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New Paper
20-07-2025
- New Paper
Four hotels where you can enjoy a mini getaway with your beloved pet
Short getaways at pet-friendly hotels here are increasingly popular with pet owners who feel guilty about leaving their animal companions behind when they travel overseas. There is also a broader lifestyle shift with Dink (dual income, no kids) couples who dote on their fur kids, according to Ms Dawn Teo, chief operating officer at Amara Holdings. Amara Sanctuary Sentosa, which is run by Amara Holdings, is one of several hotels in Singapore that have welcomed guests and their dogs since launching its Pampered Paws package in 2019. Cats are not forgotten and a Pampered Meows package was started in 2020, which has seen growing take-up rates over the years, says Ms Teo. Pet-friendly stays at the 140-room resort accounted for close to 100 room nights in December 2024, she adds. Moreover, more than 80 per cent of its Pampered Paws guests chose to stay in the more spacious and private villas and courtyard suites, with prices from $1,000 a night. While prices for pet-friendly packages are usually more expensive than the usual hotel rates, they come with extras - such as pet amenities - and offer larger rooms with more space for the four-legged ones to run around. At InterContinental Singapore, its Pet Getaway Stay package, launched in 2021, is currently the best-performing room package, says Mr Andreas Kraemer, the hotel's general manager. The package includes an afternoon tea set for pets. According to Mr Adel Aramouni, Hotel Indigo Singapore Katong's general manager, the property receives an average of five to six bookings a week for its Pet Getaway room package. He adds that 95 per cent of such stays fall on Fridays and Saturdays, reflecting the growing trend of short weekend staycations among pet owners. Those searching for places to chill with their canine or feline buddies on weekends can check out these getaways. Amara Sanctuary Sentosa Amara Sanctuary Sentosa Pampered Paws staycation. PHOTO: AMARA SANCTUARY SENTOSA The Pampered Paws staycation package (from $680 a night) offers two adults and one dog of any size to stay in the courtyard suite, verandah studio, verandah suite, or one- or two-bedroom villa. Each dog gets a breakfast set from three options, all made from premium human-grade ingredients curated by local artisan pet kitchen and bakery Wholesome Paws. The Bark Breakfast includes spinach and tomato frittata, English sausage, paw scone and banana pancakes, while the Ohayo Breakfast features a Japanese-inspired spread of tamagoyaki, saba shioyaki, salmon shiozake, pork and pumpkin onigiri, and miso soup. There is also the Pawsh Breakfast that includes spinach and tomato frittata, beef and broccoli casserole and a salmon pawffle. Throw in a Family Pupnic Set, from $145, and catch the sunset at Palawan Beach, a five-minute stroll from the resort. Pawrents get a club sandwich and truffle fries, a choice of pizza, chicken or pork satay, fruit, snacks and two beverages. Dogs can munch on a watermelon bone broth pupsicle, salmon quiche, chicken kebab and other gourmet treats. For feline owners, the Pampered Meows package (from $486 a night) offers a stay in the deluxe room that overlooks a garden with multi-functional spaces for cats to engage in active play or bird-watching. Each cat gets a meal made from premium ingredients and a complimentary Furkid Welcome Amenity Box from Kohepets, Singapore's largest online pet store, that includes dry and wet cat food, three cans of wet cat food, liquid and air-dried cat treats, cat wet wipes and a cat toy. At the end of the stay, cat owners get to take home a free Vetreska scratch box. To provide comfort to the cats during their stay in a new environment, guests are encouraged to take along cat litter or items that carry the scent of home. Info: Go to and InterContinental Singapore Pet owners and their dogs can choose to stay at InterContinental Singapore's classic heritage wing room or heritage suite. PHOTO: INTERCONTINENTAL SINGAPORE Heritage hotel InterContinental Singapore is celebrating the nation's 60th birthday with a Pet Getaway Stay package (from $550), a one-night stay for two adults and one dog, from July 21 to Dec 31. Pet owners and their dogs can choose to stay in the classic heritage wing room or heritage suite, which comes with an outdoor porch. While pawrents relax in Peranakan-designed rooms reminiscent of shophouse living, pooches get a special dog house that owners can take home after the staycation. Each canine guest also gets welcome amenities, including towels, a water bottle, poo bags, wee pads and play toys. A curated afternoon tea set for the pets and an exclusive in-room pet-friendly dining menu are also included in the package. Hotel guests get an in-room breakfast for two, with a choice of up to two breakfast sets from the in-room dining menu. Info: Go to Hotel Indigo Singapore Katong Guests, humans and dogs alike can dine al fresco at the various dining establishments at Hotel Indigo Singapore Katong. PHOTO: HOTEL INDIGO SINGAPORE KATONG Located in the Peranakan-rich neighbourhood of Katong, Hotel Indigo offers a Pet Getaway Annual Pass ($1,100), which includes three one-night stays. Guests - both humans and dogs - can dine al fresco at the hotel's