Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong: 7/10 While Covid-19 restrictions are in place and the Four Seasons’ facelift is under way, executive club access has been limited to guests who book suites – but, those fabulously large harbour-view suites are currently selling at half the usual price. There have been some amendments to the service: breakfast is now served in the lobby lounge or as room service. But you can still hang out in the Four Seasons’ plush 45th-floor lounge, admiring the harbour vistas for afternoon tea and evening drinks (from 6pm until 10pm), so you won’t feel like you’re missing out. Lounge guests are also given a HK$1,000 dining credit, which can be enjoyed in the lounge or your room. A full bar is yours to abuse, upstairs or down, from 9am to 10pm, daily, and includes beers, spirits, liqueurs, wine and champagne. Thumbs up: Bollinger champagne morning, noon and night. Thumbs down: you might have to wait for a table in the lobby for the popular afternoon tea service. Stay: harbour-view suites with lounge perks from HK$5,940. Verdict: significantly less than the pre-pandemic price and more than possible to get your money’s worth. Island Shangri-La: 6/10 The Horizon Club is the Island Shangri-La’s elegant lounge, all glossy Italian marble, dark-wood panelling and crystal chandeliers, on the 56th floor, with a secret garden hidden at the rear. Start your day with an à la carte breakfast overlooking Victoria Harbour (scrambled eggs with Boston lobster, chai po neng radish omelette, caramelised pancakes). The lounge remains open for non-alcoholic drinks throughout the day and, while no lunch is served, there is a small selection of sandwiches and biscuits available in the afternoon. Cocktail hour(s), from 5.30pm to 7.30pm, includes Veuve Clicquot, margaritas, big goblets of Martell XO and a few canapés. Thumbs up: hot drinks can be delivered to your room. Thumbs down: the atmosphere is on the subdued side. Stay: doubles from HK$2,640; doubles with lounge access (and dinner for two at Summer Palace) from HK$3,190 on the Beyond the Horizon Staycation, valid until December 31. Verdict: snap up this cut-price deal while you can. Cordis: 7/10 All pale and artsy, with hanging chairs and Tetris-like views of Mong Kok, Cordis’ Club on Thirty Six lounge is high on style – and substance. The breakfast buffet is so large you won’t want for lunch. Then there’s a spread with sandwiches and scones from 3pm until 5pm, and a changing selection of hot and cold dishes for dinner – sushi, cream of cauliflower soup, tandoori chicken wings and vegetable curry with roti bread – so you don’t have to eat out. Beer and wine is available all day, with spirits and liqueurs available in the evening until 11pm. Thumbs up: switched-on staff who thoroughly encourage you to get drunk. Thumbs down: a wider variety of spirits would have been nice. Stay: doubles from HK$968, B&B; doubles with lounge access from HK$1,628. Verdict: costing just over HK$600 more per room, for now, a lounge add-on is a no-brainer. JW Marriott: 6/10 Located on the fifth floor, the JW Marriott’s club lounge doesn’t have the city views that many of its rivals boast, but what it does have is ample space and a warm ambience. Soft drinks and hot beverages are available all day, while beers, wine, cocktails and premium spirits are served from 4.30pm to 8.30pm. On the food front, there’s a generous breakfast buffet and a less generous afternoon tea. Hors d’oeuvres – beef sliders, vegetable noodles, Korean-style pork belly with kimchi – start at 5.30pm (children aren’t allowed after 6pm) and go on until 8.30pm, followed by evening snacks from 9pm to 11.30pm. Thumbs up: the attentive service. Thumbs down: the food felt a little uninspired. Stay: doubles from HK$1,921, B&B; doubles with lounge access from HK$2,599. Verdict: the current HK$678 per room add-on is a decent deal. Rosewood Hong Kong: 7/10 Settle into creamy banquettes tucked between art-studded walls, hang out by the blue-cloth pool table or slip outside onto the balcony for sizzling views of the city at the Tony Chi-designed Manor Club. Open 24 hours a day, the 