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SINGAPORE: In the first half of this year, 12 sites will be made available for hotel development.
National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan said these sites would potentially yield another 6,000 rooms which Singapore needs to meet growing demand.
Mr Mah was speaking at the official opening of the six-star St Regis Singapore on Sunday, where 1,000 of Singapore's Who's Who attended the event.
At St Regis, butler service is available at all 299 rooms and suites, and guests can hire chauffer-driven Bentleys.
But the glamour is a far cry from the gloom that overshadowed the planning of the hotel when it first begun.
Miguel Ko, president of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Asia Pacific, said: "To plan a hotel of this level of investment five years back, in the midst of SARS and a depressed hotel and real estate market, truly required someone of great determination and foresight."
The St Regis Singapore is the latest hotel to open here to meet growing demand from tourists and businessmen.
"In 2007, about 1,000 hotel rooms were added and we have projected a further increase of some 12,000 rooms in the next three to four years as new hotels and integrated resorts open," said Mr Mah.
The St Regis Singapore aims to recreate some of the glamour from the original St Regis in New York, plus a dash of the local flavour.
The original Bloody Mary cocktail was created at the St Regis in New York in 1934 and the same recipe is available at the St Regis Singapore.
But the St Regis Singapore also has its own version of the cocktail – the Chili Padi Mary.
- CNA/so
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