Luxury Travel’s Best-Kept Secret Isn’t Paris or Dubai

• Hong Kong is where wealth and indulgence move in perfect rhythm, a city that makes luxury look effortless.
• From rooftop suites to Rolls-Royces, bespoke suits to single malts, this is how the world’s elite unwind.
• True luxury here is about access, precision, and belonging.

For many, Hong Kong might always remain either a city to tick off or one simply to transfer through. But they could not be more wrong. This is a place you slip into; a city that rewards curiosity and simply doesn’t allow you to take the day as it comes.

You can fly in for a weekend and leave thinking it’s just malls and skyscrapers, or you can spend three days digging into the grit and the glamour, the surf shacks, the whisky dens, the hidden art spaces, and see it for what it really is: one of the most diverse cities on earth.

First things first, you’ll need to get your bearings. Stepping off at Central, it’s clear to see just how compact and layered Hong Kong is. Where you choose to spend your time will shape the trip, so for a luxury-minded traveller, three neighbourhoods stand above the rest.

Central & Soho is the city’s sharpest edge, where you’ll find finance towers, Michelin-starred restaurants, whisky dens and members’ clubs for a late-night tipple. If you want tailoring, rooftop bars, and a nightlife that moves from discreet to chaotic in seconds, this is your hub.

Tsim Sha Tsui (TST), otherwise known as the Kowloon waterfront, is another that deserves special mention, right by The Rosewood and The Peninsula. It’s all about harbour views, modern art at K11 Musea, and late-night cocktail haunts like DarkSide. If you’re heading to HK for one of the world’s most unique skylines, you could do worse than TST.

For me, Sai Kung is this city’s surprise card, offering boat charters through the islands, long seafood lunches on the waterfront, and hidden beaches you’ll share with almost no one. It’s the barefoot luxury side of Hong Kong, where the locals tend to flock to escape the city for the great outdoors. It’s arguably one of the more untouched areas of HK.

Special mention to Sham Shui Po (Kowloon) for grit-meets-creativity and Jordan/Yau Ma Tei for old-school Hong Kong neon and food culture. But it’s not the kind of place that James Bond would holiday, if you take my meaning.

The Upper House is the choice for readers who like understated luxury that’s a calm, design-led sanctuary perched above Admiralty. It’s where you retreat after a night in the city and forget that there’s even traffic hurling around outside.

The Ritz-Carlton bears the weight of the name and is arguably one of the most prestigious hotels in the city, 118 floors up, with Ozone bar floating in the clouds. 

Rosewood is Hong Kong’s relatively new power hotel, another 5-star offering with Tony Chi-designed rooms with spectacular views of the water in Kowloon. Nights here are filled with art, jazz, and whisky. A must for the more culturally-inclined readers in the room. 

The Peninsula has a reputation amongst Hong Kong society for a reason. It’s heritage, with silver service and Rolls-Royces parked out the front. 

If you prefer tradition, Island Shangri-La still delivers impeccable Asian service. But each boasts a unique charm, and whichever you choose, you’ll undoubtedly have the perfect base from which to start your HK adventure.

As you’d expect, the food on offer at these hotels can be considered some of the best breakfast buffets in the city. 

But if you want to truly start the day like a local, head to a cha chaan teng, one of Hong Kong’s no-frills diners, and order a pineapple bun with scrambled eggs and milk tea. It’s sweet, salty, caffeinated, and does more for you than an oat latte. 

If you’re staying at The Upper House, you can grab something on the run at Great Food Hall inside Pacific Place or stop by Bakehouse for a more sit-down experience.

From Kowloon, follow the suited bankers into noodle shops and let the city’s intoxicating sights and sounds wake you up properly. Or, if you prefer a polished start, The Peninsula’s breakfast buffet is practically a rite of passage.

From there, Hong Kong splits open, but when the sun’s out, get moving. For Australian surfers, Big Wave Bay is your spot. Grab a board, paddle out under jungle ridges, and forget that you’re 20 minutes from one of the busiest financial centres in the world.

Just a short drive or hike from Big Wave Bay, Shek O is bigger, flatter, and more about the vibe. Here you’ll find BBQ pits, beachside Thai restaurants, and a rowdy local crowd on weekends to indulge in some beers in the sun on plastic stools.

People tend to come here in groups, bring music, and turn it into an all-day party, so surf in the morning at Big Wave Bay, then walk or taxi over to Shek O for the perfect double-header.

A long hike (or boat) away, you’ll find Tai Long Wan: Hong Kong’s most beautiful surf beach. It’s where the locals go when a typhoon swell hits, so the waves could remind you more of home than Big Wave or Shek O. Once you’re in Ham Tin village, you’ll find rustic beach cafés serving fried rice, dumplings, and beer. Less “party,” more “surfer’s paradise with BYO drinks around a campfire.

If you’re feeling adventurous from Shek O, Dragon’s Back is an iconic 8km ridgeline walk that ends at the beach, with views of Shek O, Tai Tam Bay, and even Lamma Island on a clear day. 

