August is literally my favourite month of the year! And no, it’s not even my birthday month. Wait, it practically is? It’s our National Day! Although, I prefer to call it OUR birthday. It just feels merrier and inclusive somehow. That is, if you’re Singaporean of course. But even if you’re not, you’re still invited to celebrate our special occasion together. The more the merrier! Don’t let the SDAs know I said that!

A year ago, I joined an opposition party as a volunteer during National Day. It felt very liberating and redeeming actually. It was like a birthday gift for myself FOR the country. But you know what? That’s behind me. I just felt my beliefs isn’t well represented by them anymore. I’ll have lots to think till the next general elections, all over again. This year, I decided to something a little different yet nostalgic as well. No, I did not sign on as an army regular! Never in a million years. I love guns but I think I love my freedom more.

Um, anyways. We’re not here to talk about guns or my political views! We’ll do that in 2025 yes?

To commemorate Singapore’s 56th anniversary of independence, I decided to celebrate it at the most perfect location that suits the occasion.

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THE FULLERTON HOTEL, SINGAPORE

Built in 1928, The Fullerton Hotel Singapore is one of the oldest hotels we have in Singapore, the first being the Raffles Hotel.

Recently in 2015, the heritage building that The Fullerton Hotel is housed within, was gazetted as the 71st national monument in our country.

That being said, the building itself holds a lot of historic stories and moments and the hotel even have a mini-museum named The Fullerton Heritage right at the hotel lobby to tell you all about it, which I really love.

You can find out everything about the hotel from the gallery! From the timeline of the iconic building to the old photos that were taken when the building has just started its life as a general post office back in the olden days.

I really love and appreciate the history gallery that they curated here. It’s so immersive that you’ll wonder how life really was back then just by looking at the photos and reading the historic facts. We’re really fortunate that the building is now restored and converted to a place where we all now can sit back, relax and embrace all the hard work that was put in to make the heritage building remain grand and majestic as it always is.

I actually found an old photo of the hotel back in 1920s and you can clearly see the room that I stayed in! I circled it in yellow in case you can’t see it vividly. It’s really cool!

Ever since I was young, I have admired the building every single time I walk by. At the start of my adult life, my first ever job was with a museum. I figure that is what made my interest for heritage structures grow? The museum I used to work at, is just opposite and every sunset I would just gaze upon the external facade of The Fullerton Hotel and boy, it was top-notch beautiful. Really mesmerising.

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CHECK-IN

On the morning of my check-in day, I received a call at 9am by the front desk saying that my room was ready if I planned on checking in early. Due to work commitments, I was unable to, sadly. Though, it just goes to show that the hotel team is indeed very swift and efficient when it comes to getting rooms ready for their guest which I really appreciate. I mean.. the time for hotel check-ins are standardised at 3pm almost everywhere, but my room was all ready for me to check-in at 9am? I am impressed! But then again, that’s one of the many perks you can get if you book a room on a weekday. I usually don’t check in early during my stays but this will definitely be a plus point for most of you who do.

I remember one time when a guest once came up to my front desk demanding that we let her check-in immediately. Bestie, it’s 7am and it’s a weekend. The only vacant room I have at the moment is the storeroom in the basement. Feel free and make it feel like home! Sometimes, you just gotta know what goes on behind the scenes before making unreasonable and unrealistic requests. So, a tip! Always have your hotel stays on a weekday.

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When I arrived to the hotel, the concierge greeted me by my name which I was really impressed with. Don’t get me wrong. This is a common procedure of a 5-star hotel and while it is a procedure that hotel staffs are supposed to adhere to, it’s sadly not practised elsewhere. I’m glad that The Fullerton Hotel still uphold to these amazing standards and again, I missed out on the concierge’s name but props to him! It’s such a common, simple gesture but it’ll forever leave a good impact on the guests.

Check-in process was undeniably fast and swift. Skilful and professional! Staff is friendly and not even in a transactional way.

Even when I was getting cake and tarts from the the hotel’s cake boutique, a staff from the restaurant recognised me and came forward to say hi! The last time I met him was during my review of the afternoon tea from the hotel! I’ve also shared how the staffs are naturally approachable and friendly in a way that you can converse with them like friends in that review I did. If you have not read it yet, you can check it out here.

On an unrelatable note, since I do not have a credit card, no deposit for the room was taken but my debit card numbers were saved on my guest profile instead. I’m still contemplating on getting a credit card cause I’m not much of a spender. If you have great card recommendations, do leave me a note!

ROOM

If you think the hotel look amazing on the ground level, wait till you reached the 6th level of the grand building!

It looks stunning from the bridge that links you to the both sides of the hotel. It’s like a whole new oasis!

