This property resides in a tower above Pacific Place, "a high-end mall." Recently renovated rooms have traditional Chinese decor, a gold color scheme, marble bathrooms, and lacquered desks. Upper floors deliver "tremendous views" of the skyline, the harbor, and Victoria Peak. Nicholini's serves wild mushroom lasagna and beef carpaccio.

(513 rooms)

Perhaps the only moderately priced Mandarin Oriental property in existence, this 30-year-old tower is big with business travelers and tour groups. But the reasonable rates aren't the only draw here. The location in Causeway Bay means it's close to shops, restaurants, and Victoria Park—not to mention the raunchy nightlife in Wanchai and the horse races at Happy Valley. And the 862 rooms are perfectly pleasant, in a blandly cheerful cruise-ship-cabin sort of way (molded window seats, patterned wall-to-wall carpeting, bright-colored bed and sofa cushions). The indoor tennis courts and the solicitous staffers might make you forget—momentarily—that you're not at the Landmark.

Office towers and the futuristic Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre make the Wan Chai District a buzzing hub for business, but the neighborhood has lacked for stylish and economical accommodations. With just 66 guest rooms, The Fleming expertly fills the gap with its high ceilings, indulgent bathrooms, ergonomic office chairs, and Wi-Fi. (Executive suites add kitchenettes.) As Hong Kong's former number one–ranked pro tennis player, managing director John Hui got priceless insights into hotel living, which may explain creative touches like the city's first females-only floor, where healthy snacks fill the minibars. Access to California Fitness, Hong Kong's best-stocked gym located around the corner, makes up for the lack of in-house fitness facilities. Cubix restaurant serves up spicy tapas and an excellent entrecôte.

Set in the towering International Finance Center among Central's high-rise office buildings, the Four Seasons is packed with business amenities. The massive property bustles with dark-suited execs who take advantage of the private boardrooms, round-the-clock secretarial services, and the 26,000-odd square feet of conference and convention space. But don't be fooled: This place isn't just for the name-badge set. There's also a trio of gorgeous outdoor pools, a 22,000-square-foot spa, and one of the city's hottest tables, Caprice, serving meticulous French cuisine. The 399 rooms have pale silk- and wood-paneled walls, lacquer and marble bathroom fixtures (and, yes, leather and steel office furniture). The characteristic Four Seasons service even includes kid-friendly extras like milk and cookies at bedtime.

This refined sanctuary trumps the city's gilded competition: Indo-Portuguese furniture and original Chinese paintings plus two grand staircases in the lobby evoke the European mansions of old Macau, while the efficient English-speaking staff are among Macau's best. The 360 stately rooms have Chinese silks as well as special touches such as evening turndown service that includes a bite-size Portuguese egg tart, Macanese almond cookies, and serradura, an even creamier take on tiramisu. In case the hotel's intimate Plaza Casino, five pools, and poolside cabanas with TVs aren't diversion enough, guests also have round-the-clock access to the behemoth Venetian via a three-story shopping arcade filled with top brands.

Denizens of Hong Kong's perennially grooving Lan Kwai Fong neighborhood can slide off the bar stool and into these beds without missing a beat. While the lobby staff is more attractive than effective, the street-facing, glass-enclosed space features retro-chic decor with cushy loungers that let the ultrasocial clientele keep an eye on the surrounding scene. Walls are hung with works by China's hottest photographers, including Wing Shya and Patrick Lee. And you can detox over on-site yoga (or take off those stilettos for Chinese foot reflexology). In the 95 compact but comfortable rooms, Aeron chairs and oversize desktops aid those who plan to work between nights on the town. But the most important features are the well-insulated floor-to-ceiling windows that block noise from after-dark revelry. Book any of the rooms ending in 02–08 for spectacular views over Central District rooftops to the Hong Kong Harbor.

Born as the Regent Hotel, the InterContinental was rechristened in 2001 and injected with $40 million in refurbishments. Since then, Kate Moss and John Travolta have stayed over, and Alain Ducasse's Spoon moved in (it was joined by the world's 14th Nobu outpost in December 2006). Anyone willing to drop $11,000 on a night's stay should book the palatial Presidential Suite with its private infinity pool and gym. For the rest of us, the 495 expansive rooms with their black-and-gold furnishings, Wi-Fi, iPod docking stations, and awesome city views are plenty good enough. There's also a sizable spa, an indulgent outdoor swimming pool, and Kowloon's top designer shops in walking distance.

