Plans for the development of the Federal Hotel at Scotts Road were announced as early as 1980 by the Malaysian Federal Hotel chain owned by property and hotel tycoon Low Yow Chuan. The hotel was originally scheduled to be opened in 1985 but the launch was postponed several times due to problems such as a strike by construction workers, staff retrenchment and an oversupply of hotels in the Singapore market. The 16-storey, pyramid-shaped hotel, which had over 200 rooms, a lounge bar, coffee house and discotheque, was sold to DBS Land for $35 million in 1987. The property was finally opened in August 1988 as Chateau at Scotts, with hotel operations managed by the Australian Federal Pacific hotel chain. In 1990, the hotel was renamed Melia at Scotts after it was sold for $69 million to a consortium comprising of a group of Indonesian investors and the Spanish Gurpo Sol Group known for its Melia and Sol chain of hotels. The hotel was then the only Spanish-run property in Singapore and it became famous for its Spanish food promotions and Spanish restaurant Goya. The property was sold to investors Raj and Asok Kumar, who were known as the Royal Brothers, for $106 million in 1994 but continued to be managed by the Sol Melia Group. In 1997, the hotel changed hands again when Pidemco Land purchased it for $189 million. The hotel was torn down the following year to make way for the Scotts Highpark condominium project.
