Fairmont Singapore Review

Service

I expected a hotel with nearly 800 rooms to feel like a conveyor belt, and the service was much better than that. It's efficient above all. Check-in was quick, and when I mentioned it was our first stay they found us a high floor without any fuss. Housekeeping was fast and thorough every day, room service turned up in no time, and whenever we asked for something it was done straight away.

It's not as personal as a small hotel, and with conference guests and shoppers coming through, the lobby is busy at all hours. If you'd like more of a personal touch, book a Fairmont Gold room. You get your own check-in and concierge, plus a lounge for breakfast and evening drinks, which makes the whole hotel feel smaller.

Rooms

The hotel is split into two towers, and which one you're in makes a real difference. We stayed in a Deluxe Marina Bay room in the South Tower, and the renovation has been done beautifully. It's calm and modern, all soft colours and good lighting, and the bed faces the window like an island, so you wake up looking at the bay and the skyline. The bed and pillows were some of the most comfortable we've had in Asia, and the bathroom has a big rain shower and Le Labo toiletries.

The North Tower is older and you can tell. Rooms there are fine, but the fittings feel dated next to the new ones. Ask for the South Tower when you book, and pay the extra for a bay view. It's the best upgrade in the hotel.

A few small gripes. There aren't many plugs, the air conditioning won't go below 21 degrees, which in Singapore felt a bit warm at night, and the minibar charges you automatically if you move anything, so there's no room for your own water.

Food and drink

There are a dozen restaurants and bars between the Fairmont and the Swissôtel next door, so you never have to go far. The big one is JAAN, Kirk Westaway's restaurant with two Michelin stars, high up in the Swissôtel tower. It does modern British tasting menus with a view across the whole city, and it was the best meal of our stay.

Prego has been doing Italian here since the 1980s, with handmade pasta and pizzas from a wood-fired oven, and it's a good easy dinner after a long day. For a drink, go to ANTI:DOTE. The cocktails are clever and they do small plates too.

Breakfast, though, was horrible. It's served in two restaurants. The ground-floor one has the bigger spread, but it's packed with conference groups, so you queue for a table and then queue again for the food. Upstairs is quieter, but on our first morning there were flies around the cutlery and the forks were dirty. The staff swapped them without a word of apology. For a hotel at this level it was a shock. After two mornings we gave up and walked to a coffee shop for kaya toast instead, and if breakfast isn't included in your rate, I wouldn't pay for it.

Setting

You can't beat the location for getting around. City Hall station, where two of the main train lines meet, is right underneath, and Raffles City mall is your basement. Raffles Hotel is across the road, and you can walk to the National Gallery, Chijmes and the Marina Bay waterfront.

What you give up is any sense of calm. This is a big city hotel on top of a mall, with conferences and events going on downstairs. The pool is shared with the Swissôtel and gets busy on hot afternoons, so go early or late.

The Willow Stream Spa is the place to escape. It's huge, with cold plunge pools, steam rooms and saunas, and after a day walking in the heat it's exactly what you need.

Value

The Fairmont costs a lot less than Raffles across the road, and with a South Tower room and a bay view you get a lot for your money. It won't be the most memorable hotel of your trip, but it might be the most convenient.