LIFESTYLE

Reinventing Hotels - the Rebranding of Luxury

When a hotel property goes through a name change, much more is replaced than its brand. Its character transforms for better or worse - the staff take on a different uniform and persona. Traces of the old hotel linger - memories mix with fresh impressions.

Hotels are not the best vehicles for simply slapping on another name, given its construct of wood upon marble upon fitted fabric and customised chrome. Its old spirit or hardware may clash with its new name.
A tremendous logistics feat underlies any rebranding - any article bearing the previous name is discarded and replaced, from towels, coasters, stationery to menus and signage - the list is endless. New F&B concepts are crystallised. The staff are drilled in a different standard operating procedure - room-presentation and the greetings script change. All this to coax a new personality from the property.

Two Singapore hotels recently reinvented themselves with interesting results. SLG checks them out.

Fairmont Singapore

In its previous life, it was Raffles the Plaza, and before that, it was the Westin Plaza.

Re-opened as the Fairmont Singapore in January this year, this is a gem that deserves a second look. Its unchanged lobby is a daring deconstruction of the grand entrance. The reticent metal-grey entrance leads to a small transition area with three water displays that hum with impenetrable understatement. The look and feel is modern with mystery.

Yet all this does not prepare the first-time guest for the subterranean incandescence in the main lobby (leading from the water displays). The irony is in the enveloping warm hues that give an utter sense of cool - elevated by elongated lamp shades but grounded by a row of ceramic sculptures raised behind the reception. These holographic references to both futuristic and organic mark this lobby as one of the most unusual in the world.

Of Particular Note

Suite: The Plaza View Suites come with one or two bedrooms. Always ask for rooms facing Marina Bay. Lavishly appointed in contemporary style, the suite comes with a massive bathroom and Miller Harris bathroom essentials.

Inagiku: The over-lit Inagiku is a thing of the past. The revamped restaurant is done in black tones, right down to the dark-stained tables and chairs. Against this unrelenting background, jute ropes, light and other visual displays pop up with startling effect. The food is contemporary Japanese, with surprises such as wasabi cherry sorbet ($40) and flounder sashimi with sea urchin, caviar and sesame sauce ($20).

Raffles Inc.: The executive club is a legacy from Raffles the Plaza and is at least six years old. Trends have come and gone and this club is rightly due for an upgrade, in January next year. It will be revamped to become the Fairmont Gold Club. Complimentary breakfast, afternoon tea, evening canapés and cocktails are served to Raffles Inc. guests and other guests who pay for the upgrade.

Willow Stream Spa: The Fairmont signature spa offers mainly European-based treatments, from aromatherapy massages to facials and using Kerstin Florian International products. Some treatments offer a touch of the East, such as Thai, Ayurvedic and Shiatsu. By North American standards, this is a very deluxe spa with 35 private treatment rooms. But out east where spas differentiate to an extremely sophisticated level, a more enthralling soft-sell may be necessary. Think Tibet treatment at Chi spas, and Malay therapy at Tanjong Jara Spa Village. Think concept spa.

Shower: It may sound strange to single this out, but the rainforest showerheads in the suites give one of the best showers ever. Six wall water jets add another dimension to the experience. The suite walkthrough shower is huge with two glass doors at each end.

Fairmont Singapore
80 Bras Basah Road

Pan Pacific Orchard

This was Meritus Negara, then Negara on Claymore, and now Pan Pacific Orchard.

Unveiled in its latest incarnation this July, this property is much more than meets the eye. Its mid-sized lobby, clad almost entirely in etiolated black marble, echoes a heritage European hotel. The reception of three small black tables is not your usual reception and adds to the flavour of an intimate European boutique (although this 206-room establishment is strictly not a boutique). This is reinforced with details such as the brass railing staircase leading to the mezzanine and asymmetric panelling in elevators bathed in half-light. A patch of tall trees beyond the glass-panelled walls on one side, gives an intriguing rainforest effect.

The makeover is continuing at this property, which has the potential to become a really special hotel. But any further revamp must not change the improbable black that swamps with such panache, or those laid-back décor nods to another era. This innocent elegance that does not rely on obvious luxury is more precious because it is so rare.

Of Particular Note

Suite: The Pacific Club Suite is nicely appointed in warm tones, with an oversized bathroom, and L'Occitane amenities.

Mineral water swimming pool: As the Meritus Negara, it was the first Singapore hotel to have this type of pool (and presently, the only one of two hotels). A goggle-free swim is possible because there is no chlorine. The pool is slightly dated but the swim is delicious.

10 @ Claymore: This new steak restaurant serves a variety of high-grade beef from Blackmore Full Blooded Wagyu (with a marble score of 9+) to F1 Wagyu (with a marble score of 4-5). The Blackmore cattle is grain fed for 600 days and its meat has a lace-like lattice of fats (such as stearic and oleic acids) which melt in the mouth. 200 grams of this exquisite meat sell for $150 - presently the only Singaporean restaurant to directly purchase Blackmore Wagyu directly from the Australian supplier. The Tasmanian Free Range Lamb is tender and of excellent flavour - a steal at $32 for three racks. There is also organic Korobuta Pork Ribs at $36.

Pacific Club: This light and white outfit departs from other executive clubs by choosing zen-light simplicity. It is a brilliant counterpoint to the dark lobby from where it leads. Breakfast, all-day drinks, and cocktails are complimentary for Pacific Club guests.

Pillow Menu: I adore this because it is so basic to a guest's comfort. Many luxury hotels fail miserably on this count, offering only limp pillows that do nothing for support. For Pacific Club guests, there is a choice of foam, feather, contour, organic and coil pillows.

Pan Pacific Orchard
10 Claymore Road

The Art of Rebranding
- What It Takes

The hotel industry is dominated by male general managers, many of them Caucasians who have trained under traditional Western-style hospitality standards. Yet among these is Linda Wee, Singaporean and general manager of the Pan Pacific Orchard. Currently the only lady general manager in a Singapore luxury hotel, Wee not only runs the hotel, she oversaw its transition from Meritus Negara to Claymore on Negara and then to the present Pan Pacific Orchard and the ton of details that accompany such changeovers.

'We set up a committee to handle both transitions. All our websites had to be changed and third party sites citing our name had to be informed of such a change,' says the energetic Wee, a 25-year veteran in the hospitality industry.

'And that is only the start.' Wee mentally checks off a list including 'slippers, bathrobes, invoices, registration cards, menus, signage, bathroom amenities, stationery compendium' that needed to be replaced before the re-opening date of the new hotel.

Wee's previous experience stands her in good stead to handle the changeover and the demands of her current job. Her work experience includes Director of Sales for Europe at Pan Pacific Singapore, and Executive Assistant Manager at Le Meridien Singapore.
Yet Wee admits that the industry continues to be beset with the notion that a man is better at the general manager's job. And the notion that public relations is better handled by the fairer sex, as the position of marketing communications director is almost invariably occupied by a woman. Even today, Wee still finds that some men have trouble reporting to a lady boss, even though they say they do not during the interview.

For now, Wee is focused on consolidating the re-branding effort, to raise the awareness level of, as she puts it, 'the tranquillity of this business hotel that has no airline crew staff, and no big group check-ins'. She says laughing, 'But after this, no more re-branding exercises for me! Two times is enough.'

Jeffrey Lee