Address: 5 Raffles Ave, Singapore 039797

Mandarin Oriental, Singapore is one of the world’s foremost luxury hotels. It is the only hotel in the city that has been awarded Five Star status for both accommodation and spa in the prestigious Forbes Travel Guide for nine consecutive years (2012 to 2020). This award-winning property has a prime location, close to the financial hub with easy access to luxury boutiques and entertainment venues, and minutes away from Suntec Singapore International Convention & Exhibition Centre. The hotel features an impressive atrium lobby with 527 rooms and suites. There is a premium Oriental Club Lounge, an indulgent and intimate spa, extensive meeting and banqueting facilities, five renowned restaurants and two lounges overlooking the spectacular Marina Bay.

Check in to the hotel was a breeze, there were a few people and three of the counter staff were available. As a Mandarin Oriental member (free to sign up), I received a welcome gift from the staff. As a Fan of M.O., there is a convenience of faster booking, complimentary WiFi and exclusive members-only offers from their chain of hotels, restaurants, and partners around the world. As part of the perks, the hotel would invite you to choose two additional privileges, of which I chose a room upgrade and a celebratory treat. Do not expect to be upgraded to the suite immediately because we had booked one of the lower tier rooms. So we got a room with a nicer view, which is facing Marina Bay.

This is the bathroom with a sleek black marble bathrub and a standing shower.

The King-sized bed was very comfortable. We also enjoyed the full-length windows which offered a spectacular view of the Marina Bay area.

As part of the hotel’s efforts to be sustainable, the room does not have disposable plastic bottles. Instead, oxygenated drinking water is provided in glass bottles that can be refilled. This time round, I forgot to bring my own bottle along so it was a bit difficult to bring water out of the room.

The card key to the room was locally designed and the vibrant colours add a nice finishing to the design.

Thinking of bringing home the shampoo and shower gel sample sized bottles? You won’t be able to do it over at Mandarin Oriental because the shower accesories are filled in big bottles and attached to the wall of the bathroom. This is also part of being sustainable.

The evening view from our room. At night, the floating platform flood lights came on as it was rehearsals for the upcoming National Day Parade.

Booking a pool slot during covid era is really difficult due to the strict safe management measures. The next door, I managed to secure a swimming slot at 10am. The pool was located on the 5th floor and had a view of the Marina Bay area. Few people came here to do laps, while most of the children had fun splashing around in the kid’s pool.

There were many comfortable amenities such as deck chairs and cabanas around the pool. There was also a staff going around to serve water to the pool guests, who may be dehydrated after a swim. This was a nice gesture that was not common in most of the Singapore hotels. The staff also cleared the used towels on the deck chairs after people have left.

Mandarin Oriental is trying to lure the mainstream market who normally tend to stay at the standard chain hotels and the casual travelers who want to be given benefits regardless of how many nights they have accumulated with a hotel. With the celebratory treat such as a complimentary slice of cake and some balloons as props for the birthday celebration, I think the staff at M.O had put in a great effort to make our stay enjoyable. With some high-class restaurants and a bar with award-winning cocktails, this hotel has all the amenties you wish for. With its easy walking access to Marina Square and City Hall, this is one of the best premium hotels in the city area.