I have a dream … a rather self-indulgent one. In it I am sitting in a room at The Peninsula Istanbul looking out across the Bosphorus.

Let’s call it an aspirational dream but also one within reach. Out of the 12 Peninsula hotels globally, we have stayed at five and I want to make Istanbul our sixth.

This would continue a family tradition that started more than 90 years ago at the oldest of their hotels, The Peninsula Hong Kong, which opened in 1928.

Many Australians will have stayed there or at least know it for the famous high tea held in the gilt rococo splendour of its expansive lobby.

Our family connection began in the 1930s when my father’s family, who were English and involved in the construction business, arrived in Hong Kong from Shanghai.

My grandfather, Lord Roberts Brown (not a lord but he had an aristocratic moniker) frequented the hotel before World War II, when it was taken over by the Japanese invaders. Grandad Bob, as we called him, spent the war in the civilian internment camp at Stanley on Hong Kong island but in the postwar years the family were back partying at The Pen, as it is affectionately known.

My father played rugby in Hong Kong in the late 1940s and I have a menu from the Hong Kong Football Club’s Annual Dinner dance held at The Pen in 1949. The entrée was clear turtle soup. You don’t see that on too many menus now.

The tradition has continued with my family, having stayed at The Peninsula Hong Kong, The Peninsula Bangkok, The Peninsula Tokyo, The Peninsula Paris and more recently The Peninsula London.

Each property is unique but all share qualities Peninsulas’ are famous for – understated luxury and impeccable service. The hospitality you will experience in any Peninsula is a reflection of the Kadoorie family who eventually became majority owners of the group. So, in essence it has become something of a family business and that is reflected in the warmth and friendliness pervading their hotels.

Recently The Peninsula Hotels group celebrated full portfolio recognition in the 2025 MICHELIN Key Hotels list. All 12 of its namesake properties received recognition within the prestigious global guide with 11 earning at least a One Key distinction. This recognition reaffirms The Peninsula’s position as a leader in hospitality with an unwavering commitment to exceptional service and timeless elegance.

Istanbul’s sparkling new Peninsula hotel comes with its own yacht. Photo: Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels

Istanbul and London are the latest additions to the portfolio and both opened in 2023.

The Peninsula Istanbul is on the Bosphorus waterfront in the historic district of Karaköy, close to many of Istanbul’s most iconic landmarks, including Galata Tower, Galata Bridge, and the famous Sultanahmet District – home to the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque, the Blue Mosque, and Topkapi Palace. It is located at Galataport, a new waterfront revitalisation project in the Turkish city where East meets West and comprises four exquisite buildings – three are historic and beautifully restored. Guests can arrive by land or sea, and to that end the hotel recently introduced its own custom built 16-metre private luxury yacht, PEN 1.

Our most recent Peninsula experience was at The Peninsula London in late May 2025. For Sir Michael Kadoorie, chairman of Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, this London property is the realisation of a long-held aspiration to have a hotel in the British capital.

Finding the right property or building one is how he rolls and it took 35 years to settle on a spot for London. (I know he has scoped out Australia too with no result … yet.)

The hotel group now has its sights set on the Middle East but nothing is firm.

The London property was a new build that cost a £1 billion ($A2 billion). At 1 Grosvenor Place, Belgravia, it’s all about the position.

Our room overlooked the Wellington Arch and when we went for a stroll in nearby Green Park about eight minutes in, we found ourselves at Buckingham Palace. What a neighbourhood!

This super luxe hotel also has Hyde Park across the road and is near the Palace of Westminster, Harrods and the boutiques of Bond Street.

The view from the new London Peninsula Hotel. Photo: Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels

As always there are nods to the Orient with, in this case, the swish Canton Blue restaurant in the hotel and the usual signature Rolls-Royce to ferry guests to and fro. We especially loved the Brooklands bar and restaurant on the top floor with wonderful views of London and the Michelin star restaurant is styled in all things Concorde – there is an aviation and motoring theme right through the hotel (reflecting Sir Michael Kadoorie’s passions) and it has to be the only hotel with the nose of a Concorde in the lobby.

