Matching ceramic dog lamps, faux fireplaces and tangerine string curtains may sound like a ‘70s-era design abomination, yet these are typical adornments at Hong Kong’s latest hip hotel.

Kowloon’s first design hotel, The Luxe Manor, is a surrealist’s fantasy splashed across 159 rooms in the heart of Tsim Sha Tsui. Capable of titillating even the world’s weariest travellers, the hotel’s abstract design details inspired by Salvador Dali and Antoni Gaudi are balanced with (mostly) concrete conveniences making for a quirky but comfortably stylish stay.

Despite opening a year ago, The Luxe Manor is still a masterwork in progress. Its lipstick-red lobby was recently unveiled and there are still six themed suites (including a Serengeti-styled Safari Suite and ultra-cool Nordic Suite) along with a second restaurant and lounge to be completed before the ‘grand’ opening early in 2008. The guestrooms and haute Italian restaurant Aspasia alone were enough to win over the Conde Nast Traveller folks, who inscribed the hotel on their 2007 ‘Hot List’.

Patterned carpets, hand-painted floral dressers, and gilded frames and mirrors distract from the petite size of the sleeping quarters. You can’t help but crack a smile at some of the fun details: like the crumpled plastic rubbish bins and TVs mounted above the faux fireplace in gold picture frames. Rooms are equipped with NXTV’s Interactive Infotainment System viewable through the flat panel TV, high-definition video-on-demand, and free wireless or broadband internet. As part of the advanced security system, a swipe of your keycard across a sensor in the lift instantly registers your floor before you’re whisked to the designated level.

With its reasonable rates and business conveniences, The Luxe Manor attracts a diverse clientele from corporate suits to snippy fashionistas; the latter will be pleased to know that that there is a slew of luxury label discount outlets just down the road. The hotel also yields easly access to Kowloon’s Star Ferry and China Ferry terminals to Hong Kong Island and Macau respectively, and to Tsim Sha Tsui metro (MTR) station, which is just two stops from Central. Just behind the hotel, the growing entertainment area of Knutsford Terrace has its own trendy strip of bars and restaurants too, all of which combine to make Kowloon a remarkably cool cross-harbour base.