RB Capital's Robertson Quay gem dazzles riverfront

Singapore

RB Capital's InterContinental Singapore Robertson Quay has opened its doors, which together with the group's retail podium at The Quayside next door, is poised to be a magnet on the riverfront.

Between them, they offer close to 100,000 square feet of lettable area of food and beverage/lifestyle offerings across 25 outlets.

The 225-room InterContinental is being pitched as a "residential-inspired luxury hotel offering", says RB Capital chief executive, Kishin RK. In all, RB Capital has invested about S$400 million in the two assets (including the purchase price of the two properties, which were acquired in late-2012 and in 2013, as well as the cost of revamping them).

The hotel began trading on Oct 12 while The Quayside F&B outlets have started opening in phases since June. Most of the F&B outlets in the two adjoining properties are already operating with the rest slated to follow suit within the next couple of months.

SCDA handled the masterplan, the architecture, landscape and interior design of the two assets.

Chan Soo Khian, principal of SCDA Architects, said: "The project is designed to address activity on the river promenade by reinforcing the food and beverage experience seamlessly with the hotel design, thus opening up the guest experience to the residents in the area through the accessible restaurant concepts on both the waterside and the hotel".

The InterContinental's opening special promotional rates start from S$285++ (or S$335 inclusive of GST and service charge) per night till Nov 30.

All 225 rooms come with a DIY cocktail kit as part of the in-room bar. The rooms have timber fittings and a private alcove with a lazy chair and coffee table by the window instead of the typical desk in hotel rooms.

"The interior design of the hotel takes inspiration more from people's homes and their apartments," said Scott Hetherington, chief executive of Asia, hotels and hospitality group, at JLL, which acted on behalf of RB Capital in the selection of the hotel operator.

" So when you walk into the hotel, you walk into particular bedrooms, it feels more residential and personal rather than another hotel."

Room sizes range from 23 square metres to 131 square metres. They are on Levels 5 and upwards of the 10-storey hotel. On Level 4 are the lobby, two lounges (Club InterContinental Lounge and Quayside Lounge), as well as meeting and events spaces.

On the third level will be a members' club (see amendment note), 1880, which willl include multiple F&B concepts and even a coworking space.

F&B outlets on the first two levels include Italian restaurant Publico, which also operates a deli; cocktail bar Marcello, Wolfgang's Steakhouse, ISHI sushi bar and Plum & Toro, another Japanese dining concept.

This is the second InterContinental hotel in Singapore, after Bugis Junction. The Robertson Quay hotel is one of more than 10 (totalling about 3,000 rooms) opening this year.

Earlier this month, the Sofitel Singapore City Centre, part of GuocoLand's Tanjong Pagar Centre project, opened its doors. It is currently listing rooms at S$450 ++ per night (with a promotional rate for two-night stay at S$800++ to mark the property being AccorHotels' 800th hotel in the Asia-Pacific).

Andaz Singapore is slated to open next month at the Duo project in Beach Road.

According to preliminary data on the Singapore Tourism Board website, the revenue per available room (RevPAR) for Singapore hotels in the first seven months of this year was S$199.60, up 0.4 per cent year-on-year.

Over the same period, international visitor arrivals climbed 3.8 per cent to 10.175 million.

Some hoteliers are sanguine about an improvement in hotel trading conditions on the island on expectations of a rise in visitor arrivals and tighter hotel rooms supply pipeline from 2018.

Amendment Note: An earlier version of the story referred to 1880 as a "private club". At the request of 1880, we have amended this to "members' club".