Soothe those sore muscles at Hong Kong's Peninsula Hotel Spa

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The sauna at Hong Kong's Peninsula Hotel Spa overlooks Victoria Harbor.

After hiking the Hong Kong Trail, there's no better reward for your sore muscles than a visit to the Peninsula Hotel Spa by ESPA.

You can (and I did, courtesy of the hotel) spend hours in this two-story sanctuary, where the sauna, relaxation lounge and some treatment rooms look over Hong Kong's Victoria Harbor.

For complete relaxation, book one of the signature body treatments called "Peninsula Ceremonies," a blend of Oriental, Ayurvedic and European therapies lasting two hours. (Chicago's Peninsula Hotel started offering these in March.)

My ceremony began with a cup of tea and a refreshing ginger foot buff that felt downright blissful after 20 miles of hiking. What followed involved a salt and oil body scrub, hot stones, a warm oil massage and a mud wrap. Jet lag and exhaustion made me want to fall asleep, but I forced myself to stay awake so I wouldn't miss any of it.

The spa is just one way to pamper yourself at the Peninsula, Hong Kong's oldest hotel and the first of the nine properties that make up the luxury lodging brand. (The name "Peninsula" started here when the hotel opened in 1928 on Hong Kong's Kowloon Peninsula.)

The 300-room property has its own fleet of 14 Rolls-Royces. For about $155, one of these Rolls will be waiting for you at the airport, where you'll be met by a Peninsula representative as soon as you step off the jet bridge. You'll be escorted through customs and immigration and then led into your chauffeured Rolls for the 40-minute trip to the hotel.

The hotel also has its own helicopter pad, and you can check it out with the new "High Flyer" package, which includes a short flight seeing tour and your choice of afternoon tea or lunch in the regal lobby or a 50-minute spa treatment. The package is priced from $139 to $217 a person.

The newer wing of the historic hotel has the best views of the harbor, where the skyscrapers put on a nightly light show. The best seat in the house is a window table at the Philippe Starck-designed Felix restaurant on the 28th floor.

In the older wing, Room 336 is where Hong Kong officials surrendered to invading Japanese forces on Christmas Eve 1941.

Nightly rates at the hotel begin at about $542. A few packages can save you money through Sept. 15: The Suite Life special means the second night is free when you book a suite, and the Summer Splendour offer gets you a $100 credit and a buy-one-get-one-free certificate to use toward a room reservation at any Peninsula Hotel.

Call (866) 382-8388 or visit peninsula.com.