The iconic building of The Fullerton Hotel*
After the most contemporary and modern side of Singapore, we decided to go into a more classical experience, not forgetting luxury, obviously.
We then left to a short, but memorable, stay at The Fullerton Hotel. Its strategic location next to the start of the river occupies the space where once was the Fullerton Fort and where later, in 1928, was born the building we nowadays know as The Fullerton Building, the most imposing building from that time in Singapore, with its neoclassical architecture of colonial influence.
The space was home of the former post office, the government offices headquarters, clubs and its square was stage, in the 50’s, to some of the most important political campaigns that led to Singapore’s independence, until in 2001, and after a $400 million restructuring, the building opened as one of the most iconic hotels in town.
Fortunately, the contruction of the hotel didn’t dissociate the space of its history, keeping the entire design of the building and most of its imposing interior structures, where giant columns and luxurious marbles are kings. So, walking through the different spaces of the hotel is not only about enjoying the perks of a 5 star hotel, but also of a museum that showcases some of the most important moments of Singapore’s history.
The beautiful patio of the hotel
First Impression
The first impression started right on the luxurious car and the nice driver that drove us to the hotel. At our arrival we were received by some elements of the reception team who accompanied us directly to our room, passing through the elegant and monumental lobby and interior patio.
If doubts existed about the splendour of The Fullerton, they immediatly disappeared!
The noble materials used in the finishing touches, the natural light, the contrast between the contemporay art pieces decorating the space and the amazing floral arrangements left me completely surrendered. One of the greatest hotels in Singapore!
I never went so fast from the entrance of an hotel to the bedrrom, wonderful! Doing our check-in the comfort of our bedroom is a plus, a service personalized to the max, especially when talking about an hotel of big dimensions. These are the small details that make true luxury!
Our bedroom – Quay Club
Bedrooms
The Fullerton has 400 bedrooms, following the neoclassical image of the space, divided in different types, the Courtyard, the Quay (ours), Heritage and Esplanade, besides the magistral suites, where, as usual, the highlight goes to the Presidential.
We know we’re in good hands when the “wine of the house” is made by Pio Cesare
Waiting for us were, as usual, some great fruits and a delicate Nebbiolo from Pio Cesare, made especially for the Hotel (details, my dear friends, details!).
Speaking of details, besides the great Bulgari products and a huge and super comfy bed, the guests have at their disposal a pillow menu, with several options, from the tougher to the softest, so everyone can sleep with the maximum quality.
But what completely blew my mind was the balcony and the view, oh and what a view! With the Marina and all its attractions as background, the Merlion, the river and even a big part of the famous F1 circuit.
Our bedroom couldn’t have a better postcard image of Singapore!
The impressive view of our bedroom
The bathroom also deserves some highlight, much because of its giant tub, the noble marbles and the “rain shower” – which rarely satisfy me, but this one was perfect.
Post Bar
Restaurants
The Hotel has 6 spaces with unique features, with very different gastronomies and environments, in order to include the tastes of the majority of the guests. The Post Bar is probably the space with the most modern decoration of The Fullerton, skilled in cocktails, with the signature Slings and light dishes, in an environment proper for business and a nice evening. The Courtyard, which occupies a great part of the central patio of the Hotel, the ideal space for a light snack, a tea in the afternoon and of course its chocolate buffet, available at Fridays and Saturdays (to my great sadness!).
Post Bar
The Jade, a restaurant of contemporary Chinese cuisine, promising to conquer the most educated palates.
The Town Restaurant, with its amazing view over the river and the surrounding parks, where the majority of the guests may have their breakfasts, with one of the biggests varieties and options in the city.
The Fullerton Cake Boutique works as a true French pâtisserie, where is possible to enjoy and order some of the best cakes, carefully preped by the pastry team of the hotel.
The view of The Lighthouse
The most desirable and romantic of the restaurants at The Fullerton is located in the highest spot of the Hotel, more precisely at the former lighthouse, once used to guide boats heading to the city, nowadays room for The Lighthouse. An Italian restaurant that conquers not only by the dishes but also for the unique views.
