Latest news with #RafflesLondon
Sky News AU
29-05-2025
- Sky News AU
Darling Harbour's stunning new 'W' hotel, hilltop Singapore resort among new entrants on luxury list of the best places to stay in Asia, Australia and beyond
A new hilltop hotel in a tropical garden with its own beach has helped reignite a tourism boom in Singapore. It is one of a number of new hotels from Asia, Europe and Australia to make the hotel hot list this year. Raffles Sentosa is Singapore's first all-villa hotel featuring 62 contemporary lodges, each with its own private pool. It is an ideal place for a mini break for travellers making the arduous trip to and from Europe. Or stay longer and settle into a resort style hotel with access to an award-winning golf club and Sentosa's Tanjong Beach. Raffles Sentosa is set in 100,000 sq m of gardens. It is a far cry from the original Raffles hotel built at 1 Beach Road in 1887 and named in honour of Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, the British statesman and the father of modern Singapore. It is steeped with history and nostalgia. Rudyard Kipling edited his first draft of The Jungle Book there. Elizabeth Taylor, Michael Jackson, W. Somerset Maugham, Noël Coward, and Ernest Hemingway also stayed there. The hotel was refurbished in 2017. The Raffles name also spread to 18 hotels including new properties in Cairo, Istanbul, London and Bali. Raffles London at the OWO occupies a stately Grade II Edwardian Baroque building in Whitehall once the centre of British Government and the Old War Office. It is close to St James's Park, Buckingham Palace, the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey and close to West End theatres. Raffles Bali features 32 oceanfront villas, each with their own pool and garden. Raffles Sentosa is noted for its culinary offerings starting with the Empire Grill, a modern Italian restaurant. And of course there is a restaurant offering Cantonese cuisine. Royal China is set in a dining room framed by floor-to-ceiling windows and surrounded by lush greenery. And there is a Japanese omakase restaurant, Iyasaka by Hashida. Chef Kenjiro "Hatch" Hashida's aim is to make it the best Japanese restaurant outside his homeland. Hilton, the global hotel colossus, already operates 8,600 hotels and resorts and is planning more. The new ones are being built in New York, Costa Rica, Athens and Osaka. In London, The Emory at Belgravia in London seems to be top of the hit parade with the critics. It's the capital's first all-suite hotel and one of the last projects by the late Richard Rogers, one of England's most celebrated architects. The Emory was built by the Maybourne hotel group which owns and runs the Berkeley next door as well as Claridge's and the Connaught. In Sydney, the curvaceous W hotel at Darling Harbour reeks of glamour and sophistication and features weirdly wonderful mirror aluminium panels on the ceiling. It is a grand edifice with 588 guestrooms and suites. Josh and Julie Niland's boutique hotel Grand National in Paddington couldn't be more different. It has 14 rooms and is a study in a restrained elegance. It sits above their celebrated restaurant, Saint Peter, and is a drawcard for the culinary cognoscenti. Their original restaurant, Saint Peter, opened around the corner in 2016, was the only Australian restaurant that made it to The World's Best Restaurant List in 2024. The new Eve Hotel on the border of Surry Hills and Redfern in Sydney draws on the Australian landscape for its architectural inspiration. Guests enter a calming lobby anchored by natural stone and bespoke glazed terracotta. Architect Adam Haddow designed the hotel to wrap around a central courtyard allowing sight lines through to lush greenery. The hotel's 102 guest rooms each offer a 'unique experience with an Australian inspired palette of either eucalyptus or red clay tones'. Each room has a private balcony. Haddow's groovy hotel is the centrepiece of the new Wunderlich Lane retail and hospitality precinct on Cleveland Street. TRAVELLERS' TIP Singapore Airlines is offering competitive business class fares to Singapore. A sampler: Sydney to Singapore return, from $6,108. Melbourne to Singapore return from $4,343. Adelaide to Singapore return from $4,448. Brisbane to Singapore return from $5,659.16.
