There are hotels that happen to be in Nova Scotia, and then there is Muir, which is determined to remind you exactly where you are. Sitting directly on Halifax Harbour in the Queen’s Marque district, the hotel takes its name from the Scottish Gaelic word for “sea”… appropriate considering the Atlantic is practically at the front door. Muir opened in December 2021 with 109 rooms and suites, bringing a sophisticated contemporary hotel to Halifax without importing some generic version of luxury. Designed by Halifax based MacKay Lyons Sweetapple Architects, with interiors by Alessandro Munge of Studio Munge, its maritime references are wonderfully subtle. Locally quarried sandstone and granite mix with Muntz metal, traditionally used in shipbuilding, while the building itself has the curves of a ship. Inside, white oak, walnut and Canadian made furniture continue the local story. Rooms feature original Nova Scotia landscape paintings, commissioned ceramics, custom tartan blankets and rather fabulous walnut cocktail bars. Egyptian cotton sateen linens dress the beds, while granite bathrooms have Aesop products, substantial robes and, in selected rooms, proper tubs… always an important detail. What I particularly like about Muir is that it doesn’t stop at good rooms. There is serious art, excellent wellness, its own yacht and motorboat, a chauffeur driven Range Rover and even a secret bar. It is polished without being stuffy, unmistakably Nova Scotian and very difficult to leave.