The PuLi Group's Michael Faulkner On Quiet Luxury Hotels Across Asia, Restraint & Avoiding Hospitality Clichés

INTERVIEW

In an era where luxury hotels compete to be louder, bigger, and more theatrical than ever, The PuLi Group has built its reputation doing the opposite. The group’s hotels — from the hushed elegance of The PuLi Hotel and Spa to the deeply local sensibilities of The RuMa Hotel and Residences and The PuXuan Hotel and Spa — are defined by an atmosphere of muted lighting, measured service, and a sense of calm that arrives almost before check-in does.

We speak with The Puli Group's vice president of brand and commercial, Michael Faulkner, about the art of creating stillness in fast-moving cities, why the group refuses to rush growth, and the subtle details that make a PuLi hotel instantly recognisable to returning guests.

Michael Faulkner, Vice President of Brand and Commercial at The PuLi Group.

What does “restraint and calm” actually look like in day-to-day operations at The PuLi Group?

It means we stop before we add something and ask: does this need to be here? Most of the time, the answer is no. So we remove it. In operations, that translates to less signage, fewer announcements, less interruption of the guest. We also train our team to read when a guest welcomes interaction and when they simply want space. It shows up in the physical environment too, in the material choices, the spatial flow, and the deliberate absence of clutter in the spaces guests move through. Nothing is incidental. Every detail is there because it earns its place. Restraint isn't about doing less work; it's about doing the right work at the right moment. And calm isn't just the absence of noise. It's something we actively compose, every day, in every interaction.

Puxuan in Beijing.

What makes you decide a hotel belongs within The PuLi Group portfolio?

Three things.

First, the building itself has to have a soul, some inherent quality that speaks to stillness and craft, something uncarved that we can honour rather than overwrite.

Second, the location has to genuinely need a calm space, and that need is most acute in the world's great cities, where the contrast between the energy outside and the composure we offer is precisely the point. That tension is where The PuLi is at its most meaningful.

Third, and this is the hardest, the owner has to understand patience. Patience to let the property find its rhythm, to build a reputation through experience rather than marketing. If someone wants a quick return or aggressive expansion, we're not the right fit. We grow slowly because depth matters more to us than pace.

As the group grows, what is the one thing you are most careful to protect?

The feeling that you've arrived somewhere that isn't trying too hard.

When you walk into a PuLi hotel, there's no grand statement lobby, no dramatic music, no overstyled front desk that demands attention. It's just... quiet and considered. That's incredibly fragile. The moment you start adding things because you feel you need to impress, you lose it. So we protect the restraint. We protect the silence. And we protect the permission we give guests to just exhale.

What is the most visible sign, for a guest, that they've arrived at a PuLi hotel?

The lighting. Most hotels light every corner because brightness signals welcome. We don't. We dim things intentionally. When you walk in, your eyes adjust. Your shoulders drop. You don't even realise it's happening, but your body knows the difference. That's the sign when you feel yourself slow down without being told to.

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The cantilevered swimming pool at The RuMa.

If a guest stayed at The RuMa and then The PuXuan in the same trip, what would feel familiar between them?

The stillness. The design language is different. Kuala Lumpur and Beijing are not the same city, and they shouldn't feel the same. But the absence of unnecessary noise, the way the space doesn't shout at you, the service that appears when you need it and disappears when you don't, that thread runs through every property.

You might also notice the light the way both properties resist the urge to over-illuminate, to fill every corner. That restraint is consistent, even when everything else is different. A guest might not name it, but they'll feel it. And that's enough.

Where in the guest journey do you think The PuLi Group is most "itself" — arrival, rooms, dining, or service moments?

Arrival. Because that's where we make the first promise.

You could argue that the room is where a guest spends most of their time, or that a perfectly timed service moment is what they'll remember longest. Both are true. But if we get the arrival right, the approach, the light, the unhurried pace, the tea that's waiting rather than the form that needs signing, then everything else follows.

A guest who feels calm at the door will feel calm in the room, and at dinner, and at check-out. But if we rush the arrival, if it feels like any other hotel, we've already lost something we can't get back.

The PuLi Shanghai.

What is something you deliberately don't do in your hotels that other luxury groups might lean into?

We don't announce what we remember. Yes, we track preferences, what you ordered, what pillow you liked, and when you prefer your coffee. The difference is we don't present it back to you like a trophy. We don't have someone say "we noticed you like lavender, so we..." It feels like surveillance dressed up as service.

At PuLi, we prepare everything quietly. Your pillow is just there. Your coffee arrives when you usually want it. You feel looked after, but you never catch us looking.

That's the line we won't cross because the moment a guest feels watched, however well-intentioned, the calm is broken. And calm, once broken, is very hard to restore.

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The Guerlain Spa at PuXuan.

If you could remove one cliché from luxury hospitality, what would it be?

"Whatever you need, whenever you need it."

It's a meaningless sentence. No hotel can actually deliver that, and guests know it. What guests really want is something much simpler: to be genuinely heard the first time, and to feel that the people caring for them actually noticed. That's it. At The PuLi, we don't promise the impossible. Excellence through simplicity means we do the possible and we do it with real care and full attention.

What's next for PuLi Group?

Carefully. That's the honest answer. We are looking at cities such as Seoul, Tokyo, and Hong Kong, places with the right energy, the right tension between pace and stillness. But each property will be its own thing, not a copy of Shanghai. Same sensibility, different expression.

We're not in a hurry. We're looking for the right buildings, the right partners, and the right moments. And we'll only say yes when all three align. Because a PuLi hotel that feels rushed would contradict everything we've just told you.

Find out more about The PuLi Group