Raffles Singapore Hotel

Singapore

Located on an island in the southernmost part of the Malaysian peninsula, Singapore measures 647.8 square kilometers and consists of 64 islands. In the 1980s, it was named as one of the Four Asian Dragons, the other three being South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Their exceptional, and for some, frenetic growth, have made them examples in the area of economic development. Once freed from British domination, Singapore has become a model society which to this day, is one of the most highly reputed in Asia. The values on which it is based are economic growth, security, cleanliness and materialism. Once freed from British domination, Singapore has become a model society which to this day, is one of the most highly reputed in Asia. The values on which it is based are economic growth, security, cleanliness and materialism. Singapore is an effervescent city-state in total contrast with typical Malaysian serenity. The favorite pastimes here are eating and shopping with a disdain for wasting even one precious minute.

Singapore is a hyperactive city with daring architectural projects and a constantly growing evolving business quarter.

But Singapore is also an island with a very fascinating history. The city was officially founded on February 6^th, 1819 by Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles, an English military man and naturalist whose memory is still celebrated by a legendary hotel.

More than a hotel ; a legend

The Raffles Singapore is the first hotel of the Raffles hotel group. Opened in 1887, this historic colonial style palace, copied on numerous occasions, is a veritable icon, not only in the city of Singapore but in the entire luxury hotel world. As the saying goes : “While you’re staying at the Raffles, why not visit Singapore?”

This vestige of the former British presence here has travelled through eras as an eternal ideal, defining a certain vision of luxury in the hotel industry. The white marble columns and the famous courtyard are emblematic elements of this site which has inspired some of the world’s finest modern writers including Somerset Maugham, Rudyard Kipling, Ernest Hemingway and even film maker, Alfred Hitchcock.

There are no rooms at the Raffles, only 103 suites, 15 restaurants and bars, a museum as well as its own Victorian style theatre, not to mention a shopping mall with the greatest names in luxury, of course.

The legend however, would not be complete without the famous Long Bar, the most popular in all of Singapore. This two story space, inspired by the décor of Malaysian plantations of the 1920s, is a journey in itself, and an essential element of the voyage is the celebrated cocktail invented here during the second decade of the 20^th century, the “Singapore Sling.”

Another indication of the hotel’s incredible aura is that it possesses its own museum with objects gathered from all over the world by guests of the “Great Lady of the East” as the Raffles Singapore is often called. The collection incudes old furnishings, menus and original editions of books by authors who have stayed at the Raffles.

The hotel has its own tailor, a skilled craftsman known throughout the country since it’s he who creates the shirts worn by Singapore’s Prime Minister.