Profile | He stays at Asia’s finest boutique hotels, from China to Japan – it’s part of his job

Chinese villas, digs fit for royalty; as Asia senior vice-president of Small Luxury Hotels of the World, vetting them is what Mark Wong does

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Mark Wong at Art Paradiso, a Small Luxury Hotels of the World property in Incheon, South Korea. Photo: Small Luxury Hotels of the World

Published: 1:15pm, 14 Jul 2024

A day chosen at random may find Mark Wong waking up in a suite in Qiushui Villa, a century-old retreat in Hangzhou, China built by high-profile journalist Shi Liangcai.

He will be greeted by a view of the West Lake, which is where he will catch the open-air night show, Impression West Lake.

After spending a few days visiting the nearby city of Shaoxing, and then making a stop in Bengaluru, India, he could find himself sitting down for dinner at the newly opened Yellow Fin Horse restaurant at the Else Kuala Lumpur, in Malaysia.

A week later, he could be in residence at the Nagoya Kanko Hotel, where members of the Japanese imperial family have historically chosen to stay when they visit the city.

Qiushui Villa, in Hangzhou, China was built by high-profile Chinese journalist Shi Liangcai for his wife. Photo: Small Luxury Hotels of the World

Such is the life of a man whose job it is to frequent some of Asia’s finest boutique hotels.

Wong is the Asia-Pacific senior vice-president for Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH), a group of independently owned properties vetted for their ability to deliver a luxury experience.