Start at To Tei Wan bus stop, climb steadily to Shek O Peak, where the city will simply disappear to reveal sweeping views of craggy coastlines, the South China Sea, and the enduring allure of Tai Tam Bay. 

Top tip here: bring water; there are no kiosks until you reach the village. It takes four hours if you stop for photos, which you will. If you’re short on time, Peninsula’s helicopter tour over Dragon’s Back offers a sweat-free alternative.

The obvious shopping streets are stuffed with Gucci and Dior, but if you’re after the niche, Central’s WOAW Store carries limited Japanese streetwear, sneakers you can’t find in any Paddington boutique, and the odd coffee table book worth lugging home. 

For tailoring, The Armoury in Pedder Building is the insider’s pick, while L&K Custom Tailor in Tsim Sha Tsui is where you get a suit cut fast, sharp and without Savile Row pretension. Skip the malls, unless you’re heading to Harvey Nichols at Landmark, where the menswear floor still surprises.

This is also the time to ride the Ding Ding trams: Hong Kong’s double-decker icons that have been clattering across the Island since 1904. More than a century later, they’re still one of the city’s cheapest luxuries with a flat rate, no matter the distance. 

Board at the back, alight at the front, and sit upstairs with the windows open as the city rattles by. 

For the artists, Hong Kong has two musts. M+ Museum in West Kowloon is Asia’s first global museum of contemporary visual culture. It’s big, bold, and unmissable. 

After a quick trip back to the hotel, you’ll be ready to head out for the evening, ready to sample some of the city’s most innovative dining experiences. But, of course, this depends on your mood. 

For Cantonese done with precision, book Lung King Heen at the Four Seasons. It’s still one of the best in town. If you want atmosphere and one of Hong Kong’s best Cantonese fusion restaurants, Ho Lee Fook (try saying that after a few beers) in Soho does playful modern Chinese under red neon.

If you’ve got the right connections, The China Club in Central is the ultimate insider move for Hong Kong dining. Hidden on the 13th floor of the Old Bank of China Building, it’s a throwback to 1930s Shanghai: lacquered walls, cheongsam-clad staff, Peking duck carved tableside, cigars upstairs, and baccarat humming in the background. 

It’s as much theatre as it is dining, and you’ll need an invitation, or a hotel concierge with pull, to get through the door.

Evenings should always start and end with a drink and a view, and in a neon-lit city like Hong Kong, the vistas are around every corner.

Watch the red-sailed Aqua Luna junk boats drift past from DarkSide at Rosewood, whisky in hand and jazz humming. 

Ritz-Carlton guests can do the premium version at Ozone, the world’s tallest bar, where the junks look like sparks on the water. It’s one of the more old-fashioned sights of a city that’s ever-changing; one that welcomes the prospect of an industrialist future with a more traditional past. 

Once the evening begins to die down and the tourists head back to their hotels, Hong Kong reveals one of its best-kept secrets. This is a serious whisky city. 

Club Qing in Central is a pokey hole-in-the-wall joint above Lan Kwai Fong with over 150 bottles from all over the world; Mizunara: The Library in Wan Chai is where Japanese bartenders pour drams you’ll never see again. 

Butler in Tsim Sha Tsui is a slice of Ginza on the sixth floor of a nondescript building, old-school, reverent, intimate. Stockton is Central’s Edwardian speakeasy, all leather and shadow (and a personal favourite), and DarkSide doubles as one of the most decadent whisky bars in Asia.

If you prefer something more playful, The Diplomat in H Code mixes rare bottles into cocktails you’ll only drink once.

If it’s Wednesday, finish at Happy Valley Racecourse, Hong Kong’s answer to the Melbourne Cup. It’s locals yelling odds, expats carrying beer towers, and floodlit horses tearing past with a skyline behind them. It’s almost the quintessential Hong Kong experience: fast, chaotic, and unique.

If you happen to be in town 17–19 April 2026, the Hong Kong Sevens takes over the city. As someone who’s covered it before (in another life), it remains one of the best three days on the world rugby calendar — the fastest game on grass, played out in glorious chaos at Kai Tak Stadium and spilling into an unofficial city-wide festival everywhere else.

The tournament is pure energy: costumes in the stands, world-class rugby on the pitch, corporate boxes flowing with Champagne, and a crowd that somehow parties harder than it cheers. For Aussies, it’s a pilgrimage.

Three days in Hong Kong is about nuance. Surf in the morning, tailor fittings in the afternoon, whisky by night. Hike when it’s clear, eat dumplings on plastic stools when it’s not. 

Switch from art museums to back alleys, from Michelin stars to street skewers, from jazz bars to horse tracks. Base yourself at one of the city’s world-leading hotels, and let the city roll off you at the end of the day.

However you slice it, Hong Kong rewards style and curiosity, and in this city, the real luxury is knowing where to go.Ready to experience it for yourself? DMARGE readers can enter to win a $7,500 luxury getaway to Hong Kong courtesy of July, including July’s Classic Checked Set. Entries close 31 October. Consider this your boarding call.