40th-floor lounge supplies soft drinks, juices, coffee and tea around the clock, as well as craft beers and a choice of nine award-winning wines from 7am until 8pm. A full bar, with cocktails and premium spirits also runs from 5pm until 8pm. Foodwise, you can enjoy breakfast, afternoon tea and dinner here, which includes a range of starters (crispy wonton, char siu puffs, har gao), a salad bar, cheese and cold cuts, and a choice of two hot dishes; one Western and one Cantonese – so there’s no need to mingle with the plebs who’ve only paid HK$4,500 a night. Thumbs up: watching the sun sink into the South China Sea with a martini in hand on the balcony. Thumbs down: all alcoholic drinks (yes, even beers) are chargeable after 8pm. Stay: doubles start from HK$4,532 with the Victoria Dockside Essential Staycation, including breakfast and a set dinner for two; on the same deal you can add lounge access and a harbour view, from HK$7,337. Verdict: if you’ve got a black Amex, go for it. Grand Hyatt: 8/10 A splendid staircase leads up to the 31st-floor club lounge at the Grand Hyatt, with its shimmering double-height views of Victoria Harbour. The selection of food on offer is substantial, and delicious; starting with a breakfast buffet from 6.30am to 10.30am, followed by a delightful afternoon tea and a generous dinner service, featuring the likes of Impossible meatballs, truffle mac and cheese, maki rolls, dumplings, and barbecue pork, as well as salads, breads, pâté and cheeses. You will not go hungry. But, the real kicker is the complimentary drinks, with beer, wine and Ruinart champagne on tap from 6am until 11pm, plus a cocktail hour from 5.30pm to 7.30pm. Thumbs up: lounge manager Scott is a superstar who sees an empty glass as a personal affront. Thumbs down: the worst we can say is that the scones weren’t warm. Stay: doubles from HK$1,643, B&B; doubles with lounge access from HK$2,484. Verdict: at HK$841 more per room per night you can start on the champagne at breakfast and have your money’s worth by lunchtime. Hotel Icon: 5/10 Soft drinks, juices and hot drinks are available all day and there’s a free bar, including a tempting list of cocktails, from 6pm until 8pm, at this modern lounge overlooking Tsim Sha Tsui and Victoria Harbour. A big buffet breakfast spread is included in the rate, served downstairs in The Market restaurant. Otherwise, the club food feels like a bit of an afterthought, with small individual plates of sandwiches and cakes for afternoon tea (from 3pm to 5pm) and a few hors d’oeuvres in the evening (chicken nuggets, char sui bao and some bread, cheese and cold cuts) alongside the bar service. The one-way Tesla transfer helps to bump up the value for money. Thumbs up: no kids allowed. Thumbs down: only two hours for alcoholic merrymaking. Stay: doubles from HK$1,320, B&B; Above and Beyond Club Getaway, including breakfast, a choice of lunch or dinner and lounge access from HK$2,530. Verdict: A sophisticated lounge but not the most generous food- and drink-wise. The Ritz-Carlton: 9/10 Calling all sybarites – this is hands down the most magnanimous hotel club lounge in Hong Kong, with first-rate food and drink coming at you around the clock. Coronavirus protocols have brought some small changes; the 116th-floor lounge is currently open only at the weekend, with guests decanted to the Lounge and Bar on the 102nd floor throughout the week, but if anything it’s more generous than before. There’s the usual superb selection of house wines, spirits and cocktails and enough food to fill the greediest lounge-goer (don’t miss the pan-fried pork dumplings). But now, as well as offering five meal services a day, including a light lunch, guests can also order wine and snacks to their room from 11pm until 6am. Thumbs up: the new late-night room service. Thumbs down: the irritating din emanating from guests who stream videos on their devices without using headphones. Stay: city view doubles from HK$2,717, B&B; sea view doubles with lounge access from HK$4,301. Verdict: a splurge but this sky-high star is worth every penny. Prices are based on current deals and include all taxes and charges.