Taste the past at these 5 Asian colonial piles preserved as boutique hotels
From Malaysia to Myanmar, colonial-era hotels and mansions have been restored to offer tourists some of the finest contemporary accommodation anywhere
While Hong Kong has been criticised for neglecting its architectural heritage, many Asian cities not only preserve but transform crumbling colonial estates into some of the region’s finest contemporary boutique hotels.
Here are some that have already been restored to their former glory, as well as Yangon’s Strand Hotel, built in 1901, which reopens in November.
Cambodia’s colonial vestiges can be found everywhere, especially in the capital, Phnom Penh. The Victorian-era Governor’s House was recently converted into 12 exclusive rooms. Inspired by such famed hotels as Singapore’s Raffles, Bangkok’s Oriental and the Strand in Yangon (see below), the “house” has a facade and design features that showcase a bygone era, but with all the technological conveniences modern travellers demand. Rooms are named after such literary luminaries as Kipling and Hemingway and range from the standard attic balcony to the junior suite, with prices starting at HK$800 a night.
Mao Tse Toung Boulevard 3, Boeug Keng Kong 1, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, +855 23 987 025, governorshouse.net
