WHEN STARS ALIGN

With four new properties in 2025, Capella Hotel Group is expanding its footprint across key destinations. Vice-chairman Evan Kwee tells Tatler how it continues to bridge heritage and contemporary luxury through a design-led approach as well as collaborations with noted architects and designers—including interior architect André Fu

- Hashirin Nurin Hashimi

We meet Evan Kwee at Capella Taipei, just days before its April 1 opening. The vice-chairman of Capella Hotel Group, the hospitality arm of Singapore-based luxury real estate developer Pontiac Land Group, is in town for a pre-opening event—and squeezing in time for Tatler's photo shoot, which takes place across two packed afternoons. He would return home to Singapore just in time for his daughter's birthday, before heading out again, this time to Japan for the May 1 opening of Patina Osaka.

This is a pivotal moment for Capella Hotel Group, marking a significant bump from eight to 12 properties across its luxury brand Capella Hotels and Resorts, and sister brand Patina Hotels & Resorts. Also on the horizon: Capella at Galaxy Macau and Capella Kyoto, set to open in mid-2025 and the fourth quarter of this year respectively.

The four new properties are part of an expansion plan announced in December last year—one that takes a design-led approach to growth. The vision, Kwee tells us, is rooted in “our commitment to creating authentic connections between our guests and the soul of each destination”. This singular focus has earned Capella properties recognition by global award bodies, including a Best Design nod for Capella Shanghai, Jian Ye Liat last year’s Tatler Best of Asia Awards. “What binds our properties together isn't a standardised aesthetic,” Kwee explains, “but rather, our dedication to core principles that we apply consistently across [every location]: exceptional craftsmanship, cultural storytelling, transformative experiences, and the perfect balance of tradition and innovation.”