Second Raffles hotel to be all-villa resort on Sentosa

The proposed Raffles Sentosa Resort & Spa Singapore will feature 61 villas, each with its own courtyard and private swimming pool, on a one million sq ft property adjacent to the existing Sofitel on the island. The forested area is currently unoccupi
The proposed Raffles Sentosa Resort & Spa Singapore will feature 61 villas, each with its own courtyard and private swimming pool, on a one million sq ft property adjacent to the existing Sofitel on the island. The forested area is currently unoccupied. PHOTO: YABU PUSHELBERG

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 yesterday 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 on a one million sq ft property, the equivalent of about 17 football fields.

Royal Group, which owns SO Sofitel Singapore and Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort & Spa, will build the new Raffles resort on land owned by the group, adjacent to the existing Sofitel on Sentosa. The forested area is currently unoccupied.

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

"We did a lot of work in studying luxury resorts in Singapore and on Sentosa, and we found that there is demand from tourists who want to stay in exclusive luxury resorts with that aspect of privacy and security. If we didn't launch this new villa hotel, we would be losing those tourists to other parts of Asia."

He added that the resort will be the first villa-only hotel in Singapore.

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, including the Four Seasons in Toronto and New York, and St Regis Mexico City.

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. Each villa will have its own courtyard and pool, with a suspended day bed.

Prices for the villas have not been confirmed but, for comparison, prices for suites at the Raffles Hotel range from $1,300 to $12,000 a night. Hotel facilities will include a bar, restaurants, a fitness centre, a celebrations room and two meeting rooms.

Raffles Hotel on Beach Road closed in December 2017 for its most extensive restoration and renovation project since 1989. It will reopen in August with new suite categories, an upgraded ballroom as well as new and refres-hed restaurants and bars. Raffles Hotel is owned by hotel developer Katara Hospitality.

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 deal (S$3.9 billion) to buy out FRHI Holdings, which operates a string of hotels around the world under the Raffles, Fairmont and Swissotel brands.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on June 26, 2019, with the headline Second Raffles hotel to be all-villa resort on Sentosa. Subscribe