Originally Posted by
idaud
It's interesting that one of the takes on the Marina is that it's dull - without ever having been there that was my concern ie that it was a bit expat focused and not "real".
It's not "expat focused" at all, it's just a bunch of hotels glued together with nondescript shopping malls. Admittedly that description applies to a fair chunk of central Singapore, but still, I'm drawing a blank at what to do and where to eat in the Marina area. Maybe Makansutra Hawkers Bay? Touristy, somewhat overpriced, but the views are hard to beat.
The Fairmont and Swissotel keep being mentioned but as far as hotels go they've been completely dismissed as true luxury options in the luxury hotels forum as has the Intercontinental (all which I can understand).
You've got a pretty darn high threshold of "true" luxury if that's the case. I'll add my own +1 to the pile of recommendations for the Intercontinental, it just might tick all the boxes for you: ridiculous amounts of 'local' eating and shopping, easy access, and not in a tourist (or expat) ghetto.
Thanks for your advice so far - keep it coming! And if you know of any good maps which give me a sense of where all these places you are suggesting are, that would be great.
Try Google Maps
