This year, Marco Polo Hongkong Hotel celebrates 50 years! To include guests in this celebration, they’ve put together a special Your Memories Are Our Memories package ($888/night) – extremely reasonable given all the perks included.
Here are the highlights:
- One night’s stay in a Deluxe Harbour View room
- Be Fabulous afternoon tea for two at Cucina ($508 value)
- Earl Grape iced tea for two at any of the hotel’s outlets
- Guided morning tour of Kowloon Park
- Homemade cookies and two jars of jam to take home
I’ve been to the Marco Polo various times for work events, but this was my first time staying as a guest. Each time, I’ve been impressed by the level of service, with all the staff friendly, welcoming and professional. So how was staying overnight?
Related: Current Staycation Deals
The room
There’s no way around it – the Marco Polo is definitely an older hotel. But you could think of it as having a charming B&B vibe with five-star service and a prime location. My main reason for wanting a solo staycation these days is to spend the check-in day relaxing and the checkout day working (a bit of a shame, but hey, at least it’s in a nice environment!). My Deluxe Harbour View Room was perfect for this: the room was spacious, the bed was comfortable, the sheets were soft and, perhaps best of all, the desk faced the view.
Be Fabulous afternoon tea at Cucina
Cucina’s afternoon tea is inspired by a make-up box. There’s a few playful elements (think chocolate lipstick, black truffle eyeshadow) that would be great for a mother-daughter tea. Preferring sweet over savoury, I started with the open-faced sandwiches and enjoyed them so much I had two of each. Special shout-out to the truffled egg and lobster and mango sandwiches. Yum. The sweets were also lovely, especially the foie gras macaron.
Now, while there’s surprisingly no actual tea offered in this set, guests can choose to have a Bellini, sangria, the hotel’s signature Earl Grape iced tea, iced coffee or apple and ginger juice.
Tour around Italy dishes at Cucina (extra charges apply)
A few hours later, a friend and I enjoyed trying some of Chef Andrea Delzanno’s dishes from the new Tour around Italy specials menu. Seeing as most people aren’t travelling this year, the chef would like to bring the flavours of Italy to Hong Kong.
Raw red prawn carpaccio with mozzarella sauce, lemon and herring caviar ($308)
Seafood casserole ($438)
Slow-braised veal osso buco on saffron risotto with herb sauce ($458)
Chocolate sphere with vanilla ice cream and hot chocolate fondue ($108)
The veal was a little lean for my liking, but I highly recommend both the carpaccio (fresh and perfect for summer) and seafood casserole (so rich in flavour). And I rarely rave about dessert, but this chocolate sphere was the best version I’ve ever had.
Earl Grape iced tea at Lobby Lounge
The next day, I brought my laptop to Lobby Lounge to work and enjoy an Earl Grape iced tea. If you haven’t had it before, Earl Grey tea is poured over green grapes and elderflower-infused ice cubes and is served with some elderflower-infused Turkish delight on the side.
Verdict
If you’re looking for a staycation to rest, sleep, eat and maybe shop, the Marco Polo is a great option (note that the swimming pool is under construction). They’ve smartly set it up so that guests can enjoy many different parts of the hotel without incurring a lot of extra charges. I had a lovely, relaxing stay, thankful for some (affordable yet lovely) R&R! Book while you can; this offer is valid for stays until 31 July 2020. Guests must be Hong Kong residents with a HKID card.
Harbour City, 3–27 Canton Road, TST, 2113 0088, book online
This write-up is based on a complimentary media staycation provided in exchange for an honest review and no monetary compensation. The opinions expressed here represent the author’s.
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