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5 unique luxury hotels in Singapore

Singapore is a vibrant ultra-modern city that is continuously re-defining itself. With one of the world’s best Urban Planning Organizations (URA) determined to develop Singapore into a ‘great city to work, live and play’, the city-state is flush with creative architects, interior designers, building renovators and entrepreneurs, all eager to make their mark. Singapore - photo by Lash of LashWorldTour It’s estimated that Singapore’s skyline changes significantly every six months. The two-year construction and completion of iconic Marina Bay Sands Complex on reclaimed land is an excellent example of a planning concept that forever changed the face of the city. Not surprisingly, such a wealthy, booming city abounds in luxury hotels of all genres, sizes and designs. Besides the usual international chain hotels and standard-style city hotels, Singapore boasts several superb, one of a kind luxury hotels. From creatively renovated colonial buildings to state of the art modern marvels, from large to small and intimate, these unique luxury options offer something special for international travelers visiting SE Asia’s wealthiest city-state. Here are five of the best: The Fullerton Hotel This classy luxury hotel was created by transforming Singapore’s original general post office building, a designated Historic Landmark Building. The massive stately stone edifice dating from 1928 features dozens of Neo-Classic fluted Doric columns, both external and internal; an exquisite triangular-shaped, sky-lit atrium lobby with stone walls soaring 36.6M / 120 feet to the roof; a centrally-placed, curved grand marble staircase and two spacious open-air restaurants. Fullerton is pure class and elegance. The Fullerton Hotel swimming pool The Fullerton opened its doors in 200 after intensive renovations, offering an impressive 400 luxury rooms decor-ed in shades of vanilla, beige and white. Each room offers stunning views out over the city or inward onto the grand atrium lobby. Fullerton is perfectly located beside the Singapore River, directly across historic Cavenagh Bridge from the equally grand Asian Civilisations Museum on one side and the city’s famous mascot Merlion Statue, Marina Bay and The Esplanade Concert Hall on the other side. Marina Bay Sands When Marina Bay Sands Hotel opened its doors in 2010, it instantly became one of the most famous hotels in the world and a new Singapore icon. Its phenomenal, daring architecture and prominent location on Marina Bay add a fantastic modern splash to the harbor front. But Marina Bay’s most renowned feature is its astounding rooftop infinity pool on the 57th floor, the highest in the world. Marina Bay Sands view - photo  credit to Marina Bay Sands Views from the rooftop pool of nearby skyscrapers, further across the entire city CBD, and beyond to distant regions of the island-state are simply jaw-dropping. The massive, soaring hotel lobby is another marvel, featuring floor to roof glass walls and luxurious restaurants, bars & cafes. With an astounding 2,561 rooms & suites, Marina Bay Sands is the largest in Singapore, 5th largest in SE Asia and 34th largest in the world. Staying at this iconic hotel is a truly unique experience. Wanderlust Hotel Housed in a large renovated colonial building on the edge of Little India, Wanderlust surprises guests with extremely creative, playful, even outrageous room designs. One entire floor consists of rooms each in a single color scheme: either red, green, yellow, pink or blue. Another floor features rooms inspired by pop art and origami. The third floor offers rooms with space-age, tree, typewriter, bling and ASCII themes. Wanderlust Hotel, Singapore The hotel lobby boasts an impressive collection of unusual eye-catching vintage chairs, a chic bar and Coccotte, their popular French rustic cuisine restaurant. Wanderlust is a fantastic boutique hotel choice for artists, art aficionados, creative types and those young and playful at heart. The Scarlet Singapore Singapore’s very first luxury boutique hotel presents a glamorous but racy atmosphere, featuring exceedingly rich textures and color schemes throughout its seductive lobby, restaurant and individually-designed rooms. You’ll find velvets, satins, leathers, animal prints and brocades. Deep ruby reds, glowing golds, regal purples and shocking blues. Scarlet Hotel, Singapore - photo by Scott Thompson on  Flickr CC The 80-room hotel is housed in a beautifully restored 1924 art deco building on the southern edge of Chinatown, surrounded by chic boutiques, renovated colonial Chinese shop houses, private clubs, restaurants and bars. Klapsons, The Boutique Hotel The moment you lay eyes on Klapson’s state-of-the-art, creatively navigable website you understand you’re dealing with an ultra-modern boutique hotel. Its pure white, space-age reception and luxurious lobby filled with designer Italian interiors, accented in vibrant colors and sophisticated LCD designer lighting, appeal particularly well to artists and those creatively inclined. Klapsons Hotel lobby Boasting a mere 17 rooms and suites, each individually decor-ed in modern Italian furnishings, Klapsons offers a truly unique luxury experience. Despite its petite size, it features several intimate outdoor garden spaces, exquisite suites with interior jacuzzi spas, and a chic alfresco sky bar/restaurant on the 17th floor that provides stunning views over Singapore CBD.

