Hyatt could launch Andaz hotel at Duo project

Singapore

ANDAZ, a contemporary hotel brand of Hyatt, could make an appearance in Singapore in a couple of years' time.

Market talk is that Hyatt may be inking a contract to manage a hotel under the Andaz brand on the island. Some observers suggest this could be at the hotel component of the Duo project, a mixed development along Beach Road/Ophir Road being developed by M+S Pte Ltd.

Spokesmen from Hyatt and M+S separately told BT they were unable to comment at the moment.

Duo's hotel component comprises a five-star hotel with 352 rooms. But observers reckon the room count may change according to Andaz brand standards - if the deal is finalised.

Currently there are 12 Andaz hotels around the world - seven in the United States and one each in London, Amsterdam, Costa Rica, Shanghai and Tokyo. The latest to open, in June last year, was the 164-room Andaz Tokyo Toranomon Hills.

Hyatt currently operates just one hotel in Singapore, the 677-room Grand Hyatt Singapore along Scotts Road. The hotel opened in 1971 as a Hyatt Regency before being rebranded to a Grand Hyatt in 1998.

Andaz has been described as a hip, contemporary brand; Andaz hotels reflect the cultural scenes of the surrounding neighbourhood. A hotel market observer noted that if indeed an Andaz does open in Singapore, it would be be the latest high-end offering in the Singapore hotel landscape.

A stone's throw away from Duo, a 654-room hip hotel, The South Beach, is scheduled to open its doors in April this year. The hotel is styled after the Hudson Hotel in New York, as well as the W Hotel and Hotel Indigo brands of Starwood and InterContinental, respectively

Also slated to begin trading in the second quarter of this year is the ultra-luxury The Patina, Capitol Singapore, with 157 rooms. It will be operated by Patina Hotels and Resorts, controlled by some members of the Kwee family that owns the Pontiac Land Group.

Next year, the second Inter Continental hotel on the island, the 225-room InterContinental Singapore Robertson Quay, is slated to open.

A hotel industry player noted an increased presence of upper-tier hotel brands in Singapore would be in sync with the Republic's strategy to focus on quality tourism and higher yielding visitors.