Raffles Hotel - History

History

The firm leased the hotel and land from two owners: Arab trader and philanthropist Syed Mohamed Alsagoff and Chinese entrepreneur, Seah Liang Siah. Sarkies Brothers developed and paid for the modernisations. The Sarkies were tenants on a favourable short-term lease. The original location was by the seaside, although continued reclamation means that the site is presently some 500 metres away from the shore. The hotel was noted for accepting guests of all races, which lead some to belittle it. Designed by the architect Regent Alfred John Bidwell of Swan and Maclaren, the current main building of Raffles Hotel was completed in 1899. The hotel continued to expand over the years with the addition of wings, a verandah, a ballroom, a bar and a billiards room, and further buildings and rooms. The Great Depression spelled trouble for Raffles Hotel and, in 1931, the hotel went into receivership. In 1933, the financial troubles were resolved and a public company called Raffles Hotel Ltd. was established.

Upon the start of the Japanese occupation of Singapore on 15 February 1942, it is commonly said that the Japanese soldiers encountered the guests in Raffles Hotel dancing one final waltz. During World War II, Raffles Hotel was renamed Syonan Ryokan (昭南旅館, shōnan ryokan?), incorporating Syonan ("Light of the South"), the Japanese name for occupied Singapore, and ryokan, the name for a traditional Japanese inn. At the end of the war, the hotel was used as a transit camp for prisoners of war. In 1987, the Singapore government declared the hotel a National Monument.

In 1989, the hotel closed for an extensive renovation, at a cost of S$160 million. The renovation was carried out by Ssangyong Engineering and Construction, a South Korean construction firm acclaimed for its overseas projects.

It re-opened on 16 September 1991; while the hotel was restored to the grand style of its heyday in 1915, significant changes were made. All rooms were converted to suites with teak-wood floors, handmade carpets, and 14-foot ceilings. The storied Long Bar, where the Singapore Sling cocktail drink was invented, and which was patronised over the decades by a host of literati, including Ernest Hemingway and Somerset Maugham, was relocated from the lobby to a new adjoining shopping arcade.

In announcing the 18 July 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".

On 8 April 2010, the Singapore newspaper The Straits Times reported that a Qatar sovereign wealth fund has bought Raffles Hotel for US$275 million (S$384 million). In addition to taking over Raffles Hotel, the Qatar Investment Authority will inject US$467 million into Fairmont Raffles in exchange for a 40% stake in the luxury hotel chain.

The hotel also houses the Raffles Hotel Museum, which displays the rich history of the hotel. The museum was created after a well-orchestrated heritage search by a public relations consultant. People from all over the world returned items and memorabilia of their stay at the 'grand lady of the Far East'; photographs, silver and china items, postcards and menus as well as old and rare editions of the works of the famous writers who stayed there. These items are displayed in the museum along with photographs of its famous guests and visitors.