Room 911 - A bad memory at Metropark Hotel Kowloon

ON THE ninth floor of Metropark Hotel Kowloon, a sharp-eyed hotel guest might notice a curious break in the room number sequence.

Between rooms 909 and 913, there is no 911.

That was the room that Professor Liu Jianlun, 64, a hospital doctor from Guangdong province across the border, stayed in for one short night on Feb 21, 2003.

It was at this hotel, a 15-minute walk from the Mongkok MTR station, that the Sars virus in his body jumped to other hotel guests from around the world, eventually infecting 8,096.

Ten years on, the hotel has clearly moved on from being ground zero of the epidemic, while trying to shake off the last vestiges of the memories.

Its public relations manager Anita Kwan politely declined to speak on what happened a decade ago, but stressed that the hotel today is doing very well.

The modest hotel is usually about 85% full, with business travellers during Hong Kong’s trade fair season in April, and tourists from mainly the mainland on tour packages, as well as Europe, Australia and South-East Asia, at other times.

It is a far cry from 10 years ago when the hotel was emptied out when its link to the outbreak was discovered on March 19.

Investigations later found that Prof Liu may have been sick on the carpet outside room 911, which may have spread the virus. The ninth floor was sealed off and thoroughly sanitised. Soon after, the hotel management quietly replaced the number on the room, which became room 913.

In 2006, the company – China Travel Service – revamped and refurbished all its four hotels in Hong Kong and renamed the hotel, from Metropole to Metropark Kowloon.

A couple from Melbourne, Stjepan Korparic, 71, a retired joiner, and his wife Jelka, 66, who used to work in a hospital cafeteria, said they were unaware of the history of the hotel they were staying in.

“It doesn’t matter, we are not afraid,” says Jelka.

“We believe that if it’s time for us to go, it’s time to go.” — The Straits Times