Built in 1928, the Peninsula offers 300 spacious guestrooms, decorated in European style with Oriental accents and attended by room valets.

The Roman-style spa and waterfall pool opens onto a landscaped sun terrace with harbour views.

Hotel highlights include helicopter flight-seeing tours, afternoon tea, and the acclaimed French cuisine of Gaddi's. The 300 air-conditioned guestrooms are distributed between the original 1928 building and a 32-story tower built in 1994. Rooms have European-influenced décor and Asian accents, with blues, greens, golds, and ivory dominating. Amenities include bedside control of curtains, TV, air conditioning, and lighting; TVs with video/digital-camera playback; DVD players; silent fax machines; valet-call buttons; and outside temperature and humidity indicator. High-speed internet access and local calls are complimentary.

Oversized marble bathrooms feature separate showers and tubs, with built-in LCD TVs and hands-free phones. What to expect: A total renovation of the 1928 main building and completion of a 32-story tower extension in 1994 brought one of the world's legendary hotels up to date. The lobby, with its soaring columns, gleaming archways, and gilded cornices, has welcomed tycoons, movie stars, and business travelers for 75 years. White-gloved bell staff open the doors to a past era, with a string quartet serenading diners over afternoon tea. Amenity highlights: Service has been honed to a fine art over the decades, and the in-house-designed technology is discreet rather than invasive. The hotel has a Roman-themed spa, and a sundeck overlooking the harbor. The six restaurants range from the traditional to the trendy, with a wide selection of Asian and western cuisines. Insider tip: World-renowned musicians performing at the Cultural Centre opposite regularly practice in the hotel's Music Room, whose grand piano is also available to guests. The hotel, opened in 1928, evokes colonial history, from the crisply attired bell staff to the framed photos of past celebrity guests. The lobby, carefully restored in 1994, retains its 1920s' grandeur and ambience, while the 32-story tower extension, also completed in 1994, features extensive