Raffles Hotel Singapore

Why go

Raffles Hotel connects Singapore’s colonial-era hospitality with a still-working luxury hotel. The publicly accessible arcade lets you see part of that history without staying overnight, while the grounds and main building recall the expansion from the Sarkies brothers’ small 1887 hotel.

What to look for

• The hotel’s main building reflects its late 19th-century expansion.
• Raffles Arcade gives public access to a heritage-themed boutique.

The full story

The Sarkies brothers opened Raffles Hotel in 1887 in a former beach house. As the business grew, new wings and then a main building replaced its modest beginnings. Architect Regent Alfred John Bidwell designed the main building, completed in 1899 with electric lighting and powered ceiling fans. The hotel has been restored and continues to operate, so a visit to the arcade offers a glimpse of its history within a living business rather than an open museum. The first hotel had only ten rooms. Additional wings followed within a decade, showing how quickly demand changed around the former beachfront property. The public arcade today is only one part of a much larger operating hotel. Seeing the historic building from accessible areas is a way to appreciate that growth without assuming the private guest spaces form an open attraction.

Useful to know

• Use the Seah Street entrance for the public Raffles Arcade.
• Treat guest areas as restricted and check the hotel’s visitor information before planning any other interior stop.

Your next visit

Estimated · Declared scenario and planning estimates; no live opening, weather, queue or booking service.