Hong Kong as a holiday
Alternative work experience
- 1 Few cities combine business and leisure travel better than Hong Kong, which packs in both back-to-back meetings and first-time experiences
- 2 Explore the business districts being developed outside of Central and cross the harbour to experience Kowloon’s changing waterfront
- 3 Slip a sky-high art gallery into the schedule or stay the weekend to camp out at a music festival on an outlying island
hospitality
Philip Chan
Business development manager, Butterfly Hospitality GroupBoutique hotels in Hong Kong are providing an alternative viewpoint to the city’s business-driven, five-star behemoths. At Page148, all 197 rooms come with views of Kowloon Cricket Club and clued-up staff can guide guests around the area. “The brand represents a new page for us,” says Philip Chan of Butterfly Hospitality Group, which has six properties in the city. The 30-year-old is taking his family’s business in a different direction by steering it into new markets. “We wanted to create something with energy,” he says from Page148’s lively lobby. Part coffee shop, part check-in, part co-working area, this arrival space will be a common feature at future Page hotels. Chan is looking for more hotel sites in both London and Hong Kong; in September, Page 8 opens close to Trafalgar Square.
q&a
Keith Bradshaw
Principal, Speirs and MajorLondon-based lighting designer Keith Bradshaw’s first glimpse of Hong Kong was at the airport in 2010 on his way to Shenzhen. About a decade later he travels to Hong Kong every two months to work on indoor and outdoor lighting projects for some of the city’s major property developers, including Swire Properties and New World Development.
Can you shed some light on your experience of coming to Hong Kong for business?
I usually do five or six days and find it very efficient. One of the most welcoming aspects of the city is as you land at the airport. From plane to cab, I think I can do it in six minutes – without sprinting. It’s so slick. When we talk about cities, the visitor experience from getting off the plane is such a big part of it and in Hong Kong it just works.
Hong Kong has more lights than most. Any favourites?
In terms of 21st-century lighting, the ICC building is world-class. But when I’m at the waterside I’m not actually looking up at the buildings: I look down at the water and the huge mirror effect it creates. Watching the way the lights of the city dance across the harbour is quite extraordinary.
Any tips for first-time business travellers?
Get on the MTR. As much as I enjoy cabs, there is no need to go through the tunnels to cross the harbour. Also, if you have time, walk up to the Peak via one of the paths. They are readily accessible and the view from up there puts the city into context.
Is it all work and no play?
There’s no point coming to Hong Kong and not expecting to work your arse off. Sometimes we do 12 hours of meetings a day so breaking the cycle by going for a run along the harbourside or visiting the art galleries is really important to me.
music
Florian Melinette
Co-founder, FuFu CreativeWhen Florian Melinette moved to Hong Kong in 2013 he spotted an opening on the city’s cultural calendar. Shi Fu Miz made its debut three years later. The biannual electronic music festival is a collaboration between the Frenchman and DJ collective La Mamie. It takes place on the southwestern tip of Cheung Chau Island, a 30-minute ferry ride from Hong Kong Island. “We found a venue that had everything we wanted: a beach, a campsite and plenty of fresh air,” says Melinette. This year’s festival brought in performers from Paris to Pattaya, most of whom were there for the first time.