Hypebeast
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Hypebeast
Hypebeast 走進 Bowmore ARC-54 發佈會現場
為慶祝 Bowmore ARC-54 的里程碑式發佈，Bowmore 單一麥芽蘇格蘭威士忌宣布作家、詩人及文化紀錄者 Sophia Thakur 成為全新創意合作夥伴。Sophia 受 Bowmore 捕捉靜謐瞬間特質的啟發，創作出一首邀請全球人們暫停喧囂、專注當下的讚歌，並於倫敦發佈會上首演。此次合作亦是 Bowmore 首度開放 245 年歷史與傳承，由新世代聲音重新詮釋。Sophia 親訪艾雷島後，以細膩創意凝聚時間的意象，展現品牌對「有意識創作」與「重新想像」的承諾。正如威士忌釀造的節奏與口語詩歌的流動之美，Bowmore ARC-54 在每一滴中淬鍊無限優雅與層次，並與 Aston Martin 攜手，為品牌開啟嶄新篇章。 走進 Raffles London at The OWO（舊戰爭辦公室大樓），這座曾作為英國首相 Winston Churchill 在一次世界大戰期間的臨時指揮所，不僅歷史意義深遠，其壯麗的巴洛克建築風格亦令人驚艷。在此舉辦擁有百年歷史的威士忌品牌 Bowmore 發表會，格外別具意義。 此外，這座歷史建築也曾啟發 Ian Fleming 創作《詹姆斯・龐德 007》系列小說。酒店地下一層更設有一間名為「007」的私密酒吧（Speakeasy Bar），為 Bowmore ARC-54 x Aston Martin 的系列發表會增添了更深層的沉浸式體驗。 Bowmore 首席調酒師 Calum Fraser Calum Fraser 是蘇格蘭威士忌業界的卓越人物，並於今年（2025）獲得威士忌界的最高榮譽之一「Keepers of the Quaich」。現任三得利全球烈酒公司（Suntory Global Spirits）蘇格蘭與愛爾蘭威士忌的首席調酒師。他從科學背景出發，憑藉對威士忌的熱情與專業，不斷追求卓越，最終成為業界的調酒大師，展現出對品質與工藝的堅持與執著。 如何詮釋全新的 Bowmore 世界觀？ 過去三年，我們持續檢視並優化 Bowmore 的品牌定位與溝通方式，希望更精準傳遞品牌的核心精神，同時向傳統致敬、也展現當代活力。因此，我們在品牌創意、體驗和創新上全面進化，並將透過推出的兩大新系列── Sherry Oak Cask 雪莉桶系列和 Appellations 法定產區系列，搭配全新包裝，帶給消費者耳目一新的 Bowmore 世界。 同時，藉由策略性合作、沉浸式體驗以及對真實與卓越的堅持，我們期望重新定義 Bowmore 品牌價值，讓每一次品酩，皆成為令人難忘的非凡體驗。 新包裝設計背後的理念是什麼？ 這次的設計重點，是希望更清楚地講述瓶中威士忌的故事，讓大家一眼就能感受到 Bowmore 的精神與個性。靈感來自 Bowmore 層次豐富「Layers of More」、極具表現力的風味特色，我們用流動線條的設計來呈現這份複雜與細膩。而黑色則延續了品牌多年的經典色，同時也向我們最具代表性的酒款──1964 年蒸餾的 Black Bowmore──致敬，它至今已走過 60 年，是我們非常驕傲的傳奇。 為什麼推出新威士忌系列？（Sherry Oak Cask & Appellations Collection） 作為品牌進化的一部分，我們看到了展示 Bowmore 全面風味特質的機會。現在正是時候，將這些不同風味的選擇以全新的頂級產品系列呈現給全球市場。這兩個新系列不僅支持我們的品牌目標，也為現有和新來的 Bowmore 愛好者提供了更多元的選擇和全新的體驗。 關於 Sherry Oak Cask 雪莉桶系列的概念/理念是什麼？ 這個來自 Bowmore 酒廠的全新威士忌系列，展示了最頂級的歐洲（西班牙）橡木雪莉桶在塑造威士忌深度與風味層次方面的關鍵作用，既能襯托又能提升 Bowmore 獨特的表現風格。並且包含 12 年、15 年、18 年和 21 年四款威士忌的系列。每一款威士忌都展現了不同的風味層次，並彰顯了 Bowmore 打造多重風味層次的獨特魅力。 Bowmore ARC-54 是什麼？ Bowmore ARC-54 是 ARC 系列中的第二款，也是與 Aston Martin 合作的終極酒款。它將酒廠最古老的威士忌之一，與一個精美的手工吹製酒瓶相結合，向「流動」的故事致敬。Bowmore ARC-54 完美詮釋了兩大品牌對工藝的共同追求——設計靈感來自 Aston Martin Valkyrie 車輛下方氣流的流動，以及艾雷島自然景觀與風土的流暢形態。 Bowmore ARC-54 的特徵是什麼？ Bowmore ARC-54 單一麥芽威士忌呈現出金色的漿果般光澤，給人一種強烈的流動感，無論在嗅覺還是味覺上都很明顯。香氣上，甜美的香草糖漿帶來濃厚的誘人香氣，加上熱帶水果中芒果和甜桃的氣息，搭配烤橡木、糖漬核桃和尤加利薄荷，形成了一種有趣的對比。味道方面，綠蘋果、佛手柑橙、青檸汁和鹽焦糖的味道激發了感官，隨後是些微的花香和溫暖香料，最後輕輕帶來一絲泥煤煙燻味。 建議售價與如何證明其價格合理？ 