Analysis Hotels

New hotels to look out for in 2019

We take a look at a range of new hotels set to open their doors in 2019, both in Singapore and across the Asia-Pacific region

Outpost Front 2 (Far East Hospitality).jpg

As we recently mentioned in our 2018 round up article, last year didn’t feature many new hotel openings in Singapore. We basically saw the Six Senses Duxton (check our review), The Capitol Kempinski and the Six Senses Maxwell open their doors to Lion City visitors last year.

ADVERTISEMENT

Singapore

2019 promises to be much more interesting, though the nature of hotel construction schedules means many of these openings will actually be properties originally due to launch in the last year or two, which are simply running behind schedule.

Raffles Singapore Opening: Mid-2019  sg.png
Raffles - Front (AccorHotels).jpg
Details
Probably the most anticipated opening in Singapore this year is actually a re-opening, following a renovation of close to 18 months. A Singapore institution, Raffles was designated a national monument by the NHB in the late 1980s. Continuously used as a hotel since 1887, it is the oldest surviving establishment of its kind on the island.

Raffles’ former 103 rooms and suites will become 115 in the newly opened hotel, with a brand new design which promises it will still nod to the classic colonial features of the building and its 14ft-high ceilings.

Quirks we love
The Long Bar, where the national cocktail the Singapore Sling was invented by Ngiam Tong Boon, has already been returned to its original location and re-opened. The hotel will also feature 10 new or refreshed bars and restaurants, including BBR by Alain Ducasse in the Bar & Billiard Room, which will once again serve a weekend Sunday Brunch.
Raffles - Long Bar (AccorHotels).jpg Raffles Singapore (AccorHotels)
Images: AccorHotels
Capri by Fraser at China Square Opening: Q1 2019  sg.png
Capri (Frasers Hospitality).jpg
Details
This brand new 16-floor property will offer 304 rooms close to Chinatown and walking distance from Club Street.
Quirks we love
Technology is the focus here, with everything from reservations and check in through to housekeeping requests and laundry collection able to be controlled through an app, or via a Chatbot.

Many rooms will also feature kitchenettes, for the convenience of an apartment feel during longer stays. There’s also a rooftop pool.

Capri Pool (Frasers Hospitality).jpg Capri 2 (Frasers Hospitality).jpg
Images: Frasers Hospitality
Dusit Thani Laguna Opening: Q1 2019  sg.png
Dusit (Dusit International).jpg
Details
Golf is the name of the game here, with this brand new hotel located inside the Laguna National Golf and Country Club, close to Changi Airport. Indeed it’s set to be the first Singapore hotel featuring direct golf club access.
Quirks we love
Dusit is known for traditional Thai style, and golf resorts don’t always scream modern, so we were a little taken aback to find a building resembling a brand new airport terminal proposed for this project.

Golf may not be everyones game, but the massive outdoor pool, bars, extensive dining options, tennis courts and Dusit’s signature Devarana Spa should keep everyone happy here.

Dusit Suite (Dusit International).jpg Dusit 2 (Dusit International).jpg
Images: Dusit International
YOTELAIR Changi Airport Opening: Q2 2019  sg.png
Yotel 1 (YOTEL).jpg
Details
Singapore’s second YOTEL property is set to open in the JEWEL Changi Airport during Q2 2019. The capsule hotel promises free Wi-Fi, a 24 hour gym and direct access to Changi’s three main terminals. It is only the second airport hotel located in the public areas.
Quirks we love
Access to good food and drink is often the biggest challenge when staying in these ‘capsule’ hotels. That’s not an issue here, the JEWEL project is set to feature over 300 retail and dining facilities with everything from Norwegian fast food to an A&W already confirmed.

Alternatively covered walkways link the facility to the public areas of T1, T2 and T3, with even more food choices. You can even wander across to the Crowne Plaza Changi Airport and dine in one of the restaurants there.

