Boutique hotel in Little India for sale from $62 mil

SINGAPORE (EDGEPROP) - Aqueen Heritage Hotel Little India, located at 22 Belilios Lane, is up for sale via an expression of interest exercise at a guide price of between $62 and $66 million. The property, housed in 12 adjoining double-storey shophouses with attic conservation, is being jointly marketed by Savills Singapore and CBRE.

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The property occupies a land area measuring 13,130 sq ft. It has a floor area of 25,540 sq ft, out of which 21,790 sq ft is occupied by the 68-key boutique hotel while the remaining 3,750 sq ft is occupied by nine units of retail and F&B space. The property has dual road frontage along Belilios Lane and Belilios Road, and comes with two passenger lifts. The hotel is nestled in the heart of the Little India neighbourhood and is a six-minute walk away from the Little India MRT station (Downtown and North-East lines). Yap Hui Yee, senior director, investment sales & capital markets at Savills Singapore, says the property will benefit from the influx of international tourists following the easing of travel restrictions as it is located within the vibrant Little India neighbourhood.

Passenger traffic at Changi Airport has almost doubled from last year, according to data by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), and is projected to further improve with upcoming large-scale events such as the F1 Grand Prix and World Cities Summit 2022.

Clemence Lee, executive director, capital markets at CBRE, adds that boutique hotels in conservation shophouses have seen a pick-up in interest given the optimistic outlook for the tourism industry. “Just over the past six months, CBRE has successfully transacted three of these hotels namely Porcelain Hotel ($90 million), Clover Hotel Jalan Sultan ($74.8 million) and Hotel Soloha ($53.4 million),” he says.

Lee believes that the size and scale of the property provides flexible options for the future owner of the property. “For example, some of the ground floor retail shops and rooms can be converted into restaurants, subject to approval from the relevant authorities. The hotel rooms on the second floor can also be repositioned into serviced apartments or co-living facilities that provide longer but flexible lease terms,” he explains.

The expression of interest exercise will close on July 7 at 3pm.