Hong Kong’s newest hotel for the well-heeled, design-savvy traveller raises the bar on stylish, design-focused accommodation options in Asia’s most dynamic city.
Located in the heart of Hong Kong island’s most colourful district, Wanchai, with sweeping vistas across Victoria harbour, the recently opened Mira Moon hotel showcases elegant and sophisticated contemporary styling that seamlessly interacts with traditional Chinese elements.
Design gurus inspired design
The sister hotel of The Mira Hong Kong, the 91-room Mira Moon hotel was built by Henderson Land Development Company Limited and conceived under the creative direction of Wanders & yoo, led by innovative Dutch designer Marcel Wanders.
Inspired by the Mid-Autumn Festival and the Chinese moon festival legend of Chang’er and the jade rabbit, these internationally acknowledged design gurus have together created an inspired hotel property that showcases contemporary Chinese modernism, while also offering a modern take on the traditional Moon Festival fable.
“The philosophy behind Mira Moon Hotel was to create a feeling of celebration – a magical experience full of memorable moments,” states Wanders.
“Wanchai district is imbued with a rich and diverse history and has an exotic aura that is a fabulous backdrop for a boutique hotel. I wanted to contribute a certain aesthetic from a western perspective and blend that with an overall Asian sensibility for developing the room interiors. Ultimately the idea was to impart an effect that was romantic, inspiring and poetic, which I think has been achieved so beautifully.”
Bathed in a bold sweep of lacquered whites, Chinese red and black, the constant symbol of the Chinese peony flower is also featured, embodied in ornately carved wood panelling and tiled mosaics throughout the property. The moon and jade rabbit also feature in stylised decorative motifs located at the end of every corridor.
From handcrafted, bespoke carpets to glazed ceramics and glass shards, traditional Chinese craftsmanship is a showcase throughout the hotel, including the hotel lobby, where three large moon-shaped Chinese lanterns hang above an intricately tiled floor, representing each of the key characters featured on the annual lunar calendar: the Moon Goddess once a year, the Rabbit once a week and the Moon once a month.
Elements of ancient Chinese culture are expressed through modern furnishings featuring antique Chinese fabrics and prints, details found in the peony flower walls, tailored carpets, digitally composed Bisazza tile graphics and a lucky charm feature wall in the lobby.
The hotel’s rich secondary colour palette in shades of avocado, carrot and coffee also further captures and reflects the vibrant surrounding neighbourhood.
“All the furniture pieces and accessories were designed and tailor made by Wanders & yoo,” states Wanders. “For example, the lanterns in the foyer are symbolic, embellished with gold balls and embossed with the characters from the fairytale. The idea was to have these lanterns move up and down in synch with the daily motion of the moon. It was a device to help convey in a more playful way the Moon Festival story in the details of our design.”
Dedicated floors a welcome feature
The Mira Moon rooms – Half Moon (21 sq.m.), New Moon (26 sq.m.) and Full Moon (38 sq. m.), each feature superbly handcrafted furnishings offset by smart technological solutions, including Air Play music system and pre-installed apps on the iPad mini for convenient and immediate access to the hotel’s services, as well as providing timely information about the city’s entertainment and dining hotspots. The hotel also features a luxuriously spacious penthouse unit (118 sq. m.) located on the 36th floor of the property.
A significant and welcome feature of this new property has also been the introduction of the two dedicated “Ladies’ Floors”, as well as two “Gentlemen’s Floors”, that while identical to the rest of the hotel, provide tailored services for the respective genders.
“Ladies floors” offer beauty items, such as perfumed talcum powder and creams, curling irons and facial steamers to emergency fixes like heels, leggings and fashion tapes, while ladies also get pampered with an extensive array of products.
Bathrobes and slippers that feature different designs for men and women are also provided on both “Ladies floors” and “Gentlemen’s floors”, along with bathroom amenity kits that are gender specific.
The traditional Chinese garment provided in the wardrobe is also either male or female depending on the specific hotel floor. There is also a fully equipped 24-hour gym with exclusive usage times for men and women.
In terms of dining, hotel guests can enjoy a fusion of Chinese-Spanish tapas at the Super Giant Bar & Restaurant. The astronomy, moon goddess and jade rabbit themes also continue between the hotel and restaurant.
Architectural elegance
As design architects for the hotel, the AB Concept team developed a silhouette that would suit Mira Moon’s small footprint, while also protecting it from the hustle and bustle of the very busy neighbourhood outside. The concept combined a sense of sleek verticality with the idea of something withheld or concealed.
Neat lines emphasise the hotel’s vertical nature. The traditional podium design has been forgone in favour of four columns that travel unbroken from the foot to the crown of the building, highlighted architecturally by concealed lighting. To ensure a slimmer effect the designers chose window mullions in unusually narrow proportions.
At ground level the columns meet vertical louvers in a bronze finish, set at slightly varying angles to obscure the view into the lobby and convey a sense of sanctuary.
Key sustainable design strategies incorporated into the design of Mira Moon included potable water saving equal to 4.55 million litres/annum potable water saved; Energy efficiency equal to 200,000kWh or 105 ton CO2 emission reduced per year; and greening through the installation of a 70m² vertical green wall with real vegetation at the 3/ F, Secret Garden plus the planting of native turf on the roof. Mira Moon has also been designated a BEAM 4/04 Provisional Platinum Rating, LEED NC-2009 Gold Rating (Anticipating), and China Green Building Label 2-Star Rating (Anticipating).