Yotel 2 (YOTEL).jpg Yotel 3 (YOTEL).jpg
Images: YOTEL
ADVERTISEMENT

The Sentosa trio

Far East Hospitality, a subsidiary of the giant Far East Organisation, is already known for a number of hotels in Singapore such as the Oasia Downtown and the Village Hotel Bugis.

The company has an ambitious project in Sentosa opening this year, with three brand new hotels in the same development located located along Artillery Avenue in the Palawan area of the island.

Barracks Trio Overhead (Far East Hospitality).jpg
The Village Hotel, Outpost Hotel and Barracks Hotel form part of the same development along Sentosa’s Artillery Road. (Image: Far East Hospitality)
The Village Hotel Sentosa Opening: Apr 2019  sg.png
Village Hotel (Far East Hospitality).jpg
Details
Designed for families, this mid-tier price range hotel includes 2-bed family rooms with two bathrooms. There are a total of four swimming pools including an Amazonian Riverine lazy river.
Quirks we love
Sorry, this one’s included with the other two in the project purely for the sake of completeness. A 606-room family hotel including an adventure pool and a lazy river only fills us with dread!
Village Hotel Room 2 (Far East Hospitality).jpg Village Hotel River (Far East Hospitality).jpg
Images: Far East Hospitality
The Outpost Hotel Sentosa Opening: Apr 2019  sg.png
Outpost Front 2 (Far East Hospitality).jpg
Details
An adults and couples oriented property, the more stylish black-and-white themed Outpost Hotel will feature 193 rooms, each with customised amenities including a Nespresso machine.
Quirks we love
The rooftop pool on the 7th floor is exclusive to hotel guests.
Outpost Room 2 (Far East Hospitality).jpg Outpost Room Detail (Far East Hospitality).jpg
Outpost Pool 2 (Far East Hospitality).jpg Outpost Front (Far East Hospitality).jpg
Images: Far East Hospitality
The Barracks Hotel Sentosa Opening: Q3 2019  sg.png
Barracks (Far East Hospitality).jpg
Details
A heritage building dating back to 1904, when it was built as a military outpost by the British, a meticulous restoration is promised to bring us The Barracks Hotel later this year.
Quirks we love
Details are still thin, but at just 40 rooms this hotel sounds the perfect size for us. The conserved colonial building is a definite plus. Rooms and suites on the ground floor have direct access to the main pool.
Barracks Room (Far East Hospitality).jpg Barracks Pool 2 (Far East Hospitality).jpg
Images: Far East Hospitality

The Village Hotel and the Outpost Hotel will have a “soft launch” (that’s when something isn’t really finished, but you open it anyway) in February 2019, followed by a formal opening in April 2019.

The Barracks Hotel will take bookings from Q2 2019 for opening in Q3 2019.

A Holiday Inn Express at Serangoon is also due to open in Singapore during Q1 2019.

ADVERTISEMENT

Elsewhere in Asia-Pacific

As regular travellers across the region, there are a number of other properties set to open this year that caught our eye, and may well interest you too.

Bangkok

Hyatt Regency Bangkok Opening: Opened 21 Dec 2018  th.png
Hyatt Regency Bangkok 2 (Hyatt Corporation).jpg
Details
This one shouldn’t really be on the list, managing to open its doors just before the close of last year on 21st December 2018.
Quirks we love
The 3,000 sq ft. ‘Regency Club’ lounge on the 27th floor with floor-to-ceiling city views. It’s not open yet though, expect it in early 2019.
Hyatt Regency Bangkok 1 (Hyatt Corporation).jpg Hyatt Regency Bangkok 3 (Hyatt Corporation).jpg
Images: Hyatt
Orient Express MahaNakhon Bangkok Opening: Q4 2019  th.png
Orient (AccorHotels)
Details
Originally this was intended to be a much-anticipated hotel, The Bangkok EDITION. That property was due to open in 2018, promising the unique sophistication of EDITION hotels already opened in places like London, Miami Beach and Shanghai.

