Built in the early 1970s, the Garden Hotel at Balmoral Road was sold to the Chua family, owners of the Cycle and Carriage automobile trading company, for $36 million in 1981. Owned and managed by Kechapi Pte Ltd, one of the Chua family’s subsidiary firms, the 86-room hotel was expanded through the addition of an extension wing in 1983. In the mid 1980s, the hotel’s management decided to discourage Singaporeans from checking in after it was discovered that many local guests were guilty of stealing hotel amenities, gambling or conducting illicit affairs on its premises. The hotel was acquired for $108 million by property developers City Developments Ltd (CDL) in 1999 for redevelopment into a condominium. The hotel remained in operation until 2009, and was demolished to make way for CDL’s Volari at Balmoral condominium project.
