The semi-private dining area overlooks Victoria Harbour.

Arriving at the Upper House it is hard not to feel sorry for taxi drivers. Despite being located at Pacific Place, one of Hong Kong’s most prominent addresses, the hotel itself is so carefully tucked away that you could easily miss it. A subtle stylised ‘UH’ logo is all that announces the place to passers-by.

Slipping through a Thomas Heatherwicke-designed stone curtain and into the building there is an immediate sense of calm and comfort.

Check-in is handled online so there’s no desk, only the sight of the hotel’s welcoming team decked out in their crisp but casual outfits.

Housed in a 49-storey building, the hotel is split between a landing area and the rooms, which start on the 38th floor.

The rooms are the largest in
the crowded city.

Whisked up in a lift, guests are lofted out of the city and into the world of the Upper House.

Wedged in between the busy Wan Chai and Central districts, the Upper House is the perfect base for exploring the city as it settles into its 21st century role.

Old city, new facilities While Beijing and Shanghai boom, Hong Kong has the relaxed self-confidence of a well-established metropolis.

There is new money, as the towers of the International Finance Centre and International Commerce Centre facing off across the harbour indicate, but the Jockey Club and British street names are reminders of its imperial past. That blend of vitality and refinement lures the more stylish Chinese south to mix with Western expats and visitors, and to shop and enjoy themselves.

The easy-going sensibility is evident in the 49th-floor Upper House bar, where groups of people pack out the window-side booths and peer down on the city below, chattering in Chinese, English and French.

On weekends, it is packed all night, and even Sunday draws a good crowd hoping to stave off the working week a little longer.

The only disadvantage of drinking all the way up there is it makes popping out for a cigarette a bit difficult, but it does mean a chance to venture down to the sixth-floor terrace garden. By morning, ash trays have been cleared away for weekend yoga classes, and, while the outside room is a luxury in Hong Kong, it’s a shame the ‘grass’ is artificial.

Preferring to avoid any early morning bending and stretching, families gather for breakfast in Café Gray Deluxe to prepare for the heat of the day and plan, with military precision, exactly how they will unload their wallets in the Pacific Place mall. In the evenings, they are replaced by couples seeking the intimacy of the restaurant.

Gray Kunz’s menu features his signature short beef ribs matched with Asian and European dishes. The dishes mirror the hotel itself: immaculately presented but not fancy or intimidating.

Key players
Veteran general manager Dean Winter traded England for Hong Kong, where he now lives with his family, and has been deeply involved in the project from its conception. The design and remodelling project was handed to Hong Kong-born rising star Andre Fu.

At just 31, when he received the commission, Fu spent four years bringing his vision for the hotel to life, tackling the challenge of creating an inviting intimate space inside a skyscraper.

He describes the project as a ‘poetic upward journey’ from entrance to the crowning halo, suspended over the sky bridge across the atrium and into Café Gray. Meanwhile, 120ft below the bridge, a pool casts reflections up the wall, mingling with Hiroshiwata Sawada’s steel lattice sculpture Rise, and uniting the vertical space.

Unique touches
With 117 rooms, the Upper House is not exactly boutique but it has a very different feel to the giant business hotels that otherwise dominate the city’s luxury scene.

Working on a relatively small scale, the team has focused on quality and detail. Oak and bamboo are matched against Italian Bedonia stone; clean crisp lines are softened by hazy lighting. Art features throughout the public and private spaces: Marvin Mintofang’s heavy stone sculptures duel with Choi Tae Hoon’s wiry steel creations.

The rooms themselves are the largest in the crowded city – even the smallest would pass for a suite at many other hotels on the island, and are divided almost equally between living space and bathroom.

The most striking features are the views across downtown Hong Kong, and the large windows give the feeling you could just stride out across the rooftops. The downside is that when the curtains are drawn the rooms suddenly lose some of their charm.

The design team focused on
quality and detail.

That disappointment aside, there is an incredible attention to detail in the design. Drawers, for example, are glass fronted to stop guests forgetting things.

A holdall is stashed at the bottom of the wardrobe to lug away souvenirs; made of parachute fabric, it is strong enough to be checked in on the way home.

Clean crisp lines meet
soft hazy lighting.

Customised iPod Touches give access to information about the surrounding area and can be used to order room service. The hotel plays on the distinction between public and private space.

While the rooms were conceived as floating sanctuaries, the bar and restaurant were designed to draw in anyone, explains managing director Brian Williams, except bored business travellers.