The Peninsula Hong Kong today unveiled the first phase of its refurbishment project, which has seen all its tower rooms given a completely new look and equipped with innovative technological features.
“The renovation of all of the guestrooms at the Peninsula Hong Kong is our most important room enhancement program in 15 years,” said Clement Kwok, CEO of Peninsula Hotel.
Work on the HK$450 million (US$58 million) redesign of the hotel's 300 rooms began in January this year. As part of the process, both Kwok and Hong Kong & Shanghai Hotels chairman of the board, Michael Kadoorie, slept in mock up rooms to test how well the furniture worked for guests.
The redesign, by hospitality design firm Gettys, has given the rooms a classically modern look with a bespoke feel. There is highly-glossed burl wood cabinetry contrasting with cream panelling and cushions. Drawer handles are inspired by vintage travel trunks, while a copper-coloured metal flower pattern stretches across the room's wall.
Aside from the new decor, a particular focus has been placed on enhancing the rooms with a range of technological features, all specially created for the Peninsula by the in-house design team.
“Innovation is part of The Peninsula’s DNA,” said The Peninsula Hotels’ Chief Operating Officer, Peter Borer. “The guest-focused technology we are unveiling will elevate guest stays to a whole new echelon of experiential luxury.”
Each room has been equipped with at least three electronic control tablets that guests can carry around with them. These can be used to control the room’s lights, curtains and other electronics, as well as to order different hotel services. They allow guests to choose a wide range of music, video on demand and listen to radio from a range of countries.
The tablets also provide a city guide, together with live flight status updates. Guests can also use the tablets to book rooms at other Peninsula hotels around the world.
Alongside the gadgets, all the other switches in the rooms have been given touch screens and synchronise with each other. If the guest selects a "spa" mode on the bathroom touch screen, for example, the system will automatically dim all the rooms lights and set a "do not disturb" notice outside.
A key feature of this new technology is that at the touch of a single button all the room's electronics and their content can now be instantly changed into five different languages: English, French, Japanese, and simplified or traditional Chinese. For regular guests, the hotel can remember their language of choice and have the room's technology set to this when they arrive.
“We now have the most personalised guestrooms in the world,” Kwok said.
Making the rooms multi-lingual in this way may in part be intended to make them more attractive to guests from a wider range of countries.
Simon Yip, the Peninsula Hotels’ vice-president of sales said the group was keen to attract more Chinese visitors to their hotels. He said that currently Chinese travellers account for about 12 per cent of their guest mix, but they hoped to increase this to 20 per cent.
For more information, visit www.peninsula.com
Nicholas Olczak