various dining establishments, such as Hotel Indigo Garden, which serves modern Asian cuisine. Pet owners can also take their fur kids to Rooftop 88, where they can soak in city views and chill by the infinity pool while sipping on locally inspired cocktails. Amenities like a food bowl, plush bed, air purifier and dog water fountain are provided for each doggy guest. Treats from home-grown dog food-maker BarknBake are also available. Each pet staycation room allows one dog up to 10kg. Info: Go to Holiday Inn Express & Suites Singapore Novena Holiday Inn Express & Suites Singapore Novena's SG60 Pet Getaway Suite Escape package is available from Aug 1 to 31. PHOTO: HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS & SUITES SINGAPORE NOVENA A relatively new entry to pet staycations, the chic property started its pet-friendly stays in May 2024 and has welcomed dogs, cats and even rabbits as guests. The SG60 Pet Getaway Suite Escape (from $286 a night), available from Aug 1 to 31, offers a free room upgrade when a booking is made for two persons and one pet. Breakfast and parking are complimentary and guests also receive $30 worth of food and beverage dining credits to use during the stay. Additionally, there is a Pawty Time! Birthday Bash package (from $539 a night), where pet owners can throw a celebration for their four-legged pals with a room stay at the hotel. Treats, party decor and pupcake birthday pamper pack photo opportunities are included in the package. Info: Go to
Straits Times
20-07-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
Pet staycays on the rise: 4 hotels where you can enjoy a mini getaway with your dog or cat
Find out what's new on ST website and app. SINGAPORE – Short getaways at pet-friendly hotels here are increasingly popular with pet owners who feel guilty about leaving their animal companions behind when they travel overseas. There is also a broader lifestyle shift with Dink (dual income, no kids) couples who dote on their fur kids, according to Ms Dawn Teo, chief operating officer at Amara Holdings. Amara Sanctuary Sentosa, which is run by Amara Holdings, is one of several hotels in Singapore that have welcomed guests and their dogs since launching its Pampered Paws package in 2019. Cats are not forgotten and a Pampered Meows package was started in 2020, which has seen growing take-up rates over the years, says Ms Teo. Pet-friendly stays at the 140-room resort accounted for close to 100 room nights in December 2024, she adds. Moreover, more than 80 per cent of its Pampered Paws guests chose to stay in the more spacious and private villas and courtyard suites, with prices from $1,000 a night. While prices for pet-friendly packages are usually more expensive than the usual hotel rates, they come with extras – such as pet amenities – and offer larger rooms with more space for the four-legged ones to run around. At InterContinental Singapore, its Pet Getaway Stay package, launched in 2021, is currently the best-performing room package, says Mr Andreas Kraemer, the hotel's general manager. The package includes an afternoon tea set for pets. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. 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Those searching for places to chill with their canine or feline buddies on weekends can check out these getaways. Amara Sanctuary Sentosa Amara Sanctuary Sentosa Pampered Paws staycation. PHOTO: AMARA SANCTUARY SENTOSA The Pampered Paws staycation package (from $680 a night) offers two adults and one dog of any size to stay in the courtyard suite, verandah studio, verandah suite, or one- or two-bedroom villa. Each dog gets a breakfast set from three options, all made from premium human-grade ingredients curated by local artisan pet kitchen and bakery Wholesome Paws. The Bark Breakfast includes spinach and tomato frittata, English sausage, paw scone and banana pancakes, while the Ohayo Breakfast features a Japanese-inspired spread of tamagoyaki, saba shioyaki, salmon shiozake, pork and pumpkin onigiri, and miso soup. There is also the Pawsh Breakfast that includes spinach and tomato frittata, beef and broccoli casserole and a salmon pawffle. Throw in a Family Pupnic Set, from $145, and catch the sunset at Palawan Beach, a five-minute stroll from the resort. Pawrents get a club sandwich and truffle fries, a choice of pizza, chicken or pork satay, fruit, snacks and two beverages. Dogs can munch on a watermelon bone broth pupsicle, salmon quiche, chicken kebab and other gourmet treats. For feline owners, the Pampered Meows package (from $486 a night) offers a stay in the deluxe room that overlooks a garden with multi-functional spaces for cats to engage in active play or bird-watching. Each cat gets a meal made from premium ingredients and a complimentary Furkid Welcome Amenity Box from Kohepets, Singapore's largest online pet store, that includes dry and wet cat food, three cans of wet cat food, liquid and air-dried cat treats, cat wet wipes and a cat toy. At the end of the stay, cat owners get to take home a free Vetreska scratch box. To provide comfort to the cats during their stay in a new environment, guests are encouraged to take along cat litter or items that carry the scent of home. Info: Go to and InterContinental Singapore Pet owners and their dogs can choose to stay at InterContinental