Sky100 Observation Deck at the ICC

I can’t believe that it really took me this long to make it up to the highest building in Hong Kong: the ICC in West Kowloon. The International Commerce Centre has 108 stories, is 484 metres tall and was completed in 2010, shortly before I arrived in Hong Kong.

It currently is the world’s ninth tallest building by height, world’s fourth tallest building by number of floors, as well as the tallest building in Hong Kong. One fun fact is that due to prevalence of tetraphobia in Hong Kong, floors that would have included the number “4” (which symbolises death) were omitted. Therefore, it is marketed as a 118-story building.

The bottom features a shopping mall, then there are offices and on the 100th floor is the Sky100 Observatory. One floor up, on the 101st floor is a restaurant and The Ritz-Carlton Hotel occupies floors 102 to 118. The world’s highest swimming pool and bar can be found on the top 118th floor. I have not been there, we only went to visit Sky100.

We picked a nice day with clear views all over Hong Kong. It was a Friday afternoon and we were worried that the observatory deck might be too busy, but when we called ahead they said that it is a quiet day. So we just went to the lobby, bought our tickets and went up to the 100th floor.

There were only a few people visiting – it was so nice and quiet. Of course, the views were stunning – you could see all over Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the Outlying Islands.

It was fascinating to watch the busy life in the harbour and on the roads, while we were in such quiet and calming surroundings. We just walked around, slowly, taking in this beautiful sight.

Of course, this would not be Hong Kong, if there would not be a photo spot – so they set up photo walls of a typical cha cha teng…

… as well as the harbour with a junk and the star ferry.

We spent quite some time walking around, taking pictures and walking back to a previous spot, just to view it again, as the light kept changing. We didn’t notice how the time passed, until we realised we were quite hungry. So we decided to try out the cafe – and they serve actually good food.

We ordered a high tea set for two and an extra quiche and that was plenty of food for us three adults. We kept joking that this was the highest high tea we ever attended, and that was so true! Definitely a good memory for all of us.

The sun was moving towards the West while we were enjoying our sweet and savoury snacks, but we decided that it would take too long to wait for the sunset (which was around 7pm as it was still in September when we visited Sky100). Lina was getting tired, so we shot a few last images and decided to leave Sky100. It was a great afternoon on top of the highest building of Hong Kong, and so nice and quiet – I am curious how it will be at nighttime, when you can see all the lights surrounding you. Anyone been, is it better than a daytime visit or just the same?

Entrance is 168 HKD for adults and 118 HKD for children (above 3 years) and seniors. If you purchase tickets online you can get a 15 per cent discount – and also check the tourist pamphlets that you can pick up at the Airport, sometimes they include discount coupons for Sky100.