Tears and happy memories abound as iconic Excelsior hotel in Hong Kong closes its doors for the final time after 46 years of service
- Historic waterfront landmark is to be knocked down and replaced with an office building
- Hundreds of guests and staff members mark occasion with one last goodbye
After 46 years, The Excelsior turned out the lights and shut its doors for the final time on Sunday, marking the end of an era for the iconic waterfront hotel.
“I think we’re ready to call it a day,” Torsten van Dullemen, The Excelsior’s general manager, said.
Seven hundred guests and 500 staff members bid farewell to the four-star hotel in Causeway Bay before it is torn down to make way for an office tower.
To commemorate its closure, van Dullemen and one of the hotel’s most loyal guests fired the Noonday Gun, a naval artillery piece by the waterfront opposite the 34-storey building.
The gun salute has been a local tradition for the hotel, and was used to mark its 20th, 35th and 45th anniversaries.
“The support we’ve had from our most loyal guests, the passion, the commitment of our colleagues, and the support we’ve received from everyone around us really touched our hearts,” van Dullemen said. Paul Cheeseman, 55, one of the guests who flew in from London to join van Dullemen for the ceremony, said he was sad to see it go.