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The Straits Times - 17th
May
2008
Colourful mojo for boutique
hotel
Austin Powers - yes, the guy
who sports loud colours and
values his "mojo" - would
feel at home at the newly
opened Hotel Re!, a boutique
hotel in Chin Swee Road.
While other hotels tend to
opt for dark woods and more
sombre colours, this
140-room hotel splashes out
bold and bright. Lime gree,
yellow, orrange, purple,
gold, silver and hot pink
adorn the walls in the rooms
and even on their doors."
Our avant-garde design,
furnishings and fittings
have been infused with a
zest of retro so guest can
relish the good old days in
contemporary comfort," says
Mr Loo Woei Harng, CEO of
Vita Holdings which owns the
hotel.
This is the first hotel for
the public-listed company
which has businesses in
property management,
including hostels and
offices, and shipping.
The 12-storey hotel was
formerly Pearl's Hill
Primary School which closed
in 2001 and became the
Stamford Student Residence,
before it was tendered out
by the Singapore Land
Authority to Vita Holdings
early last year. It is also
the first former school
building to be tenanted out
for hotel use.
Vita Holdings declined to
say how much was spent on
refurbishing the hotel,
which included reconfiguring
the rooms and building a
bistro and wine bar.
Previous reports had put the
renovation sum at $13
million and the company
paying about $82,000 a month
rent.
To add fun to the rooms,
each comes with coloured
wall with silhouettes of
popular icons from the 1960s
and 1970s, such as Marilyn
Monroe, the Beatles and
James Bond.
Even the bathroom tiles come
in various colours such as
gold, orange and green. Some
of the bathrooms also have
unblocked views of Pearl's
Hill Park and of the city.
The hotel's retro theme also
extends to the choice of
furniture used, in
particular, the chairs.
Iconic seats from the 1960s
include the Armchair and
Bubble chair, both by
Finnish designer Eero Aarnio.
The hotel charges from $280
for its superior rooms to
$700 for the suites. It
expects about 60 per cent of
guests to be corporate
clients due to the proximity
to Raffles Place, with the
rest being tourists.
While most of the rooms have
thin beds, there are three
suites that have round
water-beds and hydrotherapy
tubs. And the hotel's
manager Louis Than Naing
predicts these will be a hit
with honeymooners.
Groovy baby, Austin Powers
would definitely approvee |
