Today on Business Daily, dust off your designer luggage. We're taking you to Singapore and one of the

world's most storied luxury hotels. It's a really special hotel. I mean, first of course,

it's got such an incredible history. Showing us around will be a member of staff who's worked here for 53 years.

So when I completed school, I came here and I had my first beer here.

Raffles history is intertwined with that of Singapore itself.

This month, the city-state marked 60 years of independence.

So what can a colonial-era hotel tell us about the way Singapore sees itself today?

So clearly something like a Raffles Hotel is emblematic of that highly romanticised view of colonial life in Singapore.

We're asking, does it matter how hotels and tourists deal with the past?

That's Business Daily with me, Vivienne Nunes, from the BBC World Service.

The Raffles Hotel has been welcoming guests to its beach road suites, restaurants and bars for nearly 140 years.

Singapore has transformed in that time, but the hotel projects a rich sense of history and continuity.

Terracotta roofs extend over generous balconies with large arched windows.

There are lush tropical gardens and each wall is covered in fresh white paint

to reflect the powerful equatorial sun.

Time just stops when you enter the walkways and hallways of ruffles.

There is an intrinsic feeling of being relaxed, calm, and enjoying your surroundings.

Something that in a very high-energy city like Singapore is much appreciated.

And now is the right time to continue actually writing history of our current generations

and our future guests that come and stay with us.

I'm here for a tour with a man who knows more about this business than anyone else.

Okay, my name is Leslie Denker. I'm the resident historian of Refors Hotel and I started with

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