Fabulous Fairmont Singapore

I found myself in Singapore again after a long, long time of not visiting the island nation. It still has the same great shopping and fantastic food.

With so many hotels in the city, I tried Fairmont Singapore for the first time. The Fairmont Singapore is right beside Swissotel and in front of the legendary Raffles Hotel, all of which are under the same group. It was even more of a pleasure to bump into Tom Meyer, now regional vice president for Asia Pacific and managing director of FRHI Hotels and Resorts. He was the former general manager of Raffles and Fairmont in Makati.

The Fairmont Singapore is located in the heart of the Lion City. Ideally situated at the crossroads of Singapore’s central business districts, world-class entertainment and shopping areas, the hotel is positioned directly above City Hall underground with Singapore Changi Airport only a 20-minute drive away. There is a mall and an MRT stop right beside the hotel.

The Fairmont’s 769 lavish guestrooms and suites offer a wealth of amenities chosen to offer guests the highest degree of pampering. The hotel has an extensive collection of 15 distinctive restaurants and bars and a spa called Willow Stream Spa, one of Asia’s largest spas, offering the finest spa and fitness services. A pool and six indoor tennis courts are also available. 

For the business traveller, the hotel proves to be an unrivaled business venue because of its highly developed, award-winning service teams and 70,000 sq. ft. of prime meeting space at Raffles City Convention Centre.

In August 2013, the hotel engaged award-winning design teams that embarked on a major revitalization project, which encompasses the transformation of various spaces within the hotel — including the hotel lobby, bar and all 371 guestrooms in the North Tower of the hotel.

My suite at Fairmont Singapore was like a private sanctuary; a quiet refuge from bustling Singapore. The beds were absolutely luxurious and a private balcony gave me a view of The Raffles Hotel.  The bathroom had one of my favorites, Le Labo aromatherapy bath products.

The FRHI Hotels and Resorts are known for their excellent Chinese cuisine at Szechuan Court to exquisite signature Japanese offerings at Mikuni, authentic Italian dishes (and one of the most wonderful breakfast buffets I ever had) at Prego and healthy spa cuisine at Alligator Pear. I had my favorite outlet there…Anti:dote Bar.  I highly recommend this bar on the ground floor that serves the best cocktails made by head craftsman Tom Hogan and the wonderful mini-tapas-type dishes created by head chef Carlos Montobbio. Tom created the drink menu with the ingredients of the drinks all listed, together with the alcohol potency of each drink.  The food of Carlos was just amazing. A foodie friend of mine found out I was in Singapore and told me to go to Anti:dote just for the food, little did he realize that I had gone there already…twice in this trip alone! Highly recommended is the Parmesan pizza with olive oil caviar, pesto powdered tomato and basil cress. The crust itself has no dough but it is made of crunchy Parmesan crust so no need to worry about carbs intake! Another two favorites of mine were the caramelized foie gras and vinegar-glazed leeks on a crisp puff pastry and the black truffle bao stuffed with braised veal cheek, foie gras and caramelized shallots with Madeira. Trust me, going to Singapore just for this is so worth it! It’s heaven in my mouth. 

I had four wonderful nights at Fairmont Singapore and I am almost certain I will be returning to this wonderful hotel in the very near future!

(Fairmont Singapore is located at 80 Bras Basah Road, Singapore.  For more information, call + 656339-7777, e-mail [email protected] or visit www.fairmont.com.)

Focusing on the next generation

Fila teamed up with the Philippine Rugby Football Union (PRFU) to host the Asian Under 19s Division 2 Championships.

The two-day, four-nation tournament will pit the Philippine Volcanoes Under 19s team against teams from Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. Fila’s Cris Albert hosted a sporty festive dinner in honor of the young men and presented them with their official Fila volcano jersey. She said, “This is a very emotional moment for me as my son Carlo is one of the chosen players to represent our country.” 

PRFU’s director for rugby Matt Cullen said,  “We’re very happy to be with Fila and to be given the chance to host this tournament.” He added, “It’s been three years since we fielded an Under 19s team and we’re excited to give our young Volcanoes a chance to go head-to-head with our neighbors from Southeast Asia.

Assistant coach Jake Letts said, “We are aiming for at least a Top 2 finish, so our first game is a must win. We’ve been training the local boys for the past weeks, and the overseas players that are flying in will boost the team’s chances.”

The Volcanoes Under 19s, much like the men’s team, is a mix of home grown talent and overseas-based players with Filipino lineage. The squad of 30 players that have been selected to participate in the training camp will be reduced to 23 players.

(Follow me on Instagram @pepperteehankee.)