Over the years, I have stayed in some of the finest hotel suites. I have sipped tea from the veranda of my room with the pyramids looming in front of me in Cairo (Mena House Oberoi), played with bubbles in a bath overlooking the Hong Kong harbour (the Peninsula), and leaned over the window sill to absorb the panorama of hazy Rome from the top of the Spanish steps (Hotel Hassler).
From rooms with ancient chandeliers and classical painted ceilings to those with the quirkiest design, from décor ranging from traditional English to bizarre boudoir-style with fantasy dark drapes and black-red walls to exotic Thai and Balinese, I have stayed in them all. From grand dames to upstarts, from rising stars to falling stars, I have seen, stayed and congratulated or quietly commiserated.
For one with as jaded a palate as mine, my heart quickens at the mention of alternative accommodation. It is interesting that Singapore, of all places, recently yielded two new hotels with distinct, exciting personalities.
The Gallery Evason Hotel
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No one can remain equivocal about this hotel. You either
hate it or love it. This property can mystify and charm, annoy and
persuade at every step of your walk through its lobby. Actually, what
lobby? A small concierge guards the entrance adjacent to a glass room -
sometimes devoid of everything but air; other times, filled with art
work that will speak only in riddles (for example, scattered feathers).
Up the lift and the reception greets you with a steely greyness and
blank unblinking walls; a metal tyre hub doubles as a coffee table by
the lift. (If you are still unsettled by this, you are extremely low on
the unflappable style quotient.)
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| Sticks of light and loads of style (Gallery Evason Hotel) |
| Up another lift (a bullet lift), and catch a view of
disused godowns edging flatted factories which rise up face to face with
residential apartments. Just be careful in the lift not to step into the
red plastic bathtub with the yellow duckie swirling inside. (Darling,
stop asking me what this represents. Can we just act as if we know?)
As for the rooms, be prepared for contemporary design, with chrome and steel, softened by wood, and nostalgic mosaic for the bathrooms. Of note is the Observatory, where windows curve around a corner of the building, giving a welcome spaciousness.
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| Not just holes in the wall: Gallery Evason exterior |
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And did I tell you about the pool? Perched atop a scaffolding-like structure, the glass enclosure extends beyond its support, and pedestrians below are vulnerable to splashes from energetic swimmers. A night dip is an unbeatable experience, against the quilt backdrop of darkened corrugations of warehouses, the glint from the glass of office buildings and the neon-infused stretch of Mohamed Sultan Road. So incongruous and yet so right. |
| Suspended tables and floating candles at the Restaurant (Gallery Evason Hotel) |
| Don't check into the Gallery Evason Hotel and expect the
traditional rich fittings of chain hotels.
Expect instead an unapologetic cool reinforced by an infrastructure of grey metal and glass. In maximising minimalism, this hotel is, for reasons I cannot articulate, quite the most perfect place (especially on a rainy day) to listen to jazz from the swing era and to raise a champagne flute against rain-spattered windows. Can cool be more tingling than this? Try it and see if you don't agree with me. (And, dear, remember not to slouch.) |
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| Mixing mosaic and steel: unearthly and utterly exciting (Gallery Evason Hotel) |
The Fullerton Hotel
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If you require attitude for Gallery Evason, you need something considerably more sublime for the Fullerton. After all, the meticulously revamped historic building (circa 1928) with its Doric columns and porte cocheres needs something more than fashionable nonchalance. |
| The weight of its heritage on graceful columns (The Fullerton Hotel) |
In fact, so amazing is the transformation from a government cum office building to a luxury hotel that you should only check-in when possessed of that elegance of spirit that comes from a worldliness tempered by good manners and self-ease. (How to acquire this, did you just ask?) How strange it would be if you checked into the delightful Fullerton Suite or Loft Suite feeling world-weary and blasé.
Instead, you should sweep into the Fullerton Suite and openly appreciate the contemporary décor within a heritage setting of high ceilings and wall engravings by the veranda. As you dress for dinner, note the time from the Victoria Concert Hall tower clock, and have a pre-meal drink by the veranda, as the sinking sun colours the sky and Singapore river in mauve-orange hues.
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In the lobby, the bamboo trees are flawlessly set against
art deco-styled atriums, acting as a natural screen and underscoring the
sense of height of each skylight atrium. Afternoon tea here is charming,
highlights being the Bakewell pudding and tangy cherry jam. As to how to
partake of the tea, I leave it to your good sense of moderation. (Did I
forget to tell you, dear? Real style can never be acquired, perhaps only
mimicked to a shallow degree.)
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| Swim to the chim of the Victoria Concert Hall Tower Clock (The Fullerton Hotel) |
At Town restaurant, dining choices include an international menu served by different food stations from Japanese to Italian to Middle Eastern. But the most delectable option must be al fresco dining by the river, where diners are flanked by the historic Cavenagh and Anderson bridges which are lit up at night in fairy-tale splendour. Alternative outlets are Jade (Cantonese cuisine), The Lighthouse (French fare) and the Post Bar (comprising a music room and a crustacean/cocktail bar that creatively blend light, lines and fabric into a post-modern scenario for hobnobbing).
As for the infinity-style pool, the row of Doric columns on one side is more than adequately matched by a view of old Singapore by the river and its contemporary embellishments at Boat Quay.
What truly amazes about the Fullerton is how quickly it has got its act together within a few months of official opening. No mean feat considering that a luxury hotel is a complex machinery and opening pains are not uncommon. While the hardware needs a fair bit of tweaking (for instance, the proper concealment of wires and readjustment of some lights in the rooms), the service here is friendly, prompt and unpretentious.
At the Fullerton, you cannot afford to remain world-weary for long.
Jeffrey Lee