Raffles Hotel
Raffles Hotel 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.
History
The hotel was founded by four Armenian brothers: Martin, Tigran, Aviet and Arshak Sarkies. They opened the 10-room colonial bungalow at Beach Road and Bras Basah Roads on 1 December 1887. 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 15 February 1942, it is commonly said that the Japanese soldiers encountered the guests of the Raffles Hotel dancing one final waltz. During World War II, the Raffles was renamed “Syonan Ryokan” in kanji, meaning “Light of the South Hotel”.
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 war prisoners. In 1987 the government declared it a National Monument.
In 1989 the hotel closed for an extensive renovation, at a cost of S$160 million.
It reopened on 16 September 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 the 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”.
Notability
Raffles Hotel is reputedly where the sole surviving wild tiger in Singapore was shot and made extinct. Some stories place this event-of-shame 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 in approximately 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.
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.
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