The infinity pool over the Singapore River
Services
The hotel offers all the facilities of a luxurious five star, like the concierge service, 24h room service, wi-fi, shuttles to main areas of town, garage, stores and a post office, staying true to the hotel’s history, allowing the guests to send postcards and letters to anywhere in the world, for free, with the stamp of the hotel.
One of the greatest highlights (if it’s still possible to enumerate) is for sure the infinity pool hugging the river, transporting us to another world, right in the heart of the city.
As usal in this type of hotel, the “athletes” also have access to a gym, with the best equipments in the market, open 24h a day.
Similarly to most of the luxury hotels, The Fullerton also has a Club, The Straits Club, to which we had access due to the typology of our bedroom. The guests with Club privileges can do late check-outs, use meeting rooms for two hours, free ironing for two pieces, DVD selections and of course a more private room for breakfasts and light snacks during the day in the company of Veuve Clicquot champagne.
We ended opting to have our breakfast here, in a less frantic environment, keeping the good selection of produce. Great pastry, good savory dishes, the best TWG teas and of course a final toast with a quality champagne.
In the evening after a few hours relaxing at the pool, the club room also revealed to be the perfect place to design some plans of our trip and finish some pending work – accompanied by some delicate canapes with first category ingredients.
Another spotlight of the Hotel is The Fullerton Spa. A magical space transporting us to a unique moment of pure relaxation.
One of the couple treatment rooms of The Fullerton Spa
We are also awarded with The Fullerton Heritage Gallery, showcasing art and history. A space that gathers a true historical heritage about the place where the complex is located. Here we can see pictures, maps and documents about the city, the people of Singapore and The Fullerton.
Service
The people of Singapore are gifted with an education and civility that goes way beyond what we are used to in the rest of the world, and here at this hotel, to these features we can add kindness, caring, attention and organization.
Despite being an extremely big hotel, with guests coming in and out every second, the wide team of The Fullerton assures a perfect execution of all our needs and requests.
The imposing staircase of the lobby
Everything revealed to be perfect in our stay, even our departure, transported to the airport with all the comfort possible – in a Mercedes Class S costumized for the Hotel -, and “delivered” to an employee at the Lounge of the airport, who was waiting for us and took care of everything for us. The luxury of The Fullerton accompanies its guests to the last second, even after leaving the hotel. The details, once again the little details!
Our fantastic driver, the luxurious car and our wonderful Samsonite bags
Moreover, I can tell you something else about the service of The Fullerton: to put it simply I’m the most distracted person in the world, and after a great dinner at Meta (in which sobriety left me completely!), we went back to the hotel for our last night in Singapore, and I packed, because next day we would leave early to Bali, and obviously, packing in those conditions is the perfect recipe for something to go wrong, and I forgot some sneakers in the bedroom. I only noticed three days later!
I contacted The Fullerton! And there they were, safe and sound, waiting for my call! The question was how I would get them back??? And The Fullerton does not settle for less, the day we flew from Kuala Lumpur again to Singapore, a nice employee was waiting for me almost outside the plane, not only to deliver my sneakers, but he also accompanied us in Changi‘s Airport in order to facilitate our transfer to the next flight!
We meet again…
In these moments we understand that luxury in Service is taken to another level!
Visiting Singapore without getting to know The Fullerton Hotel should be forbidden!
It’s a place that transports the city’s history within and one of the must see places in this paradise we call Singapore! Luxury in the greatest exponent!
The Fullerton Hotel
Bedrooms from 250€
1 Fullerton Square – Singapore
+65 6733 8388
info@fullertonhotel.com
Text: Cíntia Oliveira | Photos: Flavors & Senses and Release (marked with a *)
Disclaimer
Flavors & Senses in Singapore with the support of Samsonite and of the Singapore Tourism Board – #YourSingapore.
We were at The Fullerton Hotel by invitation, whereas this not alter our work, being the opinion and the text of the exclusive responsibility of the author.
