Excellent report. Thank you. My wife and I have a 5 night stay booked in about a month. We also have a room booked at the Conrad Centennial nearby, where I've stayed before, so I will eventually cancel one of them. After reading some reports about perfunctory service at the afternoon tea, and the Long Bar being mobbed with long lines of tourists, and the need to reserve times at the pool and other amenities, I was a bit concerned about Raffles being one of those older hotels trading on its past glory: maintaining a high price but letting service standards slip. It sounds like that is not the case.
I wish you had taken them up on the offer to switch to a Palm Court suite. That's what we have booked and I was curious to know how it compared to the courtyard suite.
During a 2009 visit to Singapore I visited the hotel and recall being able to wander the hotel pretty freely. Is that still the case or are most areas now limited to guests staying at the hotel?