ICONS IN THE BEGINNING
by Chris Sheedy

The Sun Herald (Sydney, Australia)
April 20, 2008 Sunday

For 120 years it’s been the preferred lodging for film stars, writers,
royalty and politicians but Raffles Hotel Singapore began life as a
10-bedroom bungalow.

When Tigran Sarkies migrated to Malaysia from Armenia in the early
1880s, he hoped to prosper from the business opportunities the Orient
had to offer. The 23-year-old bought a large home in Georgetown,
Penang, in north-west Malaysia and by 1884, he had turned it into
the Eastern Hotel.

Tigran’s brother Martin, 33, joined him in buying a second site,
also in Georgetown, and in 1885, the Oriental Hotel opened for
business. Younger brothers Aviet and Arshak joined the venture and
the Sarkies became renowned as successful hoteliers with ambitions
to expand. But Penang was too small a market, so they began casting
an eye further afield in Singapore.

The brothers knew they’d struck gold when they found a large bungalow
on the corner of Beach and Bras Basah roads. The property had been a
boarding house for the Raffles Institution (a boys’ school named after
Sir Stamford Raffles, a British colonial official who founded modern
Singapore in 1819). It needed minor alterations and in December 1887,
the Raffles Hotel was opened. It had only 10 rooms but in six years
two new wings were added.

Demand for luxury hotels was growing, however, so in 1897, Tigran
announced plans for extensive and elaborate additions to create "one of
the handsomest hotels in the East". Renowned architect Regent Alfred
John Bidwell replaced the old central block with a grand three-storey
building in the Renaissance style, which opened in 1899. It featured
a Carrara marble floor, a 500-seat dining room, 100 suites, and the
huge veranda so closely associated with the hotel today.

Fast facts

1910-1915 Raffles bartender Ngiam Tong Boon invents the Singapore
Sling cocktail (the exact year is unknown).

1942 Japan occupies Singapore during World War II and Raffles is
renamed Syonan Ryokan (Singapore Inn). When Allied forces liberate the
nation, more than 300 Japanese troops commit suicide inside the hotel.

1987 The Singapore Government declares the hotel a national monument.

2008 Eight Raffles hotels and resorts operate internationally – in
Singapore, Siem Reap, Phnom Penh, Beijing, Dubai, LA, The Grenadines
and Paris – and 13 more are in development.