Once you reach to the lift lobby, it’s really remarkable to see how every corner is detailed with luxurious grandeur. I felt like I was on the Titanic, it really feels nostalgic and grand. There’s also a photo album on every floor of the lift lobby so if your lift is taking a tad too long, you can flip the pages and read some historic facts of the hotel.

The front desk team upgraded our room from The Premier Courtyard Room to The Heritage Room. Now, it really matters which room you are assigned to. If you’re particular about room sizes, you should really look through and research on the room categories before booking. But fret not! I’m here to do that for you.

The standard rooms for the hotel, which is The Courtyard room is bigger than most of the second room category which is The Heritage room. It sounds weird but it’s true! Also, if you are assigned to the Heritage room, do note that some rooms offer no outdoor views at all. You have a balcony, yes. But what you will see when you open the doors to your balcony is just walls, walls around you. That will definitely dampen your experience here, so please do call up or view the rooms first.

During my stay, I was given a guest room on the 6th floor, which is the second highest floor of the hotel and the view was nothing but spectacular. My luck! My room was literally facing both The Central Business District Area and the iconic Marina Bay Sands hotel.

It was a picturesque view to die for, I almost forgot how small the room was. I’m really not particular with room sizes anyway so it doesn’t really bother me despite the difference of the room sizes being so obvious. It’s always the view for me. If the room is small, there better be a balcony with a magnificent view. Prolly why some hotels is a big no-no for me to even stay for an Instagram review.

The room has an elongated design and because of the doors that leads you to the balcony, natural sunlight is enough to brighten up the whole area. The design of the room is undeniably quaint and elegant with a touch of modern intricacy. I love how modern technology is incorporated to a very grand and antique surroundings too!

Almost everything in the room is controlled by modern technology. From the lights, to the curtains and yes.. the toilet! But we’ll get to the bathroom segment later. There’s so much to tell you about the fully-equipped room!

Efficiently located on both sides of the beds are switches and power sockets for you to charge your devices. I’ve said before in my previous reviews, I really love and appreciate when hotels have these by the beds. It’s just so convenient when everything you need is practically within your reach! Even the switches to control the curtains are here too.

At the far end of the room is a study desk for you to do some personal work if you need to. I honestly find the placing of the table quite awkward prolly due to the space constraint. It’s placed directly beside the television which is a little weird if your partner is doing work on the desk, your view of the television will definitely get interrupted. Fortunately for me, I’ve got no work to do so the study desk isn’t utilised at all during my spectacular stay.

There’s also a Bluetooth speaker by Harman Kardon, one of the best brands with high-end speakers. Unfortunately, it malfunctioned after I used it for a mere 5 minutes. If you’re into Netflix, the television in the room has Chromecast on it so you can mirror your device straight to the screen without any need of a HDMI cable. I bring mine wherever I go just in case! I suggest you to get one too cause even if a hotel you book is a 5-star branded property, sadly most of their television sets are not. Always be prepared.

The room also has a coffee machine which I really love cause they’re from Nespresso. One of my favourite brands of coffee! They produce the best user-friendly coffee machines too and their flavour pods are endless. So many varieties to choose from!

Tea sachets from TWG, a premium tea brand is also provided. Let me point out how generous the hotel is with their tea and coffee amenities.

There’s a total of 8 sachets of tea! 4 pairs of sachets of totally different flavour. And yes, I took all of it with me before I checked out!

Be careful though, some of the snacks and items placed on the pantry area isn’t complimentary. Other than the drinkable water, the rest are chargeable. Yes, even the hand sanitizers. I find it weird somehow! I’ve been to boutique hotels and they offer the same sanitiser for free. Here, they sell it for $8.

If you love bathrobes as much as I do, then good news! They provide it here in the room. I usually change into something comfortable once I’ve checked in so I’m glad that bathrobes are prepared in the closet. I legitly wear them throughout my whole stay, even when I head to bed. I love how soft and snuggly the robes are, unlike the rough-scruffy ones you’d always find elsewhere. Hotel slippers are also included in the amenities! I’m unsure if I’m just overwhelmed with excitement but even the hotel slippers here are way more comfy than those typical, thin ones. I didn’t take photos of them but they too, look very fluffy and snuggly. I lahv it! No, I did not wear them to bed.

BATHROOM

Of course, my favourite part of every hotel review is the bathroom! I have to say, the bathroom here feels more spacious than the actual guest room. I love how there are full wall mirror by the bathtub, making the whole bathroom looks huge and spacious. Also great for some bathroom selfies!

The bathroom amenities are from Atkinsons, Amber Empire. Do you know that the Atkinsons is also a legendary, heritage brand? The hotel only started using the brand for its amenities recently in 2018 but in fact, the Atkinsons actually have a heritage of over 200 years old and was appointed as the official perfumer to the Royal Court of England! So if you wanna feel like royalty, you know where to have your stay next! The whole range of the toiletries are provided, from shampoos, shower gel to body lotion.

