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The Place
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"Easily the most famous hotel in Singapore, no other establishment epitomises the island’s colonial history better than Raffles Hotel Singapore.
Named after Singapore’s founder, Sir Stamford Raffles, the hotel was built by the Sarkies Brothers, responsible for other luxury hotels in the region during the colonial era.
Although Raffles Hotel Singapore opened in 1887, its layout continued to evolve, with hotel wings, suites and other facilities added over the years.
However, it was the hotel’s new main building, designed by R. A. J. Bidwell of Swan & MacLaren and completed in 1899, which turned out to be the jewel in the crown.
An exemplary showcase of neo-Renaissance architecture, tropical touches like high ceilings and extensive verandahs were added. It boasted a dining room with a marble floor, electric lights and powered ceiling fans—a first for any hotel in the region.
It became the place to be. Charlie Chaplin, Queen Elizabeth II and Rudyard Kipling were just some of the illustrious names that spent a night or two under its roof.
A facelift in 1989 restored it to the height of its glory. An original cast-iron portico and a timber staircase were reinstated, while decorative plasterwork was painstakingly repaired. All rooms were converted into suites with teakwood floors and handmade carpets." (
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The Person
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Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles was a British statesman, best known for his founding of the city of Singapore. He is often described as the "Father of Singapore" He was also an amateur writer and wrote a book entitled History of Java (1817).
Sir Stamford Raffles served as the Lieutenant-Governor of the Dutch East Indies between 1811 and 1816, and Lieutenant-Governor of Bencoolen between 1818 and 1824. He is best known mainly for his founding of modern Malaysia and Singapore.
Raffles was heavily involved in the capture of the Indonesian island of Java from the Dutch during the Napoleonic Wars. The running of day-to-day operations on Singapore was mostly done by William Farquhar, but Raffles was the one who got all the credit.
Source: Wikipedia (
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