The restored Raffles Hotel in Singapore is the epitome of timeless elegance
Estelle Sarney stays in a Palm Court Suite at Raffles Singapore.
Location: 1 Beach Rd. The hotel covers an entire city block with a maze of walkways between its various wings and courtyards. We found our way to the lobby, where we were warmly welcomed by the liveried Sikh doormen in their white turbans. Registration was done in our room – a nice touch after a long journey.
Inside a Palm Court Suite at Raffles Singapore. Photo / Grant Bradley
Raffles used to overlook the sea until land was reclaimed for hotels, roads and office buildings. Its rooms now focus inward on to lush courtyards.
Style: British colonial on a grand scale. Originally opened in 1887, in 1899 architect Regent Alfred John Bidwell transformed the main building into a Renaissance-style three-storey atrium with a Carrara marble-lined floor. A central staircase allowed the first-class travellers to descend to the dining room in their finery, as they would on a ship. A two-year renovation completed in 2019 has restored that sense of grandeur.
The parlour in a Palm Court Suite at Raffles Singapore. Photo / Grant Bradley
Price: Suite prices start at around $1500. A complimentary one-way limousine airport transfer and a $58 Raffles Boutique voucher are often included.
Perfect for: A luxury romantic holiday. While children are welcome, adults will feel more comfortable amid the hotel's hushed elegance.
Inside a Palm Court Suite at Raffles Singapore. Photo / Grant Bradley
History: The opening of the Suez Canal and the advent of steamships in the late 1800s saw tourism take off in the "East Indies". Four brothers from Armenia, the Sarkies, swooped into Singapore and picked up a former boys' boarding house from a school across the road. They turned the 10-room bungalow into a hotel and named it Raffles after Singapore's founder. After numerous extensions and renovations, the hotel now covers an entire city block. It has retained its exclusive reputation throughout, hosting celebrities, royalty and famous artists and writers. Somerset Maugham allowed Raffles to claim his description of it for their marketing: "Raffles stands for all the fables of the exotic East."
Inside Raffles Singapore. Photo / Grant Bradley
Rooms: With a 14-foot (4.3m) stud, cream-panelled walls and dark hardwood floors, the decor is the last word in traditional sophistication. The description of our 70sq m Palm Court Suite suggested breakfast on the veranda and cocktails in the parlour, served by a butler no less. The parlour was a great idea – a separate room in which to relax, have coffee or work. Every hotel room should have one. The renovation has brought the hotel subtly and stylishly into the digital world with plenty of plugs and outlets for your devices.
The king bed was luxurious, and with an enormous double wardrobe and numerous drawers, there was no shortage of space to unpack.
There are also Personality Suites named after some of the writers and celebrities who have stayed here, and of course, a Presidential Suite of 260sq m with its own dining room, pantry, walk-in wardrobe, and private veranda.
Estelle Sarney in the lobby of Raffles Singapore. Photo / Grant Bradley
Bathroom: As spacious as the bedroom and parlour, the black and white tiled bathroom features marble twin basins, a central clawfoot bath, and separate shower and toilet rooms. Toiletries were by Ormonde Jayne of London.
Food and drink: Tiffin on the ground floor spreads from the Grand Lobby through its own beautifully decorated room and out to a terrace by a fountain shipped over from Ireland. Named after the English Indian word for a light meal, and the multi-level canisters in which they're carried in India, the restaurant began life serving Indian food. It's now the breakfast room and moves to high tea in the afternoon.
Michelin-starred chef Anne-Sophie Pic has one of her restaurants, La Dame de Pic, housed in the hotel. This is the place to go for a special occasion, to experience her degustation menu matched with wines from around the world, Singapore beer, and saki.
The Long Room is where the famous Singapore Sling cocktail was invented in 1915 (ostensibly disguised as a fruit punch to allow ladies to enjoy drinking alcohol in public). It still makes dozens of Singapore Slings each night to serve a lively crowd, who are encouraged to toss the shells from the complimentary bowls of peanuts on to the floor – a tradition dating back to when the hotel was surrounded by peanut plantations.
The Writers Bar is an elegant space named in honour of the many famous writers who have stayed at the hotel, including Rudyard Kipling and Joseph Conrad.
The Palm Court at Raffles Singapore. Photo / Grant Bradley
Facilities: The rooftop pool is a cool sanctuary from the busy streets below. Staff from its covered bar rush to set up your chosen lounger with towels and water and to take your drinks order.
The Raffles Spa offers a full suite of treatments, including yoga, sound healing therapy, and meditation.
Or just take a relaxing walk through the hotel's gardens to the retail arcade, anchored by the Raffles Boutique, which stocks a range of creative souvenirs.
In the neighbourhood: Arab Street and Haji Lane are a 15-minute walk away. Here you'll find rugs, silk, stained glass lamps, Middle Eastern eateries, tattoo studios and bohemian bars, watched over by the impressive Sultan Mosque.
The Raffles Singapore pool. Photo / Grant Bradley
Accessibility: Specific suites offer accessibility for guests with disabilities.
Family friendly: Raffles offers interconnecting suites for families and its one- to two-bedroom suites would also suit those travelling with children. There are amenities specially designed for children and the butlers can curate activities for younger guests. There's even a selection of children's bedtime stories.
The Writers Bar at Raffles Singapore. Photo / Grant Bradley
Sustainability: Trust Raffles to choose a symbol of its heritage and opulence, its signature cocktail, the Singapore Sling, to herald its sustainability efforts. It makes dozens of the cocktails every evening, and now each one is saving 200g of CO2 emissions thanks to the hotel's use of ecoSpirits and other ingredients delivered in sustainable packaging. The hotel is also planting one native tree in the Kalimantan or Sumatran rainforest for every 25 Singapore Slings served, "leaving a permanent legacy of carbon reduction and reforestation of endangered wild areas".
Summary: This is a destination hotel – a stay here is a holiday in its own right. It's worth saving up to experience old-world luxury that we just don't have in New Zealand. We loved it and would return in a heartbeat.
