Small but mighty Singapore inspires with its cultural diversity—it’s the world’s busiest port and a global hub for business and leisure. As Mai Timblick, chief creative officer of Standard International, describes it, Singapore is “a metropolis that sits in what was effectively a jungle. And you still feel it. It’s seeped in history and tradition, yet the city is so modern and futuristic.”
The island city-state’s hospitality industry has rebounded from pandemic lows, with investors sinking more than $4.4 billion into new hotels. Data from JLL shows that as of last September, Singapore had added more than 3,200 new hotel rooms in 2023—a number driven by postponed Covid-era projects and refurbished or rebranded hotels. An additional 4,900 rooms are expected by the end of 2025.
Artyzen Singapore is constructed as stacked villas teeming with plants and shaded with steel mesh screens
Much of the Garden City’s hotel growth will be in the luxury sector. At the newly opened 21 Carpenter hotel near Clarke Quay, a series of four historic shophouses were restored by locally based WOHA. Now boasting 48 rooms and a contemporary cubic extension, the former remittance house preserves many original features and nods to its banking history, which meet more modern touches in the new Urban Wing with its aluminum façade.
Elsewhere, Raffles is building a 62-villa beach resort on nearby Sentosa Island, designed by Yabu Pushelberg and complete with more than a million square feet of cultivated gardens, while the new Artyzen Singapore by locally based design and architecture firm ONG&ONG reimagined a 1940s mansion as a series of vertically stacked villas, each floor overflowing with plants. In fact, greenery is a central element in all of these new and upcoming properties, in line with Singapore’s title of greenest city in Asia.
The Singapore EDITION
A sculpted Venetian plaster staircase spirals down to the garden courtyard level at the Singapore EDITION
That’s true for the first Southeast Asia location for Marriott’s EDITION brand, which opened last November. Ian Schrager conceived the 204-room hotel on upper Orchard Road in conjunction with the local office of Boston-based Safdie Architects, local studio DP Architects, and design firm Cap Atelier. “It was a thrill for us to do a hotel in Singapore and to come up with a project as sophisticated and beautiful as the city itself,” Schrager has said of the opening.
Past the glass and bronze façade, a domed lobby ceiling dazzles with gold leaf. A white Venetian plaster staircase spirals down to a sunken garden courtyard, while the lobby bar is decked out in pink velvet with a pink backlit bar and a rose-colored Calacatta marble pool table. Warm white rugs soften white oak-planked floors in the understated guestrooms, which feature bay windows, thick drapes, and potted orchids.
COMO Metropolitan Singapore
The soft-hued pâtisserie Cédric Grolet at the COMO Metropolitan Singapore
A sky garden is a highlight of the COMO Metropolitan Singapore, launched last September with 156 rooms and suites, which prioritizes light and city views with large windows, a pale color palette, and simple lines. It’s part of the COMO Orchard complex developed by Singapore-based Como Hotels & Resorts, joining retail, restaurants, and entertainment venues. Behind the outpost’s elegant yet purposeful design are local studio Atelier Ikebuchi, Milan-based OTTO Studio, Norwegian digital artist Thomas Hilland, and New York architecture firm Modellus Novus—which crafted chef Simon Kim’s third COTE Korean steakhouse location, an immersive experience with a cocktail bar and music room.
Hotel guests mingle with locals as they browse two floors of retail pop-ups, including brands like Thom Browne and Alaïa, at Club21. Meanwhile, the COMO Shambhala Singapore’s 9,000-square-foot wellness space—a new flagship location for the brand launched by COMO Group founder Christina Ong in 1997—goes beyond yoga, with a red-light therapy room, oxygen therapy, ice baths, and microbiome facials.
“Each space is designed to consider the specific needs and vision of each distinct outlet,” says Paola Navone, architect and designer behind OTTO Studio. “We have designed the retail space to be flexible and welcoming, the French pâtisserie to exude a refined atmosphere utilizing upholstered furniture and soft velvets, COMO Cuisine to serve a colorful, energetic ambiance, and the COMO Shambhala spa to portray watery, relaxing colors.”
Conrad Singapore Orchard
The Conrad Singapore Orchard retains the original atrium designed by John Portman
The 445-room Conrad Singapore Orchard, a $100 million remodel of the Regent Singapore, opened last December, joining a second Conrad property that overlooks Marina Bay. Located only steps away from Orchard Road, the revitalized hotel retains the distinctive central atrium conceived by American architect John Portman in 1982. Inside, guests will find 10 F&B spots, ranging from the Michelin-starred Summer Palace to Manhattan cocktail bar.
Art plays a prominent role in the property, with pieces that pay homage to Singapore’s botanical heritage. “Working with [Singapore art marketplace] the Artling, we played off our design’s botanical theme and introduced signature [pieces], mostly by local artists, adding to the essence of the urban oasis vibe,” says Alicia Worthington, partner at design studio Unscripted Singapore.
The 46 suites also emphasize biophilia with potted tropical trees and a signature palm motif that enlivens a neutral color palette of soft sand, cream, and cinnamon. Further, floor-to-ceiling windows with plantation shutters introduce a touch of nostalgia.
The Standard, Singapore
A rendering of the upcoming Standard, Singapore hotel
The 143-room, new-build Standard, Singapore is slated to open this summer on Orange Grove Road. In collaboration with local firm MOD (Ministry of Design), the hotel recalls the home of a plant-loving friend, with botanical wallpaper and overgrown creepers that will extend the lush feel to the restaurant and the rooftop swim-up pool bar. “The hotel is situated within a green residential oasis, so the heartbeat is a multilevel garden that activates all the senses,” says Verena Haller, chief design officer for Standard International.
Every detail has been carefully devised to complete the narrative. Local artist Saran Yen Panya’s 56th Studio, for instance, handcrafted the wallcoverings, while the Standard collaborated on the staff uniforms with Thai fashion designer Shone Puipia. “The simultaneous feeling of the familiar and new exists throughout,” Haller adds. “Each space offers a different character, but together they create a story to discover and enjoy.”
Photos and renderings by Adam Bruzzone, Nikolas Koenig, Martin Morrell, Fabian Ong, and courtesy of Design Hotels, Raffles Hotels & Resorts, and Standard International
This article originally appeared in HD’s February/March 2024 issue.
