A Sensory Sojourn In Singapore

 The first urban Six Senses property in the world melds the brand’s expected wellness and sustainability with a rich dose of Singapore heritage.

- Sanjay Surana

With a striking black exterior, the new Six Senses Duxton has the extraordinary distinction of being the first urban property for the sustainability focused luxury hotel brand. The building, uniting eight 19th-century shophouses, yields a strong sense of place, with elements including neo-classical lion head motifs, Chinese porcelain-chip friezes, Malay timber fretwork, French windows, Portuguese shutters, and Corinthian pilasters. “I believe that a building reflects a sense of identity of that country and its evolution,” says owner Satinder Garcha. “All my existing hotels are housed in older heritage buildings, which offer a unique, often exquisite, experience that you can’t offer in a big-chain hotel. The goal is to try to tie in the hotel’s psyche with the city’s sensibility.” A stained-glass roof and large stone pot signal the entryway, with black rattan chairs and bamboo rollers arrayed along the long outdoor terrace. Interiors, the work of esteemed British designer Anoushka Hempel, combine a palette of black, gold, and yellow, hues that recur throughout the property, accentuated by glass-and-lacquered-bamboo screens and calligraphic wallpaper of an 18th-century real-estate indenture.