The Empire Hotel and Country Club is reborn as The Empire Brunei in an extensive rebranding exercise to confirm its position as the most coveted luxury experience in Asia.
About Brunei Darussalam
Brunei Darussalam is a unique and safe Asian location. It is a peaceful oasis, an ideal place to relax, away from the stresses of daily life. Located on the north coast of Borneo with pristine rainforest, the country offers the convenience of a modern infrastructure. This unique Kingdom, rich in Malay culture, is peaceful, tranquil and safe to visit. In celebration of this incredible country, there are regular guided excursions offering guests magical moments and discoveries. This is the only place in the world where you can play championship golf, see rare proboscis monkeys, scuba dive a wreck, eat exquisite Halal cuisine and visit a magnificent mosque; all in one day.
The Empire Hotel & Country Club
The Empire Hotel & Country Club is an extraordinary destination overlooking the South China Sea, offering an unforgettable and relaxing luxury stay. It is the country’s most exclusive hotel, renowned for its warm Bruneian hospitality and extensive services. Surrounded by vast, unspoilt, tropical rainforests, inhabited by wildlife, it is the ultimate sanctuary in which to relax in a beautiful, spacious, tranquil and natural setting. The 522 rooms and suites, in multiple buildings, and secluded private villas are luxurious havens of spacious comfort. Within the private 180-hectare grounds, there are beaches, pools, lagoons and a golf course with panoramic sea views. The resort also offers international restaurants, Children’s Club, cinemas, Spa, a wide range of sporting activities and extensive function facilities.
New branding proposition for The Empire Hotel & Country Club
To support the key objective of encouraging more visitors, the need for a fresh brand strategy was identified. An international reputable luxury hotel branding agency was engaged to undertake a review of the brand positioning with the purpose of reinvigorating and re-aligning it with a the brand’s essential qualities.
This resulted in a recommendation to modify the name, redefine colours and images to better represent the intrinsic qualities of the Hotel, which we are pleased to announce and share with you today. The new identity, includes:
An iconic new name
Whilst the Hotel is well known within Asia, the review identified the need to better clarify the identity. It was decided to keep the essential name ‘Empire’, but that the name should evolve, to a simplified version that incorporates Brunei. This would firmly support the new positioning as the country’s principal hospitality offering. The decision to omit ‘Hotel and Country Club’ responds to the brand’s desire to communicate the broader offering of its unparalleled resort. This change has been made consistently across all brand touchpoints.
A vibrant new visual identity
The transformation encompasses every one of the brand’s visual assets, including the following:
Change of script - the newly crafted wordmark and typography subtly echo Jawi script.
THE EMPIRE BRUNEI
New logo – To represent the natural beauty of Brunei, at the heart of the decorative symbol is Brunei’s national flower, the simpur, surrounded by lilies to represent peace and relaxation.
New colour palette - The rich colour palette includes gold to set a regal tone while the teal suggests both the blue of the ocean and the green of the forest.
Two illustrations - Further expressions of the country’s unique natural environment are depicted in a pair of decorative and evocative illustrations, hand-painted in striking colours by a commissioned artist.
Coral illustration - Features the delicate flowing forms of corals and seagrass that symbolise the region’s abundant sea life. Depicted by the vibrantly coloured Melithaea sea fans and soft coral Clavularia; representing the diverse coral community adorning the clear waters of Brunei.
Leaf illustration - The second image depicts the distinctive leaves and flowers of native exotic plants in Brunei. Banana leaves, palm fronds and wild orchids, known as Dendrobium Secundium, represent the lush bounty of the country’s flora.
New photography and videography - The award winning specialist hotel photographer, Jeremy Rata, was commissioned to produce new imagery to capture the elegance and beauty of the Hotel.
New website - An upgraded website has been created to convey the new identity with elegance, easy access and improved functionality for users across all platforms. For consistency, the domain name will shortly change to theempirebrunei.com.
Service style and proposition
The new brand reflects the service is attentive, with sincere warmth, personalized and aligned with Brunei’s heritage and respectful culture.
The aim is to provide a relaxing and revitalizing experience for all guests visiting The Empire Brunei.
The Empire Brunei’s service motto is:
Be genuine. Be heartfelt. Be the pride of Brunei.
Brunei attractions of note
Rainforest
Without a doubt, the crown jewel of Brunei’s green landscapes. Located at the easternmost part of Brunei in the Temburong district, this sprawling 50,000-hectare expanse of undisturbed rainforests stretches over a majority of the southern district, and is considered one of the most diverse ecosystems in the world. Home to a wide range of lowland and mountain forests housing many unique species, this is also a realm belonging to Borneo’s longhouse communities and their ancient culture.
Bird life
Experience the wonders of wildlife in Brunei, home to a vast variety of insects, animals and 220 known birds, including many rare and exotic species, including: The Rhinoceros Hornbill; Crested Fireback; Grey-headed Fishing Eagle; and White-breasted Waterhen.
Diving
Brunei is famous for some of the best macro diving and wreck diving experiences. The coral reefs are pure and untouched, and you’ll find no shortage of magnificent sea life in your travels here – from leopard shrimps, barracudas and octopus’ to lionfish’s, moray eels and seahorses; if you’re lucky enough, you might even get to spot a whale shark or a dolphin idly passing by. Scattered between Brunei and the Malaysian island of Labuan, you’ll also find a glorious collection of wrecks, each laced with its own history and a tale to tell – including several World War II wrecks, such as the infamous Australian wreck. We recommend diving between March and October and if possible, between May and mid-July, to make the most out of all these incredible sites.
Ownership of The Empire Brunei
The Empire Brunei is a wholly owned and operated entity of Darussalam Assets Sdn Bhd (Darussalam Assets).
Darussalam Assets is a private limited company established in 2012 to own Brunei’s government-linked companies. Darussalam Assets is an integral part of the Government led initiative to spur economic development, with the strategy to turn their companies into world-class corporations. Its portfolio of companies are in various sectors of the economy, including, aviation, telecommunications, power utilities, logistics, agribusiness, food and beverage, leisure and tourism, medical, education, hospitality, and real estate.
For further information, please contact:
Ms. Syatrah Roslan
Public Relations Assistant Manager
The Empire Brunei
DID: +673 241 7880
Facsimile: +673 241 8989
Email: syatrah.roslan@theempirebrunei.com