One of Singapore's few remaining 19th century luxury hotels, Raffles, will undergo a “careful and sensitive” restoration programme next year.

The hotel’s owner, Katara Hospitality, has announced that the Singapore office of architecture firm AEDAS will lead the project alongside interior designer Alexandra Champalimaud.

The renovation will take place over three phases beginning in January 2017. The first will see the Raffles Hotel Arcade undergo restoration works while other areas of the property operate as normal. Phase Two will begin in mid-2017 when restoration efforts will concentrate on the main hotel building, the lobby and some of the hotel suites - many of which have independent designs. The hotel will then close for the final phase near the end of 2017 before a grand reopening in the second quarter of 2018.

Raffles once housed famous literary guests such as Somerset Maugham, Noel Coward and Rudyard Kipling and attracted high society to its cocktail bar, where the Singapore Sling was invented. The design team are seeking to retain this sense of history.

“This restoration is designed to ensure that we retain what is so special about Raffles – the ambiance, the service, the charm and the heritage of the hotel,” said general manager Simon Hirst. “We’ve always changed and evolved to keep in step with the needs and expectations of our guests – this has been one of the secrets of our success for more than a century.

“This extraordinary undertaking will also reimagine the facilities, spaces and experiences within the hotel to delight the well-travelled and the community.”

The hotel was declared a National Monument by Singapore’s government in 1987. The last restoration took place between 1989 and 1991 when the hotel closed for two and half years.

Singapore's Raffles Hotel to change hands