Royal Group and Sunset Hospitality abandon plans to open Casa Mett hotel off Orchard Road

[SINGAPORE] The Casa Mett hotel will no longer materialise on the site of the former Ming Arcade, with the property’s owner Royal Group of Companies and would-be operator Sunset Hospitality Group (SHG) having agreed to discontinue the project.

The Royal Group is now looking at opening the hotel with a yet-to-be-announced new operator in the second quarter of 2027.

Rumours about the move had been circulating, and both parties confirmed it this week, saying it was a mutual decision.

Rushdee Hosany, head of hospitality at the Royal Group, told The Business Times: “We have indeed agreed with SHG that it would be in the best interest of the development to part ways and not proceed with the project under the current arrangement.

“The decision was reached following discussions together and by mutual agreement.”

He said the Singapore-based property development and investment group remains “on excellent terms” with the Dubai-headquartered SHG and welcomes “the opportunity to explore other avenues for collaboration on future projects”.

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Likewise, SHG said it was a joint decision, “reached in a spirit of partnership”.

Both parties also maintained that the project’s discontinuation is not connected to the Middle East conflict, which started in late February, when the US and Israel made strikes against Iran.

Jaime Buxo Clos, CEO of SHG’s hotels and resorts division, said the decision to drop the project was “unrelated to the regional situation”, and that the parties “mutually agreed to step back” from the project in Singapore “as respective visions for the concept evolved”.

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Rushdee added: “We recognise that the ongoing situation in the Middle East has, understandably, attracted considerable attention and may invite questions. However, our considerations and priorities in relation to this hotel development remain specific to the project and its best interests.”

More rooms

Casa Mett was originally slated to open at 21 Cuscaden Road in early 2027, on a blade-shaped, freehold site of 12,132 square feet.

Work on the structure of the building will be completed by the end of November. But instead of 165 rooms on nine levels of the 13-storey building, the room count will now be 171, with the remaining details unchanged.

Designed by SCDA Architects, the hotel will have three F&B concepts, on the first two levels and the roof. The eighth-floor sky terrace will incorporate fitness and wellness facilities.

BT had quoted Royal Group in an earlier report as having said that the hotel would fill a niche for an upmarket, trendy lifestyle hotel in the area.

The group also owns Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort & Spa and Raffles Sentosa Singapore.

It bought Ming Arcade, a seven-storey commercial complex, in a collective sale in December 2022, at the cost of S$172 million or S$3,125 per square foot per plot ratio.

The site was rezoned from commercial to hotel use, entailing a land-betterment charge in excess of S$25 million.

SHG is a multinational lifestyle hospitality group with a portfolio that includes hotels and resorts, restaurants, beach clubs, nightclubs and fitness centres.

Casa Mett was to have been the second hotel under its management in Singapore, the first being the 84-key Mett Singapore, which sits on the site of the former Hotel Fort Canning.

Among other entities, SHG also runs Chinese restaurant Mott 32 at Marina Bay Sands and Sushisamba – which offers a blend of Japanese, Brazilian and Peruvian cuisines and cultures – in Capital Tower in Robinson Road.

SHG’s Clos said: “We will continue to focus on growing our portfolio of lifestyle hospitality experiences around the world, and we look forward to exploring future opportunities in Singapore and across the region.”