Profile | Claridge’s, The Berkeley, The Maybourne Riviera: luxury hotels have Hong Kong-born Michelle Wu to thank for their looks
- Michelle Wu, head of design at luxury hotel group Maybourne, talks to the Post about how she landed the role after she was spotted working late one night
- She reveals why the ‘little details’ and overseeing every stage of the process is important, who she goes to for insight, and how she decides on a hotel’s look
The role of head of design at luxury hotel group Maybourne was made for Michelle Wu Wai-sze. Literally.
Wu grew up in Hong Kong – her parents and brother still live in the city – but is now based in the British capital, where Maybourne is headquartered and has three further hotels: The Berkeley, The Connaught and the just-opened, all-suites The Emory.
In 2016 Wu, now 42, had been commissioned to create a suite at The Berkeley while working for Helen Green Design when one of the Maybourne owners spotted her working at 11pm, “making sure everything was just right”.
Impressed by her dedication, he asked her to set up a design department for the group.
Last year, Wu was made global head of design, overseeing existing and future properties – the group opened The Maybourne Beverly Hills, in the United States, in 2020, and The Maybourne Riviera, near Monaco, in France, in 2021.
