbour, a quieter counterpoint to the density of Tsim Sha Tsui a short distance away, and the waterfront position gives the hotel its sea-facing rooms and pool deck without competing for space with the busier tourist strip. The neighbourhood's shift from industrial to upscale is still visible and part of its appeal: travellers get harbour views and new design energy without the crowds that come with a more central address. It suits guests who want to be near Kowloon's attractions without staying directly inside them.

Fast Facts

• Prix : €€€

• Vibe : design-forward, art-filled, intimate despite its scale

• Chambres : rooms and suites, more than 60% with sea views, includes a large presidential suite with a wraparound terrace

• Best For : design-conscious travellers, sea-view seekers, guests wanting resort amenities on the Kowloon waterfront

• Our Favorite Thing About the Hotel : the thousand-plus piece commissioned art collection running through the public spaces

• Dining : Hung Tong (Chinese, red-brick dining room), Dockyard (industrial-maritime bar by AvroKO), Big Bay Café (food hall organised by cooking method), Red Sugar Bar (terrace)

• Amenities : outdoor pool deck, extensive terraces, spa and wellness facilities, fitness centre

• Attractions : Hung Hom waterfront promenade, Tsim Sha Tsui (short distance), Kowloon harbourfront

An Art Collection a Thousand Pieces Deep

Few hotels anywhere commit to art at this scale: well over a thousand works, spanning sculpture, installation and commissioned pieces, sit throughout the lobby, corridors and public rooms rather than being confined to a single gallery wall. The Zhu Ming sculptures at the entrance set the tone, monumental enough to register from the street, and the collection continues through smaller, more personal pieces as guests move deeper into the building. It turns a walk from the lobby to a restaurant into something closer to a gallery circuit, and it is the clearest expression of the design team's goal to keep a 546-room hotel from feeling impersonal.

Dining Built Around Method, Not Just Cuisine

The food and beverage programme avoids the usual hotel formula of one fine-dining room and one all-day café. Big Bay Café organises its cooking pavilions by method rather than by cuisine, letting guests choose between styles of preparation rather than a fixed menu format. Hung Tong takes the opposite approach, a focused Chinese restaurant behind a red brick wall with a neon installation by Adrian Wong, while Dockyard leans into an industrial, maritime register with oxidised concrete and plate steel. Red Sugar Bar closes the circuit with a terrace planted to feel wild rather than manicured, rounding out a dining programme built on variety of experience as much as variety of menu.