It’s difficult to imagine that long before it bristled with high-rises and high-density developments, Singapore’s Beach Road was exactly that – a bucolic, breezy strip fronting the sea.
Soaring land prices and reclaimed land have put paid to all that. The newest kid on the block, just down the road from the still regal Raffles Hotel, is the massive South Beach mixed-use development that one Lord Norman Foster and Aedas have built around the heritage-listed buildings and officers’ club of a former army base.
This being Singapore, the jewel in the crown is the 654-room hotel. The interiors are courtesy of Philippe Starck whose DNA of white furniture, silvery Ghost Chairs, and acres of mirrors is writ large in every nook. Clearly, no expense has been spared, a fact seen to best effect with his 11,520-light ceiling installation in the grand ballroom and in the dazzling expanses of the Chairman and Presidential Suites with their gasping panorama of Marina Bay’s skyscrapers.
It’s all the more reason to enjoy the less charged moments from the aerie of two sky-gardens, each with its infinity pool. The women’s only guest-floor is a genuinely thoughtful touch that does much to redeem the hotel’s odd insistence on describing itself as a H.I.P hotel for 'Highly Individualised People and Places'.
ADDRESS
30 Beach Road
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Out of office: the Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the weekIt was a jam-packed week for the Wallpaper* staff, entailing furniture, tech and music launches and lots of good food – from afternoon tea to omakase
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Peugeot brings back a classic performance badge for the electric era: meet the E-208 GTiPeugeot has unveiled the new E-208 GTi, a performance EV designed to hark back to a golden age of compact sports cars
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This 18th-century Puglian villa has been restored with contemporary touchesThe updated stonemason's workshop is a haven of centuries-old brick and sophisticated made-in-Italy design
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Wallpaper* checks in at Brach Madrid: a hotel of love and passionBrach Madrid, part of Evok Collection, is a charming city-centre bolthole designed by Philippe Starck
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Wallpaper* checks in at The Standard Singapore for a quirky tropical city breakDisarming and energising in equal measure, The Standard Singapore is a lush addition to the brand’s growing Asia-Pacific portfolio
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Singapore bar and lounge Baia revives the opulence of Ancient RomeDaven Wu samples Baia’s bacchanalian cocktails and louche slouching spots that are drawing the crowds in Singapore
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Wallpaper* checks in at QT Singapore, a plush hotel amidst wondrous skyscrapersSet within an elegant neo-classical building, QT Singapore blends playful design and modern luxury in the heart of the city’s Business District
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Odem, Singapore’s first craft Makgeolli bar has arrivedAn extensive collection of Makgeolli, also known as Korean rice wine, can be enjoyed at this new bijou bar and restaurant in Singapore
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Inside Na Oh, Hyundai and Corey Lee’s experimental Korean restaurant in SingaporeAcclaimed San Franciscan chef Corey Lee is the driving force behind Na Oh, a new Korean restaurant at the Hyundai Motor Group Innovation Center Singapore
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AIR is a new OMA-designed Singapore restaurant and cooking clubAIR is a Singapore restaurant, circular campus, and cooking club, designed by OMA and inspired by a ferverous approach to innovation, sustainability and food
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Eastern and Western flavours meet at Jiak Kim House in SingaporeJiak Kim House, led by Chef Seow Tzi Qin, pays a heartfelt tribute to Singapore's vibrant history through traditional and contemporary dishes
