Four-star One MICHELIN Key Tsim Sha Tsui East, Hong Kong
Hotel ICON
A university's own hotel on the Kowloon waterfront, with 262 rooms, a vertical garden by Patrick Blanc in the lobby and Cantonese cooking on the 28th floor.
Opens the hotel's own website. We have no arrangement with the hotel.
- MICHELIN
- One Key, 2025 and 2026
- Rooms
- 262, including 26 suites
- Opened
- September 2011
- From the airport
- About 40 minutes by car, our estimate
The hotel
A hotel that is also a school.
Hotel ICON opened on 21 September 2011. It is wholly owned by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, which runs it as a teaching and research hotel for its School of Hotel and Tourism Management. Students learn the trade inside it, and the university calls it the world's first fully integrated teaching and research hotel. Its largest banquet hall, Silverbox, seats up to 580 people.
The 28-storey building is by Rocco Design Architects, and won the Hong Kong Institute of Architects Medal of the Year in 2011. Terence Conran's studio did the restaurants, Vivienne Tam a suite of her own, and Patrick Blanc planted an eighteen-metre garden up the lobby wall. Most rooms look out over Victoria Harbour. In 2013 the hotel won a UNWTO Ulysses Award for innovation.
- The green wall Patrick Blanc's indoor vertical garden climbs eighteen metres through the marble lobby.
- A pool above the harbour An outdoor heated pool with views over the sea, a gym, and the Angsana Spa on the ninth floor.
- Small things included Minibar snacks and drinks come free, and every room has a smartphone with unlimited data and calls.
Rooms & suites
Harbour views and walk-in showers.
Rooms run from 36 to 80 square metres, most of them turned towards Victoria Harbour, with deep tubs and separate walk-in showers.
- Rooms Rooms and suites From 36 to 80 square metres; the rooms one step above entry level add a walk-in wardrobe.
- Suites Designer Suite Designed by the fashion designer Vivienne Tam, one of 26 suites in the hotel.
Dining
Three restaurants.
Restaurants as listed by the hotel; the MICHELIN listing is from the MICHELIN Guide Hong Kong & Macau. Shown for information.
- Above & Beyond MICHELIN Guide Cantonese Dim sum and seasonal dishes on the 28th floor
- The Market Buffet Open-plan, on the second floor
- GREEN Brasserie and bar On the lobby level
Recognition
Awards and listings.
- One MICHELIN Key 2025 and 2026
- Forbes Travel Guide Four stars, eleven years running
- UNWTO Ulysses Award Innovation in Enterprises, 2013
- HKIA Medal of the Year 2011, for the building
Good to know
Before you go.
- Arrival Check-in from 2 pm, check-out by noon.
- Children Welcome. Cots subject to availability, and babysitting on request.
- Pets Not accepted.
Getting there
Flying to Hong Kong.
Hong Kong International is about 40 minutes away by car, our estimate. Private jets use the Hong Kong Business Aviation Centre at the same airport, so the drive is the same.
- Shanghai 1 h 55
- Bangkok 2 h 35
- Singapore 3 h 40
- Tokyo 4 h 10
- London 13 h 05 long-range jet
Questions
What guests ask first.
- How many MICHELIN Keys does Hotel ICON have?
- One. It received a Key in the first global selection in 2025 and kept it in 2026.
- Who owns Hotel ICON?
- The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. It runs the hotel as a teaching and research hotel for its School of Hotel and Tourism Management.
- Does Hotel ICON have a pool?
- Yes. An outdoor heated pool with sea views, next to the gym.
- Can SkyCourtage arrange the flight to Hong Kong?
- Yes. We arrange Business and First Class seats on scheduled airlines and private jet charter to Hong Kong, with one final price, our margin included. The hotel is booked with the hotel or through our booking partner.
Also in Hong Kong
Other hotels worth the trip.
- Rosewood Hong Kong The brand’s flagship on Victoria Dockside, open since 2019, and the only hotel in Hong Kong with three MICHELIN Keys.
- Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong On the Central waterfront, where three restaurants hold seven MICHELIN stars between them.
- Mandarin Oriental The Landmark, Hong Kong Reopened in summer 2026 with interiors by Joyce Wang in terracotta and deep green, and Amber on the seventh floor.
- The Peninsula Hong Kong Guests can be met by a 1934 Rolls-Royce Phantom II, or by helicopter.
- Upper House A hundred and seventeen studios and suites by André Fu, high above Pacific Place since 2009.
- Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong Floor-to-ceiling windows on the harbour, Cantonese cooking at Man Wah, and drinks at the Captain’s Bar.
- The Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong In the top floors of the International Commerce Centre, with an indoor infinity pool above the city.
- The St. Regis Hong Kong André Fu’s second Hong Kong hotel, with 129 rooms and butlers on call day and night.
- The Murray, Hong Kong, a Niccolo Hotel Opened in 2018 in the former Murray Building, with 336 rooms over twenty-five floors looking over Central.
- Regent Hong Kong Rated Forbes Five-Star for the first time in 2026, on the Kowloon side of the harbour.
- The Langham, Hong Kong At 8 Peking Road, with T'ang Court, one of the city's seven three-star restaurants, on site.
- Island Shangri-La, Hong Kong Above Pacific Place with 544 rooms and suites, and Restaurant Petrus and Summer Palace among its eight restaurants.
- Kowloon Shangri-La, Hong Kong On Mody Road facing Victoria Harbour, 688 rooms and Shang Palace for Cantonese cooking.
- JW Marriott Hotel Hong Kong Built over Pacific Place at 88 Queensway, with the MICHELIN-starred Man Ho for Cantonese food.
- InterContinental Grand Stanford Hong Kong There are 572 rooms on the harbourfront, and Hoi King Heen cooks Cantonese.
- Marco Polo Hongkong Hotel Part of the Harbour City complex at 3 Canton Road, on the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront.
- The Royal Garden Open since 1981, with 445 rooms including 54 suites, Sabatini for Italian food and Dong Lai Shun for Beijing cooking.
- Cordis, Hong Kong Joined to Langham Place and Mong Kok station, with Ming Court serving Cantonese tasting menus.
- The Hari Hong Kong, Vignette Collection Three of its 210 rooms are suites on the roof, and Lucciola cooks Italian on Lockhart Road.
Staying at Hotel ICON?
Book the room, then the flight.
Rates and availability come from the hotel itself. For the journey to Hong Kong, a Business or First Class seat or an aircraft of your own: tell us the date and we come back with one final price, our margin included.
Opens the hotel's own website. We have no arrangement with the hotel.