SINGAPORE'S iconic Raffles Hotel has been reportedly bought by a Qatar sovereign wealth fund for US$275 million (S$384 million). Qatari Diar - the principal real estate entity of the Qatar Investment Authority - has purchased the historic property in Beach Road from current owner Fairmont Raffles, a Toronto-based luxury hotel chain, according to an Abu Dhabi newspaper, The National. Fairmont Raffles has...
Hotel
They had names like Goh's Homestay, Lee Boarding House and San Wah Hotel, and helped make Bencoolen Street a haven for backpackers in the 1970s and 1980s. But they have all closed because of a clampdown by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA). The rule states that boarding house permits will be given only to operators that occupy the entire building. Today, only one cheap-stay place - Hawaii Hostel -...
Hotels in Sentosa are riding on the latest wave to hit the island - the opening of Resorts World Sentosa (RWS). Some have even closed down for renovations to ride on the expected increase in visitors. Rasa Sentosa Resort has been on the island for 17 years, and had been renovated only once. It is time for a major makeover to prepare for the increased business that is likely to be generated from the buzz...
Grand Park Orchard - formerly known as Park Hotel Orchard - will be opening its doors in July after an $80 million makeover. The five-star 308-room hotel at Orchard Road is Park Hotel Group's flagship property. Room rates are expected to be around $350 per night. Grand Park Orchard will bring more sparkle to the shopping belt with an eight-storey-tall media wall. It will also add to food and beverage...
Over the Lunar New Year holidays, Singapore's first casino and Universal Studios theme park at Resorts World Sentosa garnered all the attention. But some are wondering if the focus on roulette tables and roller coaster rides will cause the mainland's central shopping belt along Orchard Road to lose its glitter. Singapore's first casino and Universal Studios theme park opened over the weekend creating a...
Catalist-listed lifestyle and wellness service provider Mary Chia is expanding into the hotel business. It said it has entered into a joint venture agreement with businessman Lee Boon Leng to set up a firm called Hotel Culture. Hotel Culture's primary business is to operate a hotel, a lifestyle and wellness centre, food and beverage and other hotel-related activities. For a start, Hotel Culture has...
The world's largest hotel company Wyndham Group is starting operations in Singapore by managing two new hotels at Balestier Road. Wyndham will partner a joint venture (JV) between local property developer Hiap Hoe and Superbowl Holdings. This is also the JV's foray into the hospitality sector. The busy Balestier Road area is fast becoming home to more hotels. The latest two will be managed by the...
Tour agents in Singapore are launching special packages for hotel stays at Resorts World Sentosa, which is slated to open on January 20. Reservations for the hotel rooms at the integrated resort will open only on January 11 at 10am. However, the integrated resort said it has received hundreds of calls on its reservations hotline. Travel agents said while they are targeting markets like the US and the UK,...
Hospitality consultant CB Richard Ellis Hotels or CBRE Hotels said on Wednesday that the hotel operating environment here will remain challenging this year. It is forecasting that visitor arrivals to Singapore are set to increase but the additional supply of hotel rooms will stem any room rate recovery. CBRE Hotels said Singapore is well positioned to take advantage of the likely improvement in global...
One of Singapore's integrated resorts, Resorts World Sentosa, will begin opening its doors in phases from January 20. The resort said its four hotels - Crockfords Tower, Hotel Michael, Festive Hotel and Hard Rock Hotel Singapore - will be opened on that day. Resorts World Sentosa began operations at two of its four hotels on Tuesday, and employees and their families were the resort's main guests before...