UNESCO-awarded Tai O Heritage Hotel Hong Kong has been voted as ‘Asia’s Leading Heritage Hotel 2016’ in World Travel Awards™. This prestigious honour was presented in the World Travel Awards Asia & Australasia Gala Ceremony 2016 to recognise the hotel’s commitment to excellence that has demonstrated in the last 12 months.
World Travel Awards™ was established in 1993 to acknowledge, reward and celebrate excellence across all key sectors of the travel tourism and hospitality industry. It is recognised globally as the ultimate hallmark of quality, with winners setting the benchmark to which all others aspire. World Travel Awards™ is voted by travel and tourism professionals worldwide, and the award ceremony was held at InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort in Vietnam on 15 October 2016.
‘We are grateful to learn that Tai O Heritage Hotel Hong Kong was voted as the Asia’s Leading Heritage Hotel by the industry professionals, this accolade is a great encouragement to us. We will continue our efforts in promoting heritage conservation and sustainable tourism,’ said Mr Daryl Ng JP, Director of Hong Kong Heritage Conservation Foundation Limited.
Initiated and operated as a non-profit social enterprise by Hong Kong Heritage Conservation Foundation Limited (HCF), Tai O Heritage Hotel Hong Kong is one of the six projects under Batch I of Hong Kong SAR Government Development Bureau’s ‘Revitalising Historic Buildings Through Partnership Scheme’. Graded as a Grade II historic building by Hong Kong Antiquities Advisory Board in 2010, the 114-year-old colonial architecture had been transformed successfully from the Old Tai O Police Station to a nine-room heritage boutique hotel surrounded by lush greenery.
Tai O Heritage Hotel Hong Kong has dedicated effort to both hardware conservation led by architectural consultants, interior designers and landscape experts to conserve extensively the Old Tai O Police Station’s original architecture and significance, as well as the software conservation by engaging the Hong Kong community, overseas travellers, conservation enthusiasts harmoniously at large while enhancing social and economic opportunities provided by the conserved heritage boutique hotel. As a non-profit social enterprise, all proceeds of the Hotel deducting operational costs would go to support heritage conservation and the Tai O community.
Since its opening in February 2012, the hotel has received over 920,000 visitors to date and hosts Open House Event annually. This November, the Open House Event will be complemented with the first-ever ‘Wedding Interlude @ Tai O Heritage Hotel’ to be held on 4 and 5 November 2016, showcasing the hotel as an ideal seaside wedding venue to all weds-to-be, who are looking for a ‘hidden-gem’ to stage their dream wedding ceremony, lunch reception or dinner banquet.
The award is the latest international honour received by the hotel. In addition to the 2015 Sustainable Hotel Award – Sustainable Destinations’ by the Hotel Investment Conference Asia Pacific (HICAP), it has received a total of 21 accolades, recognising its devotion in heritage conservation, service excellence, corporate social responsibility and eco-tourism.