建議零售價：£71,000。這個價格是根據幾個因素來決定，包括稀有性、市場需求、供需關係和生產成本。根據我們對這些極為稀有酒款的價值和吸引力的評估，我們認為這個價格對這款威士忌來說是合理且公正的。 吟遊詩人 Sophia Thakur Sophia Thakur 是一位英國詩人、表演藝術家和作家，以其充滿感染力的口語詩歌和深刻的作品而廣受讚譽。她的處女作《Somebody Give This Heart a Pen》成為暢銷書，並因其對身份、心理健康及賦權等議題的強大敘事力而獲得廣泛認可。Thakur 曾在格拉斯頓伯里音樂節、TED 演講等重要舞台上表演，也在 BBC 和 Channel 4 等媒體亮相。她被《Forbes》列入 30 Under 30，並持續用真誠的聲音與對社會正義的熱情，啟發著全球觀眾。 Bowmore 的「Layers of More」概念如何體現在威士忌中？ 親身走過艾雷島完整的釀造旅程，從大麥田、泥煤，到酒桶熟成室，這一切的體驗真的讓我對威士忌有了更深的理解。 我原本就知道這是一門講究細節的工藝，但親眼所見才真正明白，每一瓶酒背後都蘊含著驚人的耐心、精準與匠心。 Bowmore 的每一層風味，都是時間與用心的證明，也正因如此，它不只是一杯酒，更像是一件藝術品。 Bowmore 的層次製程是否與妳詩中的情感與敘事層次有某種共鳴？ 大麥一開始很簡單，甚至平平無奇。但經過層層轉化，最後會變成一樣很有深度、很美的像一首詩。你一行一行地寫下來，即使一開始看不出什麼成果，也要相信這個過程。藝術和威士忌都是慢工細活的創作，它們需要時間、信任，以及經驗的堆疊。這一切都是關於韌性與豐富，就像人生一樣。 平時會喝威士忌來尋找靈感嗎？ 我平常寫作時會保持清醒，不過在抵達艾雷島的第一晚，我實在太有靈感了，當晚回到住處就一口氣寫完了今天要朗誦的整首詩。所以有時候，也許啟發靈感的不是酒，而是那個地方本身。 在與 Bowmore 合作的過程中，最令妳印象深刻的是什麼？這如何改變妳對敘事與奢華的看法？ 奢侈品牌的真正價值，其實在於它的故事。認識了 Bowmore 的 Margaret，她告訴我們她全家都在酒廠工作，讓我明白了「傳承、細節和工藝」如何解釋它的價值。這不單是價格的問題，更是過程和歷史的積累。當你了解它的故事，這一切的價值就自然能夠理解了。 Bowmore 深植於工藝與傳統之中。妳的藝術創作方式與之有何共鳴？ 我的血統來自甘比亞、印度與斯里蘭卡，這些地方的文化中，傳遞故事是一種神聖的事。我也來自一個詩人與口述歷史傳承者的家族。文字一直是傳遞智慧與情感的媒介。而威士忌，特別是 Bowmore，也是一樣的：它是耐心、傳統與傳承的產物。往往，啟動這個過程的人，並不會看到最終的成果，但它就像故事一樣，代代相傳，只希望能在未來的某一天傳達出去。這種信任與時間的節奏，把詩與威士忌緊密連結在一起。 妳對 Bowmore 與 Aston Martin 的聯名合作，第一反應是什麼？ 坦白說，一開始我心中也有疑問：「為什麼是詩人？」但當我們實際品嚐並深入了解整個製程，從大麥的選用、橡木桶的陳釀，到最後的裝瓶，我才真正理解這背後的用意。詩與威士忌一樣，都是一種講究節奏與層次的藝術形式，講求時間的淬鍊與細膩的感受。這不是可以匆忙完成的事，而是需要慢慢品味、靜心體會。正因如此，我終於明白他們為何選擇詩人來詮釋。這是關於傳承、關於耐心，更關於如何在每一刻中找出深度與價值！ Bowmore ARC-54 Bowmore ARC-54 是波摩與 Aston Martin 聯手打造的頂級威士忌，全球限量僅 130 瓶，酒齡高達 54 年，採用歐洲橡木雪莉桶與美國白橡木豬頭桶熟成，風味層次豐富，融合熱帶水果、香料與泥煤煙燻。瓶身設計靈感來自阿斯頓馬丁 Valkyrie 超跑，結合流線空氣力學與艾雷島自然地貌，展現藝術與工藝的極致追求。建議售價約為 £71,000，是極具收藏與投資價值的稀世之作。 波摩珍稀雪莉桶系列授權專賣店
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South China Morning Post
18-05-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
In Whitehall, a heritage address courts Asia's most exacting buyers
[The content of this article has been produced by our advertising partner.] Ultra-wealthy buyers from Asia, whether property magnates, tech entrepreneurs or family offices, have long been active participants in London's prime residential market. But few opportunities, even for this discerning cohort of buyers, match the rarity of The OWO Residences by Raffles. The central courtyard at The OWO boasts one of the nine restaurants at The OWO, which both hotel guests and residents can enjoy. 