The Accor-owned group has accelerated development plans since becoming part of the hotel giant, and will debut a property on the resort island of Sentosa in 2022.

Designed by Yabu Pushelberg, the Raffles Sentosa Resort & Spa will be made up of 61 pool villas and located behind the existing Sofitel Sentosa.

The hotel is claiming to be the first villa-only hotel in Singapore and is being built on land owned by real-estate management firm The Royal Group, with Accor set to manage the resort on their behalf.

The original Raffles opened on Singapore’s Beach Road in 1887 and is in the midst of a massive renovation itself, having closed in December 2017.

The hotel will reopen this August and new features will include a restaurant by Anne-Sophie Pic, who has gained a total of seven Michelin stars for restaurants she has headed up.

La Dame de Pic will be open in advance of the main hotel, taking reservations from 5 July.

The Raffles brand is also set to open hotels in locations including Dubai, Bali, India and London in the coming years.