Perhaps for one last time, the Hyatt Regency hotel's lobby will be swarming with guests and staff again.
For two weeks from today, the 36-year-old hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui, which closed on New Year's Eve, will hold a sale of its entire inventory. Only a few signature pieces will be saved for its reopening at a nearby site next year.
The assortment of items for sale is vast - limousines, grand pianos, escalators, chandeliers, televisions, fridges, duvets, bath towels, cables, railings, pots, pans, decanters, pepper mills, plates, jugs and cutlery. Some items have already been sold to big buyers - restaurants, other hotels, Hyatt's VIP guests - who have been ordering in bulk before the sale opens to the general public.
The most attractive part of the 'treasure hunt' takes place on the second floor. The entire 20,000 sq ft space, home to many of the hotel's restaurants, including the famed Hugo's, has been transformed into a showcase for thousands of items of top-quality kitchen equipment.
Paul Lau, who ends his 25-year career with Hyatt today as manager of Hugo's, said he 'felt the pain' at seeing what only a week ago was the restaurant's proud possessions - Christofle silverware, Narumi porcelain, Rosenthal dinnerware - being sold at bargain prices.
Pointing at hundreds of Christofle knives on the floor, the manager said: 'They cost $1,000 each in the shops. Now it's marked for about $100.' Crystal decanters that cost a few thousand dollars each are up for grabs at $500.
