Old Tai O police station transformed into an unusual hotel (10 photos)

A police station built to fend off pirates is now a magnet for wealthy holidaymakers.





Above a small fishing village on Hong Kong's Lantau Island stands the old Tai O police station, an outpost built in 1902 to fight pirates that was converted into a luxury getaway in 2012.



Lantau Island

Erected to combat rampant piracy and smuggling in the surrounding waters, Tai O Police Station was also designed to establish law and order across the island. One of the first police stations to be built on the outlying islands around Hong Kong, the building consists of two two-story blocks connected by a pedestrian bridge on the ground level. A mix of architectural styles, the building features Italian Renaissance-style arched verandas, classical Chinese roofing, and folk art elements.





A policeman at work

Initially, the station housed fewer than ten police officers, and the building increasingly served as an administrative center. By 1983, it had grown to 180 officers. Low crime rates in the 400-year-old fishing village led to the station being downgraded to a patrol post in 1996, a role it retained until it closed in 2002. Seeking to give the historic building a new lease of life, the Hong Kong government accepted a developer's 2009 proposal to turn it into a seaside hotel.



This is what it was like inside

Completed in 2012, the Tai O Heritage Hotel features nine colonial-style rooms and suites with ocean views, as well as a new rooftop restaurant. However, to preserve some semblance of the police history, the cannons, searchlights, and watchtowers were restored during the renovation. Don't get too rowdy while you're here, as the prison cells were restored along with the rest of the furnishings.





View of pier





Former Tai Police Station O





One of the numbers