The Grand Hyatt Hong Kong was the first hotel that I ever stayed at in this city. The city remains an extraordinary place of contradictions. Wealth rubs up against poverty, everyone in a rush, old and new buildings live alongside, and it always has an excitement of its own.

So, although I was arriving late at night, I was excited to see what the three year renovation of the property had delivered. Pictures of the remodelled Grand Club had been out for a while on the internet, but the room renovations are the real winners in my view. The old rooms, full of gold finishes were terribly eighties – think Emirates airlines and you will get an idea.

Now, the room are cool – full of natural tones, separate areas of lighting, a huge desk, proper coffee machines and stunning views. I am going to try and do it justice in this review. I am going back next weekend and so will try and pick up more on the public areas then.

So, how do you get to the hotel? The Airport Express train takes you from the airport in 23 minutes, leaving every ten minutes. Hong Kong station is the last stop. Once you exit the train, and I suggest you board around the centre, slightly to the back, and be ready to run. You’ll see people sprinting through the gates – you need your ticket to exit – towards the cabs. The reason? There are only four cab lines and the queue can get pretty big. The taxi area is small, but the traffic control guy does a good job keeping everyone moving. Even though I was pretty much last out – I had to collect my ticket – I only had to wait about 10 minutes before I got in my cab.

There is not a nearby subway station to the Hyatt, so a cab is pretty much the best option. Plus they’re cheap in Hong Kong. My ten minute ride to the hotel cost me about £4.

On arrival the doorman helped me out of the cab, and took my bags whilst I checked in. I was given a room on the 26th Floor:

It was dark and so I did not fully appreciate the view until the next morning. The room itself was great. The view as I opened the door:

The windows have both blind and blackout blind. There are plenty of electrical sockets, water by the bed and the largest range of pillows I have ever seen – including a memory foam neck relief pillow. All of the lights and blinds are controlled from a panel next to the bed. The TV had a range of international stations.

There is an opening between the bathroom and the bedroom, which you can cover with an electrically controlled blind if you wish.

The check-in agent had confirmed that I would get the 1,000 bonus Gold Passport points and there was a greeting letter awaiting me offering me the various Diamond Gold Passport benefits:

• 4pm Check-out at no charge
• Free High Speed premium internet
• Pressing of one suit at no charge
• Use of the Grand Club meeting room for an hour.

There was a lovely bathrobe and Nespresso machine in the room, with Coffeemate liquid coffee whitener the fridge. A bottle of water had been left by the bed.

The bathroom has a deep soaking tub as well as a separate shower. Look through the bedroom:

I passed a great nights sleep and was awoken by the alarm – an unusual experience and evidence of how well I slept.

Opening the blinds, which you can do without getting out of the bed,  I was greeted by a spectacular view of the city, reminding me of the great location that the Hyatt enjoys.

There is considerable building work around the hotel, but they did not start up until 8am.

The Grand Club, a highlight of the Hyatt group – probably my favourite location of any in the world,  is on the 30th and 31st floors. You enter via the desk on the 30th floor and take a spiral staircase to the main area.

The main room has dozens of tables but does not feel crowded. Super friendly staff always find you the best table available at the time. There was a good degree of table blocking going on – including one guy at a table of four at the joining of two windows but spending time on Skype and his mobile. A large jewellery convention at the nearby centre was in full swing when I was there and lots of those attending were staying at the Hyatt.

As a Diamond Gold Passport member I had access. The welcome letter mentioned the hours:

• Breakfast – 7am-10.30am (Mon-Fri) and 7am-11am (Sat/Sun)
• Evening Cocktails – 5.30pm-7.30pm, daily
• The room itself is open from 7am to midnight.

I returned later on in the morning and took some pictures.

The breakfast buffet was large and diverse and the staff took orders for eggs. A wide range of hot and cold, local and international options were offered. If you wished to have Congee the chef took orders too.

Staff served coffee and remembered my order, offering refills as I finished a cup. The level of service was high, with both efficiency and friendliness on show. I really speak too highly!

The view away from the lounge is up river where you can see the pier for the Star ferries to Kowloon.

About a week before arrival I did receive a letter warning me of the noise, both inside and outside the hotel. By about noon the internal hotel noise had got to me and I left for the Airport Express station and my lounge visits at HKG.

Overall, a superb hotel in a great location. One of my favourites in the world.