Announced last year and originally set to open in December, Singapore’s The Lo & Behold Group’s first boutique accommodation, The Warehouse Hotel, has opened its doors to the public.
Located along the waterfront at Robertson Quay, the hotel sits within a converted 19th-century warehouse, also known in Asia as a “godown”. Designed by Singaporean design agency Asylum, the new hotel harks back to the factory’s role during the height of the city’s spice trade by combining industrial and heritage aesthetics.
“Our focus has been to protect the property’s legacy, while creating a fresh perspective on the term ‘industrial’,” said head designer and Asylum founder, Chris Lee. “The environment is warm and sophisticated to prevent it from being too obviously grounded in what has been before.”
The boutique property offers just 37 rooms in six different categories, with many featuring high ceilings and individual looks. Rooms feature “Minibars of Vice” offering Southeast Asian products including hand-made salted egg yolk potato crisps, Vietnamese dark chocolate, beauty products, along with what the hotel describes as “naughty treats”.
Meanwhile, a variety of in-room amenities and hotel features have been supplied through partnerships with local producers – ceramic studio Mud Rock was commissioned to develop coffee and tea mugs, while the property’s front desk, which also functions as a retail installation for its “Objects of Vice”, was created by furniture producer Gabriel Tan in collaboration with Edwin Low of gallery shop Supermama.
F&B options at the property include a lobby bar, which offers cocktails and beverages made using house-made alcohol infusions and essences that are designed to highlight three distinct periods in the building’s history – the spice trade, illegal distillery and 80s disco. The hotel’s flagship restaurant, Po, offers dishes including charcoal-grilled Iberico satay, spicy tamarind barramundi and Carabinero prawns and konbu mee. As with the lobby bar’s cocktails, Po’s menu along with the in-room dining has been developed by chef Willin Low, who founded restaurant Wild Rocket and is chef-partner for Po.
Known for its F&B offerings including American diner OverEasy and Singaporean bar Loof, The Lo & Behold Group is using The Warehouse Hotel as its preliminary foray into the hotel sector.
“Hotels are a natural extension of our strength as a group, both in concept, design and guest experience,” says the group’s managing partner, Wee Teng Wen. “We strive to provide a service that is spontaneous, intuitive and informal – we want to evoke memories and personalised experiences that are rooted in our culture.”