The Murray, Hong Kong

The Murray began life in 1969 as a government office block, its white facade of deep recessed arches engineered to shade the interiors from subtropical sun—a design so effective it won energy-efficiency plaudits decades before the term was fashionable. Foster + Partners' conversion, unveiled in 2018, kept the arches and the trademark three-storey entrance vaults, turning a Brutalist-adjacent landmark into one of Asia's most architecturally distinguished hotels.

The location is a quirk in the best way: on Cotton Tree Drive at the foot of the Peak, beside Hong Kong Park and St John's Cathedral, a leafy pocket of Central that feels a step removed from the retail crush. Rooms are among the city's largest, dressed in whites, greys and brass, with the arched window bays forming daybed nooks that frame the park or the towers of Admiralty.

Popinjays, the rooftop restaurant and terrace, delivers skyline views without the queue-for-a-selfie atmosphere of harbourfront rivals, and the Cantonese room downstairs is quietly excellent. A 25th-floor pool and compact spa round things out. For design-minded travellers who find the harbourfront grandes dames a touch formal, The Murray is Hong Kong's most persuasive modern alternative.