If you haven’t been to Singapore lately, get set for a surprise
By Ute Junker
If you haven’t been to Singapore lately, get set for a surprise. With a lively bar scene and some of Asia’s most acclaimed restaurants, Singapore has gone from safe-but-boring to buzzy city stay. And now a clutch of hot new hotel openings has dialled the heat up even further. Here are our favourites.
The stylish stay: The Singapore Edition
Where are all the selfie snappers? The Singapore Edition’s Lobby Bar has an ultra-Instagrammable bar backlit in pink as well as a white marble pool table topped with fuchsia felt, but I wander in, not a single person is striking a pose. Perhaps it’s all happening at one of the hotel’s many other eye-catching backdrops, or perhaps it is just that this sophisticated hotel attracts a more discreet style of traveller.
Certainly design fans will love this brand-new hotel where the stylish spaces run the gamut from the minimalist lobby – all white walls and domed ceiling – to the lush, fern-filled conservatory and the sumptuous blue Punch Room.
Lap up the city skyline views from Mondrian Singapore Duxton’s rooftop pool.
Other signature features include a cantilevered high-rise pool – an oculus set in the floor lets you look down onto the garden below – and the superb Fysh restaurant, the first overseas outpost from Aussie chef Josh Niland, known for his zero-waste approach to cooking fish. (Even the glaze on the crockery is derived from fish bones.)
The rooms have a calming vibe, with a pared-back colour palette and plenty of creature comforts ranging from La Bottega robes to Le Labo toiletries.
The green getaway: Pan Pacific Orchard Hotel
Don’t let the name mislead you. Orchard Road may sound lush but for years its richest harvest has been found in the fashion boutiques that fill its multiple malls.
That all changed last year with the opening of the Pan Pacific Orchard Hotel, a high-rise hotel that simultaneously manages to be a green oasis in this bustling belt.
With an astonishing silhouette reminiscent of the letter S, the lush façade incorporates 120-metre-high, plant-covered pillars. More plantings can be found on the high-altitude terraces, but perhaps the most spectacular feature is the emerald lagoon, improbably set on the fifth floor.
Flanked by palm groves and a sandy beach, the beach suites, which open directly onto the water, let you enjoy a seaside feel in the heart of the city. But whichever room you choose, you can enjoy the fabulous Mediterranean flavours at Mosella restaurant and the hotel’s light eco-footprint, thanks to solar panels, rainwater harvesting and natural light and ventilation that reduces the need for air-conditioning.
The wellness retreat: Como Metropolitan
If you are planning to indulge in a little pampering during your Singapore stay, checking in at the Como Metropolitan is a no-brainer. Wellness is an integral part of the Como brand, and guests at this high-rise hotel have access to an 800 square metre Como Shambhala spa.
The spa offers a lot more than just massages and facials, with high-tech treatments including contrast therapy (combining ice baths and infrared saunas) to sessions in a hyperbaric chamber.
Down at Como Cuisine, the breakfast menu includes favourite items from the Como Shambhala Kitchen menu – the “real toast”, rich in nuts, seeds and vegetables and served with smashed avocado, is a winner – alongside more decadent options such as coconut waffles. Other eateries include KOTE Korean steakhouse and French pastry chef Cederic Grolet’s eponymous patisserie, while in the lobby, Bruno the robot barista serves a surprisingly good cup of coffee.
Throw in a rooftop lap pool – a few laps here are a great way to start the day – and rooms designed as Zen havens, and you have a hotel stay that is guaranteed to leave you feeling good.
A place to play: Mondrian Singapore Duxton
It’s all in the details at Mondrian Singapore Duxton. From the bedroom slippers – the softest, comfiest things you have ever slipped your feet into – and the complimentary cartons of water, designed to resemble Singapore’s traditional shophouses, to the lights that come on when you walk into your room, expect plenty of small but delightful surprises during your stay.
Perhaps the first surprise is the location. Duxton Hill doesn’t have the same instant name recognition as nearby nighttime hot spots such as Keong Saik Road but it’s a delightful neighbourhood, its heritage shophouses containing not just buzzy restaurants but also cool cafes, homewares and bookstores.
Carnivores will love the Mondrian’s flagship restaurant, Bottega di Carna, helmed by Tuscan celebrity butcher Dario Cecchini (meat-free options include seafood and pasta), but the hotel’s showpiece venue is the Jungle Ballroom cocktail bar. The drinks, rich with local flavours such as ginger, lemongrass and soursop, are as heady as the psychedelic digital collages by Australian artist Emma Anna.
Keep an eye out for the other striking contemporary art pieces in the hotel, including a piece near the reception by local artist Dawn Ng, a surprisingly hypnotic time-lapse of a melting block of ice.
Get the best of Sunday Life magazine delivered to your inbox every Sunday morning. Sign up here for our free newsletter.