'There will only ever be one Old War Office, and only one Raffles London. No other scheme compares in terms of build quality, beauty and location,' says Mark Elliott, head of Savills International Realty in Hong Kong, on the OWO's appeal. Housed within the former Old War Office on Whitehall, once the preserve of Churchill and T. E. Lawrence, the scheme offers 85 bespoke residences next to a five-star Raffles hotel. Its appeal lies not only in its prime location and architectural grandeur but in the convergence of imperial heritage, branded service and enduring value.'There will only ever be one Old War Office, and only one Raffles London,' says Mark Elliott, head of Savills International Realty in Hong Kong. 'No other scheme compares in terms of build quality, beauty and location.'At entry prices of roughly £4mn for a one-bed and £8-10mn for larger family homes, the residences sit firmly in London's 'super-prime' bracket. Elliott regards the premium as defensible: comparables near Hyde Park may share leafy views, but they lack the gravitas of a Grade II* listed palazzo abutting Horse Guards Parade, within strolling distance of Buckingham Palace. 'It isn't the Churchill connection that closes deals,' he concedes. 'Clients buy because of where it is, what it is, and the level of finish we're delivering. It's like buying a Monet or a Picasso,' he muses. 'You're acquiring a slice of history that will be handed down through generations.' The pitch is resonating with Asian capital that increasingly prizes 'wealth-preservation generational purchases'. Completed in 1906, the War Office served as a strategic command during both world wars and later housed the Ministry of Defence. Its commanding position on Whitehall – between Downing Street and Buckingham Palace – adds geopolitical weight to its architectural gravitas. Following a £1bn+ restoration led by Westminster Development Services, the building now incorporates nine restaurants, three bars, a Guerlain spa and 30,000 sq ft of residents-only amenities, all anchored by Raffles' first UK hotel.