Hong Kong's tallest hotel (56 floors) dwarfs the extravagant shopping centers and office towers of Central. The harbor views are, naturally, impressive here—you can even see the Shangri-La's sister hotel across the water in Kowloon. Many of the 565 rooms have big windows that make the most of the vistas; all have flat-screen TVs, dark wood Chinese-style cabinets, and pale silk bedding. The proximity to major banks and law offices, along with lobby Wi-Fi and in-room fax machines, attracts suit-and-tie types, but shopaholics are happy here, too: Pacific Place, one of Hong Kong's ritziest malls, is just an escalator ride away. One rather surprising plus: Even though the property seems like a monument to glittering convenience, eco-friendly policies like recycling and using "green" cleaning products are employed here.

Jia is the Mandarin word for "home," and though that may seem far-fetched unless Philippe Starck designed your pad, there are some nice domestic touches here. Starck's 54 white-on-white studios and suites, designed by Philippe Starck, come with dining tables, kitchenettes with microwaves and dishes, and swiveling flat-screen TVs that you can point toward whichever comfy chair or couch you'd like to sit in. A stylish, media- and tech-savvy crowd chooses this place; its cool, casual vibe is markedly different from the formal, hand-and-foot service found at the city's grande-dame hotels. That doesn't mean the Jia is entirely DIY, though: The reasonable rates include breakfast, afternoon tea, and evening cocktails.

With a mirrorlike facade, this tower connected to Pacific Place has "tasteful and sophisticated rooms" with bedside controls for lights and curtains. "Unfailingly polite staff focus 100 percent on the guest." JW's California fuses West Coast and Asian cuisine; the Riedel Room at the newly renovated Q88 wine bar serves premium vintages in Riedel Sommeliers crystal.

(602 rooms)

At this waterfront hotel, "the decor has lots of character" and includes a lobby with a mosaic fountain. Rooms with floor-to-ceiling windows overlook the city or have "a really beautiful harbor view." "Expensive, but worth it," Shang Palace has gold and red motifs and serves "a Wagyu beef dish that is to die for."

(700 rooms)

Although its sister property, the original Mandarin Oriental, has now reopened (with much hullabaloo), the Landmark is no slouch, either. Although some of the 113 spacious rooms and suites have unsexy office-tower views, all have oversized plasma televisions, yoga mats, and beautiful Asian-style minimalist furnishings (sliding wood doors, low tables, lots of dark wood, and perfectly placed floral arrangements). The bathrooms are marble, and those in the 600 room series have enormous freestanding circular tubs. The hotel's showy public spaces—like the Amber restaurant, with its cascading metallic ceiling sculptures, and the dramatically chic split-level MO Bar—have even better feng shui. The 21,000-square-foot Oriental Spa features his-and-hers hammams, detoxifying amethyst-crystal steam rooms, and underwater day beds in steamy stone hot tubs.

The Langham made quite a stir in 2004, when it opened in the middle of the once-seedy Mongkok district; the ultramodern glass complex, which includes a swanky, 600,000-square-foot shopping mall, jump-started the gentrification of the entire neighborhood. It set the bar high, too, with an outdoor rooftop pool, four restaurants, and the opulent Chuan Spa. The hotel also boasts one of the best contemporary Chinese art collections in the whole city: Paintings and drawings decorate not only the common areas but also the 665 luxurious rooms, where the low-key, streamlined furnishings and flat-screen TVs complement rather than detract from the art. Getting a good night's sleep is taken very seriously here—in addition to cushy beds with the requisite silky, high-thread-count sheets, there's an over-the-top pillow menu that lets guests choose between different shapes, fillings, and even fragrances (for example, rose, lavender, or Japanese tea). The bathrooms are all chrome and marble, with only glass walls dividing them from the bedroom area (there are retractable screens for the modest). If you feel like a lazy night in, you can choose from the hotel's huge DVD lending library; for something livelier, the on-site Backyard restaurant hosts weekend-night alfresco barbecues under fairy-lit mango trees.

