Hotels with History | Raffles Hotel, Singapore, with Richard E. Grant and Jules Perowne

Hello, I'm head of programming Connor Boyle. Today, something a little different. We're excited to share with you a handpicked episode of a brand new series, Hotels with History, produced by Intelligence Squared in partnership with Perone International. From grand buildings that hosted royalty to secluded retreats that shaped cultural legends, Hotels with History uncovers the remarkable stories behind some of the world's most storied hotels, as well as the layered histories of the places they stand in. In each episode, hosts Richard E.

Grant and Jules Peron traveled to a different hotel, sharing the unforgettable moments that occurred both inside and outside the walls and grounds, and how the forces of history transformed entire regions into luxury destinations we know today. Now over to Jules and Richard for hotels with history. Singapore, a sprawling modern metropolis, gleaming towers of glass and steel piercing the clouds, the dense heady green of the botanic gardens after a sudden equatorial downpour, with the iconic gardens by the bay imbuing the skyline with identity and distinctiveness. But let's take a step back from the neon haze of the ever evolving centre. Travel a few blocks from the bustle of Orchard Road,

and you'll find yourself on Beech Road. Although the beach is now a distant memory, reclaimed long ago, here stands a relic of another time, a white colonnaded building wrapped in tropical foliage, its verandas cooled by whispering ceiling fans, and the scent of frangipane drifting on the air, appearing almost like a mirage at the edge of memory. There's no rushing here, only ritual, afternoon tea beneath punkers, a gin sling in a glass with just the right weight, the rustle of linen, the scent of old paper and jasmine, all in the shadow of a Singapore that's always changing, and yet, within these walls, somehow stand still. Night falls fast in the tropics. One moment the sky is glowing like an ember, the next it's dark as velvet and humming with cicadas, and the night is soft and thick with heat.

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