The Jervois

While "funky" and "bohemian" might have become the new hospitality watchwords, the dream of glossy, clean-lined modernism is alive in Hong Kong. You know Christian Liaigre for his work in Europe, especially Paris, but his elegant, focused interiors work is on display at the Jervois, a high-end, high-rise, high-design boutique hotel in Sheung Wan, one of the island’s most desirable districts — seemingly hidden in plain sight, surrounded by many of the city’s finest shops and restaurants.

The architecture, by Liaigre’s fellow Frenchman Florent Nédélec, also merits mention — the building’s simple form seems to open the suites, in identical twin columns, to public view. Of course the views from inside out are, if anything, even more impressive, with sunlight plentiful through the full-length corner windows, and the in-room comforts are very much up to the current luxury-boutique standard.

Liaigre’s involvement means special attention is paid to materials and textures, and there’s a subtle richness about the Jervois’s surfaces that’s perhaps more powerful than any amount of jewels and gilt. And while it lacks the ostentatious presentation of the typical five-star business hotel — not to mention such frivolities as lobbies, restaurants, or public spaces of any description at all — the Jervois’s audience clearly prefers a more private, low-key, residential vibe. Let’s hope it’s a sign of things to come in Hong Kong hospitality.