Built in the days of European colonialism the grand old hotels of Asia hark back to a time of pink gins and potted palms, ceiling fans and crumpled white linen suits. So grab Somerset Maugham's collected works for a little light reading and check in.
The hotel was built the year after The Peninsula in 1929 for the comfort of wealthy passengers who disembarked off the steamship lines to view the newly discovered long-lost Kingdom of Angkor.
The hotel prides itself in offering a combination of "tradition, hospitality and elegance". Black and white photographs of the hotel in its heyday have pride of place.
The Pen opened it doors in December 1928. Since then it has witnessed Hong Kong's changing fortunes and been host to everyone from Japanese troops in WWII to the glitterati of the film world, politicians and royalty.
Open your copy of Graham Green's The Quiet American and start reading now. Think Catherine Deneuve in Indochine and a Vietnam in the last throes of French Colonialism and you have the feel of this place.
Built in 1901 by the famous Sarkie brothers (who also built the E & O Hotel Penang and Raffles Singapore) the hotels 32 suites have recently been restored to their former opulence.
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