The group even went as far as advertising an opening offer, however something changed dramatically last year with an ownership change of the MahaNakhon building to King Power. It was then announced that the building’s new owners had decided not to install the EDITION hotel concept in the development after all.

King Power has strong affiliations with the AccorHotels group, so it was no big surprise to find that the new hotel would fall under their management. This time though it was Accor’s chance to launch their first Orient Express hotel.

The property will feature 154 rooms including nine suites and two penthouses, the same as was planned for The EDITION.

Quirks we love
There’s an entire ‘wellness’ floor including an outdoor pool and signature Orient Express Spa by Guerlain. Guests will also have access to the rooftop observation deck and rooftop bar.

The hotel also promises to incorporate Art Deco stylings and plant motifs of the original Orient Express carriages into this modern skyscraper, the tallest building in Bangkok. We’re curious, if anything, to see if they can pull that off.

Images: King Power / AccorHotels
ADVERTISEMENT
Capella Bangkok Opening: Q2 2019  th.png
Capella Bangkok 2 (Capella Hotels & Resorts).jpg
Details
The Capella Bangkok will feature 101 suites with unobstructed river views, and riverfront villas. Some of the accommodation is set to feature sky gardens and private outside living space.
Quirks we love
A riverfront setting in the “Charoenkrung” neighbourhood, the Capella should be a retreat from the busier parts of the city. A 9,000 square foot Auriga wellness spa and an outdoor pool in a tropical garden setting, should complement the peaceful experience.
Capella Bangkok 5 (Capella Hotels & Resorts).jpg Capella Bangkok 3 (Capella Hotels & Resorts).jpg
Capella Bangkok 7 (Capella Hotels & Resorts).jpg Capella Bangkok 1 (Capella Hotels & Resorts).jpg
Images: Capella Hotels & Resorts
Four Seasons Bangkok Opening: Early 2019  th.png
Four Seasons BKK (Four Seasons).jpg
Details
You’d be forgiven for recalling, like we did, that Bangkok already had a Four Seasons hotel. In fact the previous one, on Radjadamri Road, was rebranded under the Anantara group in 2015 (having originally opened as the Peninsula in 1978 and operated as a Four Seasons for 12 years from 2003 to 2015).

This new Four Seasons is at Chao Phraya River, in the same riverside development as the Capella, which will also include private residences, shopping, and dining.

Quirks we love
Artist renderings promise a modern finish, quite unlike many Four Seasons properties, with floor-to-ceiling windows and muted grey and white tones.
Four Seasons BKK 3 (Four Seasons).jpg Four Seasons BKK 2 (Four Seasons).jpg
Images: Four Seasons
Rosewood Bangkok Opening: Early 2019  th.png
Rosewook BKK (Rosewood Hotels).jpg
Details
The design of this 159-room, 30-floor tower is inspired by the graceful hand movement of the ‘wai’, a traditional Thai greeting. It will feature two restaurants, two bars, a luxurious spa, an outdoor swimming pool and a fitness centre.
Quirks we love
Sky Villas will feature large terraces and private plunge pools.
Rosewook BKK 2 (Rosewood Hotels).jpg Rosewook BKK 3 (Rosewood Hotels).jpg
Images: Rosewood Hotels / KPF
ADVERTISEMENT

Hong Kong

Like Bangkok, Hong Kong never has a shortage of new hotel openings. There are a number of new properties due this year, including:

  • The Silveri Mgallery by Sofitel
  • Hong Kong Ocean Park Marriott
  • Sheraton Hong Kong Tung Chung
  • Four Points by Sheraton Hong Kong Tung Chung
  • Rosewood Hong Kong

One in particular though does catch our eye, and that’s the St. Regis Hong Kong. Originally due to open this month (January 2019), later shifted to March and now slated for June.

St. Regis Hong Kong Opening: Jun 2019  hk.png
SR HK 4 (St Regis HK).jpg
Details
This brand new five-star hotel will feature 129 guest rooms, 112 of which are Deluxe rooms with 50 square metres of floor space, and 17 of which will be luxurious signature suites.

