Raffles Singapore

Luxury at its finest. Check-in was very intimate and seamless. Very lucky to receive our Personality Suite ahead of the check-in time too. Appreciated the birthday decor and amenities in the room. Was a very nice touch, along with the chocolates which we were able to select. The attention to detail in the room was amazing - from pillow for the bath, and a jewelry holder in the bathroom. There were also a few sustainability initiatives too, which I liked. Breakfast buffet was great! Not crowded even at 9am and had nice selections. We did a history tour at the end of our stay and was guided by Nazir the Raffles Historian. 100% recommendations for the tour! Nazir was very knowledgeable and we learnt so so much. Kudos to the team and hopefully we will be back for Christmas for a festive feel! Thank you again for the wonderful experience. Read less

Having been a previous visitor to Raffles, I always told anyone who would listen that it was one of my two favourite places in the whole world and, as such, I could never wait to return. In the past, you were always welcomed back (as a returning guest) by name and were given your first (of many!) Singapore Slings as you were checking in. Unfortunately this courtesy has now been resigned to the past, with the whole checking in procedure becoming much more perfunctory and impersonal. Yes, you are offered a welcome drink by your butler once you are taken through to your suite, but what appears to have been forgotten is that anyone arriving here is invariably at the end of a long, tiring journey & instant refreshment on arrival is what's needed. On arrival at our suite, the butler was at great pains to point out the renovations including how blinds,lights, bookings at the bars, restaurants etc. had to be managed on the i-pad (the elderly must view that with dismay!) All well & good until I awoke in the middle of the night (jet-lag from Vietnam!) in the pitch dark & desperately needing a drink. Couldn't see my hand in front of my face, all light switches a thing of the past, lights being controlled by the i-pad that you can't even find because it's too dark, stumbled to the new, state of the art room fridge (made to look like a Louis Vuitton travel case) but on opening, found there is NO INTERIOR LIGHT so I couldn't even see what I was selecting to drink!! Talk about style over substance. Aargh! We had booked a meal with friends on the first night in the Tiffin Room to find that that too has been "made-over" and is no longer the vibrant, busy buffet of old, but is now a formal A La Carte, albeit very high quality restaurant. It was also tellingly almost empty & lacking any atmosphere, something it used to have in abundance. The old Raffles Grill has bitten the dust too to be replaced by La Dame de Pic. Whilst the quality of the food (& wines) was Michelin star, it was inordinately expensive and it too was almost empty and lacking atmosphere. It came as no suprise that it closed permanetly in May. The new Writers' Bar however, was a joy! It was buzzing & had a real sense of place despite being part of the renovations. If only it felt that the heart hadn't been ripped out. Hotels worldwide have become homogeneous and the old world charm should have stayed as its USP. It truly feels as if the "Old Lady" has lost her soul and I mourn for her. Read less

Read so much about the premium quality by Raffles Singapore hotel but was very disappointed by what we bought. First time buying Raffles Hotel mooncakes. When we collected the mooncakes, we were shocked! This hotel's mooncakes are super expensive. The hotel did not even bother giving customers a cooler bag and ice block coolers to ensure that the mooncakes do not go bad in Singapore's super hot weather. Instead, we got a cheap recycled bag - see photos. The staff of Raffles Hotel Singapore had the cheek to tell us "Don't worry. The mooncakes can last 2 hours outdoors!" I do not think snowskin mooncakes can last that long in Singapore's extreme hot weather. What ever happened to the premium quality Raffles Hotel is globally famous for? Now, their products such as mooncakes look cheap and they do not care about maintaining their premium reputation. BUYERS BEWARE! This is the first and LAST time we will buy mooncakes from Raffles Hotel Singapore. Their standards have deteriorated. Better for us to buy mooncakes from other 5 star hotels like Shangri-La and Goodwood Park. Food & drinks Raffles Hotel Singapore standards have declined drastically over the last few years. Read less