Makers of
Muir
Art, culture and nods to the East Coast are highlights of Halifax’s Muir hotel BY SHELLEY CAMERON-McCARRON
12
eastcoastliving.ca
···
SUMMER 2022
PHOTO: STEVE SMITH / VISIONFIRE STUDIOS
A
hotel? Making me feel proud to be Nova Scotian? Just hours into my stay at Muir, I feel a strange, but welcome, sensation of pride. It washes over me as I start to understand the story the artists are telling. Muir — the province’s first Autograph Collection property — opened on the Halifax waterfront in December 2021. From the handcrafted tapestry by Allison Pinsent Baker in the lobby to the striking ship hull ceiling in Drift (the excellent in-house restaurant), the hotel is studded with local undertones. “Muir is intended to be an experience born of this place,” says developer Scott Armour McCrea, Armour Group CEO, adding there’s no better reflection of who we are than incorporating art and culture. “People want to feel they are part of a place when they visit. They want to immerse themselves in that experience. When people go to Paris, they want that Parisien feeling.” The same goes for Nova Scotia. And the hospitality industry is leaning into this belief more and more. Muir did. Each of Muir’s 109 rooms has an original, unique landscape painting. Move through hallways and you see photography by Maritime artists. The hotel’s art gallery, True Colours (which is exclusive to guests) features rotating work by Maritime artists. Pivotable pieces by Pinsent Baker, Peter Powning and John Greer fill the lobby. Each room has a bespoke tartan blanket (Muir — the name is Scottish Gaelic for "sea" — even has its own tartan). There’s a modernized hooked rug under each bed. The rooms, designed by Studio Munge, feature customized furniture and lighting that is designed and crafted
Convergence by Peter Powning.
