The world’s highest hotel opened its doors in Hong Kong on Tuesday, offering unrivalled panoramic views of the world famous Victoria Harbour.

Towering some 490 metres (1,600 feet) above the bustling, chaotic streets of the Southern Chinese city, the Ritz-Carlton Hotel is making a grand comeback after temporarily closing in 2008.

Visitors peered out of the floor-to-ceiling windows of the 118th floor of the International Commerce Centre, which houses the hotel, for a 360 degree view of the glitzy financial hub and the South China Sea.

The date has now been set for the opening of the “world’s tallest hotel”. Visitors to Hong Kong will get a view of the city no one has ever seen before.

From March next year, the Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong will have its home in the 102nd to the 118th floors right at the very top of Hong Kong’s new ICC.

The finishing touches are currently being applied to the ICC, which at 484 metres high is Hong Kong’s tallest building.

The new Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong will be the tallest hotel in the world and there will be an infinity-edge pool on the top floor.

The current record for the highest hotel pool is the infinity pool on the edge of the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, an open-air pool perched 55 stories up.

Like the Marina Bay Sands, the Ritz-Carlton pool will also be an infinity pool, but it will be located indoors on the 118th floor.

The world’s tallest hotel will open in Hong Kong in 2010 when the Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong, welcomes its first guests.

The 312-bedroom hotel will occupy floors 102 to 118 on the International Commerce Centre (ICC) — currently taking shape on the Kowloon waterfront spanning 484 meters and 118 storeys when completed by the end of 2010.

That will make the new Ritz-Carlton the “world’s tallest hotel,” according to the company, although that claim is debatable.