Raffles Singapore

Raffles Hotel Singapore is the most famous colonial hotel address in Asia, and it is all suites: 115 of them inside a gazetted National Monument that was restored between 2017 and 2019 rather than rebuilt. The Long Bar invented the Singapore Sling. Expect teak floors, verandahs, a rooftop 25 metre pool and steep pricing.

"The most storied colonial address in Asia, restored not rebuilt, with 115 suites, a rooftop pool and the Long Bar where the Singapore Sling began."

Aggregate 9.6/10 on our editorial scale (Room & Design, Service, Location). Independently scored; see our methodology. This is our opinion, not an aggregate of user reviews.

Affiliate disclosure: we may earn a commission from bookings at no cost to you. We never accept payment for placement. Hotel status, room product and Michelin ratings were verified against official sources and the 2025 Michelin Guide in July 2026; the 2026 star selection is not announced until 4 August 2026.

What makes Raffles Singapore special?

Raffles Hotel Singapore earns its place on heritage that is real rather than themed. The building opened in 1887, closed in December 2017 for a three phase restoration and reopened fully in August 2019, and that distinction matters: it was restored, not rebuilt. What stands today is a gazetted National Monument still working as a hotel, with high ceilings, teak floors and shaded verandahs instead of a museum recreation. It is also an all suite house. There are 115 suites and no standard rooms, which removes the usual gap between a hotel's cheapest key and its good ones, even if the entry categories attract criticism of their own. The Long Bar is the second pillar. The Singapore Sling was created here, peanut shells still cover the floor and the 1920s Malayan styling has been kept. Around it sit the Tiffin Room, the Writers Bar, the Bar and Billiard Room and the open air Raffles Courtyard. Accor operates the property under the Raffles brand. What you are buying is address and continuity rather than novelty, and travellers who want a contemporary resort should look to Sentosa instead.

Which room should you book?

Every key at Raffles Hotel Singapore is a suite, and there are 115 of them. Categories run from Courtyard and Palm Court up to the historic Personality Suites. All of them sit inside the gazetted National Monument, so the architecture does most of the work: high ceilings, teak floors and verandahs opening onto the colonnades. The trade off is that a protected building cannot be reconfigured freely, and that shows in the entry categories. Guests report Courtyard suites feeling small against comparable luxury flagships, and the living room in some suites reading as a narrow corridor rather than a genuine second space. Quality varies noticeably by position within the property, so the category name alone does not tell you what you will get. If a real second room matters, ask the hotel which suites in your category have a properly proportioned living area, and be specific about the location you want before you confirm. The suites that work here are the ones with space on both sides of the door.

Where should you eat and drink?

Raffles Hotel Singapore holds no Michelin star, and that needs saying plainly. Its one starred restaurant, La Dame de Pic by Anne-Sophie Pic, closed permanently on 31 May 2024 when the partnership with Groupe Pic ended, so the hotel carries nothing in the MICHELIN Guide Singapore 2025 selection. What remains is still a serious line up. BBR by Alain Ducasse cooks Mediterranean sharing plates and grills from an open kitchen with charcoal grills and wood fired pizza ovens. yi by Jereme Leung handles contemporary Chinese. Butcher's Block is fire led. The Tiffin Room, serving North Indian food, is the oldest restaurant concept in the house. Drinking is the bigger draw: the Long Bar for the Singapore Sling, plus the Writers Bar, the Bar and Billiard Room and the Raffles Courtyard. The honest caveat is price and crowding. Long Bar drinks are expensive even by Singapore standards, and the room fills with visitors who are not staying at the hotel, so go early if you want the ritual without the queue.

What is the spa and pool like?

The pool is on the roof and it is not an infinity pool. Raffles Hotel Singapore has one 25 metre outdoor pool, relocated to the rooftop during the restoration from its original position in the open courtyard, with no infinity edge and no skyline outlook. Treat it as a lap and cool down pool rather than a destination in itself. The spa sits away from the guest rooms in the Raffles Arcade, where Raffles Spa runs seven treatment suites, each named after a gemstone. Fitness covers personal training, yoga and Pilates. This is the part of the hotel where the heritage building works against it: there is no sprawling wellness floor of the kind newer Singapore properties have built, and the arcade location means a short walk rather than a lift ride from your suite.

Where is Raffles Singapore, and how do you get there?

The address is 1 Beach Road, in the Civic District at the top of the Marina Bay basin, and it is one of the best connected corners of Singapore. City Hall MRT and Raffles City sit next door, which puts two rail lines and a large mall within a few minutes on foot. Marina Bay Sands and Gardens by the Bay are about 20 minutes away on foot across the Marina Bay promenade, or about 8 minutes by car. Changi Airport is about 20 to 25 minutes by car. The one genuine gap is shopping: Orchard Road is not walkable from here, and you should budget about 10 minutes by car or two MRT stops from City Hall. That is a real difference from the Tanglin and Orchard hotels and it decides the booking for some travellers. In exchange you get the museum, theatre and river side of the city at the door, and a bay walk that ends at the Merlion and the Fullerton waterfront.

What do guests consistently say?

Guest opinion splits on value rather than on quality. The loudest theme in frequent traveller feedback is that for one of the most expensive addresses in the city, the delivered experience does not always justify the cost, with Long Bar drink pricing singled out repeatedly. The second recurring thread is the entry level suites, described as small relative to the brand and to comparable flagships, with noticeable variation depending on where in the property a suite sits. The third is crowding. Afternoon tea, the Long Bar, the arcade and general sightseeing bring a steady non resident daytime population through parts of the hotel, which erodes the feeling of a private house. Service draws mixed reports, praised by some guests and called slow or formulaic by others. Travellers who arrive expecting a living monument, and who treat the public buzz as part of the experience, tend to leave satisfied. Those expecting a hushed contemporary five star write the disappointed reviews.

Honest cons: who should skip it?

Four drawbacks come up often enough to plan around. First, value resistance: this is one of the priciest addresses in Singapore and a meaningful share of experienced travellers conclude the delivered quality does not always match the outlay, with bar pricing a specific irritation. Second, the entry level suites. Courtyard category rooms are reported as small versus comparable luxury flagships, and the second space in some suites reads as a narrow corridor rather than a living room, with quality varying by position in the building. Third, daytime crowding by non residents. Afternoon tea, the Long Bar, the arcade and sightseeing traffic mean parts of the hotel do not feel private during the day, and some guests find service slow or formulaic under that load. Fourth, location for shoppers: the main Orchard Road stretch is not walkable, so factor in a car or two MRT stops every time you want it.