A restoration of the famed hotel Raffles Singapore will see its retail offering first for renewal in a three-phase project.

Starting in January and not affecting other areas of the property, the first step is restoration of the Raffles Hotel Arcade which houses 40 regional and specialty shops, indoor and outdoor event areas including The Ballroom and The Lawn, and restaurants and bars including the Long Bar, home of the iconic Singapore Sling. The cocktail will continue to be served at the hotel’s Bar & Billiard Room during the first and second phases of restoration.

Phase two will begin in the middle of next year, covering the main hotel building and lobby as well as several suites. Following that, the hotel will close for the final phase near the end of next year before a grand reopening in the second quarter of 2018.

Leading the restoration project is Aedas Singapore, a global architecture and design firm responsible for such restoration projects as the London Coliseum and the Mallory/Burrows Streets in Wan Chai, Hong Kong.

The interiors are being handled by award-winning designer Alexandra Champalimaud, who has worked on New York’s The Plaza, Hotel Bel-Air in Los Angeles, The Dorchester in London and the Waldorf Astoria in New York.

Declared a national monument by the Singapore government in 1987, Raffles Hotel Singapore was last restored from 1989 to 1991, with the hotel being closed for two and a half years.

Raffles Singapore is owned by Qatar-based Katara Hospitality.