L’hotel Causeway Bay Harbour View

The shimmering glass curved facade certainly makes the L'hotel Causeway Bay Harbour stand out from its surrounding forest of towering architecture. Stepping inside the lobby is similarly striking in its sharp contemporary styling that incorporates East-West fusion with light boxes, polished stone flooring, and smartly presented reception staff.  The first of three hotels built by the Chinachem Group under the L'hotel brand, the property opened in 2005 and caters to an equal split of business travelers and leisure guests; it's popular with both couples and families in the latter category. The tower itself reaches an impressive 40 floors (though the elevators can be slow) with spectacular mountain and city views from the hotel's rooftop swimming pool terrace. 

The hotel is located on a main road in the heavily built-up district of Causeway Bay on the north side of Hong Kong island. Causeway Bay's main shopping and dining area of East Point is a five-minute tram ride or 15 minutes away on foot; trams run right outside the hotel while the Tin Hau MTR station is a three minutes' walk away. The Wan Chai and Central business districts are also five to 10 minutes by train and the green expanse of Victoria Park is 10 minutes from the hotel on foot. Hong Kong International Airport is around an hour's drive from the hotel.

The hotel has 275 air-conditioned rooms, most of which are decorated in tasteful contemporary styling with teak parquet floors, elegant clean lines, and neutral tones -- though some standard-level rooms are looking a little tired. A decent selection of in-room amenities include Wi-Fi, tea/coffee facilities, mini-fridges, and flat-screen TVs with satellite channels -- superior rooms also have bathrobes and free mineral water. Standard and Deluxe rooms are the same size and have the same amenities, but Deluxe rooms are on the 20th floor or higher (and breakfast is included in their). Over a third of the rooms also offer unobstructed views of Victoria Harbor and the Hong Kong cityscape -- though most water views are partial. A couple drawbacks, however, are that Wi-Fi is not free and beds are a bit hard for some tastes. 

The hotel's Corner 18 restaurant serves a buffet breakfast with both Eastern and Western items, though it's not generally included in the rate.  Lunch and dinner are also served buffet-style in the restaurant while the hotel's basement lounge bar -- The Booth -- serves drinks often accompanied by live music (though it's closed Sunday nights). The rooftop swimming pool offers some spectacular views over the city, though it is closed over cooler months and can feel crowded with more than two people. There also a sauna as well as a fitness room with great views -- though a minimal selection of exercise machines.