Singapore at 60: Raffles and the Republic

We take a tour of one of the world's most famous luxury hotels, the Raffles in Singapore. Raffles' 83-year-old resident historian Leslie Danker tells us about some of the famous guests who have stayed in the Beach Road suites, including the author Somerset Maugham. But with Sikh doormen manning the lobby and a cocktail bar designed to evoke the days when British miners and planters dominated the local economy, the hotel can be read as an unapologetic celebration of the country's colonial era. As Singapore marks 60 years of independence, does it matter how hotels - and tourists - frame the past?If you'd like to get in touch with the programme, please email [email protected] and produced by Vivienne Nunis(Picture: Leslie Danker, resident historian at the Raffles Hotel, Singapore.)