Why you should experience The Murray, a Niccolo Hotel in Hong Kong, China.
The Murray, Hong Kong, a Niccolo Hotel is where architectural heritage becomes modern sculpture, where old-world government grandeur transforms into contemporary luxury, and where your stay feels like stepping into a vertical sanctuary shaped by light, geometry, and the mesmerizing stillness of minimalist refinement.
Located at the gateway between Central and the green corridors of Hong Kong Park, The Murray rises as one of the city's most striking architectural restorations. Originally built in 1969 as a government office tower designed by celebrated architect Ron Phillips, the building was resurrected by Foster + Partners into a design-forward luxury hotel, preserving its iconic arched windows while reimagining its interiors into a world of sculptural calm. From the outside, The Murray appears like a monolithic grid of geometric openings carved into white stone, each arch angled with extraordinary precision to capture natural light while shielding rooms from harsh sun. It is both an artistic and engineering triumph, a piece of Hong Kong's architectural lineage reborn for modern hospitality. Step inside, and the experience becomes even more compelling. The lobby is a study in contemporary serenity: soaring atriums, sleek white marble, sculptural staircases, reflective surfaces, curated art pieces, warm indirect lighting, and quiet pockets of space that feel intentionally carved out from the world. The atmosphere is dramatically calm, almost temple-like, offering a sense of resonant grounding in a city known for its intensity. Rooms at The Murray are masterclasses in minimalist luxury, expansive layouts, soft neutral palettes, warm woods, smooth stone, floor-to-ceiling windows framing greenery or skyline, and elegant furnishings that echo the building's architectural lines. The arched windows, preserved from the original government design, create a unique interior geometry, soft curves against rigorous lines, natural light pooling across floors, and views that feel cinematic whether you face the park, the city, or the hotel's courtyard. Expect plush beds wrapped in immaculate linens; sculptural seating; custom lighting designed to flatter skin and soften space; curated art; and generous floorplans that make every room feel like an elevated urban residence. Bathrooms are sublime, large, luminous sanctuaries with deep stone soaking tubs, walk-in rain showers, double vanities, sleek detailing, and a palette of soft stone and warm metal that feels meditative and indulgent. Suites take the experience further with grand living rooms, expansive walk-in closets, refined dining areas, and panoramic views that blur the line between architecture and landscape. The Murray's top-tier suites offer some of the most distinctive room layouts in Hong Kong, blending modern minimalism with the building's unique structural rhythm. Dining at The Murray is elevated, atmospheric, and shaped by both architecture and culinary craft. Popinjays, the rooftop restaurant and bar, is one of Hong Kong's most glamorous sky-level venues, wrapped in glass, bathed in panoramic views, and crowned by a wraparound terrace offering uninterrupted vistas of Central's skyscrapers and the surrounding green hills.
What you should know about The Murray.
The Murray stands on land rich with Hong Kong's architectural, governmental, and urban-planning history, territory shaped by mid-century engineering, colonial administration, and modern reinvention.
Before becoming a luxury hotel, The Murray was originally constructed as the Murray Building, among the most advanced government office towers of its era. Completed in 1969, it was designed as part of a broader post-war city-planning initiative to modernize government facilities and elevate functional architecture in the public sector. A lesser-known detail: the iconic recessed arches that define the building's façade were not purely aesthetic. They were engineered to reduce solar heat gain, minimize energy consumption, and provide natural shading, decades ahead of sustainability trends that would later influence global architecture. During early construction, engineers uncovered remnants of the old Garden Road terrain, including sloped hillside layers and traces of colonial retaining structures. These findings reflected the area's long history as one of the primary connections between Central and Victoria Peak. For decades, the Murray Building housed key administrative departments and was known for its distinctive architecture, strong structural integrity, and sophisticated environmental design principles. When the Hong Kong government relocated its offices, the building became one of the first major heritage revitalization projects to reinterpret a mid-century government structure into a contemporary luxury hotel. Foster + Partners spearheaded the transformation, preserving the façade's repeating arches and geometric rhythm while gutting the interior to create expansive guest rooms with dramatically increased square footage. During renovation, architects discovered vintage mechanical components, early air-handling systems, and carefully engineered structural redundancies that showed how forward-thinking the original design had been. These elements reinforced the building's significance as a mid-century architectural landmark. Today, The Murray stands as one of Hong Kong's most successful examples of adaptive reuse, preserving history, honoring modern design, and symbolizing the city's ability to transform heritage into contemporary cultural icons.
How to fold The Murray into your trip.
The Murray becomes your sculptural city retreat, where mornings begin with soft light filtering through arched windows, afternoons drift through greenery and culture, and evenings settle into architectural glow and elevated calm.
Start your morning with breakfast at Garden Lounge, sunlight washing over the courtyard while you enjoy refined dishes in a setting shaped by greenery and soft conversation. Step outside into Hong Kong Park, wandering past koi ponds, aviaries, waterfalls, and forested pathways before walking toward the Peak Tram for a classic ascent. Midday, return to your room for a moment of serenity, curl up beside the arched window, soak in the deep stone bathtub, or stretch into the quiet spaciousness of your minimalist sanctuary as the city hums gently below. Spend the afternoon exploring the galleries and boutiques of Central, visiting PMQ, or strolling along the waterfront promenades. If you prefer to stay close, enjoy a wellness treatment or swim beneath the soft illumination of the hotel's indoor pool. As evening falls, ascend to Popinjays for cocktails and dinner, skyline glowing, terrace breezes drifting in, and the city unfurling beneath you in a panorama of light. Afterward, wander through the sculptural arches of the ground-floor colonnade or take a nighttime walk through the leafy calm surrounding the hotel. Return to your room and let the quiet architectural rhythm of The Murray wrap you in its warm, refined stillness.
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