Singapore's classic heritage wing room or heritage suite. PHOTO: INTERCONTINENTAL SINGAPORE Heritage hotel InterContinental Singapore is celebrating the nation's 60th birthday with a Pet Getaway Stay package (from $550), a one-night stay for two adults and one dog, from July 21 to Dec 31. Pet owners and their dogs can choose to stay in the classic heritage wing room or heritage suite, which comes with an outdoor porch. While pawrents relax in Peranakan-designed rooms reminiscent of shophouse living, pooches get a special dog house that owners can take home after the staycation. Each canine guest also gets welcome amenities, including towels, a water bottle, poo bags, wee pads and play toys. A curated afternoon tea set for the pets and an exclusive in-room pet-friendly dining menu are also included in the package. Hotel guests get an in-room breakfast for two, with a choice of up to two breakfast sets from the in-room dining menu. Info: Go to Hotel Indigo Singapore Katong Guests, humans and dogs alike can dine al fresco at the various dining establishments at Hotel Indigo Singapore Katong. PHOTO: HOTEL INDIGO SINGAPORE KATONG Located in the Peranakan-rich neighbourhood of Katong, Hotel Indigo offers a Pet Getaway Annual Pass ($1,100), which includes three one-night stays. Guests – both humans and dogs – can dine al fresco at the hotel's various dining establishments, such as Hotel Indigo Garden, which serves modern Asian cuisine. Pet owners can also take their fur kids to Rooftop 88, where they can soak in city views and chill by the infinity pool while sipping on locally inspired cocktails. Amenities like a food bowl, plush bed, air purifier and dog water fountain are provided for each doggy guest. Treats from home-grown dog food-maker BarknBake are also available. Each pet staycation room allows one dog up to 10kg. Info: Go to Holiday Inn Express & Suites Singapore Novena Holiday Inn Express & Suites Singapore Novena's SG60 Pet Getaway Suite Escape package is available from Aug 1 to 31. PHOTO: HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS & SUITES SINGAPORE NOVENA A relatively new entry to pet staycations, the chic property started its pet-friendly stays in May 2024 and has welcomed dogs, cats and even rabbits as guests. The SG60 Pet Getaway Suite Escape (from $286 a night), available from Aug 1 to 31, offers a free room upgrade when a booking is made for two persons and one pet. Breakfast and parking are complimentary and guests also receive $30 worth of food and beverage dining credits to use during the stay. Additionally, there is a Pawty Time! Birthday Bash package (from $539 a night), where pet owners can throw a celebration for their four-legged pals with a room stay at the hotel. Treats, party decor and pupcake birthday pamper pack photo opportunities are included in the package.
Business Times
27-05-2025
- Business
- Business Times
Independent financial adviser deems Amara's takeover offer at S$0.895 a share ‘fair and reasonable'
[SINGAPORE] The independent financial adviser (IFA) appointed for the takeover bid for hotel group Amara has deemed the offer at S$0.895 a share to be 'fair and reasonable'. It has therefore advised the company's directors considered to be independent to recommend shareholders to accept the offer, said the company on Tuesday (May 27) via a bourse filing. In Apr 28 this year, Amara received an offer of S$0.895 per share from a consortium led by property company Hwa Hong, which was formerly listed on the Singapore Exchange. This values the hotel group at about S$514.6 million and represents a premium of 27 per cent over Amara's closing price of S$0.705 on Apr 23 before the company called for a trading halt the following day. Other partners of the consortium include a fund sponsored by Hwa Hong and Malaysia-based Newfields, property company Wing Tai, as well as Albertsons Capital, whose shareholders are Albert Teo, Amara's chairman and chief executive, and his daughter Dawn Teo, Amara's chief operating officer. The consortium has set up a special-purpose vehicle called DRC Investments, with the intention to privatise Amara over low trading liquidity and challenging macroeconomic conditions. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up W Capital was appointed the IFA for the deal on May 7, and Amara lost its free float on May 15, which meant that the Singapore Exchange will be suspending the trading of its shares at the close of the offer on Jun 10, given that less than 10 per cent of the company's shares are now held by the public. The S$0.895 offer price also represents a 42.1 per cent, 44.8 per cent, 46.7 per cent and 48.9 per cent premium over Amara's volume-weighted average price for the one-month, three-month, six-month and 12-month periods up to and including the last traded day, respectively. In a circular issued by Amara on May 27, the company said that the IFA had looked at several factors when determining the offer to be fair and reasonable. The IFA noted that the offer price fell within its estimated range of values between S$0.888 and S$0.959 per share. Amara's share had also never closed above the offer price of S$0.895 before the deal was announced, and is at about a 27 per cent premium of its closing price of S$0.705 on Apr 23. Shares of Amara went up 1.1 per cent or S$0.01 to close at S$0.90 on Tuesday.
