TRADITION WELL SERVED TRADITION 2016 1 A LETTER FROM THE CHAIRMAN nniversaries are a time to pause and reflect. As we review The new company, as well as owning hotels in Hong Kong, now our past, it is important to recognise the many milestones had full control over Shanghai’s Astor House and Palace Hotel. that have shaped our company, and to remember the Later additions were The Majestic in Shanghai and the Grand Hotel Aindividuals whose legacies have ensured the beneficial role that we des Wagons-Lits in Peking. have played in Hong Kong’s success story. Plans were soon afoot for a third hotel to be built on the Our history begins in the latter part of the nineteenth century: Kowloon peninsula – at the time a sleepy backwater. Although six years after Kowloon was ceded to Great Britain, and 32 years originally a government project to take advantage of the transport before the New Territories were leased. Sedan chairs and rickshaws links afforded by the railway terminus and the nearby quays of were the transport of the day. Kowloon, it was Taggart’s vision and determination that ensured The 1860s were a period of growing interest in the Far East The Peninsula Hotel, when opened, would become “the finest hotel and, thanks to popular literature at the time, Hong Kong held a east of Suez”. Due to a number of construction challenges, this particular fascination for travellers attracted to the orient. The project was nearly abandoned, but Taggart persisted despite growth of tourism was facilitated by entrepreneurs such as Thomas objections from shareholders who believed any hotel built in Cook who arranged fledging tour services for independent travellers Kowloon would be a “white elephant”. The detractors were soon via a rail link through Siberia. This was also the age of the great proved wrong when shortly after its opening in 1928, royalty and ocean liners and, with the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, a celebrities including Charlie Chaplin and Paulette Goddard were faster passage between Europe and Asia was established. Americans regular visitors. and Europeans alike soon found themselves journeying towards Following the end of World War II, The Peninsula Hotel was Hong Kong in increasing numbers. requisitioned as the headquarters of the Kowloon military The colony became the centre for tourism in the Far East and administration. My father, Lord Kadoorie, was the first civilian affluent travellers expected their usual luxury accommodation. To internee to return from Shanghai to Hong Kong. From his base at cater for this, The Hongkong Hotel Company was established in The Peninsula he served as chairman of The Hongkong and 1866. The Hong Kong Hotel was located at the corner of Queen’s Shanghai Hotels and on various government committees to help Road and Pedder Street and opened in 1868. It rapidly became the the territory get back on its feet. most favoured place to stay, playing host to visiting celebrities as In 1950, my uncle, Sir Horace Kadoorie, became company well as businessmen and international travellers alike. Described Chairman, a role he held for some 35 years. Horace was the driving by the Hong Kong press as “the greatest enterprise of its kind in force behind the company’s post-war success and oversaw the China and Japan” it set the standards of the day. renovation of The Peninsula in the 1960’s and the development of the A few years later came the next important chapter in our first Peak Tower in 1972. He inspired management to pursue the group’s history. Asia’s first funicular railway, the Peak Tram, was highest standards of quality and service that continue to this day. established in 1888 with wooden carriages shuttling passengers The future is built on the past, and the events that shaped our between the lower Garden Road terminus and the upper terminus history also govern our current operations. Behind our international located next to The Peak Hotel. What had taken up to an hour by reputation lies our ethos of community responsibility and a belief sedan chair would now be a journey of less than ten minutes. in the importance of integrity and sustainability. In this anniversary In 1880, my grandfather, Sir Elly Kadoorie, arrived in Hong year, our team reminds Hong Kong of its rich history, thereby Kong from Baghdad as a teenager and, in 1891, he purchased 25 hoping to enable the whole community to share in our heritage. shares in The Hongkong Hotel Company. Thus began the long More than a century after they were established, The Peninsula history of family association with the company which continues to Hotel, the Peak Complex, the Peak Tram, and the Repulse Bay, this day. He was soon joined by his brother, Sir Ellis, who became remain some of Hong Kong’s most iconic tourist attractions. Our the major