Business Traveller (Asia-Pacific)
SINGAPORE STAYS
Paul J DeVries rounds up new, refurbished and forthcoming properties in the Lion City
Looking at the slew of new openings in the Lion City
THE WAREHOUSE HOTEL The first hotel from the Lo and Behold Group, which already has a number of restaurants in the citystate, The Warehouse Hotel opened in January in a revamped 19thcentury “godown” (warehouse) on Robertson Quay. In keeping with the history of the building and its role during the height of the city’s spice trade, the hotel features an industrial aesthetic with exposed brick walls and metal wheels hanging from the ceiling. While it certainly has a boutique feel with just 37 rooms, the hotel does offer a restaurant and lobby bar. thewarehousehotel.com
MERCURE SINGAPORE BUGIS
February saw the opening of the Mercure Singapore Bugis in the city’s Bugis and Bras Basah heritage area, a short walk from the central business district and the city’s popular shopping district, Orchard Road. Set over 15 storeys, the property has 395 rooms and suites (which all provide a Handy smartphone with unlimited free internet access) and three restaurants and bars offering contemporary Cantonese cuisine, all-day dining and drinks. mercure.com
PARK HOTEL FARRER PARK
Located on top of Farrer Park MRT station, Park Hotel Farrer Park opened its doors in May. It’s the fifth hotel for the Park Hotel Group in Singapore and has 300 rooms on floors nine to 20 – including duplex loft layouts, which are the first of their kind in the area. There is also a club lounge, outdoor pool and gym provided, while F&B offerings include a Thai restaurant, a speciality coffee house and an American gastro bar. Smartphones can be borrowed for use throughout the city with unlimited calls to 11 countries. parkhotelgroup.com
COURTYARD SINGAPORE NOVENA
Currently looking at an August opening, Courtyard Singapore Novena forms part of the new Royal Square at Novena mixed-use development – approximately 25 minutes from Changi International Airport. Covering the 22nd to 33rd floors of the development, the hotel has both its executive lounge and bar Urbana located on the rooftop. Alternative dining options are also available at Sky22 – the hotel’s all-day-dining eatery – and in the lobby lounge. marriott.com
HILTON GARDEN INN SERANGOON
The 328-room Hilton Garden Inn Serangoon opened at the beginning of June in Little India. This is the first Garden Inn-brand hotel that Hilton has in the city and will include a number of the brand’s typical offerings, notably digital check-in and a digital key. Facilities include the Garden Grille restaurant, a round-the-clock grab-and-go pantry, outdoor pool and a gym. Meanwhile, business travellers visiting the Lion City for larger events will find the hotel’s location convenient, with the Suntec Convention and Exhibition Centre about eight minutes away by car. hilton.com
YOTEL
One of two properties the budgetchic “cabin” hotel group is launching in the Lion City, Yotel Singapore is scheduled to open this summer on Orchard Road. It will have 610 cabins, a club lounge, a restaurant and bar, and a pool deck. Come 2019, the 130-room Yotelair Singapore Changi Airport will open as part of Jewel, the huge expansion to the airport encompassing 22,000 sqm of gardens and attractions. yotel.com
SOFITEL SINGAPORE CITY CENTRE
The city’s third Sofitel hotel is opening this month and, as its name suggests, it’s located in the central business district on Wallich Street above Tanjong Pagar MRT station. A short walk down Robertson Road from Sofitel So (there is also a resort on Sentosa Island), the 222-room property will be part of Tanjong Pagar Centre, a mixed-use “vertical city” that tops out at 64 floors. The new hotel will feature a French restaurant – Racines – that will also offer select modern Chinese dishes. Tea lounge 1864 and café Coffea round out the F&B offerings. sofitel.com
THE OAKWOOD STUDIOS SINGAPORE
Oakwood Studios Singapore made its worldwide debut in March. The new brand – described as “a completely redefined serviced apartment experience” – is predominantly geared to travellers with a millennial mindset, notably by providing a more tech-focused experience. Located on Orchard Road, the property features 98 studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments that are designed to be shifted around to suit each guest’s preferences and requirements. oakwoodasia.com
ANDAZ SINGAPORE
Andaz Singapore will be part of Duo Singapore, a mixed-use complex in the Ophir-Rochor corridor comprising two concave towers designed by Beijing’s CCTV building designer Ole Scheeren. Located a short walk from Raffles hotel and the JW Marriott South Beach, the property is expected to open this summer. It will have 342 rooms designed by Andre Fu (the architect behind the interiors of the Upper House in Hong Kong), a 39th-floor rooftop bar, and a restaurant and infinity pool on the 25th floor. andaz.hyatt.com
RAFFLES SINGAPORE
Not a new opening, but the Raffles Singapore – a hotel that needs little introduction – began the first phase of an extensive renovation in February. This included the closure of the Long Bar, Long Bar Steakhouse, Raffles Courtyard, Ah Teng’s Bakery, the retail arcade and banqueting facilities. A second and third phase will eventually see the entire hotel close temporarily next year, before a “grand unveiling” in mid-2018. According to the hotel’s general manager Simon Hirst, the updated property will retain its characteristic “rich heritage and feel” and “sense of the golden age of travel”, while offering more updated and modern facilities. raffles.com
THE DUXTON CLUB
In September, Starwood Hotels and Resorts’ Luxury Collection will make its entrance to Singapore with
The Duxton Club, set in a series of colonial “shophouses” in Tanjong Pagar. The hotel will come in two parts: the Duxton House, offering 50 rooms in eight three-storey buildings, will feature interiors by Anouska Hempel, a restaurant, bar and cigar room. Some 14 buildings close by will form the Duxton Terrace (opening January 2018), with 138 rooms designed by Jacques Garcia, five restaurants and bars, an outdoor pool and a members’ club. marriott.com
INTERCONTINENTAL SINGAPORE ROBERTSON QUAY
Also due in September is this conversion of the former Gallery hotel into the second Intercontinental-brand hotel in Singapore. Located on Nanson Road, not far from its counterpart on Middle Road, Intercontinental Singapore Robertson Quay will have 225 rooms, a restaurant, 24-hour club lounge, pool, 24-hour fitness centre and two meeting spaces covering just over 93 sqm in total. ihg.com
THE PATINA CAPITOL SINGAPORE
It’s been a long wait for The Patina Capitol Singapore, the first and flagship hotel for new luxury brand Patina Hotels, and at time of writing it still doesn’t have a projected opening date. Spread across two historic buildings on Stamford Road, when it finally opens the hotel will have 157 rooms and suites offering 24-hour check-in, “ambassadors” to look after every need and want, plus access to a house car. patinahotels.com