Singaporean hotel group The Fullerton Hotels and Resorts will next year expand to Australia with its first property coming through a takeover and rebrand of The Westin Sydney at 1 Martin Place.
Effective 18 October 2019, the historic edifice at Sydney’s GPO will open as The Fullerton Hotel Sydney, marking the brand’s first expansion outside of the Lion City. The new brand’s website – www.the-fullerton-hotel-sydney – went live today. Prior to the full rebrand in October next year, a carefully planned restoration of the hotel’s exterior will be carried out.
Fullerton Hotels currently operates two properties in Singapore’s waterfront Bay Precinct in the form of the 2001-opened Fullerton Hotel Singapore and the Fullerton Bay Hotel Singapore, which first welcomed guests in 2010.
In a somewhat eerie resemblance, The Fullerton Hotel operates within the city’s General Post Office (GPO) a fact it will replicate upon its opening in Sydney in 2019. The GPO building in Singapore has been named a National Monument and while Sydney’s GPO is on the NSW State Heritage Register and the Australian Heritage Database, it has not yet been formally added to the higher-profile National Heritage List despite efforts being underway to rectify this.
The Fullerton Hotel Singapore General Manager Cavaliere Giovanni Viterale said he was delighted the luxury brand would soon be calling Sydney its home.
“The Fullerton Hotel Sydney will become a sister hotel to The Fullerton Hotel Singapore, both of which share a similar rich history as former GPOs. We strive to deliver a luxury hotel that can further contribute to Sydney’s growth as an international tourist destination and showcase the beauty and heritage of the original building to a wider audience, both nationally and globally.”
Marriott International Area Vice President, Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific, Sean Hunt, whose organisation currently manages the Westin Sydney, sent his heartfelt thanks and gratitude to hotel staff for their hard work and dedication over the last 20 years.