M is for Millennials at M Social hotel, oozing with mystery and tech

SINGAPORE - What happens when you find a smartphone in the hotel room that you've checked into?

If you are at the new avant-garde hotel at Roberston Quay - M Social Singapore - that smartphone is for your usage.

It comes with complimentary and unlimited data, and a city guide to boot, which is God-sent for data-hungry travellers.

Millennials are conscious about design and ambience, and hospitality firm Millennium & Copthorne Hotels (MHR) is capitalising on that, with Singapore as the testbed before M Social is pushed to markets like Seoul and Auckland.

The 293-room hotel is designed by French designer Philippe Starck, who is also the design honcho behind The South Beach luxury hotel in Beach Road.

The witty and eccentric design maverick was at M Social on Thursday (June 2), where he talked about a tribe of travellers that will appreciate what the hotel has to offer.

"I don't care about hotel design. I don't try to please everybody," the 67-year-old Frenchman said unapologetically.

His unorthodox style is best personified at M Social's entrance, which is guarded by two curious peanut-shape sculptures.

"This (peanut sculpture) is a mystery. There is something inside. I shall never tell you what it is," Starck said with a poker face in a thick French accent.

"It is your job to find out what is the mystery.

"Because remember, when you fall in love with somebody, you don't fall in love with the person. You fall in love with the mystery which is inside the person."

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Baffled?

If you are, perhaps you do not fit into the M Social tribe of travellers: Digital natives, creative romantics, and social media savvy.

The millennial mindset is a way of life, and not an age category.

Look no further from the lobby, where Singapore's first self-check-in kiosks are located.

An array of thick curves line the walls of the lift shaft and restaurant columns, and they are cryptic murals by Spanish artist Luis Urculo, adding to the dazzling display of art, gizmo, and mystery oozing from M Social.

There are four types of rooms with hipster names: Nice, Nicer, Big, and Bigger. Spread over 10 floors, each room has 5m high ceilings.

A night in the Nice room starts from $218, while prices for the Big room starts from $238.

It is best not to venture into the restaurant and bar - Beast & Butterflies - when you have a headache.

With its psychedelic projections, 40 wall-mounted tablets screening contemporary artworks (and also available for selfies / we-fies), and 28 TV screens that make up the bar countertops, Beast & Butterflies fits better in an art museum than a hotel.

But M Social isn't your ordinary hotel, and the cuisine at the Beast & Butterflies isn't your usual fusion or haute cuisine, as I was told by Executive Chef Bryce Li.

"Borderless cuisine," Bryce explained, which is Western and Asian cuisine cooked without the confines of tradition or expectations of fusion food.

This juxtaposition of food, design, and tech is what M Social hopes will appeal to a new breed of travellers looking for more than a humble stay.

There are activities being planned that will revolve around M Social - by the M Social Committee, no less, comprising of personalities such as local band Sam Willows and TV presenter Timothy Go.

There is even an M Social club for hotel regulars.

It is perhaps fitting then, when Starck talked about this tribe when he was in town.

"M Social will be the new and vibrant place in Singapore where elegance, creativity, and technology meet to offer a unique experience to our global smart tribe."

grongloh@sph.com.sg

M Social Singapore opens on June 9, and is now accepting reservations.