Peninsula Moments | The Peninsula Hotels

Ten Rolls-Royce Extended Wheelbase Phantoms were used in a single convoy through the streets of Central on Hong Kong Island. Filmed at 4.30am on a Saturday morning as the sun was just beginning to rise, yet the streets were still empty of other traffic, the cars were “choreographed” to drive in formation while the crew shot from an open-top tourist bus.

150 Champagne coups were used for the Champagne tower in this shot! This shot took place 23 floors above Fifth Avenue as our employees setup for a private masquerade ball. Did you know that Peninsula New York launched the first Salon de Ning? There are now three sister lounges in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Manila. Tomo, one of our Peninsula New York managers was also featured in our Portraits of Peninsula photo campaign when he worked at Peninsula Tokyo.

Chicago has long been known for its jazz and blues music. Originally, Chicago blues was street corner-based music before gaining popularity and spreading throughout the city. Today, the city has become known for great live music. The Peninsula Chicago features live, music daily and is the only hotel in Chicago that has a daily live music program. The musicians perform from a Minstrel Gallery, located high atop The Lobby. Guests often hear live music but can’t figure out where it’s coming from until they discover the Gallery.

Loy Krathong is a 1,000-year-old festival, in which banana leaf krathongs (floats) are set adrift on the water in honour of Phra Mae Kongka, the water goddess, and to celebrate the end of rainy season. It takes place on the full moon of the 12th month of the traditional Thai lunar calendar, usually in November, and is the most beautiful of all Thai festivals. We wanted to capture an authentic feel for these photos. Five talented florists worked for three days handcrafting more than 150 krathongs – lotus-shaped vessels made out of fresh banana leaves that hold candles, flowers, coins and incense sticks.

Did you know that hotel guests often use The Peninsula’s chic pool cabanas for work as well as play? Equipped with Wi-Fi, flat-screen televisions, telephones and fax machines, the pool cabanas can double as a “California-style” office. Guests can also enjoy a spa treatment in their cabana, everything from a MoroccanOil scalp treatment and a pedicure to an evening Moonlight Massage for two.

Every day The Peninsula Boutique & Café uses more than 300 eggs and 10 kg of butter to make the hotel’s sweets and breads. For this scene, more than 400 cakes were prepared by Executive Pastry Chef Shigeru Nojima and his team. In 2003, Chef Nojima represented Japan in Lyon, France at the Coupe du Monde de la Pâtisserie and carried off the silver medal.

Taking off from The Peninsula Manila’s helipad on a BELL-407 helicopter, we took to the skies for an aerial tour of the city before crossing Laguna de Bay enroute to Villa Escudero. Laguna de Bay is the largest freshwater lake in the Philippines and the third largest inland body of water in Southeast Asia. We just couldn’t resist showcasing this beautiful part of the Philippine natural landscape.

The elegant picnic was filmed on a man-made lake in the coconut plantation of Villa Escudero. The pages are on a banana leaf-carpeted balsa (water raft) that had a cola (train) of 20 “crowns” of jungle vine decorated with yellow Vanda orchids and candles. They are setting a dulang (low table) with fine china, crystal, silverware and white Phalaenopsis orchids.

Filming was interrupted by five hours of torrential rain. When it stopped, we were ready with our celebratory fireworks that miraculously blossomed despite the damp undergrowth.

At The Peninsula Beijing our service has no boundaries. Guests sample a taste of the “wild side” of the Great Wall with a personal tour guide and a decadent picnic lunch – one of the many Peninsula Academy programmes for our most intrepid guests. The Peninsula Beijing is one of the few hotels that has held spectacular events on the Great Wall – since 1998, the hotel has hosted more than 50 events on different sections of the wall.