Raffles Hotels & Resorts is a Singaporean chain of luxury hotels which traces its roots to 1887 with the opening of the original Raffles Hotel in Singapore. The company started to develop internationally in the late 1990s. Since 2015, Raffles is part of Accor.
History
Raffles Hotels & Resorts was formed in 1989 to restore, redevelop and manage the historic Raffles Hotel in Singapore. The corporation also undertook the restructuring and management of the Raffles City development, thus laying the foundation for Raffles Hotels & Resorts to become a hotel management company. After a complete restoration, the Raffles Hotel reopened on 16 September 1991.
In April 2001, Raffles Holdings acquired Swissôtel from SAirGroup for 268 million euros, thus increasing its room capacity by 139% to 13,500 units in 17 countries.
In 2005, Colony Capital bought Raffles Holdings for $1 billion from the Singapore government. Raffles and Swissôtel joined Fairmont Hotels in the newly formed holding, FRHI Hotels & Resorts, in 2006.
In December 2015, Accor announced the acquisition of FRHI Hotels & Resorts, taking over the Fairmont, Raffles, and Swissotel hotel chains. The $2.7 billion deal was finalized in July 2016.
Properties
Raffles Hotels & Resorts operates at 18 locations worldwide with 5 more openings planned in 2023 and 2024.
Cancelled properties
In December 2020, Accor announced that it would be opening a new hotel in Moscow, next to the Kremlin, in the second half of 2022. The 153-room hotel have been named Raffles Moscow. However, in March 2023, it was confirmed that the new hotel was cancelled due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Other products
Raffles Residences
Raffles Residences is a collection of private residential suites and apartments that are serviced by Raffles Hotels & Resorts and are usually connected to a Raffles-branded hotel. There are currently three Raffles Residences with more scheduled to be completed in the next few years.
Raffles 1915 Gin
In 2015, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Singapore Sling, Raffles Hotels & Resorts partnered with London-based microdistillery Sipsmith to create a brand-made gin, the Raffles 1915 Gin.
Soirées, Sojourns & Stories by Raffles
Released in 2018, Soirées, Sojourns & Stories by Raffles is a book highlighting the history and some of the iconic guests of Raffles Hotels & Resorts.