FROM STAFF ON TAP TO THE SENSE OF COMMUNITY, RESIDENTS GIVE AN INSIGHT INTO LIFE IN THE WORLD’S BEST BRANDED SCHEMES
From successful young entrepreneurs to high-profile CEOs, couples with young children to retirement-age downsizers, the spectrum of buyers in branded residential developments is all-encompassing.
“The buzz, excitement and joie de vivre that a hotel atmosphere brings is a key part of their decision-making,” comments Sarah Curtis, co-head of London residential development and investment team at Strutt & Parker. “There is something in the air in the great hotels of the world that is hard to put your finger on, but which speaks to the adventurer in all of us. Who will you meet as you sip a cocktail in the Long Bar, what great stories will you hear of travels old and new before you retreat to the tranquillity of your own front door?”
The buyer’s choice of development will come down to location and their personal relationship with the brand. In essence, does it speak to someone like them and can they imagine themselves living there? To some extent, the development is self-selecting, given around 60% of such schemes are in cities, and mostly in towers, so they will suit those from regions where high-rise living is the norm.
At the Park Hyatt Residences, a 43-storey tower in south London’s Nine Elms that is due to open in 2022, Josh Ayres, co-head of London Residential Development at Strutt & Parker, expects to attract Middle Eastern and Asian buyers “due to the brand and nature of tower living. There is also likely to be a strong US following of the brand, given their One57 Park Hyatt Residences in New York,” he says.
Service by Raffles
Some buyers may have a life-long affiliation to a certain luxury brand, built over many years of business travel and holidays. Younger buyers may be more drawn to emerging lifestyle brands that focus on the experiential offering, from cocktail masterclasses to scuba diving courses, as much as services and facilities. Whatever their specific circumstances, most buyers say their core reason for buying in a branded scheme comes down to convenience and sense of security.
MULTI-TASKING AT LIFE, WITH RAFFLES
Louise is a 30-year-old Indonesian entrepreneur who purchased her apartment in Raffles Residences Jakarta in 2019, and moved in during lockdown in June 2020. “The staff were very accommodating in allowing me to renovate and move in during the pandemic, while also implementing strict protocols to ensure the safety of other residents,” says Louise, who shares the apartment with her brother.
As a first-time buyer, she says she “didn’t understand a lot” about the buying process, “so having the very high level of service and security really helped ease me into my home”.
She enjoys the close-knit community in the building, which includes many young families, “and the staff are all very welcoming and know everyone. I feel safe knowing that the security will ensure nothing is taken from my apartment and the staff can go in and out to fix things.”
Louise works from home but travels every two weeks, “because I’m starting several businesses and helping with my family’s business, so it’s great to just pack up and leave and know my apartment is being looked after by the Raffles team,” she explains.
With separate entrances for hotel guests and residents, and only the 14th floor’s leisure facilities – including the pool, spa and tennis courts – shared with the hotel, it never feels like living in a hotel, she says. “It always feels like coming home. Living in an apartment that shares hotel facilities comes with certain benefits, like being able to have food from the hotel delivered to our residence, and using the hotel spa for a weekend getaway.”
Raffles Residences Boston
MULTI-GENERATIONAL LIVING
It was the sense of ultimate convenience that attracted Kanishk Laroya, 34, his wife and their two children to the Raffles Residences Jakarta, where they own an entire floor and live with Mr Laroya’s parents.
“My mother was the main decision-maker as she no longer wanted to take care of a house, so we needed to find an apartment large enough to house all three generations,” says Mr Laroya, an Indonesian citizen, educated in the US. “Having a top-notch security system was important, and so is the Raffles brand because of its Singaporean heritage, synonymous with the highest quality and prestige,” he comments.
He mentions the beauty of having facilities such as tennis courts and a swimming pool “at our fingertips”, and the staff who feel like “extended family”, he says. “They are always available to us and they know when to give us privacy but are also available when needed.”
RETIRE TO LUXURY
David Collis, an Australian who was CFO of Tupperware in Asia Pacific, and his wife Irma, former VP of Marketing at Tupperware, are now enjoying retirement in their home in the Raffles Residences Makati in the Philippines, where they were among the very first owners to move in nine years ago.
Mr Collis describes the joy of living “in my Raffles bubble”. It’s a brand, he says, that he associates with “quality and prestige”. Location and quality of build, “to international standards”, were also important factors in their decision to invest, off-plan, in this development.
“It’s important to choose the right view and the right floor. Even if you have to pay more, it's worth it - especially during lockdown,” Mr Collis comments. As a “finance guy”, he adds, he has always been closely involved with the homeowners association, helping to manage and oversee service charges and works on the building.
“There’s no point living in a really nice apartment if you don’t maintain it and the value of your property overtime will decrease.”
The Collises have a great relationship with the staff, who mostly have been there as long as they have. “We treat them like family. That’s a very important part of the whole experience of living here,” says Mr Collis. "We love having The Long Bar and various high-quality restaurants in the same building. There have been times when we haven’t left the Raffles Residences for several weeks, and this was before Covid.”
The Collises furnished their apartment with one of the residential packages on offer, so they could go into the hotel’s rental programme for two years. “It’s a wonderful programme, especially if you want to just walk away and leave everything to Raffles management”, Mr Collis said.
Dr. Marie Grace Michel, a Filipino and French national, and her husband Jean-Francois, a retired dental surgeon, put their Raffles Residences Makati apartment in the rental pool for three years when they bought it in 2012 and continued to live in France.
“We were initially planning to build a house on a plot of land we had bought in the Philippines but when we saw the Raffles sales office by chance, we decided otherwise. We chose to invest in the property as we knew the Raffles Le Royal Monceau in Paris and liked what the brand represented,” explains Dr. Michel. In 2015, they left the rental programme and moved into their residence, spending most of the year in the Philippines and summers in Brittany.
“Living in Raffles is so welcoming and the staff are very professional. They go out of their way to make sure that we feel at home. We are very lucky to have them,” comments Dr Michel. “As we value privacy, the personalised service and care they give us is so important, including having our own entrance and exclusive facilities such as the pool, lounge and gym. It's luxury, but discreet. It’s unostentatious, but at the same time they make us feel very special.”