This is the best of the three Marco Polo hotels here, with the largest rooms and the only one with views of the harbor. Built in the 1960s and well-maintained since, the 18-story building houses an elaborate lobby of black granite, marble and rich mahogany. Though often crowded and very noisy, the lobby offers a few clusters of plush seating. The best place to gather, however, is in one of the hotel's dining facilities.
A trio plays quietly in the lounge, and a pianist plays in the hotel's premier sixth-floor restaurant, Tai Pan Grill, where Continental and international selections are featured. The Japanese restaurant, also on the sixth floor, showcases Wagyu beef flown in from Japan; this venue also features sashimi, sushi and teppanyaki counters, though there are more authentic-feeling venues around Hong Kong. Of the two Chinese restaurants, the most notable and popular with nonhotel guests is Ye Shanghai, decorated to reflect that city's swinging 1930s heyday, when
it was know as the Paris of the East. It is one of the finest spots in the city to savor Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai food. Gripps American Bar and Restaurant, serving such Southwestern favorites as tortilla soup, black bean salsa and chicken burritos, is decorated with Mexican blankets, cowboy hats and denim place mats, which feels totally contrived and out of place in Hong Kong. More than 50 restaurants are in the adjoining Harbour City complex, along with 700 upscale shops to complement the three-story shopping arcade on the premises.
On the sixth floor is a landscaped, heated outdoor pool, which can get crowded in the summer because it is shared with the other two Marco Polo hotels, but there are few other recreational facilities. An Aveda salon offers basic treatments and hairstyling options, but it is also open to the public, making appointments slightly harder to secure, though management insists priority is given to hotel guests. The business center offers full services, 
and conferees have seven bland but serviceable function rooms and a gilded ballroom with a capacity of 500.
Guest rooms are spacious (averaging 450 sq ft), featuring contemporary but rather dreary decor, gray carpeting that is starting to appear threadbare in many spots, dark lacquered furniture (dating back a few years), uncomfortable armchairs, small and dated desks, phones with voice mail and data ports, high-speed broadband Internet access (for a fee), bulky old-style TVs, minibars, king or queen beds, dressing areas, big walk-in closets, and small combination baths with a poor selection of amenities and uncomfortably thin towels. Heavy drapery adds to the gloom. Hallways in particular show wear and tear in the carpets and dirt and nicks in the wall plaster. The more expensive harbor-view rooms are the only ones with a separate dedicated fax/modem line, but they are worth the higher rates for the famed skyline views. Continental Club rooms on the top two floors add traditional Chinese 
furnishings, better harbor vistas, safes, daily fruit baskets, complimentary breakfast and cocktails, and free ironing. Soundproofing is noticeably absent, especially on weekends when the business travelers scurry away.
Several floors are smoke-free, and room service operates round-the-clock, but it slows down considerably during peak dinner hours. Pets are not permitted. This hotel welcomes business and leisure travelers, mostly Asian guests loyal to the brand, and its location on a busy shopping street adds to its allure. Staff service levels are beginning to drop, perhaps because of the larger groups that frequent the front entrance. Americans may feel better off with a trusted brand such as the Sheraton or the swankier InterContinental. Certainly the Holiday Inn Golden Mile or Royal Garden offers better value for money in the same neighborhood.
