Hugo Montanari shares that beyond the international awards and critical success, serving the Hong Kong community is what matters the most.
By the time he turned 16 years old, Hugo Montanari had travelled to 17 countries across the world, following his diplomat father to missions based in Africa and Asia.
The Italian-Frenchman had, understandably, caught the “travel bug”. In his professional life as a hotelier, he has ventured to seven more destinations, managing five-star hotels across New York, Delhi, Ibiza, Dubai, and more.
“I recently had to reassure my children that we are staying in Hong Kong for a lot longer,” Hugo quips in an interview inside one of Rosewood Hong Kong’s harbourview suites. The lives of diplomats and hoteliers are one and the same, jumping from place to place, job to job, but Hugo adores Hong Kong.
“The energy is back in Hong Kong!” he proudly states. Hugo joined the luxury hotel as managing director in January 2023, the year Rosewood Hong Kong “reopened again”. First launching to the world in 2019, the Tsim Sha Tsui-based hotel endured four years of tumult before a steady stream of international guests would pour back in.
And pour back in they have. The hotel today exists as a modern Tower of Babel, with Chinese, Arabic, Portuguese, English, Tagalog, Thai, Cantonese, Spanish, French, and Italian heard echoing throughout the lobby and the hotel’s 11 restaurants and bars.
“We have opened our doors to people that have never visited Hong Kong before, it is fascinating. I believe we’re helping put Hong Kong back on the map in a very positive way.”
Just under 50 million international visitors, three quarters of those visiting from mainland China, booked a trip to Hong Kong in 2025. It made for a momentous year for Rosewood Hong Kong, where the hotel earned a dual victory: the title of World’s Best Hotel and three MICHELIN Keys, the dining guide’s new global hotel ranking system.
“A big goal of mine has been that we are accepted by the community, the greater community of Hong Kong,” with Hugo referring to Rosewood Hong Kong’s signature F&B collection as a major pull for Hong Kongers, beyond global tourist attention.
From 2020 onwards, Rosewood Hong Kong became a household name for quality dining experiences when Hong Kongers could not travel abroad. One MICHELIN Star Indian restaurant CHAAT became one of the hardest restaurants to book in the city, with steakhouse HENRY, jazz bar DarkSide, Italian trattoria BluHouse, and upscale cha chaan teng Holt’s Cafe all earning their stripes as trusted restaurants for local gourmands.
“With our food and beverage programme at the hotel, we really want to run our venues as standalone restaurants as part of a hotel, not just as a hotel restaurant. We are focussed on affordability, accessibility, and quality of food.”
The hotel has earned attention at Butterfly Patisserie for their viral custard flans, a reignited love for casual French dining at the one-year-old Marmo Bistro, replacing fine-dining restaurant The Dining Room, and the public reopening of bar XX.
“With our two venues [CHAAT and The Legacy House] holding MICHELIN Stars, we are super grateful for everything done to receive these awards, but we can’t let that get to us. We need to continue focussing on the interaction with guests through the quality of food, service, and storytelling.”
For Hugo, relationship-building with guests, such as exchanging business cards with diners sharing personal WhatsApp numbers for easing booking, is essential to reinforce the hotel as a destination for a personal and complete dining experience in the city.
This interview with Hugo marked the final day of March, the hotel’s anniversary month celebrating seven years in Hong Kong this year. March is also seen as a “catalyst for the rest of the year”.
“Since 2023, we always use the month of March to share with our community how we continue to reinvent ourselves. In 2023, we introduced Rosewood Artistry, inviting seven chefs from different Rosewood properties globally to host a melting pot of food collaborations.”
“In 2024, as we celebrated five years, we launched Front Row, bringing together dozens of activities centered on art and food celebrating Art Month. We even brought yachts to the hotel to bring guests staying at Rosewood Hong Kong to Art Basel Hong Kong across the harbour.”
This year, the hotel introduced Rise to the Table, a one-year global mentorship programme empowering women in hospitality seeking new opportunities in the industry.
“From March onwards into April, May, June, and the rest of the year, we want to give a reason for our guests to come back again and again.”
Art, alongside culture and taste, make up the three supporting pillars of Rosewood Hong Kong. “On every floor of this hotel, there is a different immersive experience blending the three pillars, bringing elements of surprise and discovery to guests.”
October 2025 was a turning point for Rosewood Hong Kong, a month Hugo won’t forget. On Oct. 14, the MICHELIN Keys guide debuted globally, with Rosewood Hong Kong debuting with Three Keys, the only hotel in Hong Kong and Macau to receive the highest award. 16 days later, the hotel was crowned the World’s Best Hotel 2025.
“I wasn’t even there for the [World’s 50 Best Hotels] ceremony, I was in [South] Africa riding in a gravel bike race. I found out only 24 hours after the award was announced,” he laughs.
“And I had no clue about the MICHELIN Keys award too! I honestly still pinch myself today about this.”
In his team’s office, Hugo has a poster detailing each year’s goals for transparency and accountability. “In the corner, there is a picture of a lion stuck onto the poster, reminding everybody that we need to constantly stay humble and stay hungry.”
“Even though these awards are great for the destination, and of course we are extremely proud, the expectations now go really high. The most important thing is that the feeling of the guest is 10 out of 10 by the time they leave. And if it’s not, we have work to do and continuously keep finding ways to improve.”
“Whether it is Bar Leone, whether it’s us, Rosewood Hong Kong, or now The Chairman [earning titles in 50 Best award ceremonies], I do feel that those awards have amplified a really positive message of Hong Kong, that we need to do everything in our power to continue to make this destination great.”
Ultimately, Hugo wants to place the hotel in the thoughts of every traveler’s mind when they come to the city.
“We are bringing guests that have never experienced Hong Kong before or are coming for a second time and not necessarily loyal to a brand, but want to experience us.”
For Hugo, this ambassadorial mission has been a philosophy followed throughout his life as a hotelier since his first job in the south of Spain at 16-years-old. “When I finished school, I went to work for my best friend’s aunt’s small hacienda. I listened to my great-grandmother telling me that I should go into hotels, and that was the beginning.”
At the hacienda, he learned the true craft: making beds, preparing excursions for guests, cleaning tennis courts, and working in the kitchen. “Whatever it might be that needed to get done, I did it, which I loved. I was always getting involved in so many things.”
Hotel school at Switzerland’s Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne followed, with a nearly two-decade career that has seen him in roles with Fairmont in Dubai and New York and The Ritz-Carlton in Bangalore, Sanya, Tianjin, and Morocco.
Three years into his Hong Kong role, constant innovation is essential to keep people surprised with brand Rosewood. Hugo hasn’t forgotten the simplicity of hospitality that he has studied for over two decades: put smiles on people’s faces.
Can Rosewood Hong Kong physically exist elsewhere in Hong Kong? Yes, Hugo says. “I am keen to bring [Rosewood] on the road wherever we can.”
Last year saw Rosewood Hong Kong bring their viral custard flans to a Lane Crawford pop-up at IFC, with a new popup with another concept expected later this year.
“I am also scoping out locations in Sham Shui Po to open up a Rosewood coffee shop to provide full-time opportunities to SEN (special educational needs) individuals, a space for the people taken care of by the people.”
Swing by Rosewood Hong Kong for a meal, spa treatment, or luxury stay to treat yourself in style.
