Goodwood Park Hotel

The Goodwood Park Hotel (Chinese: 良木园大酒店) is a 235-room hotel in Singapore. It is located at Scotts Road in the Orchard Planning Area, within the Central Area in Singapore's central business district.

The hotel building was constructed in 1900. The Tower Block was built to house the Teutonia Club for German residents in Singapore. Subsequently, it was converted into a hotel in 1929. The hotel has since been fully restored.

History

The Teutonia Club — now the Goodwood Park Hotel — was a venue for high society in the late nineteenth century. The club's original clubhouse was on North Bridge Road but it moved to Blanche House on Mount Elizabeth after only six months. Thirty years later, membership swelled to over a hundred and plans were made to build a bigger clubhouse.

The Teutonia Club decided on a hillock on Scotts Road for its new clubhouse. Construction began in 1899. On 21 September 1900, the new clubhouse opened its doors with an extravagant ball attended by about 500 guests.

Good times at the Teutonia Club lasted until World War I. The British government in Singapore classified all Germans as enemy forces and shipped most of them to Australia. The Teutonia Club was then seized under the Custodian of Enemy Property.

In 1918, the building was auctioned off to the Manassah brothers. Ezekiel Manassah managed the property and renamed it Club Goodwood Hall; it opened on 1 February 1922. In April 1929, the Manassah brothers decided to turn it into a hotel. Rooms were added to the Tower Wing, the houses at the rear were turned into suites, 14 tennis courts were laid out and the name of the property was changed to what it is today — Goodwood Park Hotel. It became one of the finest hotels in Asia, attracting eminent guests.

During the Japanese Occupation (1942-1945), the hotel ceased operations. Ezekiel Manassah died in Changi Hospital, a prisoner of the Japanese.

After the war, the Singapore War Crimes Court erected a tent on the grounds of Goodwood Park to try military personnel for war crimes.

Ezekiel's stepson, Vivian Bath, took over proprietorship of the hotel in 1947. Over the next 20 years, he turned the hotel into one of the finest in Asia once again.

About $2.5 million was spent in revamping the hotel. Renovations were completed in 1963. In that same year, Bath sold the hotel to the Malayan Banking Group. The Tower Wing was again extensively renovated in 1978. The hotel was extended in the same period to include more guest rooms and a hotel lobby. The interior was practically gutted and fully restored and 17 suites were added on the first floor, including the lavish Brunei Suite. A new pinnacle replaced the crumbling original roof.

Goodwood Park Hotel possesses its own Hall of Fame. Distinguished guests include celebrities and royalty from around the world.

The Tower Block of the Goodwood Park Hotel was gazetted as a national monument on 23 March 1989.

Today

Goodwood Park Hotel is a member of Preferred Hotels and SRS World Hotels alliances. The hotel is well known for its food and beverage such as its afternoon tea and the Gordon Grill. Its Chinese restaurant is popular with locals and tourists which has opened a branch at Rochester Park. The hotel lobby was renovated in late 2005 to give it a modern look, from its traditional look. The hotel has a block at the rear of the main building which houses serviced apartments, which is known as Parklane Suites. Also, the hotel has two restaurants and a bar not owned by the hotel, one is a Japanese restaurant, that is located next to the hotel lobby. The latter which is a Thai Village restaurant which is located at the annex block. A spa is located at the annex block. The annex block is a two storey building which housed two Chinese restaurants managed by the hotel, but it has since merged into one restaurant in the main building. The building opened in 1982.

The Goodwood Park Hotel and neighbouring York Hotel (which is owned and managed by Goodwood Park Hotel itself) is known for its free parking for many years, but in 2006, the Goodwood Park Hotel and York Hotel introduced parking charges for its guests.

Architecture

The Goodwood Park Hotel building was built in 1900 to the design of R.A.J. Bidwell, who also designed the Raffles Hotel, of Swan and Maclaren. Its architecture has a High Victorian flavour, with its turrets and decorated façade, with the hotel occupying an imposing site in Scotts Road.

References

*National Heritage Board (2002), "Singapore's 100 Historic Places", Archipelago Press, ISBN 981-4068-23-3
*Preservation of Monuments Board, "Know Our Monuments"
*Norman Edwards, Peter Keys (1996), "Singapore - A Guide to Buildings, Streets, Places", Times Books International, ISBN 9971-65-231-5

External links

* [http://www.goodwoodparkhotel.com/ Goodwood Park Hotel Singapore]