It’s easy to stick to hectic Orchard Road or Marina Bay on a fleeting visit to the city state. But a quieter, more authentic enclave awaits you, too.
But for a decade or so – if not more – little, often dilapidated, shophouses of yesteryear have attracted the attention of savvy developers and hotel operators who have injected life back into these terrace-type buildings as boutique hotels.
The additional modern rear annex, which is unnoticeable from the street, has been cleverly designed to allow light and air to flow into each room and has a mid-level garden terrace and pool.On the ground floor is Kee’s, a slick all-day bistro and bar run by Michelin-starred chef Andrew Walsh. This is also where the well-considered buffet breakfast is served.
On the cusp of Chinatown and Clarke Quay, it’s an easy, pleasant stroll to the Singapore River, with a host of grand neoclassical civic buildings on one side and a row of colourful shopfronts-turned-bars and restaurants lining the other.Unlike the frenetic pace of Orchard Road, Boat Quay is relatively empty, albeit for a few residents whizzing past on their bikes at lunchtime and the sporadic passerby taking in the view from the tree-shaded benches along the promenade.
A trip to Singapore wouldn’t be complete without a spot of afternoon tea and some people watching – and in this case, the five-star Fullerton, which is just across the river, fits the bill. In the atrium you can order a three-tiered tray with sandwiches and pastries and then take in the magnitude of the former municipal office complex, which was built in 1924, used as a makeshift hospital during World War II, and transformed into a luxury hotel after an extensive renovation in 2000.
“It makes you think about how Singapore was – and still is – a trading port where all the Southeast Asian goods were brought to Singapore and then distributed to the rest of the world.”
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