We took breakfast each morning in the Tiffin Room, a truly beautiful setting where, due to the pandemic, the usual buffet had been replaced with a full à la carte menu via QR code. Service was naturally excellent, and everything from the eggs royale to the dim sum selection and the nasi lemak was faultless. Bircher muesli wasn’t listed on the menu, but it was no problem for the waiting team to provide it on request.
Throughout the hotel, there are plenty of quiet locations to sit and contemplate, or to read a book.
Aside from the numerous courtyards, the first and second floor galleried landings above the Grand Lobby are particularly pleasant spaces.
A small library is located in the Bras Basah Wing, dating from 1904. The library contains some historical artefacts connected with the hotel, whilst a photography gallery in the Courtyard Wing complements this with a showcase of some of Raffles’ famous guests of years gone by, including Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
The Raffles Spa is located within the Raffles Arcade at the rear of the property, part of the large 1989 extension that is also home to a variety of shops and the Raffles Boutique. The Raffles Spa is where the sauna and steam room are also located, inconveniently totally separate from the gym and swimming pool, which are on the roof of the Courtyard Wing, quite some distance away. The pool itself was relocated from the Palm Court in the most recent refurbishment, where it had been since its original installation in the 1970s. The pool area is a tranquil delight, offering views of the surrounding cityscape and its own bar; pool service is naturally provided. Changing rooms are individual with private showers.
Before our dinner reservation at Osteria BBR by Alain Ducasse, we enjoyed our welcome drink at Raffles Courtyard. Like the famous Long Bar located upstairs in the Raffles Arcade, Raffles Courtyard often gets busy with non-residents; taking your welcome drink in the Grand Lobby might offer a calmer experience.
If steak’s your thing, Butcher’s Block restaurant is located at Raffles Arcade too, as is the Chinese-inspired yì by Jereme Leung. We got a little lost in the Arcade area, and a helpful member of staff didn’t just direct us the right way, but escorted us all the way there.
The original Billiard Room was constructed in 1890 but was replaced only 16 years later and expanded again in 1917. Reconstructed in the 1989 refurbishment and then named the Bar and Billiard Room (BBR), the space is now home to Alain Ducasse’s beautifully fitted out Italian restaurant, where we enjoyed a delightful dinner with dishes full of flavour. The butler team had evidently communicated with the restaurant, as the celebratory nature of our stay was recognised with a post-dessert dessert.
I had pre-booked the complimentary Raffles history tour for our last day. We had the fortune to be hosted, along with two other guests, by Roslee, passionate historian and concierge who lives and breathes everything Raffles.
When not occupied, the tour includes a walk-through of one of the hotel’s two Presidential Suites; we visited the Sarkies Brothers suite, accessed from the first-floor landing in the Main Building. The suite overlooks Beach Road and the 1894 Palm Court Wing, and is comprised of two bedrooms, a master bathroom with gold detailing, large open plan living and dining room and black marble guest washroom; this suite is one of the largest in all of Singapore.
Aside from the Presidential Suite, Roslee guided us around all of the property’s key public areas, recounting stories and showcasing the property’s development over the last century. Certain elements of the tour were interactive, including for example guests having the opportunity to play the grand piano on the Grand Lobby’s first floor landing. I can’t do the tour justice by writing about it here, so if you make one reservation when staying at Raffles, make it this – and request Roslee as your guide! Roslee followed up after our tour with a personal email, sending photos he’d taken of us and making himself available for concierge requests. We’d forgotten to take the beautiful postcards that had been in our suite home with us; Roslee popped some in the post for us without hesitation.
On our last day, we received no fewer than two telephone calls in our suite to remind us of the checkout time – I thought this was slightly too keen and didn’t make for the most relaxing end to the stay. That being said, when the time came, checkout was seamless, with everything completed over the phone and bags delivered to reception without us barely noticing. As our car pulled away from Raffles’ sweeping driveway, we were waved off like old friends, leaving us already missing this special property.
If it’s not already, Raffles Singapore should absolutely be on your list of hotels to visit. Beyond the sense of history, elegant interiors, sublime cuisine and refined service, it’s the uncompromising sense of serenity that stands out most about this truly unique of hotel experiences.