The personalised St. Regis Butler service tops off the experience.

Quirks we love
Mixologists at The St. Regis Bar will be serving the hotel’s own take on the brand’s signature Bloody Mary. Good enough for us.
SR HK 6 (St Regis HK).jpg SR HK 3 (St Regis HK).jpg
SR HK 1 (St Regis HK).jpg SR HK 5 (St Regis HK).jpg
Images: St. Regis Hong Kong
ADVERTISEMENT

Perth

We love Perth and we absolutely adore COMO The Treasury, but we really need to get back to the city this year to check out the new Westin and the InterContinental (formerly a Rydges but extensively redeveloped).

There’s another new opening for 2019 though.

The Ritz-Carlton Perth Opening: Mid-2019   au.png
RC Perth (The Ritz-Calrton Hotel Company)
Details
Set to feature 204 luxury suites with ground-floor retail space and residential apartments above, in the popular Elizabeth Quay area.
Quirks we love
It’ll be the first Ritz-Carlton hotel to open in Australia. Remarkably, we think this is the only hotel project on this entire list which is actually running on time!
RC Perth Club Lounge (The Ritz-Calrton Hotel Company) RC Perth Suite (The Ritz-Calrton Hotel Company)
Images: The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company
ADVERTISEMENT

Auckland

We’re heading to New Zealand later this year, and while we usually book the Sofitel when staying in Auckland, it looks like there will be a couple of new hotels for us to consider this time.

SO/ Auckland Opening: Opened Nov 2018   nz.png
SO AKL Bathroom (AccorHotels).jpg
Details
Another slight cheat for the 2019 list, this one actually opened in November 2018 but to be fair the SO Well (an entire floor dedicated to wellness) and the Club Signature lounge only launched this month, so we’re claiming 2019 as the full opening!
Quirks we love
Well located near the Britomart, plus all rooms feature a complimentary mini bar, Nespresso coffee machine and free Wi-Fi.
SO AKL Bar (AccorHotels).jpg SO AKL Bathroom 2 (AccorHotels).jpg
Images: AccorHotels
Park Hyatt Auckland Opening: Mar 2019   nz.png
PH Auckand (Hyatt).jpg
Details
Set to be the first Park Hyatt property in New Zealand, it will feature a seven-storey high internal atrium and even has a moat inside.

As well as 195 guest rooms there is a 25m indoor infinity pool, fitness centre and spa on the first floor.

Quirks we love
Full-size mock-ups of the hotel rooms set to be installed in the Park Hyatt Auckland were built in Beijing for testing and layout improvement before the final designs were settled upon. That’s the kind of attention to detail we like to hear about.
Image: Hyatt

Tokyo

Hotel Okura Tokyo Opening: Sep 2019  jp.png
Okura (David Kukin).jpg
Details
A 1960s icon, first opened in time for the Tokyo Olympics in 1964, the Okura will once again open in time for the same event in the same city 56 years later following extensive remodelling.
Quirks we love
So fond were admirers of the original lobby in this longstanding hotel, a petition gathered 6,000 signatures worldwide to retain it. As a result, the developers will reproduce the old lobby, including a giant wall clock showing the time at major cities on six continents of the world, in the redeveloped hotel.
Okura 2 (Hotel Okura Tokyo).jpg Okura 3 (Hotel Okura Tokyo).jpg
Images: David Kukin / Hotel Okura Tokyo
ADVERTISEMENT

Summary

A busy year for hotel openings both in Singapore and across the region as a whole. We certainly won’t get round to visiting and reviewing all of these, but we’ll be trying our best to fit a number of them into our 2019 travel plans.

What did we miss, and which hotel opening are you most anticipating this year? Let us know in the comments section below.

(Cover Photo: Far East Hospitality)

ADVERTISEMENT

3 comments

Leave a Reply