Second Raffles Hotel set to open in Singapore on Sentosa in 2022

SINGAPORE - A second Raffles Hotel is set to open in Singapore in 2022, more than a century after the original national monument in Beach Road opened its doors in 1887.

Hotel operator Accor Group, in partnership with property developer Royal Group, announced on Tuesday (June 25) that the new Raffles Sentosa Resort & Spa Singapore will be built on Sentosa.

The proposed all-villa resort will feature 61 villas, each with its own private swimming pool, set in a 1,000,000 sq ft property, the equivalent of approximately 17 football fields. Royal Group, which owns SO Sofitel Singapore and Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort & Spa, will build the new Raffles resort on land adjacent to the existing Sofitel on Sentosa.

Royal Group managing director Peter Wilding said during a press conference on Tuesday that the hotel will be a new interpretation of the iconic Raffles brand.

Design studio Yabu Pushelberg, founded by Canadian designers George Yabu and Glenn Pushelberg, designed the resort, including the landscaping, lighting and interiors. The firm previously worked on luxury hotels such as the Four Seasons Toronto and New York and St Regis Mexico City.

The villas will range in size from about 2,800 sq ft for a one-bedroom villa to 4,800 sq ft for a four-bedroom villa.

Hotel facilities will include a bar, restaurants, a fitness centre, a celebrations room and two meeting rooms.

Meanwhile, Raffles Hotel closed in December 2017 for its most extensive restoration and renovation project since 1989. It will reopen in August this year with new suite categories and an upgraded ballroom, as well as new and refreshed restaurants and bars.

The hotel, which was designated a national monument in 1987, has been managed by AccorHotels since 2015 after the Paris-based chain signed a US$2.9 billion (S$3.9 billion) deal to buy out FRHI Holdings, which operates a string of hotels around the world under the Raffles, Fairmont and Swissotel brands.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.