A Queen Returns To Form

Raffles Hotel Singapore reopens, setting the bar for sophisticated glamour and tantalising dining options.

- Jennifer Chen

It is the most distinctive hotel in Singapore, with a peerless storied past that harks back to the days of bumboats and sundowners. Its stately colonial facade is the subject of postcards that enamoured travellers would send home to encapsulate the romance of the East. It has survived on the strength of its legacy, but locals saw a different picture – that of Raffles Hotel Singapore in decline.

The hotel was showing its age, and its food and beverage concepts had not been updated for three decades. At the same time, new and exciting venues were popping up in the city, following the launch of the integrated resorts. Singapore denizens had myriad choices in which to dine, entertain and sip cocktails, and Raffles Hotel was rarely one of them.

That is set to change after the property officially reopened last month following an 18-month renovation. Says General Manager Christian Westbeld: “The restoration is quite timely. The integrated resorts have been around for a while, and talents have branched out on their own with pop-up bars and restaurants. It’s great for us to enter the market now, with concepts that are new to the hotel and Singapore.”

He is talking about La Dame de Pic, the first restaurant at Raffles Hotel Singapore to be helmed by a female chef – the three-Michelin starred Anne-Sophie Pic; and BBR by Alain Ducasse, a Mediterranean grill that represents the famed chef’s first foray into casual dining. Westbeld also pushed for the hotel to have its own Chinese restaurant. Yi by Jereme Leung heralds the return of the former Four Seasons Singapore chef after more than a decade abroad.