Vue Hotel Hou Hai
Designed by Singapore studio Ministry of Design, Vue Hotel Hou Hai is one such conversion.
The 80-room hotel, which was created within a cluster of buildings constructed in the 1950s, weaves together design elements from both East and West.
Chinese features include jack roofs with ornate eaves, gilded gargoyles, Ming-style chairs, and latticework inspired by Chinese screens that connect the separate volumes while linking them together with private balconies and terraces.
Through a series of landscaped gardens, guests are given access to a bakery-cafe, a restaurant in a former warehouse building that now serves Spanish tapas, and a rooftop bar with a Jacuzzi and views of Hou Hai Lake.
Unusual, eye-catching features, including a gilded trussed structure above the restaurant-bar and giant rabbit sculptures made of bright pink wire, imbue the hotel with a whimsical, Alice in Wonderland personality.