Former Raffles Hotel GM reveals truth behind famous legends, explains why he didn't give up Italian citizenship

Raffles Hotel, a revered monument in Singapore with a history dating back to 1887, has long been shrouded in legends and myths. 

Roberto Pregarz, the former General Manager (GM) of the hotel for 22 years, shed light on these fables in an interview with YouTuber Max Chernov, which was uploaded on Tuesday (Oct 17). 

In the video interview, Roberto shared that he worked on a passenger ship that sailed across Italy, South Africa, Australia and Hong Kong.

Along the voyage, the ship will stop by Singapore briefly. Little did he know, the Lion City would soon be his home when he met the then-manager of Raffles Hotel, who offered him a job.

Despite declining the initial offer to join the Great Dame, he eventually signed a contract and embarked on a new chapter.

"I told my mother that I should come back in six months, and then came instead, after four years and [got] married," he added.

Roberto had his work cut out for him when he joined as Max pointed out, the hotel's image wasn't favourable during that period in the 60s.

Roberto acknowledged that the hotel was "very colonial and very British".

In 1969, Raffles Hotel encountered several setbacks. The British had withdrawn their support from Singapore, Robert mentioned, and it didn't help that the Raffles was perceived as "a relic of the British Empire" at a time when modern hotels were emerging.

Roberto even mentioned that at that critical juncture, there was a real possibility that Raffles Hotel might have had to close its doors within six months.

But the hotel bounced back by leveraging its rich history and turning it into a tourist attraction.

"I didn't sell food. I didn't sell drinks. I didn't sell rooms. I sold history," Roberto explained. "I linked the history to everything".

Roberto went the extra mile to recreate an incident involving a tiger that had escaped from a circus in 1902 for Raffles' 100th birthday celebration in 1986.

Roberto jumped through hoops and hurdles, and nine permits later, he managed to get an actual tiger, leashed of course, in the hotel as as part of the hotel's centennial celebration.

Max also asked about the rumours of ghosts in the Raffles Hotel.

Roberto attributed this to the Japanese Occupation, mentioning that he was told by a hotel staff member, who had been working since 1936, that one of the rooms had been used for interrogations during wartime.

After spending 12 years in Singapore, with regular reapplications for his employment pass, Roberto decided to apply for permanent residency (PR). He obtained his PR status in 1979. 

And interestingly enough, his Singaporean wife is related to the late Lee Kuan Yew.

When asked if this family connection helped him secure his PR in any way, Roberto replied: "No, Lee Kuan Yew will never give any sort of preferential [treatment] to anything."

He even went on to apply for citizenship but he got rejected. In hindsight, Roberto doesn't regret it as he still feels "sentimental" and wouldn't like to give up his Italian citizenship.

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venkat.gunasellan@asiaone.com

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