The walls and floor of our room at TUVE are concrete. The bathroom is marble and there are steel and glass shower fittings. To create this level of minimalism with little fuss but maximum functionality (and as stylishly as this) takes a lot of planning and design time; four years in the case of this Hong Kong boutique hotel.
It might sound stark, and it is, but beautifully so. It is comfortable too which is a design feat in itself. The King bed (white linen sheets of course) has an oak headboard and there’s a large grey rug – it’s the only ‘soft’ thing (other than the bed) in the room.
There’s a bespoke concrete desk behind the bed with a moulded pale blue (the only colour in the room that isn’t shades of grey) Panton Chair. On the desk there are two key items; a smart phone and a tea chest.
The phone is loaded and ready with tips for travellers – it’s yours during your stay to take out, make international calls, and to help you navigate the back streets of the city.
The handmade wooden chest opens up like a lovely tea caddy to hold snacks – it’s like a little treasure chest of goodies and helpfully due to the hotel having no restaurants.
In the smaller rooms the box is up-scaled and opens up to include a desk and chair – it’s something that would be great to have at home to hide away the mess. While not all rooms are designed the same they all make use of the same materials and sleek design touches.
Light floods in on the 30th floor of our ‘Premier Room’ from the floor-to-ceiling windows. At night the light is evenly spread through the room thanks to the circular light fittings and the wall-edged floor lighting.
The level’s of minimalism give the hotel a timelessness, and we love it. Even down to the hotel entrance – tucked away on a side street in the lively Tin Hau district the only sign for the hotel is placed discreetly on the pavement outside. The hotel is a black monolith that tells none of the story that is held inside.
On entry, next to industrial styled metal sheets, and down a short alleyway through tall heavy doors, you are on to shiny marble floors and opposite the elevators to take you one floor up to the lobby – but this is not a lobby like you are used to.
The first thing to hit you is the signature fragrance by New York perfumers Le Labo (Tuve’s toiletries are all Le Labo’s Santal 33 which is a real treat). Next, as your eyes adjust (and providing you arrive on a semi-bright day), speckles of light catch the walls like stars as the light shines through a perforated metal wall. There is a huge square block in the centre of the lobby that you have to navigate around to meet with your host to check in. It feels more intimate; like there is a barrier removed, and is the start of a stay at a unique hotel you are unlikely to forget.
Design:
Hong Kong-based Design Systems used the atmospheric photographs of a Swedish lake that were provided as the reference material for the hotel which were taken by Danish architectural and landscape photographer Kim Høltermand.
The neighbourhood:
The area of Tin Hau is a lively and bustling neighbourhood close to Causeway Bay and around the corner from Victoria Park. For a bite to eat close to the hotel we tried Campers, a busy Japanese curry restaurant, and Ki’s Roasted Goose Restaurant which has been there since 1976 and does a busy trade in rice and goose, suckling pig and jellyfish dishes.
Ideal for
:
Stylish travellers hungry for Instagram content who are looking for a cool place to stay close to all the action and a base that’s easy to get around via the MTR.
TUVE, 16 Tsing Fung St, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong
Room rates start from around £100 per night.