Straits Times
29-04-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
Amara shares surge 27% on privatisation offer
The S$0.895 offer represents a 33 per cent premium over Amara's net asset value per share as at end-December 2024. SINGAPORE - Shares of hotel group Amara soared shortly after the market opened on April 29, after news broke on Monday that it received a voluntary conditional general offer at S$0.895 apiece. The counter hit an intraday high of S$0.895 at 9.09 am on Tuesday as 172,400 shares changed hands – marking a rise of S$0.19 or 27 per cent from its latest closing price for Monday, when it finished unchanged at S$0.705 after news of the offer broke. This is the highest price it has reached in the year to date and marks a 57 per cent or S$0.325 increase from its closing price of S$0.57 for Dec 31, 2024, as shares of the group have been on a steady uptrend through the year. By 9.47 am, it eased down to S$0.885 – still up from Monday's close by S$0.18 or 25.5 per cent – with some 209,400 shares transacted. On Monday, Amara received a privatisation offer from a consortium led by property company Hwa Hong, which was formerly listed on the Singapore Exchange. The offeror, a special-purpose vehicle called DRC Investments, cited low trading liquidity and challenging macroeconomic conditions as the rationale behind its intent to privatise the company. DRC Investments is owned by three parties: Shorea HwaHong Newfields VCC, linked to Hwa Hong Corp and the Newfields Group, with 35 per cent; Winteam Investment, a wholly owned subsidiary of Wing Tai Holdings, with 35 per cent; and Albertsons Capital, controlled by Amara's chairman and chief executive Albert Teo and chief operating officer Dawn Teo, with 30 per cent. In a separate statement on Monday, Wing Tai, which is involved in property development, investment and retail, said the Amara Holdings investment will help it expand its core business, given the substantial overlap in both companies' operations. The S$0.895 offer represents a 33 per cent premium over Amara's net asset value per share as at end-December 2024. THE BUSINESS TIMES Additional information from The Straits Times Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
New Straits Times
28-04-2025
- Business
- New Straits Times
Consortium proposes RM2.29bil buyout of Singapore's Amara
KUALA LUMPUR: A consortium led by Singapore's Hwa Hong Corporation and Wing Tai Holdings Ltd, in partnership with Malaysia's Newfields, has proposed to acquire property and hospitality firm Amara Holdings Ltd for S$514.6 million (RM2.29 billion) The offer includes a cash payment of S$0.895 per share to Amara shareholders, representing a 27 per cent premium over the company's last traded price on April 23. The S$0.895 offer price also represents a 42.1 per cent, 44.8 per cent, 46.7 per cent and 48.9 per cent premium over Amara's volume-weighted average price for the one-month, three-month, six-month and 12-month periods, respectively. The special-purpose vehicle behind the offer, DRC Investments, has already secured approval from shareholders holding about 90.58 per cent of Amara's stake, according to Reuters. The shareholders of DRC Investments consist of Shorea HwaHong Newfields, a variable capital company (VCC) backed by Hwa Hong and the Newfields group of companies; Wing Tai's unit, Winteam Investment; and Albertsons Capital, whose shareholders are Albert Teo, Amara's chairman, executive director and chief executive officer (CEO), and Dawn Teo, Amara's chief operating officer. The three parties own 35 per cent, 30 per cent and 35 per cent, respectively, of DRC Investments. DRC Investments has stated that its offer price is final, with plans to take Amara private, citing low trading liquidity and challenging macroeconomic conditions. The offeror believes the offer provides an attractive cash exit opportunity for Amara's shareholders, offering a compelling premium and price certainty without the added costs of broking or trading fees. Hwa Hong and Newfields are both active investors in commercial real estate, while Wing Tai specialises in lifestyle retail and hospitality management. Amara operates a diverse portfolio of lifestyle properties, including hotels and speciality restaurants across Singapore, Thailand, and China.