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21 Comments

  1. I absolutely love the Marina Bay Sands Hotel and what should also be mentioned here is that the price is actually quite low compared to luxury hotels in Europe or America. I can’t wait to finally go to Singapore and spend at least one night in that hotel! Thanks for another great article, by the way!

  2. A luxury Singapore Hotel list that does NOT include the Raffles…come on? Actually many guests at the Marina Bay Sands hate the long check-in lines, the shoe-box sized rooms and the roof top pool rules. That is not luxurious.

  3. Hi Tanbay,

    Thanks for stopping by to read.

    Yes, MArina Bay Sands is just fabulous! I loved staying there, absorbing views from the pool and eating the amazing buffet lunch.

    I hope you get to stay there sometime. It’s quite an experience!

    Out of curiousity, how much do comparable hotels in Europe cost these days?

    Kind regards, Lash

  4. Hello Francois,

    Thanks for taking time to read and comment.

    Yes, Marina Bay Sands is really fantastic. Being up on the pool deck, whether swimming or not, is pretty amazing. :)

    Yeah, the huge number of rooms is hard to believe, eh? More surprisingly, because of the hotel layout with 3 separate towers and the massive lobby, it never feels crowded or that so many rooms are around.

    Great experience staying there. Try to go sometime!

    Best regards, Lash

  5. Actually people in the know pay the admission price to use the roof top pool at MBS and stay somewhere decent. The MBS Hotel is over priced for the room size, check-in and out takes an eternity.

  6. Hi Alistair,

    Wowie, sounds like you do not like the MBS!

    I’m wondering where you got your information? Have you ever stayed there yourself?

    I have stayed there, so I can say that my room was not tiny, my check in and check out both went very quickly and I was given a complimentary glass of champagne upon check in. The whole experience was great.

    And unless MBS has changed their rules recently, it is NOT possible to access the pool unless you are a hotel guest staying overnight in a room. At least when I was staying there, the hotel did NOT allow any non-staying guests into the pool area. Period.

    I’d be curious to know the source of your information. Please be so kind as to fill us in on the details :))

    Best regards, Lash

  7. Good picks! Actually I was staying at MBS recently (end of Oct) to do a hotel review for my website and its as Lash mentioned, there is really no other way to use the pool unless you are staying at the hotel. They swipe your hotel key card to enter at both ends of the hotel/ pool

    You can however enter into the pool area by booking yourself a chocolate and cheese buffet at the Cheese and Chocolate bar which is located right in the middle (middle tower rooftop) but will set you back SGD$ 48++. This only gets you access into the area though which may be enough if all you want is your picture taken, but it won’t give you access to the pool

    Hope this helps!

  8. Hi Charlotte,

    Thanks for stopping by.

    Yes, I hope you love Singapore. It’s my favorite city in the world. :))

    Hmm…why aren’t you so keen on the rooftop pool? Don’t like heights?

    cheers, Lash

  9. Luv, luv luv, MBS !!

    I travel from California to Singapore regularly, and have stayed at everyplace you mentioned…including Raffles, Four Seasons, Mandarin, etc

    IMO, MBS tops them all for a number of reasons including the fabulous pool, great gym and spa, and access to the hot underground nightclubs nearby…..

    I have been upgraded to a mini-Pres suite a number of times which is spectacular….

  10. Hi Liyana,

    Oh, that’s great you got to review MBS! Nice one!

    I paid full price for my stay, but hanging out at that pool, absorbing the views and gorging on their amazing lunch buffet was worth it!

    Thanks for the head’s up about ordering the cheese/chocolate buffet, poolside. Good to know!

    You can also visit KuDeTa Bar, order up a cocktail or two, and get fairly close to the pool. But again, not actually in the pool area.

    Thanks for stopping by and adding the extra info. :)

    cheers, Lash

  11. Hi Michael,

    Well that’s fabulous that you’ve been able to stay at so many of Singapore’s amazing hotels! I haven’t been quite that fortunate – for instance, I have yet to stay at the venerable Raffles. I certainly hope to one day.

