Connecting with the city's past at The Murray Hong Kong

Although brand-new hotels pop up all the time, restored heritage buildings-turned-hotels have an allure of their own.

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In April 2023, shortly after Hong Kong reopened following the Covid-19 pandemic, I return to the city I used to visit almost yearly, staying at The Murray Hong Kong.

The hotel housed the Public Works Department and other government departments during British rule.

By 2018, it had been turned into an elegant 27-storey property to the tune of US$1 billion (S$1.3 billion) by the Hong Kong-based Wharf Hotels. The Murray is the first property of Wharf's Niccolo Hotels, the luxury brand in its portfolio.

The makeover was done by architecture firm Foster + Partners, which consulted the original architect of the building, Briton Ron Phillips. Now 97, he was lauded for designing a building way ahead of its time.

Arched colonnades and winged and recessed windows - an energy-efficient design to refract hard-hitting sunlight onto the concrete walls of the building - all contribute to the building's eco-credentials.