'I feel like I am the successor': at the luxurious Regent Hong Kong hotel, where guests enjoy panoramic harbor views and incredible seven-course meals in a two-Michelin star restaurant

Elvis Wong throws open the door to our room and the screams that follow would not disappoint the King of Rock and Roll himself.

Lit up like Las Vegas on the night before Christmas, a skyline of skyscrapers is ablaze with neon, reflecting soft colored columns into the waters of Victoria Harbor below.

'Wow. Wow. Wow,' my husband sighs as the children scream with excitement and I sit speechless on the bed. The view from the Regent Hotel of Hong Kong's famous skyline is so spectacular that poor Elvis has no hope of showing us how to work or be safe in the shower.

We are glued to the panoramic window, enchanted by a cityscape that promises so much.

Just like the Regent itself, recently reopened after extensive renovations that will not only restore this icon to its former glory, but also reinvent it for the next generation.

The city's skyscrapers reflect soft colored columns in the waters of Victoria Harbor (seen above, from the hotel lobby)

The Regent underwent an extensive renovation in 2022, returning the iconic hotel to its former glory for the next generation

“I feel like I'm the successor,” says Rose, 17, as we sit down to breakfast the next morning at the Harborside restaurant, our skyscraper landscape now bathed in sunlight as a Beethoven sonata floats in the background.

As if on cue, a helicopter begins its descent over the city's business center. Felix, 11, is mesmerized.

I'm about to start my lecture on the importance of a good job when I'm pulled out of my sermon by 16-year-old Evie, who returns from the billionaires' buffet with a stacked plate.

“Try this one, Mom,” she says, knowing that a selection of shrimp and crab dim sum will allow everyone to eat in peace. We feast like financiers and then explore.

We kick off in Kowloon, home to the city's museums, galleries and the city's newest luxury mall, K11 Musea, billed as the place to take my shopping experience to the next level and located right next door.

The hotel impressed Fiona so much that she was speechless when she was shown her room

The sunny harborside lounge offers impressive views of the city

The hotel's restaurant, Lai Ching Heen, is like stepping into a jade jewelry box, says Fiona

The mid-level escalators. They connect Central District residents to their office jobs and have been called the coolest commute in the world

I should be used to my husband's habit of checking off the most obscure landmarks first, but I still find it frustrating to be marched to the bird, goldfish and flower markets around the less salubrious Prince Edward Road.

“It's the real Hong Kong,” he tells me as I sigh and puff about what I'm missing, secretly admiring the contrast of this bygone way of life. Time for a piece of history that will bring us completely up to date and a trip on the legendary Star Ferry to the consumer paradise Central District.

It's impossible not to be impressed by the skyscrapers – towering temples of commerce – or the designer shopping centers that connect them. But does every city really need eight Tiffany stores?

But then the only way is up, as every Hong Konger knows. Over tea in the park, my husband catches up with an expat school friend who tells us that it is completely normal for the journey to work to take longer vertically than horizontally.

Hence the Mid-Levels escalators. They connect Central's residents to their office jobs and, at 800 meters long and with a climb of 130 meters, are not only the world's longest moving staircase, but have also been called the world's coolest commute.

Back to the Regent and another helping of superlatives with an afternoon tea that would put England's best to shame. Piles of madeleines, scones and exquisite savory treats are laid out in front of us, while the waiter makes room for five small bowls of magic: the traditional Chinese dessert of ginger milk pudding. Spoons are licked clean before I remember that we are having a seven-course dinner that evening in the hotel's two Michelin star restaurant.

To the outdoor pool for a few laps before dinner, hoping to work up an appetite.

Fiona and her family enjoyed Cantonese cuisine at the two-Michelin star restaurant

Chef Lau Yiu-fai (right) and Chef Cheng Man-sang (left) of the restaurant

Fiona writes: 'My menu of golden scallops with prawns, steamed crab claws and sea bass with red dates leaves me in no mood to share'

Fiona's assessment of Hong Kong and the Regent? 'There are few places that capture the past and present so magically. And the Regent is where it all lines up.”

But distraction is easy and as we float above the designer shops – we're within splashing distance of Yves Saint Laurent – thoughts quickly wander from front crawl to front row and what on earth to wear tonight.

Time to find out what passes for the best clothes and make ourselves worthy of an evening in the opulent Lai Ching Heen.

The interior is as polished as you would expect from a world-class Cantonese restaurant, like stepping into a jade jewelry box, but the warmth of the staff immediately puts you at ease.

Soon the Lazy Susan is spinning as the kids try each other's food in a new way, but my menu of golden scallops with shrimp, steamed crab claws, and sea bass with red dates leaves me in no mood to share.

Outside the skyscraper, the light dazzles as an old crimson junk sails majestically by. There are few places that capture the past and present so magically. And the Regent is where it all lines up.