Dorchester Collection By Brunei Investment Agency brand hotels in Godalming, England, United Kingdom

About Dorchester Collection By Brunei Investment Agency Godalming

Dorchester Collection is a luxury hotel managed by the Brunei Investment Agency (BIA), which is under the control of the Ministry of Finance of Brunei. Dorchester Collection was founded in June 11, 1981 in London, United Kingdom but was acquired by the Sultan of Brunei, HassanalBolkiah 6 years later. He transferred the ownership to BIA in 1991. The Audley Group under BIA was tasked to manage the Dorchester, which later became the Dorchester Group Limited. The Dorchester Collection started growing more luxury hotels in Europe and the United States in 2006. It was a mix of wholly owned and part-owned establishments since the Dorchester Collection, true to its name, collects different hotels from existing ownerships.

The hotel chain became controversial when the Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei used BIA to raise the Sharia law penal code, which included death by stoning, severing of limbs, and flogging for crimes in Brunei for crimes such as adultery, abortions, and homosexual acts. The complex legal system of Brunei made the hotel collection sketchy for many guests back then, fearing what the management is capable of since there was too much discrimination in their leadership. In March 2019, the campaign for Sharia continued, and celebrities like George Clooney, Elton John, and Ellen DeGeneres promoted boycott of all the Sultan’s hotels.