Artyzen Hospitality Group has expanded its hotel portfolio outside Greater China with the launch of Artyzen Singapore, its flagship hotel in the Southeast Asia region. The 142-room luxury hotel at 9 Cuscaden Road welcomes its first guests on Nov 24.

The hospitality group is a wholly owned subsidiary of Shun Tak Holdings, a Hong Kong-listed conglomerate with businesses in the property, transport, hospitality and investment sectors. The launch of its first hotel outside China caps a milestone year for Artyzen Hospitality, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary.

It is also the first time the hospitality group is opening two flagship hotel properties within weeks of each other. Last month, the group launched its flagship hotel in Shanghai, the 202-room Artyzen New Bund 31 Shanghai.

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“The two new flagship openings…  mark two important additions to our premium collection of home-grown luxury boutique hotels, Artyzen Hotels & Resorts,” says Peter Wynne, senior vice president, Artyzen Hospitality Group.

With the recent hotel launches, Artyzen Hospitality has 13 hotel properties in its portfolio. It has two flagship hotel brands: Artyzen Hotels & Resorts, which specialises in luxury hospitality experiences; and Artyzen Habitat, which specialises in residential-style hospitality experiences. The group also manages three distinct lifestyle hotel developments — The Shàng by Artyzen, YaTi by Artyzen and Grand Coloane Resort.

Bungalows in the sky

Artyzen Singapore sits on a 25,471 sq ft freehold site that was purchased by Shun Tak Holdings for $145 million back in 2016. This translates to a land rate of $2,145 psf per plot ratio. At the time, it marked a significant investment and was the Hong Kong conglomerate’s first foray into the Singapore property market.

The site housed a two-storey bungalow that was the family home of Tan Hoon Siang, a rubber tycoon and great grandson of merchant and philanthropist Tan Tock Seng. The bungalow, called Villa Marie, was built in the 1940s and named after Tan Hoon Siang’s second wife Marie Theresa Windsor, who died in 2007.

The former tropical garden mansion and its sprawling grounds have made way for the new luxury hotel, but elements of its architectural Straits heritage have been re-created into the contemporary vertical oasis inspired by its heritage origins. Artyzen Singapore is designed by acclaimed architectural firm Ong&Ong, and its interiors are conceptualised by Nic Graham & Associates.

The crowning jewel of Artyzen Singapore is its 4,820 sq ft penthouse suite, which the hotel claims is the largest presidential suite in Singapore. The one-bedroom suite is expected to welcome celebrities, ultra-high-net-worth guests, and visiting dignitaries.

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The centrepiece of the penthouse is a massive living and dining room that spans the length of the floorplate. A private balcony affords one of the best views of Tanglin, and of the greenery that marks the Good Class Bungalow areas at Chatsworth Park, Ridley Park and Ridout Park.

The penthouse suite also comes with a private office, a private gym, a walk-through wardrobe and a private sitting room. The en suite bathroom is fitted with a bathtub and his-and-her wash basins.

A common feature throughout all the rooms and suites at Artyzen Singapore is the 4m-high ceiling and the use of ceiling fans in each bedroom. With just 12 rooms and suites located on each floor, except the penthouse, each room feels as private and exclusive as living in one’s own bungalow.

Each room comes with a private balcony. The hotel also has seven 957 sq ft Grand Terrace Rooms which connect to a shared garden terrace, and seven 1,915 sq ft Terrace Suites which have a private garden terrace each.

As bungalows in the sky, these rooms and suites feature design elements that were inspired by the villas of colonial-era Singapore, just like the original Villa Marie. The features include contemporary arches, high ceiling spaces, digitised Peranakan motifs, black framing, and herringbone timbers.

Shun Tak’s foray into Singapore

Artyzen Singapore has been seven years in the making for Shun Tak. The hospitality group took the time to study how to best utilise the space as well as showcase the young brand, says Wynne. “We concluded that it would best fit a luxury lifestyle, which would be a good fit to our existing brand of Artyzen Hotels & Resorts,” he says.

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He adds that it was also the first step in a strategic move by Shun Tak to carve out its niche in this exclusive residential neighbourhood. The Hong Kong conglomerate has two ultra luxury residential developments within a stone’s throw from 9 Cuscaden Road — the 54-unit condo Park Nova at 18 Tomlinson Road, and the 14-unit, low-rise Les Maisons Nassim at 14 Nassim Road. Shun Tak could have had a third residential development in the area, but it backed out of the collective sale of High Point, at 30 Mount Elizabeth, in December 2021.

“It has been a strategic package [of acquisitions] for us in terms of investing in Singapore,” says Wynne. “It is the vision across all sides of Shun Tak Holdings that we work together to service our customers. So, for example, residents at Park Nova and Les Maison Nassim will be entitled to several privileges at the hotel such as a concierge and priority booking at the restaurants here.”

For Artyzen Hospitality and its parent company, hospitality does not just reside in its hotels, but also in its serviced residents, residential apartments and other properties. The hospitality group also takes pride in being a “homegrown” Asian hotel brand, says Wynne.

“The concept of Emotional Wisdom, our guiding principle, challenges us to analyse local culture and practices to curate our hospitality experiences from there. It also helps that we are the owner and operator of the brand, which gives us full creative influence over our hotel properties,” he says.

Growing international recognition

Reflecting on the group’s development over the past 10 years, Artyzen Hospitality saw an explosive growth during its early years before the global Covid pandemic, says Wynne. Looking ahead, the company’s moves in the coming years will be influenced by its goal to build up its international brand awareness and recognition outside Greater China.

“We have eight existing hotels in Shanghai, and our portfolio in that city has naturally evolved into our hub and is a showcase for what Artyzen Hotels & Resorts and Artyzen Habitat can accomplish,” he says.

“As a homegrown brand, it is important for us that we develop our following in our home market, and then use it as a hub to launch out. Thus, Singapore is an important first step as a new market for us in terms of the property investment, hotel operations and brand positioning,” he says.

Wynne acknowledges that Artyzen Hospitality enters the Singapore market at a time of significant competition with several new hotels being launched this year, and many established hotel groups refreshing their hospitality offerings to capture the rebound in post-pandemic tourism.

“We are very enthusiastic about competing in this luxury lifestyle tier in Singapore. I think that we are well-positioned to capture the imagination of a new generation of millennial travellers that seek a hospitality experience grounded in self-expression,” he says.

He also believes there is an opportunity for the hotel group to explore a future Artyzen Habitat branded hotel in Singapore, as well as in other gateway cities in Southeast Asia like Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and Jakarta.

Pre-Covid, the hotel group was actively looking for opportunities to set foot into other key cities in the Asia Pacific region. These included Tokyo and Osaka in Japan, as well as Sydney and Melbourne in Australia.

In the future, if the right opportunity presents itself, Artyzen Hospitality would be open to a branded serviced residence in Singapore, says Wynne. “Our key goal is to drive Artyzen Hotels & Resorts and Artyzen Habitat. If we were presented with a deal for a hotel and a serviced apartment in the same location, we would consider it,” he says.

“We don’t want to be planting flags [in new locations] just for the sake of growth. That’s not the goal. The goal is to grow the brand and investment opportunities where we can find a good fit as an owner-operator and where we can expand our footprint organically,” says Wynne.

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