The hotel was designed by architect I.M. Pei as the Westin Stamford Singapore, along with its adjacent smaller sister hotel, the Westin Plaza. When completed by the South Korean firm SsangYong Group in 1986, the Westin Stamford was the world's tallest hotel building, rising to a height of 226 metres (741 ft), and held that title until 1997 when the Baiyoke Tower II was completed in Bangkok, Thailand.[3] It is alleged that the Ryugyong Hotel in Pyongyang, North Korea was intended as a Cold War response to the construction of this hotel.On 1 January, 2002 the two Westins were sold to Swissôtel/Raffles Hotels and both hotels were renamed, The Westin Stamford becoming Swissôtel The Stamford and The Westin Plaza becoming Raffles The Plaza. When Raffles Hotels was acquired by Fairmont in 2006, the smaller hotel was again renamed, becoming the Fairmont Singapore.Swissôtel The Stamford has 15 food and beverage outlets including Equinox Complex, recreational facilities, and a 70,000 square feet (6,500 m2) convention center.