A boutique hotel in Singapore combines fashion, interior design and superb hospitality with impressive results, writes Syida Lizta Amirul Ihsan
IN May 2013, legendary designer Karl Lagerfeld, who died earlier this year, travelled to Singapore for Chanel’s Paris-Singapore Metiers d’Art show.
Singapore was the only Southeast Asian city to have hosted a Chanel show on a global scale and the fashion icon was impressed by the Lion City and how cosmopolitan it is.
A year after his visit, French hotel brand Sofitel opened its SO/ Sofitel Singapore in a heritage building in the thick of the city’s financial district and it had Lagerfeld’s imprint all over the property.
The hotel worked with Singapore-based French interior designer Isabelle Miaja and roped in Lagerfeld for the project. The latter designed the lion stamp which is the logo of the hotel (coincidentally, Coco Chanel is a Leo, which makes the lion a consistent feature in Chanel’s designs).
But if you are expecting Chanel aesthetics in this colourfully stylish property, you would be disappointed. Besides the monochromatic La BiblioteK — a curated corner on the lobby level dedicated to books by Lagerfeld and those he recommends — and a copy of The Little Black Jacket coffee table book about Chanel’s iconic piece of clothing in the rooms, SO/Sofitel carries its own signature away from the brand Lagerfeld is associated with.
BEST OF BOTH WORLDS
The six-storey building, which once housed the Telecommunication Authority of Singapore, was excellently extended and refurbished to deliver a unique boutique hotel with the same impeccable service the renowned hospitality brand is known for.
The lobby is lighted by a set of hexagonal lights instead of the typical hotel’s suspended chandelier and seats come with plush cushions that are unmatched it could well be Gucci’s Alessandro Michele’s living room.
In case you are wondering why hexagon, the map of France looks roughly like the six-sided shape. One side of the lobby wall houses these lights that light the whole area. See it from the upper floors and they look like a work of art.
The hotel combines French and Singaporean cultures, and the East and West juxtaposition is complementary instead of opposing. The minibar has European and Singapore coffee, tapioca chips and prawn flavoured snacks.
The revolving entrance is reminiscent of a Parisian hotel and once you step in, the air is dense with the smell of coffee from the lounge, which to me, brings back memories of the French capital.
There are only 15 SO/ Sofitel globally and each one bears a different trademark that relates to the location. Only two of the hotels are in Southeast Asia, the other one in Bangkok.
The entry level rooms called So Cosy are located on the So Hip wing while the other rooms, like So Urban, which we stayed in, were in the So Heritage wing, the original refurbished building.
BIG BED FOR THREE
The room has a super big bed — like a king-sized bed and a half — and for the first time, my son has adequate sleeping space at night since he could turn 180 degrees while he sleeps. The mattress is comfortable, although I would have preferred it to be firmer. The minibar is free-of-charge, a kind gesture even if the selection is limited.
The best part of the room is the stability of its air conditioning. In other hotels, I often have to get up at night because the air-conditioning gets either too warm or too cold but whatever system SO/ Sofitel Singapore uses nails the temperature to a tee so it stays the same throughout. As a huge hotel fan, I find this feature very impressive because never did I have to adjust the temperature throughout my stay.
GREAT SERVICE
Here’s another thing that’s impressive. I am Muslim so I prefer a toilet with bidet or water supply. But in many hotels, toilets are mostly dry. What I do, therefore, is fill up water in plastic bottles for use in the toilet.
The first day our room was cleaned, the housekeeping team placed a little pail and water scoop upon realising we might have use for them. No hotel has ever done this for me so I find this gesture, thoughtful and attentive.
The ability to anticipate a guest’s need and fulfill it so his or her stay feels more homely is a pivotal part of the hospitality industry. It might have been just a plastic pail and scoop but to me, as a Muslim guest, it was a tremendous help that scored a lot of brownie points in my book.
The hotel also got us Muslim prayer mats that I requested before arrival even though they don’t usually supply them to guests.
We stayed at SO/ Sofitel Singapore for three nights since our usual Singapore hotel was being renovated but the hotel, with its cool outlook and impressive service standards, made our vacation a very memorable one.
Our son Murshid was gifted a lion soft toy to bring home — similar to the hotel stamp that Lagerfeld created — and he likes to kiss the lion’s mane because I think it reminds him of a cat.
The hotel isn’t exactly a family establishment — boutique hotels are meant for the hip, young and well-travelled — but the team, be it the reception, the concierge, or the staff at Xperience where we dined — would always go out of their way to make sure children are comfortable and for a person travelling with family, that’s the best service of all.
FAST FACTS
SO/ SOFITEL SINGAPORE
35 Robinson Road, 068876 Singapore
TEL 65 6701 6800
WEBSITE www.sofitel-so-singapore.com/
STAY The hotel has 134 rooms and suites — 78 So Cosy rooms, 40 So Urban, 7 So Studio, 6 So Lofty suites and 3 So VIP suites — each with unique design and living space.
EAT Xperience serves breakfast, lunch and dinner and excellent coffee that I order two cups at breakfast daily. While the selection is limited due to the space, the food quality is good, with a wide array of salads and other healthy selection. So Chocolat lounge next to it is for cakes and 1927 is the rooftop bar by the pool for meals that overlook the city.
DO The gym has TechnoGym equipment for fitness junkies and the rooftop pool gives a great view of the city.
GO The Lau Pa Sat satay club starts at 6pm in front of the hotel where customers can enjoy alfresco dinner. The food court has quite a number of stalls and some of them are halal. Satay stalls 7 and 8 seem the most popular judging from the crowd, but we prefer Opah satay, which is stall 1 because each type of satay has a distinct marinade. You can also walk to One Raffles Place to buy the addictive Irvin’s salted egg snacks. Go in the morning. The fish skin variety sells out before the end of the day. Take a stroll towards Merlion Park for an evening walk by the Singapore river and have dinner at the restaurants by the river. Most of them are bars, but there are halal Indian and Middle Eastern restaurants there too.
HIGHS The location is cool. For a moment you feel like you are in New York or Tokyo because of the neighbouring skyscrapers. In the morning, you’d see office workers making their way to offices, a cup of coffee in hand. There are convenience stores nearby for your travel amenities, two MRT stations (Raffles Place of the East West and North South lines and Telok Ayer of the Downtown line) within five minutes on foot and a Fairprice supermarket, making the area easily accessible.
LOWS The narrow corridors and room layout, which cannot be helped since it is built in an existing heritage building. It would also help if the hotel is more Muslim-friendly when it comes to amenities.