Moving to a new country is fraught with challenges and emotions. Not least where you are going to live until you find a permanent home. Most families start their journey in one of Hong Kong’s luxury serviced apartments. Selecting the right one to suit your needs can make all the difference to a successful transition.
We chat with a serviced apartment expert about the importance of designing a soft landing for newcomers to Hong Kong.
Design with intention
If design is about intentional creation, then this city has a long history of designing its future. And 2019 is no exception. Hong Kong is facing an avalanche of change. There was a time when we had the region’s business elite eating out of our hand. But today’s political pressures and regional rivals mean we need to fight harder for the top spot.
Still, anyone who’s lived here will attest that it’s a place with pragmatic intention and a new obsession with creativity. This powerful combination couldn’t have fused at a more critical time. Design is taking over, in all its splendid forms. For those who are relocating to “Asia’s world city”, designing a soft landing is crucial to success. Hong Kong’s working environment is fast-paced and can come with a demanding schedule of business travel.
For newly arrived families, our city is an incredible once-in-a-lifetime adventure. But it can also be an overwhelming place to find yourself, and to start carving out a life in a matter of mere weeks.
A home away from home
Christine Chang, Director of Suite Sales at Hong Kong Parkview, has welcomed hundreds of expat families into the city to stay at the luxury serviced apartments in Hong Kong. She offers executives a unique expertise that couples decades of service in the city’s leading serviced apartments with firsthand knowledge around facilitating the arrival of executive families.
It’s this duality of service that adds up to the unique relocation experience designed by Hong Kong Parkview. “We’ve designed a soft landing that is triple layered – an initial welcome experience, an aesthetic and functionality in the rooms that is immediately homely, and a community that wraps right around all of that and immediately welcomes families,” explains Christine. “We’ve built interconnected experiences that create a home away from home.”
Residential hybrid
Landing in Hong Kong and arriving at Parkview often happens at the end of a long and emotional journey. Christine explains that this arrival is one of the first experiences that highlights the community’s hybrid culture of equal parts hotel and home. “As a new guest, you’re met at the complex and assigned a personal guest relations manager. The personal welcome is accompanied by a pack of amenities, along with dry and fresh food, which we choose especially to ensure you have a frictionless first day!”
Staff are on hand 24 hours to help guests navigate the residence and provide advice on getting around the city. Their role is to be a friendly face in Parkview’s oasis in the city.
Welcoming interiors
According to Christine, creating a home away from home isn’t just about aesthetics. It’s about providing a malleable design and a range of elements that make a space function differently from a hotel. “We’ve included homely cues we know short-term residents love, like windows that can open to let in fresh air; living plants that help freshen a room with their air-purifying properties; plus, those very important elements like a Nespresso machine and a massage chair!” (“A real coffee is important when you’re fighting off jetlag,” Christine laughs.)
Hong Kong Parkview offers a unique range of interior design options to choose from. Each room has a distinct feel, ensuring neighbours retain a level of individuality. Design options include five different colourways and eight thematic floors, with fun themes such as safari, and Hong Kong-appropriate themes including horse racing. Then there are those features that enable guests to simply unpack a suitcase and be self-sufficient: feature ovens, cooking equipment (with additional items available upon request) and Aesop amenities that are refreshed daily. “Our fully-equipped kitchens are always a welcome sight for families and foodies. It makes meal times more familiar.”
Furry friends too
“All members of the family are welcome to join our community – and pets aren’t forgotten!” says Christine. Our fur-kids make us feel at home, and, for families of all shapes and sizes, they play an important role in the relocation process. Hong Kong Parkview has seven pet-friendly serviced apartments available for those who might be bringing their beloved family pooch or other pet along for the relocation ride.
In-built community
While Hong Kong Parkview is primarily a place of transience, every guest of the serviced apartment property automatically becomes a member of the private club. This is a purposeful design element of the community, providing a feeling of consistency and ensuring the complex reflects a luxurious residential experience rather than one of a hotel.
The continual bustle of neighbours going about their regular lives can help with the soft landing for those still trying to work out the idiosyncrasies of the city. The clubhouse facilities and activities are peppered with permanent residents and their friends, providing children with opportunities to socialise from the day after they land.
Christine reflects, “We’re very proud of the experience we’ve designed at Hong Kong Parkview. There is nothing like it here. It’s a great pleasure for our whole team to welcome newcomers to the city and help transition them into their new lives.”
Hong Kong Parkview is at 88 Tai Tam Reservoir Road. For more information, call 2812 3456 or visit hongkongparkview.com.
See more in our Living in Hong Kong section
An insiders guide to living in Parkview
Are you looking for a job in Hong Kong?
This article first appeared in the February/March 2019 issue of Expat Living magazine. Subscribe now so you never miss an issue.
