The Peninsula brand (owned by Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels Ltd) has 12 properties worldwide. On October 1, The Peninsula Chicago has a 50-square-metre Superior Room for two available for $US675 ($1038), versus CNY3700 ($785) for a 54-to-67 square-metre Deluxe Room that sleeps up to three people at The Peninsula Shanghai. Just saying.
A room at the Peninsula Shanghai represents great value.
If the city doesn’t matter so much, drive that luxury travel dollar further. Below, some brass-plate brands give their tips on where you’ll find the best value rooms and suites.
Bali chill, or Bangkok cool with COMO
Of COMO’s 19 properties, COMO Laucala Island Fiji is the most expensive: the one-bedroom residence is $9820 per night in July. The three properties that are, on average, the cheapest of the 19 are COMO Uma Canggu and Uma Ubud, both in Bali, along with COMO Metropolitan Bangkok.
Bedrooms in COMO Uma Canggu’s Penthouse suites go big on views.
At Canggu, north of Seminyak, you’ll check into a 52-room beachfront haven alongside one of Bali’s premier surfing spots, with king rooms from $347 a night during October and November. Even Canggu’s COMO Penthouse (a three-bedroom duplex) is a value proposition at $2312 a night, given it can accommodate up to seven people, or around $330 per person.
COMO Uma Ubud has 46 rooms from $405 in October and November. Enjoy the views out to the Tjampuhan Valley and River Oos, and don’t neglect to drop by the dreamy Bee Cafe, overlooking a rice terrace, for your morning caffeine hit.
COMO Uma Ubud is oh-so lush. Rates are from $405 a night in October and November.
Thailand’s COMO Metropolitan Bangkok has 169 rooms, plus the popular Michelin-starred restaurant, nahm. Hydropools, a gym, steam rooms, a yoga studio, a lap pool – and the nearby Club 21 gallery of shops all add up to a relaxing urban oasis. Escape Bangkok madness here; rooms from $183 in October.
The hotel – featuring makha hardwood, brass panelling and artwork by local painter Natee Utarit – is in Bangkok’s Sathorn district.
Stick close to Asia for value from Mandarin Oriental
This Asian-founded brand is now well and truly global, with 38 hotels, 11 residences, and 23 exclusive homes across 25 countries and territories. The new-build, 50-room Mandarin Oriental Mayfair will be the 39th hotel for the brand when it opens in London this year.
Render of a room at the soon-to-open Mandarin Oriental Mayfair in London.
MO’s properties in Europe boast the brand’s highest rack rates during the summer months of June to August. (MO Lake Como’s Vista Lago Suite is $6690 a night in summer, for example). In London, the new MO Mayfair’s Presidential Suite will set you back $14,500 a night in June, while a deluxe room at the MO Paris is $4143 a night.
Two properties that represent great value for lovers of the brand are the Kuala Lumpur and Shanghai hotels.
The Mandarin Oriental in Kuala Lumpur: all the luxury you want but for less than the group’s hotels in Europe.
Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur has the city’s largest club lounge, an award-winning spa with all the signature MO treatments, and an infinity-edge pool, plus a fitness and wellness centre. What you gain at the cheaper price, you don’t lose in the luxury. Rates start from $301 to $329 from June through to August (KL’s summer months).
Despite its very cheap price point, from $214 a night during summer, the Mandarin Oriental Pudong Shanghai has plenty of wow factor.
The views aren’t too shabby either: the hotel is set between the flowering gardens of the 20-hectare KLCC Park and the metropolis that is Petronas Twin Towers.
The Mandarin Oriental Pudong Shanghai opened in 2013 in the Harbour City development, across the river from Shanghai’s historic centre.
With a strong spa game, a gym and a 25-metre indoor pool, there’s plenty to do on site. When you’ve finished being active, head to the hotel’s Michelin-starred Chinese restaurant, Yong Yi Ting. Newly appointed chef consultant Fu Yue Liang has created a menu showcasing tasty Hangzhou cuisine full of sweet and sour flavours. Rates from $214 from June-August.
