The lobby at Luxe Manor.  Click the photo to truly appreciate the work.

But in the tacky department, the cruise ship has nothing--nothing--on this Hong Kong hotel. It is called the Luxe Manor, and it exceeds any expectations the words "luxe" and "manor" may set. The lobby is in a style you could call Haute Liberace. The check-in counter is shrouded in cream and red velvet  curtains, and directly across from it sits an oversized red vinyl wing chair with gilded legs and lacy silver trim. On the floor, someone has carefully painted the face of a roman clock.

In my room, the bar fridge is hidden inside pink Louis IV-style chest of drawers, which is, in fact, a cabinet. There is a box of mixed nuts sitting on top of it--delicious, incidentally--which I think may have been the inspiration for Brokeback Mountain. The string curtains are bright orange, and the night tables, which do not match, seem to be competing with each other for maximum gaudiness. The mirror is framed in gilded metal. So is the flat screen TV. I can turn it on and watch professional ping pong, the greatest of all raquet sports. In the hallways, there is an unending stream of terrible dance music, even at seven in the morning.

The tackiness is so overt as to be preposterous. And the truth is, I like it.


The TV is on, but I don't know where to look