The Surabaya-based Anggasaputro family, as new owners of the site, were only successful in their second application to URA. In 2021, Peak Tower Corporation announced it had inked a 25-year contract with Nasdaq-listed Marriott International to operate what would become Varel Singapore.
Tribute Portfolio family
Singapore-based architectural firm FDAT played a role in convincing the authorities — the firm pitched an international hotel that would transform the facade of Selegie and enhance the appeal of the streets connecting the popular tourist precincts of Orchard, Bugis and Little India.
Varel Singapore would join the Tribute Portfolio family of Marriott, a collection of more than 180 independent hotels worldwide. Speaking to the media in 2021, the new owner said the Tribute Portfolio “allows flexibility for the owners to create our own concept and let us work on our own brand identity”.
The hotel was also slated to launch in 3Q2024, according to Vinson Keefe Anggasaputro, whose father founded what is today the adhesive tape manufacturing group Nachindo.
Instead, the 128-room Varel Singapore softlaunched in April this year, owing to pandemic-related construction delays.
The new development is well worth the wait; FDAT’s design has materialised as a two-storey, naturally ventilated podium that protrudes from six guestroom floors and rooftop pool, while providing shade for a coffee house and a drop-off porch on the ground level.
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Anggasaputro’s choice of the hotel’s F&B offerings is worth noting. While this is the 32-year-old entrepreneur’s first foray as a hotelier, he has a more storied history in F&B; Anggasaputro brought Taiwanese bubble tea brand The Alley to Singapore in 2019.
Anggasaputro acquired F&B group Grange Collective while Varel Singapore was still under construction. It counts in its fold Southeast Asian restaurant Hathaway, brewery cafe Vernacular Coffee, popular brunch spot Bread Yard cafe and baked goods supplier Granary Bakehouse.
These brands feature in the hotel. Hathaway Autograph is Varel Singapore’s all-day dining restaurant on level two, with both air-conditioned and alfresco seating. At the same time, Vernacular Coffee runs a cafe on street level with floor-to-ceiling windows. Vernacular Coffee and Granary Bakehouse also supply the hotel’s kitchens.
Taste plays an important role in shaping guests’ first impression of the hotel. At check-in, guests are greeted by an ice cream cart offering artisanal scoops from Singapore’s Denzy Gelato. They can also enjoy iced tea from homegrown luxury teahouse TWG.
The heritage-rich area is also a foodie’s paradise. Located just a minute’s walk from Varel Singapore is the very first branch of Old Chang Kee, which opened in 1956 in a coffeeshop near the then-Rex Cinema along Mackenzie Road. Behind that flagship outlet is L.E. Cafe Confectionery & Pastry, one of Singapore’s oldest and finest cake and pastry shops, known for its giant “golf ball” pineapple tarts.
Nostalgic narrative
Before Selegie Centre occupied the plot, the site housed a transport hub in the 1950s and 1960s. Echoes of the former building live on through elements such as louvred windows and metal gates seen in the sleek Saga Bar on level two.
Sconces resembling lanterns light up the corridors on the hotel’s six guestroom floors. In contrast, three spacious pavilion balconies — located on the third, fifth and seventh floors — offer guests a private corner to unwind amid lush greenery.
In fact, there are over 100 species of plants throughout the hotel, says general manager Andy Tan, from the vertical green walls at the hotel’s lobby to the alfresco dining area of Hathaway Autograph.
Guestrooms at Varel Singapore come in two distinct colour palettes — light and dark. Lamps inspired by dim sum steamers illuminate the bedside tables, while private balconies open up to either Selegie Road or Niven Road, just a street away from Mount Emily Park.
With rooms starting from 19 sqm, the most common room type at Varel Singapore is the 22 sqm Superior King. Occupying the largest floor area are the four Varel Suites, each measuring between 40 sqm and 43 sqm.
While there is no fitness centre on hotel grounds, Varel Singapore has partnered with Snap Fitness at Prinsep Street, which will welcome guests during their stay. For drivers, Varel Singapore also boasts Singapore’s first underground automated car parking system within a hotel.
The hotel participates in Marriott Bonvoy, allowing members to earn and redeem points for their stay at the new hotel and at other hotels and resorts across Marriott Bonvoy’s portfolio of hotel brands. This has set Varel Singapore up with decent occupancy figures even during its soft launch in April, says Tan. “Slightly more than 90% of our guests are actually corporate customers.”
As the hotel’s occupancy figures stabilise, Tan says an “ideal” mix for Varel Singapore would be 75:25 between business and leisure travellers. Ahead of events like the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix, for example, bookings are “very strong” for October, he adds.
Varel Singapore marks Marriott’s third Tribute Portfolio property in Singapore, joining The Serangoon House Little India and The Vagabond Club, Singapore.
There will not be under Varel, says Tan. Should the owners wish to pursue another hotel, it would likely take on a different name, he adds. “All Tribute Portfolio hotels are very unique and obviously tell a story, whether it’s [about the] local community [or] sustainability experiences. They are very boutique to enable personalisation for customers.
Photos: William Barrington-Binns for Varel Singapore, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel
