The hotel we are going to visit this time is unlike anything we've seen before. In fact, it doesn't even call itself a hotel.

Rather, it goes by the name of "manor", which refers to a lord's mansion in Europe with its unique dcor and architectural style.

With these distinctive features, The Luxe Manor sets out entertaining a unique concept of hospitality that revolves around art and design.

Founded in 2006 by a man who is a fervent fan of Dadaism and surrealism, The Luxe Manor seeks to unroll before people's eyes the twentieth-century art genre that goes against classical aesthetics but rather expresses art through the use of irony and stark contrasts. One of the small luxury hotels in town, The Luxe Manor has become known as an art-inspired abode that "tells stories".

"Wherever you go, there is a story," says the hotel's general manager George Wang.

Storytelling starts with a seemingly unwelcoming entrance. Unlike most other hotels that place their front doors on the main street, The Luxe Manor has its copper and gold entrance inside. And inside is a dreamlike ambience.

Time is frozen the moment people walk in, as the giant clock on the floor of the lobby suggests, while the bicycle at the side of the clock seems ready to take the guests straight into the hotel's story land.

From the mosaic wall, crystal tree trunk to the Old Master Q chair, everything about the lobby has its own story to tell, the hotel says.

Storytelling pays too. Four years after it opened, The Luxe Manor boasts nearly 100 percent occupancy rates.

"Basically, there is no other hotel in Hong Kong that plays as much as we do into the idea of art and design," Wang says.

Dining is turned into an art form at The Luxe Manor where diners become part of the fairytales of Hell, Heaven and Eden, the hotel's themed private dining rooms.

Heavenly touches find expression in the white fluffy curtains, silver grey leather chairs and expansive mirror walls at Heaven, which has become a favorite spot for wine tasting events and wedding receptions.

Deep red and black are the theme colors at "Hell", where paintings of blossoming fire, candles the height of a man, and lava-like fluids broiling underneath the glass doorway bring about the existence of a devilish ambience.

Eden is a recreation of the dreamland found in the ancient Bible story, reflected in a light green carpet, peacock feather curtains, flower-lined walls, and floral patterned furniture casting a mood of bliss and romance.

While dining comes in the company of "angels" and "devils" at The Luxe Manor, sleep takes place in the wild imagination of distant lands. A Middle East life style is reenacted at Safari where a desert-like setting, together with a starry night sky, gives a mysterious touch. The Nordic room, by contrast, has a much cooler ambience with matching lighting, carpets, and wallpaper.

Mirage, a mild distortion of space and time, is the most popular among customers, according to the hotel. From a pendant lamp shaped in the same fashion as Marilyn Monroe's hairstyle, a television set swathed in draperies to colored window checkers, everything about the room is a decadently divine foray into surrealism where nothing is quite what it seems.

A small hotel with just 150 rooms, The Luxe Manor has gained a firm hold in the seamless list of luxury hotels and international chains which, in the words of the general manager, have everything "from a restaurant to a spa", and of course can be regarded as "top class".

However, The Luxe Manor decided from the very first day to not just place its bets on the hardware it has. Rather, it lays its stake on a design element and a human touch.

"Competition is always out there. It all depends on how you position yourself in the market place," says Wang.

A design element certainly helped while the hotel was trying to get its name out during its first days of business. "We find it relatively easy to have the market know us because we are uniquely designed," Wang says.

To the majority of people in Hong Kong, the term designer hotel has almost become synonymous with The Luxe Manor.

Themed suites are in particular demand. The limited availability causes the hotel headaches now and then as the supply always falls short of demand.

Yet, if the unique design has helped the small hotel stand on its own feet, it is "a human touch" that makes the whole business tick. "What makes a boutique hotel run are humans, the nice service people provides," Wang says.

And this human touch, he suggests, has to find its way into even the smallest of details, such as providing a bed with the right support. Or a shower with just the right amount of pressure.

"You must make the guests feel at home with the service you provide," Wang says.

China Daily

(HK Edition 10/08/2010 page12)