SINGAPORE — Raffles Hotel Singapore closed its doors last December for its first renovation in almost 30 years. The work updates the entire 130-year-old property, even adding new buildings.
So important to the high-class social fabric of Singapore is the hotel that a starring role in the soon-to-open summer blockbuster Crazy Rich Asians was non-negotiable.
"We got in there soon enough that they were able to hold off in one little wing before the whole thing shut down," director Jon M. Chu tells Bloomberg.
Whatever the cost — hotel owner Katara Hospitality says only that it was a "significant amount" (the last major renovation was estimated at over S$385 million) — the outcome will be astonishing, particularly the lineup of culinary talent.
New chefs include Ms Anne-Sophie Pic, of the three-Michelin star Maison Pic in Valence, France; venerable French master chef Alain Ducasse; and Mr Jereme Leung, who has garnered accolades for his groundbreaking Chinese cooking.
The Singapore Sling will continue to be a house specialty served at the hotel's refurbished Long Bar, where guests will still be able to toss peanut shells on the floor.
More at Two of the world’s best chefs to open at newly renovated Raffles Hotel
So important to the high-class social fabric of Singapore is the hotel that a starring role in the soon-to-open summer blockbuster Crazy Rich Asians was non-negotiable.
"We got in there soon enough that they were able to hold off in one little wing before the whole thing shut down," director Jon M. Chu tells Bloomberg.
Whatever the cost — hotel owner Katara Hospitality says only that it was a "significant amount" (the last major renovation was estimated at over S$385 million) — the outcome will be astonishing, particularly the lineup of culinary talent.
New chefs include Ms Anne-Sophie Pic, of the three-Michelin star Maison Pic in Valence, France; venerable French master chef Alain Ducasse; and Mr Jereme Leung, who has garnered accolades for his groundbreaking Chinese cooking.
The Singapore Sling will continue to be a house specialty served at the hotel's refurbished Long Bar, where guests will still be able to toss peanut shells on the floor.
More at Two of the world’s best chefs to open at newly renovated Raffles Hotel
