Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Hello Hong Kong! Breakfast on CX and Staying at The Mira

The bloggers reach HKIA!
OK here we go with my Hong Kong post series! This rowdy bunch touched down at noon last Friday, ready to begin our four days of fun. Let me first do a quick intro of the Singapore Blog Award 2010 winners who came for the trip hosted by the Hong Kong Tourism Board. From left to right - Violet, Geck Geck, Gin, Pete, Darren, me, Lawrence, Sze Ping and Jerome. Elaine joined us the second day. Photo taken by Alvin of omy.sg, I think? I borrowed it from our HK Travellers Facebook page.


I love flying!
We did not come in this, of course.


Bright and early 8am flight on CX
We had a nice and very smooth flight on Cathay Pacific. Had to be bright and early at the airport - none of us got much sleep the night before, and some were still on Facebook excitedly saying, "see you in a few hours!"

But tired as I was, I could not sleep on the plane. Watched "How to Train Your Dragon" plus an episode of Scrubs or so.


Omelette breakfast set on Cathay Pacific
Breakfast omelette that was not too bad. The alternative was congee, and I just had a hunch this would be better.


The Mira is at 118 Nathan Road in Tsim Sha Tsui
We soon arrived at The Mira (118 Nathan Road in Tsim Sha Tsui), ranked among "Coolest New Hotels in the World" by Conde Nast Traveller. Love the vintage London cab parked out front with the licence plate "The Mira" - I hear it actually runs!

The hotel is named after a giant red star in the Cetus constellation. Mira also means "foresight" in Spanish and "perfect, peaceful and prosperous" in Latin. And by chance, my World of Warcraft main character is called Miraviel, and gamers there would always call me Mira.

Anticipation was high as most of us had seen its website which shows a really posh, stylish and modern hotel. Would the photos match what we would see?



The Mira is beautiful!
Oh yes! Pretty much. The dark glass doors belie a spacious entrance with wavy designer accents. Everything here looks new - it was renovated last year and reopened in Sept 2009.

While processing our group check-in in the privacy of the Room One lounge, we were treated to creamy cones
They ushered us to a secluded lounge area to process our check-in papers, and served us little cones of flavoured whipped cream, along with cold hand towels to help us freshen up.


Rooms are the epitome of contemporary chic, complete with original Arne Jacobsen egg chairs
The rooms are the epitome of contemporary chic, complete with original Arne Jacobsen egg chairs. Yes!


Sleek, modern and high tech
The hotel prides itself on being high tech - so at your work desk you have an array of gadgets including an all-in-one infotainment centre, and Bose speakers with iPod dock (it charges my iPhone too).


Every room has a Sony VAIO all-in-one computer and infotainment centre
This is the all-in-one Sony Entertainment Centre, Blu-ray DVD player, and personal computer. You can surf, email, go on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, anything online using the huge screen TV as your monitor. Best of all - with the wireless keyboard, you can do all this from comfort of the luxurious bed.


They give you a mobile phone that's cloned to your hotel room!
They even give you a Nokia mobile phone that's cloned to your room phone - you can take it anywhere with you, and people can reach you by calling your room! That is freaking amazing. This feature is so new, most of us didn't realise it until the second day when Violet demonstrated it to us at lunch.

But wait, the geek in me in getting ahead of one of the most welcoming features.


A boatload of sweet lychees, strawberries and trio of desserts greeted us in the room. We all felt so pampered!
A boatload of fresh, juicy sweet lychees, strawberries and trio of desserts greeted us in the room. We all felt so pampered! Surprise and delight the customer? Check!


The macarons (lemon and green tea respectively) are scrumptious!
I really liked the macarons (lemon and green tea respectively) too. Sweet but not sickeningly so, as some macarons tend to be.


Open the desk drawer in front of the TV!
Full set of cutlery and plates, some minibar snacks and drinks all loaded in the drawer in front of the TV.


Glass bathroom partitions not only tease, but make the room look even bigger
The room is really spacious by Hong Kong standards. The glass partitions between bedroom and bathroom adds an air of openness in more ways than one.


You can have the glass partitions shuttered for privacy as well
But of course, you can also have the silver shutters down for privacy if you wish. There are even controls for mood lighting, and a TV (I haven't quite figured out where it is, but I'm not one to find TV useful in a bath).


Rainbath!
Rainbath! Nuff said!


Salvatore Ferragamo bath goodies!
The pampering continues via Salvatore Ferragamo "Tuscan Soul" bath goodies. These smell so divine!


Gorgeous mirrored vanity area - I learned too late that the top actually slides to cover the sink!
Gorgeous mirrored vanity area - I learned too late that the top where the supplies are actually slides to cover the sink! So you and your partner can share the grooming space if need be. Nice touch!


Luxury bathrobes - silky soft on the outside, and absorbent terry cotton on the inside
Loved the bathrobes - silky soft on the outside, and absorbent terry cotton on the inside. Wear them inside out if you prefer!