    This is quite an endorsement for MBS since you’ve stayed at so many lux spots in Singapore. :)

    Awesome that MBS has upgraded you several times. I have to say that their marketing/promo department seems quite on the ball. Every since my stay they’ve been sending me regular emails about any special promos, events and so on. Good stuff.

    Thanks for stopping by and adding your insider perspectives.

    cheers, Lash

  12. While Marina Bay Sands’ pool is impressive (because of its elevation), the hotel itself is so-so. I stayed there a few months ago and you can tell that most people stay there for the pool and the pool alone. Nothing else. It does not help that I lost a pair of sunglasses at the bar area. Staff couldn’t care less.

    Also stayed at the Mandarin Oriental on that same trip. Definitely more luxurious than MBS. But boring.

    The best part of my “hotel hopping” was definitely the stay at Fairmont. We stayed at the club floor and were given what was undoubtedly the best view in Singapore. A view of the marina with Marina Bay Sands on the background. It was postcard perfect. Unmistakably Singapore. Although the interior does not really feel “luxurious”, everything else more than made up for it. Their pool, shared with Swissotel is also luxurious (less the view).

    I agree with the other commenters. Only the pool makes MBS good.

  13. Hi Andrew,

    Thanks for stopping by and sharing your perspectives & experiences. Appreciate it!

    I have to admit that my room at MBS was nothing extraordinary. But I did greatly enjoy the amazing architecture, the astounding views of Singapore from my room and the pooldeck, and the incredible lunch buffet in the lobby restaurant. So I personally feel MBS offers a lot more than just the pool.

    I haven’t had the pleasure of staying at Fairmont. Sounds great! I’ll have to check it out. Thanks for the reference.

    Cheers, Lash

  14. I really did not like the marina bay sands. The service was awful and always rushed, the pool was packed, and the lobby was always crawling with people. I think it gets by with the gimmick of the sky park but is not a true luxury hotel in any other standard. I much prefer the Fullertons (the original and the Bay) or the Mandarin Oriental.

  15. Hi Colin,

    Thanks for joining in an sharing your experiences of luxury hotels in Singapore.

    AW, sorry to hear you didnt’ have a good time at MBS. I’ll count myself lucky then – I didn’t have any check in or check out waits, nor any rushed service when I stayed.

    I do have to agree with you that the pool is crowded and with lots of families with kids racing around, making it more like a playground or amusement park much of the day.

    But I did enjoy great serenity there in early morning and after dark, both wonderful times to be up on top of Singapore. I even lucked out with a distant thunder & lightening storm while up there, complete with double lightening bolts appearing in my photos behind me!

    I’m sure each day is a bit different.

    Thanks again for stopping by and commenting.

    cheers, Lash

  16. Enjoyed reading about some very different hotels in Singapore! It’s such a convenient, easy and comfortable stopover for us here in Australia for many destinations and the hotel options are magnificent. I’ve stayed at the Fullerton, which is beautifully located and classy, but last year enjoyed several days at the Marina Bay Sands – the pool and obligatory photos were on my bucket list! Thoroughly recommend the experience – great dining options, views, terrific staff, great shopping, amazing sky park and of course, THAT pool!

  17. Hi Diane,

    I’m glad you enjoyed reading about all these unique hotels in Sing… and hope you can stay at the others sometime as you pass through Singapore.

    I agree with you about Fullerton – it’s just stunning and classic. And very nice to hear from someone else who had a great experience at MBS like I did. :))

    Thus far, it sounds about 50/50 with readers who had a great experience at MBS and those who didn’t. Quite interesting.

    Thanks much for stopping by and adding your perspectives.

    cheers, Lash

  18. Beauty is in eye of the beholder. Having said that, my
    choice over and over is the St Regis Hotel just around
    The corner from Orchard. Service is outstanding, butlers
    serve every room, it is a bit quieter for this non party person.
    The location to shopping and eats is phenomenol. Rooms
    are bit more oldworld , but large with wonderful bathrooms.
    Breakfast buffet is outstanding. I have tried the others but
    The St Regis is my pick!

  19. Hi Ann,

    THanks for stopping by to add your views. Much appreciated.

    So true – beauty is in the eye of hte beholder.

    I haven’t had the chance to stay at the St Regis. IT sounds wonderful! Thanks for the insights. I’ll try to make it one day.

    Thanks again for stopping by.

    cheers, Lash

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