When the Hilton Hotel chain came to Hong Kong in the 1960s
'Executives of the Hilton Hotel chain said today that they would visit Hongkong for the express purpose of discussing plans for a new luxury hotel there,' reported the South China Morning Post on January 11, 1956.
Advertisement
'Mr John Houser, executive vice-president of Hilton Hotels International, and Mr Rug Purpus, publicity director for the new hotel chain, will leave New York on January 20 on a tour through Asia and the Middle East which will take them to Hongkong, Honolulu, Tokyo, Manila, Sydney, Melbourne, Djakarta, Singapore, Bangkok, Bombay, New Delhi, Karachi, Baghdad and then to Cairo and Istanbul to inspect the new Hilton Hotels in those later two cities. Mr Purpus said: 'Hongkong is definitely on our list. We are going there for the express purpose of discussing plans for a new luxury hotel there.''
How the South China Morning Post broke the story of the plans for a Hilton Hotel in the city on January 11, 1956. Photo: SCMP Archives
On April 3, 1963, the Post ran the update that Mr Howard Baron, general manager of Wynncor Inc, owners of the Hong Kong Hilton, 'discussed the impact […] the new hotel will have on the economy of Hongkong'.
'Planning for the hotel began three years ago, Mr Baron said, when the owners purchased the old Murray Barracks site. Nearly one year ago Mr Baron set the opening date for April 15, 1963. The Hongkong Hilton, Mr Baron continued, would bring an additional 25,000 tourists into the colony each year, each spending an average of US$40 to US$50 a day.
'He said rooms would begin at US$10 while the average double room would be US$12 to US$14 a day.'
Conrad Hilton, chairman and president of the Hilton Hotels, said 'Hong Kong is perhaps the most exciting city in the world today' when his hotel opened in the city.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
16 minutes ago
- South China Morning Post
Café de Coral seeks intangible cultural heritage status for baked pork chop rice
Hong Kong fast-food chain Café de Coral has submitted an application for baked pork chop rice – its signature dish – to be included on the city's intangible cultural heritage list. Advertisement In May, the restaurant group, which has more than 160 outlets in the city, rolled out limited-edition discount coupons to get the dish for HK$20 (US$2.60) – less than half what it usually costs – to mark its application. Café de Coral announced its application on May 30, just ahead of Hong Kong Leisure and Cultural Services Department's first Intangible Cultural Heritage Month , which runs throughout June. Baked pork chop rice is typically made by baking a mixture of cheese, tomato sauce, pork chop and vegetables atop a bed of fried rice. It is a quintessential dish of Hong Kong's 'soy sauce Western' – a hybrid cuisine fusing Cantonese and European ingredients that emerged in the city in the mid-20th century, during British colonial rule.
South China Morning Post
17 minutes ago
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong businesses, social groups create platform to plan for ‘silver economy'
Hong Kong businesses, social groups, a major bank and a think tank have jointly set up a platform to devise initiatives to make the city more elderly-friendly through the nurturing of a 'silver economy'. Advertisement The Alliance of Silver Economy Development was launched on Tuesday and aims to encourage collaboration between companies and social organisations. Alliance convenor and lawmaker Chan Hok-fung said local stakeholders had yet to come together to align and implement silver economy strategies, with the new platform aiming to connect all the sectors involved. 'Working with organisations such as Our Hong Kong Foundation, which focuses on research, while the alliance helps unite different stakeholders and initiate concrete and on-the-ground actions, could help push the silver economy,' he said after signing a collaboration memorandum with the foundation. The alliance features representatives from various sectors, such as the Bank of China (Hong Kong), the Hong Kong Council of Social Service, the Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades, the Our Hong Kong Foundation think tank and several lawmakers. Advertisement Government data showed the spending of people aged 60 and above reached HK$342 billion (US$43.6 billion) in 2024, accounting for 11 per cent of the city's gross domestic product, with the figure expected to rise. Ryan Ip Man-ki, vice-president of Our Hong Kong Foundation's Public Policy Institute, said the think tank expected more aggressive growth than the government's prediction that such spending would reach HK$496 billion in 2034.
South China Morning Post
an hour ago
- South China Morning Post
Ancient Moon shuts as Hong Kong's restaurant shake-up claims Michelin-listed eatery
Hong Kong's tough retail environment has claimed another victim, with a Michelin-designated restaurant announcing its closure after a decade of serving nasi lemak, bak kut teh and chilli pan mee in North Point. Ancient Moon, which serves Singaporean and Malaysian food on Kam Ping Street in the eastern part of Hong Kong Island, said its last day of operation would be on July 19, according to its Instagram post. It received a Bib Gourmand designation in the 2024 Michelin Guide for Hong Kong and Macau, which recognises restaurants that serve 'high-quality food for only HK$400 (US$51) or less', excluding three-course meals and drinks. 'We have tried to adapt but our ability and resources are limited,' the restaurant owners said on Instagram. 'We have spent 11 years here and there were a lot of gains and losses.' The interior of Ancient Moon on December 9, 2017. Photo: Kylie Knott While 'business [has been] bad since last year', rent was not a reason for the closure, according to the owners, adding that the shop's landlord was very good to them.