A hairdryer is also provided which is safely kept inside the drawer. Notice how the hairdryer is plugged into a socket that is located inside the drawer instead of a socket on the wall like typical hotels do. It feels safer this way because some hotels have open sockets located dangerously near to the sinks! Never a good idea to have electronics near to any source of water. Safety first!

Not only the staffs here are polite, even the toilets are! It literally greets you whenever you come near. Through the sensor, it will automatically sense that you are coming and it will open up itself, sanitise the insides and warm up the seat for you. I’ve never been to Japan before but some some might say that the toilets here is similar to the one they have there. While bidet is not provided, this automatic toilet actually has an in-built one!

What’s more interesting is that there is even a remote controller that you can use to adjust the water pressure and the direction of the bidet. Not only that, there is also modes that you can choose from, either oscillating or pulsating. I honestly prefer the latter. You gotta try!

IN-ROOM DINING

While the hotel is all majestic and legendary, unfortunately the in-room dining menu isn’t. Most of the food on the menu are local delicacies which is uninteresting at best.

Don’t get me wrong, I love local food. But local food at exorbitant prices? It’s literally daylight robbery. The hotel is super near to Lau Pa Sat, an iconic food centre that offers you everything from the menu above at almost 10 times lesser.

Nasi Goreng for $40 almost? I honestly don’t mind spending that much on a steak or pasta but for something I can get for $4 elsewhere? No, thank you!

It’s crucial to always be mindful when spending your money people! Don’t worry, I got you.

Since we didn’t order any food from the in-room dining menu, we decided to go for afternoon tea instead! And yes, this is worth the money spent. Afternoon teas at any Fullerton Hotels are always the best. I loved every minute of it.

I’ll put up the menu and price above for your easy reference. Mind you, the National Day themed afternoon tea is only available till the end of the month! But don’t worry, if your stay isn’t in August, the afternoon tea menus will be as amazing too. You can trust me.

The National Day themed macarons has a distinct coffee flavour. I’m unsure what it symbolises? Maybe it signifies the unity of Singaporeans ordering coffee at the hawker centre every morning? Okay, I don’t know but what I know is that the coffee-flavoured macaron tasted so good that my tastebuds were dancing non-stop.

If you were to ask for my recommendations, I would suggest the scones that they bake freshly everyday! I asked for extra pieces of it cause it’s too good. It’s flakey on the outside but super soft and buttery on the inside. The plain ones are better than the raisin ones! It really feels light and airy in your mouth. Just a little spread of cream and jam and voila! You will taste literal perfection.

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Speaking of food! The hotel also has it’s own farm, a garden that has diverse array of fresh, tasty and nutritious ingredients which are grown, harvested, and used for signature cocktails, garnishes and dishes at The Fullerton Hotels.

I think it’s great that major hotel brands are encouraging everyone to get to know more about sustainability and biodiversity in the industry.

Every alternate days, there’s a guided tour which is complimentary to all guests. It’s not open to the public though. Do note that you have to be fully vaccinated in order to go on to this tour.

Do contact the front desk or concierge for more information.

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Near to the farm is also these huge sheltered area that looks like an event space. Can you guess what is it? No, not my wedding venue!

It’s a smoking corner! I’m not a smoker, but it’s interesting to see how massive and comfortable they make it for the ones who do. There’s even air-conditioners all around to make the place cooler, temperature-wise.

BREAKFAST

One thing I love about staying in a hotel is breakfast on bed! I don’t eat on my own personal bed at home cause I’m just a neat freak. Also, if I were to spill anything, there isn’t any room attendant I can call! Okie

Breakfast was served in our room on a cart that is then converted into a dining table by the staff.

One of my pet peeves is eating food out of a bento box, I’m unsure why The Fullerton Hotel serves their food like these. Isn’t bento box.. sort of Japanese? I don’t think it’s part of our heritage.

But as soon I saw the beautifully cooked eggs, I didn’t bother thinking about the bento box. Yup, I’m easily distracted or impressed rather.

I prefer a sunny-side up egg because it gets my day going! I really need eggs in the morning to start up my engine.

Engine eh?

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Will I recommend this hotel to you? One hundred, thousand percent! My stay was a short but undeniably a perfect one. Among all my hotel stays in Singapore, this one is the only one that succeeds in making me fully relaxed. It’s really nice to just splurge and have some peace and serenity once in awhile!

I watched the sunset by the heated pool and it was indeed out of this world. Yes, the pool was heated. It felt really calm and soothing. I’m usually shivering when I’m in hotel pools, but this time I’m not. Why? Because it’s just that perfect.

I really can’t wait to return to the hotel, I definitely will. And so should you! Have you been here before? What other heritage hotels should I check out next?

Aliff Daniel.