After $140 million in renovations, the Mandarin Oriental reopened in September 2006, and immediately regained its perch as Hong Kong's grande dame. High-tech amenities like iPod docking stations and sound systems have been added to the 502 rooms and suites, and all of them are larger now that the balconies have been eliminated (the grand Victoria Harbour views are still there, through the giant new windows). The decor throughout is sumptuous, with earth-toned brocade fabrics and carved wood furniture offset by statuary, orchids, and bonsai plants. The bathrooms are dramatic, with dark marble counters and floors; some have freestanding tubs where you can soak up to your chin. The hotel's nine restaurants and bars include Pierre, the new French eatery of three-star Michelin chef Pierre Gagnaire. There's also a colonnaded lap pool, a beauty salon, a spa with a Chinese herbal steam room, and—for undoing all your slimming treatments—a sumptuous cake shop.

We'll come right out and say it: The Peninsula is one of the finest hotels in the world, and has been since 1928. Upon arriving in Hong Kong, guests are whisked from the airport to the hotel's Clipper Lounge via a ten-minute helicopter ride (aerophobes can rough it in one of the Peninsula's Rolls-Royce limos). Set in the heart of Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon's shopping mecca, and across the street from the Cultural Centre and the Museum of Art, the hotel also has stunning harbor views (many of the 300 rooms come with their own telescopes for surveying Victoria Peak). The interiors epitomize postcolonial luxury, with heavy silk curtains, dark wood furniture, and porcelain antiques; scores of attentive yet discreet staffers are at your beck and call. In the bar, called the Lobby, a string quartet fiddles away to the accompaniment of clinking teaspoons; Felix, the Philippe Starck-designed Euro-Asian rooftop restaurant, is still a must-go, even though it's been around since 1994. For off-the-charts hedonism, hit the ESPA spa (opened in summer of 2006) for a Chinese balancing wrap and massage.

If Macau is the new Sin City, the $2.4 billion Venetian Macao resort is the ultimate ode to China's new consumer culture. Like its Las Vegas counterpart, the 3,000-suite Venice Italy–themed hotel complex has three indoor canals (complete with singing gondoliers), no fewer than 30 restaurants, and a million square feet of shopping. The cavernous lobby is packed with day-trippers, who stroll in awe along the vaulted mall under a ceiling of faux Renaissance paintings, and through the Grand Canal arcade, lined with Venetian-style shops. Despite the hotel's over-the-top antics, the suites are quite elegant and comfortable, incorporating antique-look Chinese furniture and wood carvings, canopied beds, and a sunken sitting area. The 550,000-square-foot casino—the world's largest—is the real highlight, filled night and day with serious-minded gamblers. The hotel stands out not so much for its elegance and pampering as for its embodiment of Macau in all its kitschy, surreal fun.

This 393-room high-rise is like a fun-loving younger sister to Kowloon grandes dames the InterContinental and The Peninsula. It's home to the city's highest swimming pool (at least until the Ritz-Carlton opens across the street), and the sunset views from the seventy-sixth-floor Jacuzzi and from Asia's first Bliss Spa are something to write home about. The decor— topsy-turvy bookcases, ticking clocks, and modern woodland motifs—create an energetic and surrealist atmosphere. Cleverly designed rooms make the best use of the space, and room service adds whimsical touches: A delightful toy replica of a Hong Kong double-decker bus comes with your order. When you feel the need to venture out of your rabbit hole, the Living Room lounge is a hot nightspot, while the Kitchen restaurant pulls out all the stops for Sunday brunch, including a chocolate fountain.

With its concave shape and a lobby of designer stores, the Wynn Macau is a lot like its Las Vegas sister property—and with 600 rooms and a 100,000-square-foot casino, the Wynn Macau is still the smaller sibling. Rooms, with Andy Warhol Day-Glo prints, are appointed in a style that recalls American resorts of yesteryear: floral-print sofas, saffron-hued fabrics, high beds. The staff's English is limited except at Il Teatro and the other restaurants, but gambling is Macau's raison d'être, and the Wynn sets the new standard, with 372 slots as well as blackjack and fan-tan tables. The Spa at Wynn Macau is included among the 2007 Hot List Spas.