Muir Hotel finally set to open on Halifax waterfront (11 photos)

Halifax’s newest luxury accommodation will soon open its doors and staff of Muir Hotel say they are ready to welcome their very first guest.

“We will be ready with our most beautiful smiles and wait for our first guest to come in,” says Eugénie Jason, the general manager of the new hotel in the Queen’s Marque waterfront district. “I’m sure that some people will get quite emotional once they see that guest come in (who will likely be) wondering why there are so many people around him or her!”

Officially opening on December 10, Muir will be the first hotel in Nova Scotia to join the Autograph Collection, a unique assortment of distinct independent hotels that are designed to capture the spirit and character of their place of residence.

In the case of Muir, that means a contemporary nautical themed design, envisioned and developed by the Armour Group in conjunction with Nova Scotian firm MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects.

In essence, their partnership combined to craft Muir as an example of “Born of this Place” design with subtle touches that honour the heritage of Halifax and Nova Scotia at-large.

“It will be important for us to be part of the local community,” adds Jason. “We have the aspiration of becoming the landmark hotel maybe even beyond Halifax — to be one of the ways to experience Canadian hospitality and again, reflect the story of people from here — that Born of this Place ethos that we keep sharing.”

Throughout Muir (which is Scottish Gaelic for “sea”), the hotel utilizes not only local materials, such as 200-year-old granite reclaimed from Halifax’s original seawall or Muntz metal (a copper alloy traditionally used in shipbuilding), but it is adorned with locally-commissioned paintings, photography and ceramics.

“In all our guestrooms and on all our guest floors, there are about 30 different local artists that were curated, so each floor really has a unique piece of art,” says Jason, adding that rooms are also provided Muir-curated collection of classic books by local authors such as Thomas H. Raddall. “As guests are coming from outside, they get to know the area through the art as well — which is something very special about the hotel.”

Among the other local flourishes in Muir’s guestrooms will be the Modern Muir Tartan, a wool throw that honours a local Nova Scotian tradition.

In fact, Muir is so dedicated to the power of art to impact the local experience, the hotel even has its own private 1,200 square foot art gallery with works by such renowned local artists as Alex Colville.

“People can also book this space as a meeting space (or) I think it would be an excellent place for a book launch,” says Catherine Bagnell Styles, executive vice president of marketing and communications. “So it’s a nice little place to grab 20 minutes of inspiration and we’ll change the exhibits every five or six months.”

Muir may have a specifically local focus on design, architecture and amenities but even the entrees in the hotel’s restaurant, Drift, will be contemporary takes on classic Atlantic Canadian cuisine as directed by Anthony Walsh, one of Canada’s most revered chefs.

Indeed, it would seem that when Muir opens its doors on December 10, the hotel will be prepared to honour the spirit and culture of Nova Scotia in the heart of downtown Halifax.

While Jason is confident the hotel has captured the unique East Coast flourishes in art and design, she also hopes that people will embrace another distinct characteristic the staff of Muir share with Atlantic Canada’s global reputation – hospitality.

“The people culture is, for me, what will make a dramatic difference and I am hoping that we have captured that already with all the talent that we have found from here that is very much attached to this hotel already,” says Jason. 

“You can have the most beautiful design, the most beautiful building — which we have here — but if you don’t have the soul to make it alive, it might not work as great so I’m hoping that’s what we’ve managed to do.”