Tale of Two Hotels $$ Singapore, UAE

Raffles

Raffles is an iconic colonial $$ style luxury heritage hotel in Singapore; it was developed on the site of an $1830$s beach house. It was established as a hotel in $1887$ by two Armenian hoteliers, the Sarkies Brothers and named after Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, a British stateman and the founder of Singapore. It is now known for $($amongst other things$)$ afternoon teas and the Singapore Sling $$ a ginbased cocktail $($that also features cherry liqueur, pineapple juice and $$various other ingredients$)$ invented by one of its bartenders. Raffles was first built with $10$ rooms: there now over $100$ rooms $($all suites$)$ and $8$ restaurants. Systematically, new wings were added and consolidated; the restaurants are all in a special arcade, which is also home to some $40$ leading $$ brand boutiques. The grounds are gardened and well $$ kept.

In $1899,$ Raffles was the first building in Singapore to feature electric lighting; in $1902,$ a live tiger was found in the billiard room. Stories have it that this tiger was the last to be shot in Singapore; there is a dispute concerning whether the tiger was, a wild or had escaped from travelling circus. During its real heyday, long $$ stay residents included authors such as Rudyard Kipling $($who perhaps ironically wrote the Jungle Book$),$ Joseph Conrad and W$.$ Somerset Maugham.

The Sarkies held the hotel until $1831,$ when they were declared bankrupt in the Great Depression. During World War $11,$ the Japanese occupied Singapore $($and thus Raffles$).$ At that time, it has been reported that the staff buried the hotel$$s main silver collection. Raffles was declared a National Monument in $1987.$

After this, and between $1989$ and $1991,$ there was a US$$160$ million refurbishment. Raffles is now part of the Fairmont Group of Hotels, which is linked to the French group, Accor; at one time, the Qatari Sovereign Wealth Fund was a key investor.

The Burg Al Arab

The $$Tower of the Arabs$$ is prominent feature of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. At $180$ meters, it was built as the third tallest hotel in the world. Its distinctive curved shape represents the sail of an Arab dhow, and some $39$ per cent of its space is non $$ occupiable. It stands on $23040$ meter concrete piles on an artificial island $($reclaimed land$)$ some $280$ metres offshore, accessible by a bridge. It was constructed for its local owners between $1994$ and $1999$ at a cost of US$$2$ billion. The first three years were spent building the island. There are $56$ floors which amount to $28$ double $$ floors of two $$ storey suites. Altogether, there are $202$ suits; the smallest is $170$ square metres $($much bigger than many UK houses$)$ and the largest is $780$ square metres. The owners had insisted the Burj Al Arab be $$an iconic, symbolic statement.$$ A few years ago, it was the twelfth most expensive hotel in the world and some $25$ percent of its visitors were wealthy Chinese.

There are two restaurants; one is at rooftop level. The others have a huge aquarium on one side, separated by $7$ inch thick glass plating. The hotel has been described as a seven stars enterprise $$ because of its features $$ although, a technically, only one hotel $($in Milan$)$ officially holds a seven $$ star rating. A few promotional events have been held on the rooftop helipad. Both Tiger Woods and Rory Mcllroy have hit golf balls off the top. Andre Agassi and Roger Federer have played an exhibition tennis match. David Coulhard performed $$donuts$$ with a Red Bull Formula $1$ Car.