Despite being tucked away in a somnolent corner of Kowloon, Hong Kong’s newly minted Hotel Icon (17 Science Museum Rd., 852/3400-1000; hotel-icon.com; doubles from US$201) is already turning heads and bringing fresh life to Tsim Sha Tsui East. Designed by celebrated architects Terence Conran, William Lim, and Rocco Yim, the property features eye-catching public spaces–including a towering central atrium with a vertical garden installed by French artist-botanist Patrick Blanc–a harbor-view rooftop pool and fitness center, and 262 big, contemporary rooms. Still officially in its soft opening stage, the hotel will also serve as a training campus for hospitality students from the academy located beneath it. –Nicholas Walton

Originally appeared in the August/September 2011 print issue of DestinAsian magazine (“Kowloon Cool”)