Two new boutique hotels are coming up. The 40-room Santa Grand Hotel Chinatown, located on the third floor of a shophouse at 20 Trengganu Street, had its soft opening just last month.
‘We just started, so the occupancy rate right now is about 40 per cent,’ said Alan Lim, general manager of the Santa Grand group of hotels. ‘We anticipate that through September, a big month for Singapore tourism with the Formula One race and so on, the number could go up to around 85 per cent.’
The shophouse belongs to Royal Brothers, which obtained regulatory approval to convert the third floor and attic to a hotel. There are retail shops on the ground level and Yum Cha Restaurant takes up the second floor.
The Chinatown hotel fits in with Santa Grand’s expansion strategy, given that the group already has hotels in other cultural districts such as Little India and Bugis, Mr Lim added. Another Santa Grand hotel at East Coast will be coming up.
Room rates at Santa Grand Hotel Chinatown range from $250-400 per night.
Another boutique hotel, the 86-room Hotel Fort Canning (Hfc), will open next month. It occupies a colonial building that was previously home to The Legends Fort Canning Park town club.
The Legends Fort Canning Park Pte Ltd, spent $70 million to develop the hotel and engaged DP Architects to restore the building.
The firm will manage Hfc and is targeting an occupancy rate of 80-85% by mid-2011. The hotel is offering special rates from $275++ for a deluxe room until the end of the year. Thereafter, rates will start from $320++ for a deluxe room.