Opening of The Murray Hotel in Hong Kong

Wharf Hotels just announced the opening of The Murray, Hong Kong, a Niccolo Hotel, as the group’s new flagship Niccolo property and the latest addition to the luxury contemporary chic collection by Wharf Hotels.

As well as being the first significant new luxury hotel to open in Hong Kong for several years, The Murray is breathing new life into one of Hong Kong’s most iconic and historic buildings. The tall white landmark structure, with its distinctive arches and unique recessed windows, was built in 1969 and has since won many awards for its ground-breaking and energy-efficient design.

With its unique location in a stand-alone building positioned between the Central business district and the green oasis of Hong Kong Park, the 336-room hotel offers a sophisticated, urban chic sanctuary in the heart of the city. Among its unique features is a stunning rooftop bar with some of the most breathtaking views of the city. A series of signature restaurants are also being planned.

The Murray: Historic landmark in Hong Kong

As one of eight historic landmarks under the Conserving Central initiative introduced by the Hong Kong government in 2013, The Murray is an inspiring piece of architecture holding almost 50 years of history, and a landmark building located in the heart of the city in Central, Hong Kong.

World-renowned architects Foster + Partners, whose works in Hong Kong include The Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank headquarters and the Hong Kong International Airport, have been engaged as designers for the project.

A high-profile preservation project converted into a luxury hotel by Foster + Partners, The Murray is celebrated as a pioneering example of sustainability. Designed with deeply recessed square windows, its ground-breaking energy efficiency concept is still applauded decades after it was built. These windows have been enlarged and now create a magnificent picture frame of the city skylines and garden vistas, thus allowing the hotel to continue its eco-conscious heritage.

The Murray includes 336 sophisticated suites and guestrooms spanning 25 floors, offering some of the city’s most spacious accommodation choices with over 75% at 50 square metres or larger.  Interiors are embellished with natural fabrics and stones, leathers and plush textiles creating a contemporary chic sanctuary and an ambience of understated sophistication.

The Murray: Five restaurants and bars

For gourmands, The Murray will offer five restaurants and bars led by a world-class culinary and mixology team, including a modern European restaurant – The Tai Pan; an elegant venue – the Garden Lounge; a Wall Street inspired bar in Murray Lane; a roof-top bar and restaurant – Popinjays, and the well-established Michelin-starred Cantonese restaurant, Guo Fu Lou.

Complementing its banqueting expertise, The Murray will present over 1,900 square metres of exclusive meeting and event spaces designed for luxury, fashion, art, wedding and corporate occasions.

Foster + Partners has honoured the building’s rich history by retaining its signature features, including the former driveway that circled the building beneath the property’s welcoming three-storey arches. The one-of-a-kind space will transform into a semi-alfresco venue named The Arches, hosting up to 350 guests, overlooking idyllic views of Hong Kong Park, and St. John’s Cathedral. Creating a new canvas, The Arches will provide a stylish setting for fashion shows and luxury automotive showcases, exhibitions, cocktail parties and social gatherings.

Seasoned British-born hotelier Duncan Palmer has been appointed as the hotel’s Managing Director, and brings his many years of experience with The Savoy, The Connaught, Mandarin Oriental and Langham Hotels amongst others to create a truly world-class new hotel for Hong Kong.

About Wharf Hotels

Wharf Hotels, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Wharf (Holdings) Ltd, is based in Hong Kong. It currently operates 14 owned or managed luxury and premium brands, Niccolo and Marco Polo Hotels in Hong Kong, China and the Philippines. Niccolo Hotels was added to the group’s portfolio in 2015 as the new luxury collection with 4 new Niccolo Hotels currently under development, bringing the group to 18 hotels in total. The legendary spirit for travel, exploring and sharing experiences is the embodiment of Niccolo and Marco Polo Hotels and can be found in each of its vibrant cities. Marco Polo Hotels maintains its long-standing ethos of discovery, creating unique guest experiences and drawing on the key philosophies of its namesake, Marco Polo: an adventurer, a traveller, an entrepreneur and a connoisseur of culture – just as Marco Polo’s modern travellers are today.

About Niccolo Hotels

Niccolo is a collection of contemporary urban chic hotels with desirable, highly prized addresses.  At heart, as Hong Kong, a Niccolo Hotel in January 2018.  An additional 2 Niccolo hotels are currently under development discoverers and re-discoverers of luxury experiences, styles and tastes, its hotels are modern sophisticated spaces, where the timeless pleasure of impeccable hospitality from another golden era in travel, is valued.  Underpinning everything is the desire to make life effortlessly luxurious.  Niccolo Chengdu was the first hotel to open followed by Chongqing and the brand’s flagship, The Murray, in Changsha and Suzhou, China, taking the collection to 5 hotels.

About Ultratravel Collection

Ultratravel Collection brings together hotels of distinction for the discerning traveller. Its membership is reserved for the very best hotels and resorts in the world – genuinely luxurious and iconic properties that deliver the finest service and personalised guest experiences. Member hotels share an integrated global platform for guest recognition and loyalty rewards, the DISCOVERY programme from partner Global Hotel Alliance, as well as beneficial relationship with the multi-media brand Ultratravel, the other founding partner of Ultratravel Collection.

About Foster + Partners

Foster + Partners is a global studio for architecture, urbanism and design, rooted in sustainability, which was founded nearly fifty years ago in 1967 by Lord Foster. Since then, he and the team around him have established an international practice with a worldwide reputation for thoughtful and pioneering design, working as a single studio that is both ethnically and culturally diverse. The studio integrates the skills of architecture with engineering, both structural and environmental, urbanism, interior and industrial design, model and film making, aeronautics and many more – our collegiate working environment is similar to a compact university. These diverse skills make us capable of tackling a wide range of projects, particularly those of considerable complexity and scale. Design is at the core of everything that we do. We design buildings, spaces and cities; we listen, we question and we innovate.

SOURCE: NICCOLO HOTELS

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