There are hotels, and then there are legends. Raffles Singapore, opened in 1887, belongs firmly in the latter category. With its white colonnades, soaring verandas, and tropical gardens, it is less a hotel than a piece of living history — a place where literature, empire, and modern luxury converge beneath slow-turning ceiling fans.
The Colonial Beginning
Named after Sir Stamford Raffles, founder of modern Singapore, the hotel was established by the Armenian Sarkies brothers, hoteliers who understood the allure of the East for Western travelers. Its neoclassical façade, arcaded verandas, and rattan-filled interiors quickly made it a haven for colonial elites, sea captains, and explorers.
Literary Legends
Raffles became as famous for its guests as for its architecture. Rudyard Kipling wrote that it was a place where one could be assured of “comfort and civility”; Somerset Maugham set stories beneath its palms, observing that “Raffles stands for all the fables of the exotic East.” Joseph Conrad, Noël Coward, Ava Gardner, and Elizabeth Taylor all passed through its doors. The hotel became not just an address, but a stage where myth and modernity met.
The Singapore Sling
Perhaps no detail is more iconic than the Singapore Sling, invented at the Raffles Long Bar around 1915 by bartender Ngiam Tong Boon. Conceived as a way for women to enjoy a cocktail disguised as fruit juice, it became one of the world’s most enduring drinks: gin, cherry brandy, pineapple, and grenadine, served in tall glasses with a fan stirring the air. To sip one at the Long Bar, with its tiled floor and sacks of peanuts at hand, is to enter ritual.
Restoration and Renewal
Raffles has survived war, occupation, and the shifts of time. In 1987, on its centenary, it was declared a National Monument of Singapore. A major restoration from 2017 to 2019 reimagined the hotel for the 21st century without compromising its soul: teak floors polished, suites redesigned with colonial-meets-contemporary ease, restaurants curated by chefs such as Alain Ducasse and Anne-Sophie Pic. Today it balances heritage with cosmopolitan relevance, offering both sanctuary and spectacle.
A World Apart
What defines Raffles is not only its architecture or fame, but its atmosphere. Within its courtyards and arcades, the noise of Singapore falls away. The gardens remain lush, the fans slow, the white walls luminous in tropical light. It is a place where time seems to decelerate — a retreat as much of the imagination as of geography.
https://www.raffles.com/singapore/
Information:
Stay
- Raffles Singapore – Official site with booking and history.
- Suites only: each a blend of colonial charm and contemporary refinement.
Drink
- Long Bar – Birthplace of the Singapore Sling; peanut shells crunch underfoot as tradition.
Dine
- La Dame de Pic, Raffles Singapore – Michelin-starred Anne-Sophie Pic brings French haute cuisine.
- Bar & Billiard Room – Established 1896, now an Italian fine-dining institution.
Explore
- National Gallery Singapore – Southeast Asian art within a restored colonial building.
- Gardens by the Bay – Futuristic supertrees and biodomes, a striking contrast to Raffles’ colonial grace.
TL;DR
Raffles Singapore is not just a hotel but a monument: of empire, literature, and modern luxury. From Somerset Maugham under the palms to today’s global travelers sipping Singapore Slings at the Long Bar, it remains a sanctuary of civility and glamour in the tropics.
My World of Interiors 