AUSTIN Powers - yes, the guy who sports loud colours and values his 'mojo' - would feel at home at the newly opened Hotel Re!, a boutique hotel in Chin Swee Road.

BOLD-SCHOOL: Rooms in Hotel Re! come with an eye-popping wall behind the bed. Even the bathroom tiles come in bright colours.

While other hotels tend to opt for dark woods and more sombre colours, this 140-room hotel splashes out bold and bright. Lime green, yellow, orange, purple, gold, silver and hot pink adorn the walls in the rooms and even on their doors.

'Our avant-garde design, furnishings and fittings have been infused with a zest of retro so guests can relish the good old days in contemporary comfort,' says Mr Loo Woei Harng, CEO of Vita Holdings which owns the hotel.

This is the first hotel for the public-listed company which has businesses in property management, including hostels and offices, and shipping.

The 12-storey hotel was formerly Pearl's Hill Primary School which closed in 2001 and became the Stamford Student Residence, before it was tendered out by the Singapore Land Authority to Vita Holdings early last year. It is also the first former school building to be tenanted out for hotel use.

Vita Holdings declined to say how much was spent on refurbishing the hotel, which included reconfiguring the rooms and building a bistro and wine bar. Previous reports had put the renovation sum at $13 million and the company paying about $82,000 a month in rent.

To add fun to the rooms, each comes with a coloured wall with silhouettes of popular icons from the 1960s and 1970s, such as Marilyn Monroe, the Beatles and James Bond.

Even the bathroom tiles come in various colours such as gold, orange and green. Some of the bathrooms also have unblocked views of Pearl's Hill Park and of the city.

RAY OF SUNSHINE: The hotel exterior gives a zesty taste of what's inside.

The hotel's retro theme also extends to the choice of furniture used, in particular, the chairs. Iconic seats from the 1960s include the Armchair and Bubble chair, both by Finnish designer Eero Aarnio.

The hotel charges from $280 for its superior rooms to $700 for the suites. It expects about 60 per cent of guests to be corporate clients due to the proximity to Raffles Place, with the rest being tourists.

While most of the rooms have twin beds, there are three suites that have round waterbeds and hydrotherapy tubs. And the hotel's manager Louis Than Naing predicts these will be a hit with honeymooners.

Groovy baby, Austin Powers would definitely approve.

This article was first published in Life!, The Straits Times on May 17,2008.