The Peninsula

The Peninsula Hong Kong (CN: 香港半島酒店) is an iconic building, landmark, and premiere luxury hotel, located near Victoria Harbour In Tsim Sha Tsui District of Hong Kong. The building, completed in 1928, features Baroque style architecture.

Things to do at the Penninsula

• Afternoon tea at the First Floor Lobby – its almost a must tick activity on a visit to the city, their iconic traditional British style Peninsula Classic Afternoon Tea is served from 2 pm to 6 pm.
• Choose from 6 restaurants offering Swiss, Japanese, Cantonese, French and Continental dining.
• Go shopping at the hotels exclusive Peninsula Arcade. Throughout the years, it has housed the worlds leading international luxury brands.
• Get pampered at the Penninsula Spa, featured in Forbes Travel Guide 2018 World’s Most Luxurious Spas
• Get a spa day pass and enjoy prime views of Victoria Harbour from their amazing pool, plus sauna, gym

Staying at the Peninsula

Rooms at the Peninsula overlook the hotel’s courtyard, Victoria Harbor or Kowloon. They feature luxury finish and appointments along with LED swivel TV with free HD movies, free WiFi, interactive digital control panels, and marble bathrooms fitted with a spa bathtub. See room styles and rates

Nearby the Peninsula

Within easy walking distance of the Peninsula Hotel is Nathan Road for luxury brand shopping, 1881 Heritage for more shopping and colonial architecture, Harbour City the largest mall in the area, Victoria Harbour and Star Ferry, Space Museum, Art Museum, and Avenue of the Stars.

Wikipedia Says

History

Hong Kong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited was incorporated in 1866. The company became engaged in real estate, acquiring land properties, and opened The Peninsula Hong Kong in Tsim Sha Tsui in 1928. The Peninsula Hong Kong holds several world records for placing the largest single orders for fleets of Rolls-Royce cars in the world.

Founded by members of the Kadoorie family. The Peninsula was built with the idea that it would be “the finest hotel east of Suez”. Originally planned for a 1924 opening, the hotel opened its doors in December 1928 and was the successor of Hongkong Hotel. The Peninsula was located in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong at the junction of Nathan Road and Salisbury Road, directly opposite the quays where ocean liner passengers disembarked. Kowloon was also the last stop on the trans-Siberian rail link that brought travellers from Europe.

Since the opening of the hotel, The Peninsula held Sunday concerts, nightly dinners on the terrace and twice weekly dinners in the Rose Room. Dinner dances were held every night, with regular Afternoon Tea Dances. The Peninsula Hotel then became a popular meeting place for the entire community. It also started to become a hot spot to spot famous celebrities. Charlie Chaplin and Paulette Goddard, who were Hollywood stars of the 1930s classic Modern Times were the guest of the hotel.

On 25 December 1941, at the end of the Battle of Hong Kong, British colonial officials led by the Governor of Hong Kong, Sir Mark Aitchison Young, surrendered in person at the Japanese headquarters on the third floor of The Peninsula. The Governor was confined for two months in one of the hotel suites before being transferred to a prison in Shanghai. The resort was then renamed “Tōa Hotel” (東亜ホテル “East Asia Hotel”), and the rooms were reserved for Japanese officers and high-ranking dignitaries, while Hong Kong sank into misery and destitution.

In his book God Is My Co-Pilot, Colonel Robert Lee Scott, Jr., USAAF, commander of the 23d Fighter Group, China Air Task Force, described in detail an aerial raid he led on the Japanese shipping anchored in Hong Kong harbour, conducted 25 October 1942, and the lone attack he personally made in his Curtiss P-40K Warhawk (nicknamed Old Exterminator) upon the famous Peninsula Hotel:

“So I looped above Victoria Harbor and dove for the Peninsula Hotel. My tracers ripped into the shining plateglass of the penthouses on its top, and I saw the broken windows cascade like snow to the streets, many floors below. I laughed, for I knew that behind those windows were Japanese high officers, enjoying that modern hotel. When I got closer I could see uniformed figures going down the fire escapes, and I shot at them…I turned for one more run on the packed fire escapes filled with Jap soldiers, but my next burst ended very suddenly. I was out of ammunition.”

It was restored to its original name after Japan was defeated and the British regained control of the colony. The hotel today is part of the Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels group headed by Sir Michael Kadoorie, is the flagship property of The Peninsula Hotels group.

Source: Wikipedia

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