Side by side The Peninsula Hong Kong vs Mandarin Oriental The Landmark, Hong Kong

The Peninsula opened in 1928 and still runs a fleet of Rolls-Royces for airport transfers, and that sets the tone before you've checked in: eight staff meeting the car, keys already in hand, a seat by the window to watch the harbour light show while your bags disappear. The building is the argument here — marble columns, a mezzanine orchestra, a lobby that still feels grand rather than staged. Rooms lean older in bones but not in fittings: iPad controls, a plumbed-in espresso machine, a Dyson dryer, and in at least one case a firm mattress that got a pillow-top added within minutes of a guest mentioning it.

Where it gets uneven is exactly where you'd worry about a 100-year-old building: the bathrooms. One recent stay reported visible mold and a shower head that came loose and struck the guest, with housekeeping never following through on the fix. That's not the only account of the hotel's age showing through, and a late-night arrival once got no help with bags and vague directions to a room on the opposite side of the floor. The afternoon tea has also changed — long-time regulars say the added minimum spend has turned a treat into a transaction, and more than one now goes to Rosewood or Regent instead. None of this is universal; most reports describe service that anticipates what you need before you ask, right down to a handwritten anniversary card from the Director of Front Office.

Book it for Spring Moon, the harbour-facing pool, and a lobby that still means something in a city full of newer towers. Skip it if you want a fully modernized bathroom or you're picky about afternoon tea etiquette — the newer Kowloon and Central hotels will match the polish without the history tax.

This is the newer of the two Central Mandarin Orientals, a few buildings from the original, and the case for it comes down to the address: a covered walkway straight into Landmark mall, Man Wah rated by more than one traveler as some of the best Chinese food in the city, and doormen who remember your face by the second night. One guest recovering from a knee injury got upgraded to a room with a proper soaking tub and help onto the wheelchair lift without being asked twice. Another had a birthday and left with an upgrade and a warm word from the same doorman on every return to the lobby.

The catch is that this is a hotel still finishing its renovation, and it shows. Rooms have come back spacious and comfortable for most people, but at least one stay flagged a bathroom with no outlet by the vanity and finishes that already looked tired. The bigger issue is the spa and gym were not running at all during recent stays, with guests sent to another hotel's facilities and not warned about it before they booked a staycation built around exactly that. Breakfast is mixed too: several people loved it, one found the à la carte spread thin and the order wrong twice.

Book it for Central, for Man Wah, and for staff who clearly take pride in the small stuff. Skip the staycation angle until wellness is actually back, and confirm what's open before you pay for it.