Try a staycation
Capella is owned by the Singaporean Kwee family via its Pontiac Land Group, and just about everything they create and call Capella turns to gold. There are eight properties across the Patina and Capella brands.
Capella Taipei will open later this year (with 86 keys), followed by Patina Osaka and Capella Kyoto in 2025. The average lead-in nightly rate across all properties is $US570 ($869).
Patina Maldives is possibly for Rich-Listers only. Georg Roske
Patina Maldives is the group’s most expensive property at $US2000 a night, rising to $US19,900 a night for The Beach House during high season, October-December.
Find the value spend at Capella Tufu Bay in Hainan, at $US550 a night. The 190-room and villa hotel overlooks the South China Sea, and is set amid landscaped gardens.
An alternative is to stay at Capella Tufu Bay in Hainan for far less money, without skimping on creature comforts. Georg Roske
Decor is inspired by the area’s Silk Road trade history. Designed by architects Jean-Michel Gathy and Bill Bensley, the resort is just 50.5 kilometres from Sanya Phoenix International Airport.
Cheaper again is Capella Sydney – the heritage sandstone Department of Education building that Capella took seven years to transform into a 192-room hotel – from $US470.
If you fancy a holiday at home, Capella Sydney is a good bet.
Curated artwork, historical objets d’art and an indoor lap pool flooded with natural light make it a winner, and the type of hotel Sydney previously lacked. Signature restaurant Brasserie 1930 and McRae Bar are worth a crunch and sip.
If Vietnam is on your wish list, the Capella Hanoi is located a few steps away from the Hanoi Opera House and the city’s Old Quarter.
Capella Hanoi is a good bet in Vietnam: lavishly styled rooms from from $US420 a night. Georg Roske
Each of the hotel’s 47 rooms is individually styled with local operatic memorabilia. Designed by Bill Bensley, rates start from $US420.
Calling all Aman fans
With 35 resorts, hotels and branded residences – ranging from the urban to the remote – across 20 destinations, Aman has something for everyone.
Chill out in the outdoor infinity pool at Aman Nai Lert when next in Bangkok.
It’s in expansion mode, with nine hotels under construction, including Aman Nai Lert Bangkok, due to open in the third quarter of this year.
To dig out the value, head for Amangalla, set within Sri Lanka’s 17th-cenutry Galle Fort. It has views of the fort and harbour on one side, and the hotel’s gardens and swimming pool on the other. Stays start from $US700 a night.
Amangalla in Sri Lanka packs is full of old-world charm.
Going to India? Amanbagh is located in Rajasthan’s starkly beautiful Aravalli Hills. Once the staging area for royal tiger hunts, it offers a peaceful escape and is sharply priced for Aman at around $US650.
In Laos, Amantaka is convenient, situated in the centre of Luang Prabang, close to the banks of the Mekong River. The resort occupies an historic garden estate, and features a stunning pool and spa; stay from $US1065 a night.
The airy dining room at Amantaka in Laos.
Look outside the “halo luxury hotels”, tips IHG
InterContinental Hotels & Resorts has 222 properties across the globe, with another 100 in the pipeline. Nightly rates vary wildly across destinations and seasons, but standard rooms are priced, on average, around the $450 mark, while suites start from about $1200 per night.
In Australia, the four-bedroom Hayman Residences at the InterContinental Hayman Island Resort are the brand’s most expensive product, priced from $10,000 a night in high season. During shoulder seasons, however, you can nab a classic room at this well-known resort for about $675.
A four-bedroom Residence at the InterContinental Hayman Island Resort.
Yet another value buy in the InterCon’s Australian portfolio is the two-storey Penthouse at Victoria’s InterContinental Sorrento Mornington Peninsula. Prices at this 108-room heritage hotel (built in 1875) can drop by 30 per cent during winter months.
A final tip from IHG is to search beyond the traditional halo luxury hotels. Rather than limiting your research to say the InterContinental or Regent brands, look for price-sensitive luxury from their boutique lifestyle lines like Hotel Indigo.
The penthouse pool at the InterContinental Sorrento Mornington Peninsula. Greg Elms
Hotel Indigo Melbourne on Flinders does mid-week rates from $200 a night.
Go forth and save.