Goodwood Park Hotel

Location: Goodwood Park Hotel

Brief Introduction: 

The Goodwood Park Hotel 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.

Transformation through time and space:

1800s -   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.

1899 -    Construction for the Teutonia Club’s new clubhouse on a hillock on Scotts Road began.

1900 -    On 21 September 1900, the new clubhouse opened its doors with an extravagant ball.

1918 -    The building was auctioned off to the Manassah brothers. Ezekiel Manassah managed the property and renamed it, Club Goodwood Hall.

1929 -    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.

1942 -    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.

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

1963 -    Renovations were completed in 1963. About $2.5 million was spent in revamping the hotel. In that same year, Bath sold the hotel to the Malayan Banking Group.

1978 -    The Tower Wing was again extensively renovated. The hotel was extended 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.

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

1900 -    The Goodwood Park Hotel building was built in 1900 to the design of R.A.J. Bidwell, who also designed the Raffless Hotel, of Swan and Maclaren.

Land use:

Goodwood Park Hotel uses high density land-use. In there, besides being a place for accomadation, it is also filled with different facilities such as restaurants. This place uses a limited amount of space but is able to accomodate a large number of people. Thus, Goodwood Park Hotel is a high density building.

Compare and Contrast: 

Goodwood Park is different from the past and presents in terms of how the residential area is used for. In the past, it was used for the military headquarters (during World War II). However, now, it is used as a residential area for tourists who comes to Singapore. Thus the use of residential area in this building has changed over years.