ASIA NEWS

Good enough for Conrad Hilton / Not good enough for my eyes


(apologies to The Uncertainty Principle)


TUPNews recommends the Mandarin Oriental hotel in Singapore.

Last time I was in SG, I stayed in the Hilton on Orchard Road. Excellent cheesecake notwithstanding, it was a cramped and soulless experience. By day, I sat in a small Travelodge-like room filling out civil service applications. By night, I strolled past row after row of empty shopping malls, crowded Starbucks and forlorn hookers. Not great.

The Mandarin, however, is fantastic – modern, breezy décor in the spacious rooms, with serious marble and mahogany going on in the lobby. They seem to have taken the General Assembly hall of the United Nations building in New York as their style guide – superb. The restaurants are excellent and affordable, enough to forgive the dress codes.

Best of all, the staff all say good morning / good evening to you as you walk out – all of them. There are some staff who apparently are hired just to say good morning / good evening to guests. As a result, every time you enter or leave the hotel, you are obliged to say good morning / good evening to at least ten staff. At first I found this a chore, a little intrusive even. But by the end, it made me feel like the Fonz. I would glide out of the lift and sweep through the lobby as bellhops bowed and smiled on either side of me – I felt that I should burst out into song.

I was genuinely sorry to leave.