Where to stay in Hong Kong: discover the design hotels

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Rosewood Hong Kong

Five hotels to experience a unique stay in the Chinese metropolis

Staying in Hong Kong can be like living the classic “experience within the experience”. Despite being one of the densest and most popular destinations on the planet, the city contains a range of hotels capable of meeting the demands of low-budget travelers and ensuring fascinating extras for those who want them, including exclusivity, services not to be found elsewhere, and stunning panoramic views. In contrast with other global metropolises, many hotels in Hong Kong are also located in maxi mixed-use complexes endowed with shopping malls and in some cases directly connected to the widespread network of public transport. And, as certain of the offerings selected show, some of the most important architecture and design firms of today have often had a hand in the design of Hong Kong’s hotels.

The Murray Hong Kong, a Niccolo Hotel

An overview of design hotels in Hong Kong has to begin with the Murray. And the reason lies in the fascinating history that led to the opening of this luxury hotel in 2018 (with 336 rooms, a rooftop restaurant and bar and other catering services, fitness center and indoor pool). The restructuring was overseen by Foster + Partners, after completing the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank Headquarters in 1986, a pivotal work in the award-winning career of Lord Norman Foster. For this outstanding second act, the practice worked on a building dating from 1969 (the Murray Building), in turn erected to a design by another British architect, Ron Philips, as the government headquarters. It is a tower considered an example of sustainable architecture ante litteram, winner of the Energy Efficient Building Award in 1994. In addition to recognizing and preserving the architectural qualities of the structure, and the prominence of the pioneering solution adopted in the design of the facades (characterized by recessed windows, so reducing direct sunlight in the interiors), by its work Foster+Partners sought to define new urban connections between the hotel and the surrounding green spaces to encourage pedestrian access. This also appears by the transformation of the access ramp to the underground car park into a walkway, a presence that cuts across the rhythmic sequence of the arches, four floors high, placed in the basement. From the guests’ rooms, suites and common areas, the view also generously opens onto the greenery of the unmistakable Peak.

salonemilano, hotel, hong kong — The Murray Hong Kong

The Fleming

Smaller dimensions and nostalgic atmospheres, evoking the Hong Kong of the past, at the Fleming Hotel, renovated by the local studio A Work of Substance in 2017. The place of an earlier hotel, opened in 2006, has now been taken by a boutique hotel with 66 rooms that restores the spirit of the decade when the facility was built, in the seventies, combining it with industrial echoes and maritime memories. From the exterior signage to the custom-designed furnishings, lighting fixtures and customized soaps, the Fleming Hotel promises that travelers will be able to savor the authentic spirit of a city with a long commercial history.

Rosewood Hong Kong

The location right off the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront (with the Hong Kong Museum of Art and the art and design district nearby) is one of the strengths of the Rosewood Hong Kong. The hotel occupies 43 floors of the mixed-use tower of the same name, designed by the New York-based practice Kohn Pedersen Fox and counted among the local landmarks. Endowed with a wellness center that offers treatments aimed at the well-being of guests, not only physical, as well as a surprisingly refined choice of food and drink, with ten bars and restaurants, this accommodation facility has 322 rooms, suites and apartments of different sizes (in the associated residence).

K11 ARTUS

We remain in the heart of Victoria Dockside with the K11 ARTUS, which embodies a further form of hospitality again in terms of luxury. It qualifies as “Asia's first artisanal home concept for global cultural creatives”. Reflecting the vision of its founder, entrepreneur Adrian Cheng, it was created in collaboration with the K11 Craft and Guild Foundation, a non-profit organization devoted to safeguarding Chinese craft skills from oblivion, with a focus on artifacts dating from the Ming and Qing dynasties. With a name that combines the terms art and domus, the K11 ARTUS offers a sophisticated stay, introducing the possibility of living together with exclusive examples of the local art and craftsmanship, which can also be purchased by the guests. Located in a complex designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox and with designer interiors also by the well-known Hong Kong designer André Fu, the structure is enriched by a collection of contemporary artworks by Chinese and international artists.