The Hotel Summit held its grand opening, which was officiated by then Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. S. Rajaratnam, in August 1971. The hotel was considered a groundbreaking project in several ways. It was the first all-suite hotel to open in Singapore. Construction of the hotel was completed within a year and a half by contractors who built one floor a day using the revolutionary “slipform” method. The Singapore Press Club was also inaugurated at the hotel, taking up the first and second floors. Following negotiations that dragged on for two years, the hotel was acquired by the Goodwood Group in 1978 and renamed the York Hotel.
