$15,000 a night to live like a king at Palace villa

Resorts World Sentosa has its eyes set on attracting a more affluent clientele with the opening of two high-end hotels.

The integrated resort (IR) said yesterday that the Equarius Hotel and Beach Villas establishments, located in the west of Sentosa, will open on Thursday.

Nightly rates at the 179-room Equarius start from $800 for a 51 sq m deluxe room, while those for Beach Villas start from $1,200 for a one-bedroom, 61 sq m villa.

One of the 22 villas at Beach Villas, called The Palace, sports four bedrooms and a private infinity pool. Covering 731 sq m, the villa is available for $15,000 per night.

Other luxuries at Beach Villas include a 24-hour butler service and a menu for the discerning sleeper to select his choice of pillows.

The Equarius has a restaurant by home-grown celebrity chef Sam Leong.

These hotels are at the top end of the Sentosa IR.

Prices at the Equarius can be over $300 more per night than at other hotels under Resorts World.

Ms Kwok Wai Leng, a lecturer in tourism and resort management at Singapore Polytechnic, said that the market for high-end hotels like Resorts World's "is gradually expanding because there are more of the highly affluent converging in Singapore".

"Just see how the private bankers are beefing up their staff strength to serve customers based in Singapore or within the region," she said.

And if the "fabulously rich" are converging here, they would want some options for luxury accommodation

in this region whereas, previously, they would have gone to the Caribbean or somewhere exotic in Europe, said Ms Kwok.

On whether the business of luxury hotel offerings - including those from Raffles Hotel and The Capella - can be sustained, Ms Kwok said that "the very rich are quite immune to economic downturns". "As long as they exist, there would be a market for such (hotels).

The key is how long you can keep the destinations attractive to them," she explained.

On the target market for Resorts World's new hotels, Mr Roger Lienhard, senior vice-president of hospitality development at the IR, said: "Initially, we are focusing on catering to the South-east Asia and China markets but we are also looking to target countries such as Russia and the Middle East."

Like at its other hotels, the Sentosa IR is looking at a year-round occupancy rate of 85-90 per cent for the Equarius and Beach Villas.

Mr Lienhard said the IR was confident of achieving this occupancy rate by the end of next month. Resorts World also hopes to welcome many business visitors to the new hotels, which the IR is branding as ideal corporate retreats.

It already has five groups, ranging from 20 to 50 people each, booked for this month and next month.

jprice@sph.com.sg

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