Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Scheduled for release in America about two months from now, this book is already available within the Raffles Hotel in Singapore - for double the price offered by Amazon!
Simply put, this is a stunning book on many levels and will serve a wide variety of readers. First, anyone fortunate enough to have stayed at the historic Raffles Hotel during their visit to Singapore (where current room rates start at US$500 a night) should have this book as a memento; I cannot imagine a guest not having it. The beautiful photographs of the colonial-style courtyards, verandas, restaurants, cocktail bars, and suites currently gracing Raffles will bring back wonderful memories of their stay.
Second, anyone interested in the history of travel - particularly high-society luxury travel to the exotic corners of the world 75 and 100 years ago - should have this book. The text, by Gretchen Liu, who has written other excellent books on the heritage of Singapore, goes far beyond what normally appears in coffee table books not only to provide a solid history of the hotel itself but also to paint a portrait of the elite colonial society within it. The book is full of photographs, brochures, travel posters, baggage stickers, illustrations, and more, giving the reader a strong visual sense of luxury travel in the tropics years ago. Raffles has its own museum within the hotel; in a sense, this book serves as a catalog of its exhibits.
Third, those nostalgic for the lifestyles of the rich and famous of yesteryear - royalty, movie stars, writers, business people - should have this book. It seems that anyone who was anyone who traveled to Singapore - Somerset Maugham, Noel Coward, Prince Edward, Charlie Chaplin, Ava Gardner - stayed at Raffles, and photographs and stories of their stays can be found throughout the book.
Fourth, anyone who enjoys good travel writing should read this. Excerpts from diaries and letters as well as travel writings of famous authors who visited Raffles are included, along with entertaining stories of the invention of the Singapore Sling, the discovery of a Bengal tiger under a billiard table, and the items discovered during the hotel's US$100 million (!!!) restoration fifteen years ago.
The book's five chapters are divided into periods of time since the hotel's opening in 1887. Each starts with a ten-page essay on developments at the hotel over the period, folding in regional and world events where appropriate, all punctuated with illustrations. This is followed by a series of short articles and writings as well as the wide array of images described above. Pages separating the chapters are translucent, as is the dust jacket; this is a classy book to be handled with care.
All in all, a magnificent effort, highly recommended.
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Anyone interested in the history of Singapore and Southeast Asia will find Raffles Hotel essential and enjoyable. Lavishly illustrated with photographs, letters and artefacts from the Raffles Hotel Collection as well as specially commissioned photographs, Raffles Hotel takes the reader through the history of Raffles Hotel and, by association, the history of Singapore itself. Raffles Hotel is not only about Singapore; it is about the personalities, adventurers, entrepreneurs, authors, Heads of State and celebrities who have made their way and continue to make their way through Raffles Hotel. When you browse through Raffles Hotel you gain a unique perspective on all these histories.
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