shareholder in 1906. Both served long tenures on the brand has been established world-wide with hotels in Asia, the company’s board, setting in motion plans that would create a hotel United States and most recently Europe. During our long history, empire that spanned Hong Kong, Shanghai and Peking. we have always combined the graciousness of the past with the most In the early twentieth century, booming tourism created a modern innovations of the day. shortage of hotel rooms. Then, as now, our company was a pioneer As part of the celebrations on this momentous occasion, we in finding solutions. James Taggart, the successful manager of The have commissioned a series of giant helium balloons shaped in the Hongkong Hotel and chief executive officer of the company, form of classic HSH icons, representing our long association with initiated plans for an entirely new enterprise. He held a deep travel, adventure and fun. appreciation for the natural beauty of the south side of Hong Kong Throughout the pages of this magazine, you will read all of Island, particularly Repulse Bay, which then could only be reached these stories and more, as we celebrate a century and a half of on foot or by boat. Taggart understood that this beach-front vista unforgettable memories and the glamour of travel in all its forms. would be the ideal location for a resort hotel - one to rival the very I hope you will enjoy the read. best in Europe. Thus The Repulse Bay Hotel was constructed and duly opened in 1920, and along with its famous Lido, helped cement Hong Kong’s reputation as the ‘Riviera of the Orient’. Sir Ellis Kadoorie passed away in 1922, at which time James Taggart became managing director of the company. Taggart acquired 85 percent of The Shanghai Hotels, Limited and, in 1923, merged the two companies to become The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels. The Hon. Sir Michael Kadoorie 2 CONTENTS 2 | A LETTER FROM THE CHAIRMAN 46 | A GOTHAM EVOLUTION 98 | SETTING A TREND 142 | AN IMPERIAL REBIRTH The story of The Gotham hotel, later to become The Hong Kong and the rest of the world has been wining and First opened in 1989 as The Palace Hotel and rebranded 6 | A PHILANTHROPIC TRADITION Peninsula New York. dining at Gaddi’s for over 60 years; from its early days with as The Peninsula Beijing in 2006, the hotel has always During the 1880s, two scions of a wealthy Baghdad family a menu that included borsch along with sardines on toast, been at the forefront of contemporary design of its era. of merchants travelled East. Together they made the Kadoorie 50 | REMEMBERING JAMES TAGGART all the way through its evolution to the gourmet French name synonymous as much for their generosity towards those We remember James Harper Taggart, the first Managing cuisine served today. 146 | A LABOUR OF LOVE less fortunate, as for the wealth they accumulated. Director of The Hongkong Hotel Company. The creation of The Peninsula Beverly Hills. 104 | A LIFE LESS ORDINARY 12 | DIRECTING A LEGACY 56 | A PALACE REBORN Ask Felix Bieger about The Peninsula Hong Kong and you 150 | AN HOMAGE TO TRAVEL For 15 years, Clement Kwok has been the CEO of The 19 Avenue Kléber in Paris, formerly the Hôtel Basilewski, know that you are in for a treat. Having not only made his A signature feature of Peninsula hotels in Hong Kong, Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited (HSH), leading the Palais de Castille, and The Majestic Hotel, is now the way through the ranks to hold the title General Manager Bangkok, Tokyo, Shanghai and Paris are these properties’ the group into an exciting new era. prestigious address of The Peninsula Paris. of Hong Kong’s Grand Dame of the hospitality trade three aviation-themed venues, located at the top of each hotel. times, he has devoted himself to a career spanning 62 years. Filled with unique and nostalgic memorabilia, they pay 14 | A BORN LEADER 62 | THE AGE OF STEAM homage to the development of air travel throughout history. Peter Borer’s respectful, understated approach has served The beginnings of the Kowloon-Canton railway. 110 | CALIFORNIA DREAMING him well during 35 years with The Hongkong and Shanghai 1964 was the year when the Beatles were taking America by 156 | GOOD MORNING VIETNAM! Hotels and earned him the 2013 Corporate Hotelier of 64 | ENDURING THE TIMES storm, the Civil Rights Act was signed into law by President HSH builds a landmark in Ho Chi Minh. the World award. The story of the evolution of the qi pao. Lyndon Johnson, and a legend was born in Carmel Valley. 158 | PAR FOR THE COURSE 16 | UP, UP AND AWAY 66 | TALES OF LOVE AND WAR 114 | MAKING A SCENE The Thai Country Club opened in 1996 and is a haven to The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited has been The famed and the fabled at The Repulse Bay hotel.