When you think of cutting edge art experiences, a hotel might not be the first place to cross your mind. However, you would be remiss in discounting a highly creative experience at Singapore’s Hotel Vagabond, which successfully marries a boutique hotel, visually stunning interiors, artist residency programs, and a world-class restaurant that is eager to challenge visitors’ palates.
While Singapore has a great many hotels, many of them are conservative in their scope and vision. Hotel Vagabond has pulled out all the stops to fulfill its owners’ visions. The five-star hotel, while pricey to stay in, offers highly eclectic settings for famous people traveling in Singapore to young, rising stars in the Singaporean business world. On special nights of the week, visitors to the hotel can eat, drink, and chat with artists in the hotel’s residency program, or even just creative minds who flock to the hotel, which is bursting with artistic inspiration.
The hotel, which is located in one of Singapore’s more colorful historic neighborhoods, offers a feast for the senses once a visitor steps inside. The building itself has an infamous past, once having housed a brothel, a den for drugs, and a bicycle store. Now, though, the owners have hired a famous designer to bring in unexpected displays throughout the hotel — including a golden elephant bursting from a wall. Everywhere you look offers different sights: paintings crammed in every available wall space, a peppering of different chairs and tables throughout, and a lush gold and red color scheme throughout the entrance and lobby. The art and design present in just this one area of Hotel Vagabond is a playful exchange of cultures and themes. You certainly don’t feel like you’re in Singapore anymore once you’re inside. Enormous golden trees sprout right from the carpet and branch out across the ceiling, offering an enchanting shade just by the well-stocked bar.
Drawing on the importance of art in the hotel owners’ visions, Hotel Vagabond has a salon that hosts performances and movie showings — as well as space to eat.
The restaurant itself is a bit of a challenge to the squeamish diner. The chef cooks and serves up every available animal produce — even ones that some eaters might not be used to. However, if diners just give the dishes a chance, they won’t be disappointed. Some concoctions dreamed up from animals’ organs are some of the most popular menu items.
It’s easy to get inspired by artsy and beautiful places. Think about enrolling in an art class to ride the wave of that inspiration and use your own creativity to make beautiful and memorable works. SGArtClass.com offers a comprehensive listing of art classes you can sign up for, linking your passion with an expert teacher who will guide you through your interests and projects every step of the way.
To read more about the hotel, go to http://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel-leisure/article/1932236/mingle-artists-singapores-eclectic-hotel.