As it is for all Peninsula hotels, the lobby is not at all stuffy and you don’t have to be staying there to soak up a bit of the ambience. And yes, they do have high tea.

The hotel group’s heritage dates back to 1868 when the Hong Kong Hotel opened. The Kadoorie family were early investors and would eventually become major shareholders.

The Peninsula Hong Kong at the pointy end of Kowloon, overlooking the harbour, was described in colonial times as “the finest hotel east of Suez”. It opened in 1928 and a 30-story tower was added in 1994. There was a major refurbishment in 2012.

The group began expanding internationally in 1976, first into Asia with The Peninsula Manila and later into US markets with The Peninsula New York in 1988, The Peninsula Beverly Hills in 1991, and The Peninsula Chicago in 2001. Then it added Beijing, Tokyo, Paris, Bangkok and, most recently, Istanbul and London.

My family was also on the move, relocating from Hong Kong to Australia in the 1950s. But my father was drawn back to the then British colony in 1963 and we spent seven years in Hong Kong.

The hub of our social life in Kowloon was The Pen, and back then the lobby was even more colourful and frequented by Hollywood stars (my dad once had a drink with Steve McQueen there) and the occasional spy. It was, after all, the Cold War and Hong Kong was awash with spooks – and if you don’t believe me read John le Carre’s The Honourable Schoolboy.

In my 2019 memoir The Kowloon Kid: A Hong Kong Childhood (Transit Lounge Publishers), I begin and end at The Peninsula Hong Kong, a hotel which I refer to as “my spiritual home” and I’m only half joking.

Because The Peninsula Hong Kong is special and we have been lucky enough to stay there numerous times over the years and I’m never happier than when I’m sitting in the lobby watching the passing parade, which still includes those movie stars.

On our visit last year, my wife Sandra, an avid star spotter, pointed out Game of Thrones star Aidan Gillen (who played Petyr “Littlefinger” Baelish) crossing the lobby while we enjoyed an early dinner.

Phil Brown, his wife Sandra McLean and son Hamish taking high tea at the Peninsula Hong Kong in 2019. Photo: Phil Brown

I have such fond memories of all our stays. A highlight was a dinner at the hotel’s famous French fine dining restaurant Gaddis. This Michelin-starred restaurant has been a Hong Kong institution since 1953. I remember in the 1960s my mum and other ladies-who-lunch would dine there, and my parents took visiting friends to Gaddis for superlative dinners.

Each Peninsula stay yields quirky memories too. There was the time in Hong Kong when I pressed the emergency button by the bath by mistake and a team of concerned staff arrived to offer aid.

The Peninsula Tokyo, which opened in 2007, is also a new building overlooking the Imperial Palace. Designed to resemble an oriental lantern, it is also earthquake proof. Which is great because during our stay there the Earth moved for us one evening. Just a minor tremor, they assured us.

In Bangkok we delighted in looking down on the Mandarin Oriental just across the Chao Phraya River. That property is also a new build.

The Peninsula Paris is on Avenue Kleber in the ritzy 16th arrondissement, just a couple of hundred meters from the Arc de Triomphe. It is a heritage building that was once the famous Majestic Hotel, which opened in 1908. That hotel also hosted high society and celebrities, including George Gershwin, who composed An American in Paris there.

Our brush with fame in Paris involved sitting at a table next to action movie star Jean-Claude Van Damme at breakfast. My wife and son wouldn’t let me get a selfie with him, more’s the pity.

In London, our biggest surprise was our proximity to Buckingham Palace and being in a room that overlooked not only the Wellington Arch but the King and Queen’s backyard. There goes the neighbourhood, right?

I’m now calculating how long it will take me to get around to staying at all the other properties. Istanbul is at the top of that list.

But how much of the city I would see staying at The Peninsula Istanbul is another question. The problem is that Peninsulas are just so damn luxurious that often you just don’t want to leave your room . . . unless it’s to wander down to the lobby for tiffin.

peninsula.com