Oh yes, forgot to mention the award-winning MiraSpa, an 18,000 square feet haven with indoor infinity-edge pool and fitness centre.


Chili truffle
And in the early evenings, they give you a chocolate truffle as part of the turn-down service. The first night we had a black truffle (as in Périgord) flavoured chocolate truffle. I'd been wondering when someone would make something like that. Mushrooms and chocolate? It's a little odd, and not everyone likes it, but I do think it works. The second night we had chili truffles and the third night, vanilla (very white chocolate-like) ones.


Look who snuck along for the ride!
Look who snuck along for the ride? Hubby insisted Yoda come along for company. Well, I did leave for Hong Kong on his birthday, and it was just too bad he couldn't come along and ENJOY THIS STUNNING SETUP!

Oh well. OK, food posts will start after this. After my CNNgo deadlines (tomorrow!).

Can I just show you the luscious lychees again? These became my lunch. We were all describing how they spurt with juice each time you bite into them! It's unforgiveable unthinkable to leave these untouched!

Can I show you the luscious lychees again?
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18 comments

  1. Wow wow wow, that is one nice hotel room. Great thoughtfulness on the gadgets too

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  2. I so so so like the rain shower. I am sure you had a great time :)

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  3. Wow..everything looks sooooo good...include the bathroom...by looking at it now makes me more prompting to book a trip over there this coming school holiday... :) Look forwards for the food posts soon :p

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  4. the hotel looks wonderful! with all the amazing gadgets! now i'm feeling like a sua-ku! ;)

    yoda looks so cute comfortably snucked away in your bag!:)

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  5. OMG! the room & everything looks so good...
    so tempting to check in there the next time i go hong kong!

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  6. The Korean hotels have been giving their guests mobiles phones linked to their room phone for some time now, which is especially useful since they are not on the GSM standard (though 3G works).

    Mira used to be Miramar, but I guess that's no longer cool nowadays so they decided to shorten it after the renovation.

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  7. Thanks everyone! :)

    Yes, Peech, this used to be Miramar. I thought it was quite clever of them to shave off the "mar" and suddenly become hip!

    Never been to Korea though.

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  8. Wow nice hotel!~

    is it located at the shopping paradise Tsim sha tsui?

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  9. whoa!! the amuse bouche (or whatever it should be called) of the cones with flavoured whipped cream is just a funky touch! and the minibar with full cutleries and gourmet chips is a much more glamorous notch than plain old double-deckers (though I do love them).

    I'm in love with this annecdote (and opinion) expressed by social psychologist Robert Levine in his book The Geography of Time. One of the ways he and his team tried to measure speed of life, is by going to the post office and timing how long it took from handing over a note to the clerk with their request, to leaving the counter. Here's what happened in Japan: "On the postal measure, for example, the Japanese had to settle for fourth, but where else besides Japan would our experimenter encounter postal clerks who sometimes wrapped the stamp in a little package, or without being asked or required, sometimes wrote out receipts? We tried to correct for these extra seconds in our final tallies, but can one really give due credit to postal clerks who operate at near capacity speed while luxury service? the clerks in Frankfurt may have scored a few seconds faster, but it is difficult to imagine consumers there leaving the post office feeling like they had just made a purchase at Tiffany's?"

    heh that was a little out of point... but the wrapped Durex condoms reminded me of this annecdote hehe d=

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  10. Jeffrey: Yes it is. It's on Nathan Road, overlooking Kowloon Park, surrounded by lots of shopping.

    Chenyze: Hahaha, you have VERY sharp eyes, and that is a marvellous anecdote! I really love how the Japanese go the extra mile. This hotel certainly did so too.

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  11. Nice intro...this is one cool hotel.

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  12. Whoa, I will definitely check out The Mira the next time I visit HK. It is definitely a hotel worth going to for the awesome experience.

    Thanks for sharing them with us. I'm looking forward to try the different types of truffles they gave you every evening =)

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  13. Hi Camemberu,

    Whats the room type u stayed in? We stayed in city room but did not have some of the perks you mentioned (i.e. macaroons, lychees, ferregamo tolietries etc?!?!?!). The room is still great and amazing service. They allow us to check in at 7am without extra costs!

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  14. Thanks everyone.

    Hi Keke, I am not sure what room package we stayed in. Let me find out for you.

    Oh wow, 7am? I have never had a hotel allow me to check in so early (despite requests)!

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  15. Hi there, thanks for the reply. Im typing in the mira :P the wide screen all in one sony entertainment is amazing! Yes they allowed us to check in at 7am! the service is really amazing. The Miraspa as well as the 2 michelin star resturant is very good. Thanks so much for the introduction,we actually book the hotel after reading your blog! but if we have the free perks, this will be heaven! :D
    Thanks for your introduction!

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  16. Does this really exists because I can't believe it's true. Hong Kong is definitely on my list to "places to go". You don't have to take your computer with you, not even your phone (joking). Magazin imbracaminte online

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