I’ve only seen the ‘New’ Sea View Hotel at 26 Amber Close. Most of us are familiar with this Sea View Hotel logo at the top of the hotel building;
Surprisingly I find it more difficult to find photos of this ‘New’ Sea View hotel building than the Old Sea View hotel at Meyer Road. Below is the only photo I can find on internet;
For those not sure where exactly is Amber Close, here is the map;
See the * on the building next to the Sea View hotel. That’s where I usually hang out in the 70s, 80s and 90s. The old Katong Yaohan there with Ikea on the second floor…then we have the old Cold Storage taking over the place there too. Shopping seems so easy and close to my house at Haig Road.
Thinking back, I wonder why I liked to go shopping at Katong Yaohan and Cold Storage there even though I don’t have much to buy? Maybe just to enjoy the aircon haha. As for the hotel, I had been to the restaurant a couple of times only with my clients. In the 70s, this Sea View Hotel must be a luxury hotel too. But in it’s last decade, it’s just a 2 or 3 star hotel.
So they are going to build some condos on this same site and named it ‘The Sea View’. There will be 6 blocks of 23 storeys condos. You will be surprised how fast the progress is;
Photo Credit : Aaron Chong
When I started to shift in together with my parents in the 70s (around 1976 when I was in Sec.2) at Haig Road, the Sea View Hotel was already there near the Amber Close. So I’ve not seen the ‘Old Sea View Hotel’ at Meyer Road. I’m sure Peter has seen it as I remember he mentioned something like ‘dome’ shaped building at Meyer Road when I posted the topic on Haw Par Villa previously.
1. Sea View Hotel in the 70s;
Credit : Singapore Government, Chief Surveyor
Though the Marine Parade Road and ECP still not built, the ‘New Sea View Hotel’ had already been built at the Amber Close in the 70s. So when exactly is the ‘New Sea View Hotel’ built? Let’s take a look below;
- 1906 : Established Sea View Hotel at Meyer Road and owned by Reuben Manasseh Meyer
- 1909 : Grove Hotel became one of its 2 annexes
- 1912 to 1923 : Leased to Eleazar Johannes
- 1923 to 1931 : Leased to Sarkies Brothers (operated is as Sea View Hotel and Sanatoruium, and from 1926 as Sea View Hotel)
- 1931 to 1962 : Taken over by the executors of the estate of late Manasseh Meyer. Sea View Hotel Ltd became the proprietors and operated till 1962. The Peach Garden condo replaced the site occupied by the Old Sea View Hotel in 1976.
- 1969 to 2003 : The New Sea View Hotel began operations at Amber Close and ceased in 2003
2. Sea View Hotel (before the major land reclamation along East Coast in Mid 70s onwards);
Credit : Shell, Singapore Government Survey Department.
Note the location of the Sea View Hotel in the 50s. Also a number of roads like Marine Parade and East Coast Parkway were not built before the land reclamation. Of course the shoreline was immediately after the Amber Road and Sea View Hotel really means sea view.
Read more about the Old Sea View Hotel.
Read about how Grove Hotel became one of the 2 annexes of Old Sea View Hotel.
So the Old Sea View Hotel started off as a large colonial bungalow situated at the sea front surrounded by coconut trees.
This one shows the Old Sea View Hotel circa 1900. I wonder if that was how it looked like before becoming a hotel;
Photo Credit : National Archives of Singapore, PICAS
Below shows the living quarters of the Old Sea View Hotel at Meyer Road;
Credit : National Archives of Singapore, PICAS
In 1910;
Photo credit : Singapore Philatelic Museum
In 1926;
Photo credit : Singapore Philatelic Museum
In around 1937;
Photo Credit : National Archives of Singapore, PICAS
The dome-shape building of the Old Sea View Hotel;
Photo Credit : Joo Chiat, A living legacy by Lily Kong and TC Chang
The site of Old Sea View Hotel at Meyer Road is now occupied by Peach Garden condo;
Now both the old and new Sea View Hotels are gone…and both sites are replaced by condos. Should have taken some photos of the new Sea View Hotel before it was demolished.
Actually it began life as a private apartment, so u see the hotel is the only one in Singapore with balcony.
What I can remember?
1. The ground floor bar (on the left when u enter the main entrance). back in early 1980s we used to come here for drinks because there was live music by a Filipino band. Many Katong girls hanged out in this place besides Honky Tong Lounge over at Tay Buan Guan Bdlg. Then many call-girls invaded the place and customers took them across the road to Amber Hotel or Kin Sun Hotel because these 2 hotels offered hourly charges l=not like Seaview which had daily room rates. Finally anti-vice closed down the lounge.
2. The coffee house on the right side of the main entrance because they offered Pernakan buffet at $15/++. Best was ice kachang and laksa.
3. The green and off-white mosaic floor on the ground floor and in the hotel rooms. Never carpet the hotel rooms.
4. Carpark was worth it. $1 can park the whole day, then they changed the policy for limited time parking. If u shop at Cold Storage supermarket, can redeem carpark charges. Only carpark (before the auto barrier system installed) where u can negotiate with the carpark attendant for free parking (up to 15 mins).
