The Hari Hotels Vignette Collection Unveils Global Expansion

Light pools softly beneath a coffered ceiling in a Singapore lobby still months from welcoming its first guest, a crystal chandelier catching the glow of recessed panels arranged with quiet, deliberate precision overhead. This rendering of a space not yet built captures something essential about what happens when a family owned hotel group with more than five decades of history decides to expand its reach without diluting its identity. That balance now defines the The Hari Hotels Vignette Collection partnership, announced this week, joining three distinct properties under IHG's global banner while allowing each to remain unmistakably itself.

The Hari London, The Hari Hong Kong and the forthcoming The Hari Singapore are all partnering with IHG Hotels and Resorts' Vignette Collection, a repositioning set to take effect later this year. This move builds directly on a strategic relationship between the Harilela Group and IHG that spans more than five decades, a partnership rooted in shared history rather than a hastily assembled commercial arrangement.

What the Vignette Collection Actually Offers

The Vignette Collection allows independent luxury and boutique properties to retain their brand identity while tapping into IHG's global scale and loyalty program, a proposition designed specifically for hotels unwilling to sacrifice individuality for distribution reach. To qualify, hotels must meet specific criteria centered on design, guest experience and community impact, standards that go considerably beyond simple room count or star rating.

When The Hari Singapore opens in the spring of next year, it will mark the Vignette Collection's first property in that market, a debut that carries particular significance for both IHG's regional expansion and the Harilela Group's own growth within Southeast Asia.

A Legacy Rooted in Hospitality Heritage

As the Harilela Group's flagship properties, the two existing hotels in London and Hong Kong, alongside the emergent Hari Singapore, remain committed to providing one of a kind guest experiences alongside positive contributions to their surrounding communities. That dual commitment aligns closely with the Vignette Collection's own stated values, built around what the brand describes as memorable rituals and a means for good.

Dr Aron Harilela, Chairman and CEO of Harilela Group and founder of The Hari brand, explained that the hotels express these ideals through genuine, heartfelt hospitality and impeccable service steeped in his family's decades long hospitality legacy. He added that the group's design led hotels serve as gateways to the art, culture and communities that define their destinations, framing the properties as cultural entry points rather than simply places to sleep.

A Design Vision Carried Across Three Cities

British interior designer Tara Bernerd has shaped the distinctive character of both The Hari London and The Hari Hong Kong, and her signature approach will now extend to The Hari Singapore as well. Each property features elegant, layered interiors alongside rotating art collections that showcase both established and emerging local artists, ensuring the design language stays connected to its specific location rather than feeling imported wholesale.

Guest experiences at existing properties reflect that same commitment to local depth, including The Hari Neighbourhood Guide Audio Tour and Wan Chai By Night, offerings designed to let guests scratch well beneath a destination's surface. These experiences reveal hidden gems, colourful characters and fascinating local traditions, positioning The Hari as an entry point into genuine neighbourhood culture rather than a curated tourist bubble.

Community Impact Beyond the Guest Room

The Hari's commitment to local communities extends well beyond hospitality alone, anchored by initiatives such as the annual The Hari Art Prize, supported through donations from the Harilela family and dedicated to championing emerging artistic talent. That commitment continues through EarthCheck certifications and ongoing charity partnerships, reflecting a brand identity built around genuine contribution rather than performative sustainability messaging.

Dr Harilela described the brand's creation as a distillation of decades spent owning and developing hotels, one that reflects the qualities his family always sought in a truly great property. He said The Hari embodies relaxed elegance punctuated by eccentricity, wit, culture and intuitive, heartfelt hospitality, adding that joining the Vignette Collection preserves the brand's character while connecting it to a global community of travellers who value individuality and authenticity. Full details on the partnership are available on the official Hotel Designs website.

What This Means for IHG's Regional Ambitions

Rajit Sukumaran, Senior Vice President and Managing Director for East Asia and Pacific at IHG Hotels and Resorts, noted that with more than 80 open and pipeline hotels, the Vignette Collection is tracking ahead of its ambition to reach more than 100 hotels within its first decade. He added that welcoming The Hari's portfolio marks the Vignette Collection's debut in Singapore while strengthening the brand's existing presence in both London and Hong Kong.

That expansion strategy reflects a broader pattern reshaping global hospitality, where major hotel companies increasingly pursue growth through collection brands rather than traditional franchising, allowing independent operators to preserve their identity while gaining access to worldwide distribution networks. Similar strategic thinking around identity, design and destination continues shaping hotel openings across Southeast Asia more broadly, including the recent debut explored in Hotel Indigo's new Bandung Dago Pakar property, where local character similarly anchors the guest experience.

A Partnership Built to Preserve Character

As construction continues on The Hari Singapore, that rendered lobby with its coffered ceiling and glowing chandelier remains, for now, a promise rather than a finished space. What the Vignette Collection partnership ultimately offers The Hari is not a dilution of what makes each property distinctive, but a wider stage on which that distinctiveness can be discovered by travellers who might otherwise never have found their way to Belgravia, Wan Chai, or whichever Singapore neighbourhood eventually surrounds this newest address. Five decades of family history now meets a global network built to carry that legacy further, without asking it to change along the way.