Raffles Hotel
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Raffles Hotel (Chinese: 莱佛士酒店) is a colonial-style hotel in Singapore, dating from 1887, and named after Singapore's founder Sir Stamford Raffles. Managed by Raffles International, it is known for its luxurious accommodation and superb restaurants. The hotel houses a tropical garden courtyard, museum, and Victorian-style theatre.
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[edit] History
The hotel was founded the four Armenian Sarkies Brothers (Martin, Tigran, Aviet, and Arshak Sarkies). They opened the ten-room colonial bungalow at Beach Road and Bras Basah Roads on December 1, 1887. The original location was by the seaside, although continued reclamation means that the site is presently some 500 m away from the shore.[1] No Asians were permitted as hotel guests until the 1930s.[1] The hotel continued to expand over the years with the addition of wings, the completion of the main building, the addition of a verandah, a ballroom, a bar and billiards room and further buildings and rooms.
The Great Depression saw trouble for Raffles Hotel and in 1931 the hotel went into receivership. In 1933, however, the financial troubles were sorted out and a public company called Raffles Hotel Ltd. was established.
Upon the capture of Singapore by the Japanese on February 15, 1942, it is commonly said that the Japanese soldiers encountered the guests of the Raffles Hotel dancing one final waltz.[2] During World War II, the Raffles was renamed Syonan Ryokan (湘南旅館 shōnan ryokan?), incorporating Syonan ("Light of the South"), the Japanese name for occupied Singapore, and ryokan, the name for a traditional Japanese inn.[3]
The hotel survived World War II despite the hardships Singapore faced and the use of the hotel at the end of the war as a transit camp for prisoners of war. In 1987 the government declared the hotel a National Monument.
In 1989, the hotel closed for an extensive renovation, at a cost of S$160 million.[3]
It reopened on September 16, 1991, after being restored to its state during its heyday in 1915. The hotel has built an extension with a similar design, for a shopping arcade and new rooms.
In announcing the July 18, 2005 sale of parent company Raffles Holdings, Colony Capital LLC chief executive Thomas J. Barrack said in part as the purchaser, "We deeply respect the historical significance of the Raffles Hotel Singapore and we consider it our responsibility to protect that legacy".
[edit] Notability
- Raffles Hotel is reputedly where the sole surviving wild tiger in Singapore was shot and made extinct. Some stories place this event in the Long Bar. Raffles itself claims the tiger had escaped from enclosure at a nearby "native show" and chased underneath the hotel's Bar & Billiard Room (a raised structure) and shot to death there on 13 August 1902.
- Raffles is where the Singapore Sling was invented. The cocktail was invented by bartender Ngiam Tong Boon around 1910.
- Raffles is the setting for Murakami Ryu's novel and film titled, Raffles Hotel. The film was shot on location.
- The site of the hotel was originally the location of the oldest girls' school in Singapore (1842), now called St. Margaret's. It was founded by Maria Tarn Dyer, the missionary wife of Samuel Dyer.
- The hotel was featured as a Japanese stronghold in Medal of Honor: Rising Sun.
[edit] Famous visitors and guests
Famous visitors and guests of the hotel include:
- Joseph Conrad
- Rudyard Kipling
- W. Somerset Maugham
- Anthony Burgess
- George H.W. Bush
- Queen Elizabeth II
- Noel Coward
- Charlie Chaplin
- Ava Gardner
- Jean Harlow
- Michael Jackson
- Patrick Macnee
- Elizabeth Taylor
- Hugh Jackman
[edit] Food and Beverage Outlets
- Ah Teng's Bakery
- Bar and Billard Room
- Doc Chengs
- Empire Cafe
- Kai San Japanese Restaurant
- Long Bar
- Long Bar Steakhouse
- Raffles Courtyard
- Raffles Grill
- Royal China at Raffles (branch of the famous Royal China in London)
- Seah Street Deli/ Raffles Café
- THOS SB Raffles
- Tiffin Room
- Writers Bar
[edit] Raffles Hotel Arcade
The hotel has a shopping arcade which houses branded boutiques such as Louis Vuitton and Tiffany & Co.. Most of the hotel's restaurants are housed in the arcade. It also has shops such as Singapore's treasured and famous custom tailor, CYC, which makes shirts for Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. The museum and the theatre known as Jubilee Hall are located on the third floor of the hotel.
[edit] References
- ^ a b Famous Hotels: Raffles. Retrieved on February 1, 2007.
- ^ Meade, Martin; Joseph Fitchett, Anthony Lawrence (1987). Grand Oriental Hotels from Cairo to Tokyo, 1800-1939. United Kingdom: J.M. Dent & Sons, 172. ISBN 0-460-04754-X.
- ^ a b Liu, Gretchen (1992). Raffles Hotel. Singapore: Landmark Books. ISBN 981-3002-63-8.
