Relax - Dressed-down draw

Relax

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SINGAPORE - It is located in an up-and-coming business hub, and is a hotel and serviced residence targeted at corporate clients, but the last thing you can expect Capri by Fraser to be is business-like.

With a name like Capri, think beach wear and sunset cocktails, rather than stiff-shirted networking events.

Capri is the latest dressed-down concept in Singapore's hotel scene, as crafted by service apartment group Frasers Hospitality.

The 313-room hotel at Changi Business Park, opening on Sept 1, is the first to open under this brand.

While it's surrounded by office buildings and the Changi City Point mall next door, guests who step into the hotel may feel like they have entered a resort.

There may be no beach in sight, but the reception area is bathed in sunlight and looks into a lush garden.

Capri by Fraser's Pow-wow room replaces executive boardrooms.

The hotel residence is designed to meet the lifestyle needs of the digital generation, and the experience starts once you step into the lobby.

Forget having to wait in line to check in. Here, staff dressed in T-shirts and trousers are armed with iPads to help guests settle in. Help from the concierge comes in the form of an interactive screen in the lobby. Touch the screen and a list of hotel activities for the day appears, such as cycling to East Coast Park, led by hotel staff. Weather and flight updates, and events happening around Singapore are also shown on this e-Concierge wall.

Guest relations officers tote iPads and sport tees at the concierge, poised for any emergency.

High speed wireless Internet is available throughout the hotel residence, and those who, gasp, have travelled without laptops but need to stay connected, should head to Hotspot, the lounge area near the reception. Here, there are iMacs for guests to use, and electrical outlets where they can recharge their digital devices. Choe Peng Sum, chief executive officer of Frasers Hospitality says, "Capri by Fraser bridges the gap between hotels and serviced residences to meet the short term accommodation needs of the 24/7 digital generation who work and play to a different beat from that of the business travellers of the past."

Near the reception are the hotel residence's dining outlets. One of which is Delite, a deli, which offers wraps, salads, sandwiches and snacks.

Instead of a staid coffeehouse, Delite cafe takes the laid-back business traveller further into organised bohemia.

While room service is available, guests can opt for TV dinners, which they can heat up using the microwave in their room to keep late-night hunger pangs at bay. The hotel's other dining option is Caprilicious, the all-day-dining restaurant. Apart from an international menu for lunch and dinner, tapas will also be served in the evenings.

Unlike guests at Fraser Hospitality's other brands, Frasers Suites, Frasers Residences and Frasers Place, which tend to stay for a month or even longer, guests at Capri are more likely to be the younger 30-something crowd, who will stay between one and two weeks.

Room rates start at a promotional rate of $232++ a night, which includes a complimentary breakfast for two.

Capri by Fraser, Changi City, features a capacious studio premiere room with a walk-in wardrobe.

Rooms are stocked with Malin+Goetz toiletries.

Mr Choe says, "market feedback has indicated that while regional travel stays are becoming shorter, they are also becoming more frequent, with professionals working longer, irregular hours across different time zones."

Rooms range from 32sq m to 70sq m in size, and all come with a kitchenette, equipped with cooktop, microwave oven with convection and grill functions, and a 90-litre fridge.

Each room also has a large workdesk, ergonomically designed Herman Miller chairs, a large walk-in wardrobe, and a spacious bathroom, with Malin+Goetz amenities.

Rooms on the second floor come with large balconies, which can fit a hammock, the perfect place to chill out with a book, if guests don't mind office folk in the next building looking in.

On each floor, there is a Spin & Play area, which sounds like a playground but is not. Instead, these are laundry areas with a washer and dryer but with an adjoining play area, where guests can play games on the Wii, Xbox Kinect, or have a foosball match, or even hop on the Cicolette cycling machines while waiting for their laundry to be done.

While allowing guests to constantly stay connected during their stay, making sure guests have a place to relax and recharge is also important.

The hotel residence offers a gym, which overlooks a pool, that comes with a hydro treadmill, supposedly the first for a Singapore hotel. After laps in the pool, guests can go over to Ripples pool bar where complimentary mini-burgers and truffle fries are served.

If sweating it out is not their thing, guests can pad over to Treat Suites on the second floor, which has sauna and steam facilities. A spa operator will manage this area, and massages will be on the menu.

"So whether it is the home comforts of a personalised space where they can have the convenience of preparing their own meals even at 4am, or the independence of doing their own laundry whenever they want, Capri by Fraser is focused on enhancing the work-life balance of our guests with the flexibility and freedom to rest, relax and recharge according to their individual lifestyle needs," says Mr Choe.

Who knows, even locals might want to check in too.