CREATING A hotel from scratch is a daunting task. But to establish your own brand at the same time means facing competitors such as the self-proclaimed 'highest hotel in the world', the Ritz-Carlton, across the harbour.
Compared with the Ritz-Carlton, which opened its doors on the top floors of the International Commerce Centre at the end of March, Hotel De Edge is decidedly downmarket. It's a 'three-and-a-half' star hotel opening this spring, aimed at independent or business travellers looking for something a little more different, a little more local.
And it's an all-Hong Kong affair, developed by the company Mulitex under the guidance of the hotel-management firm Rhombus International Hotels. The hotel's clean, calm look comes from Cream, the Causeway Bay-based design shop set up by creative director Antony Chan.
It's the same team that put together the successful Hotel LKF, albeit for a different owner. The hotels are similar in size - 95 rooms at Hotel LKF, 90 at Hotel De Edge - but will take different approaches. Hotel LKF, a refit of an office building, is averaging a rate of HK$2,600 per night, higher than some of the big chains. Hotel De Edge, which is newly built, will instead be targeting an average room rate of about HK$1,000 per night.
That's partly a function of its location. Hotel De Edge is in Sai Ying Pun, so it can't command downtown prices. Still, from its location at 94-95 Connaught Road West, it's a 10-minute taxi ride to Central, or even a brief stroll into Sheung Wan.
Chan aims to use the hotel's location to its advantage. Though the hotel was built from scratch on the site, it's still an 'in-fill' site pinned between other buildings, and a street or two away from the shark's fin stores and paper-offering stalls that give western Sheung Wan plenty of local flavour.
'A hotel is not just a separate entity, it is like a journey,' Chan says. 'Coming in here, we have tried to generate not only a room that is comfortable but also gives people the feel of being in the city.'