The Raffles Hotel Singapore, the luxury chain’s original and
flagship hotel, will begin a multi-phase renovation that will start early next
year and is slated for completion in June 2018.
The 129-year-old hotel, known for its classical architecture
and tropical gardens, will start restoring its Raffles Hotel Arcade next
January. That area’s 40 shops and restaurants include the Long Bar, where the
Singapore Sling cocktail was invented. Once that work is complete, the hotel
will upgrade its lobby as well as its 103 suites.
The hotel opened in 1887, and was declared a national
monument by the Singapore government in 1987. The property last underwent a
major renovation between 1989 and 1991, will have its official “grand reopening”
in June 2018.
The hotel is owned by Qatar-based Katara Hospitality.
Raffles along with luxury chains Fairmont and Swissotel were
acquired by AccorHotels earlier this year for about $840 million.