Lao I got a question.
The Haig Road food court behind the former Hollywood; what happened to the famous wanton noodle and the char kway teow stalls?
Yes I remember the new Seaview Hotel in Amber Close. However, I didn’t know there was an older Seaview Hotel until I read your post. I personally know someone losing a lot of money on Seaview Hotel’s shares in the 1960s though.
What a wonderful post! Thanks for triggering off many fond childhood memories. I remember that there was a Thai Sharksfin Restaurant in the “new” Sea View Hotel. My boss treated me to a good dinner there once in 2002 or 2003. If not for your post, I would have forgotten all about it. Of course, the Ikea there was so tiny, compared to the mega stores in Alexandra and Tampine now. I remember that the Ikea cafe was almost always deserted; unlike the very-popular Friends Cafe at the 2 Ikeas now. How times have past, and how things have changed. Once again, thanks for the post!
Hi Peter,
Replied to your email. Yes, the best is still the $1 parking charges. But then, parking then at Parkway was not so difficult as now and cheaper.
There isn’t any foodcourt behind Hollywood. Only the very small coffeeshop or hawker centre. The Hawker centre and wet market is undergoing renovation now and will be ready in April.
The 2 stalls you mentioned still at the small coffeeshop last year (Jun) when I was there. But taste not the same..
HI Victor,
Same as you I wasn’t aware of it until I came across some old postcards. I was surprised that the old one wasn’t at the same location but at Meyer Road.
Hi Daddyto3,
Even when I drove past that Amber Close now, I’ve totally forgotten about the Sea View Hotel. Though that few old housing blocks still there (about to go too) and the florist shop also still standing, the rest of it have changed. Really missed that place.
Hi LKK
I vaguely remember the building marked ‘X’ i your map as you enter from Amber Close.
If I am not wrong, it was a block of apartments that was for some airline’s crew I think - either ANA or JAL.
Robert
The block of apartments was for a Taiwanese airline - EVA AIR. UNiform was green colour for the stewardess.
If i am correct and my memory did not fail me, the EVA AIR white colored apartment to the 4 storey block of private flats opposite Amber Hotel was once a part of Datin Lee Chee San’s villa called “Katong Villa” or something to that effect. When I was about maybe 5+ or 6 years old my father brought me to swim in the sea of Chinese Swiming Club. Back in 1959 or 1960, there was no EVA AIR apartment but a huge bungalow property.
To get into that club, must enter by Amber Road from Rose Garden side. The other way was to enter by Tg Katong Road which lead to Meyer Road where the former Eastern Mansion stood. At that time Meyer Road was joined to Amber Road; the present Tg Katong South to the ECP was Kg. Amber inhabited by the Malays. The present Tg Kaotng South to ECP never existed in those days. U can still see the old Tg katong Road to Meyer Road bcos it is next to the row of semi-D houses.
So two prominent buildings still stick in my head. First Amber Hotel facing Datin Lee’s huge bungalow and second the old SEAVIEW Hotel (bcos it had a crescent-shaped building as one of the hotel wings).
My mistake. The villa was called “Mandalay Villa” owned by a Lee Choon Guan.
My family used to park beside Seaview hotel. There’s a lane between Sea view and some terrace houses. We will park in that lane, then walk over to Katong Shopping Center to buy pirated games and then to Parkway Yaohan to shop and to MPH for books and mags.
When we needed furnitures, we will go to Ikea which was just above cold storage and beside Seaview hotel.
In the mid 90s, a bunch of guys from the local BBS hosted Singapore’s one and only Demo (some graphics showcase on the PC) competition at Seaview hotel.
Everything’s gone now…
Soon the whole Katong area will change. So many buildings in that area is up for enbloc.
I don’t know…. why do we call this place home when everything that brings back fond memories has to be demolished to make way for things we have no feelings for. When we make changes like this, what is it at the expense of?
Oh yes. Google for “Seaview Hotel” and “Singapore”.
A number of hotel websites still have Seaview hotel in their list of hotels.
Can find a couple of images.
Anyone got memories of Grand Hotel?
It’s hidden along Still Road, in 2-halves, one on each side.
The Bali look-alike condo in front of the former Grand hotel (facing Marine Parade Road) was once a part of the hotel property. The old seawall (granite) with the concrete steps to the beach are still there (there is a pair). This should give an idea of the original sea-level and the beach. The concrete steps lea dinto the present drain.
There was a WW2 pill-box where the bus-stop stands in front of the former Katong Convent School.
Old name for Grand Hotel = Hotel Karikal.
Present Still Road to ECP was the original road leading into the hotel property. There was a fountain at the end of this road (I think opposite to the present bus stop). Fountain reminded me of the same design at Elizabeth Walk but smaller in size.
I came here to swim around 1960.
Good info Peter on the Grand Hotel.
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