Of the luxury hotels in Singapore, I have chosen 6, each for a different trip. Marina Bay Sands is for the 150-metre infinity pool on Level 57, which only its guests may use; The Fullerton Bay Hotel for Marina Bay from the balcony, in 100 rooms over the water; Mandarin Oriental for a resort pool on the bay’s north shore and 35 family suites; The Fullerton Hotel for a first visit on foot, in the General Post Office of 1928; Raffles for 115 suites with butlers in a colonial hotel open since 1887; Capella for a villa with its own plunge pool on a knoll of Sentosa.
On Marina Bay there are 4: Marina Bay Sands at Bayfront MRT station, The Fullerton Bay Hotel straight across the water on the west shore, The Fullerton Hotel where the Singapore River runs into the bay and Mandarin Oriental on the north shore. Raffles is in the civic district, 25 to 27 minutes on foot from Marina Bay Sands; Capella is on Sentosa, 12 to 16 minutes by car from Raffles Place without traffic.
| Hotel | Suits | The trip | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raffles Singapore | Travellers who want Singapore’s colonial grand hotel as the trip itself, for a stopover, an anniversary or a first visit | 115 suites with butlers in a National Monument on Beach Road, a hotel since 1887, 2 minutes on foot from Esplanade MRT, with afternoon tea in the lobby and the Long Bar in the arcade | For a skyline from the bed or a resort-sized pool, Marina Bay and Sentosa serve better; the Long Bar, the courtyard and the arcade are open to the whole city. |
| Marina Bay Sands | Travellers who want the rooftop pool and everything in one complex: the MRT, restaurants, shops and Gardens by the Bay on foot | About 1,850 rooms and suites in 3 towers on Marina Bay, with the 150-metre infinity pool kept for guests who stay | It is a very large resort: at busy hours, guests write, there are queues at check-in and at breakfast. |
| Capella Singapore | Couples and families who want a garden resort with a villa and a pool of their own, a short drive from the city | 113 rooms, suites, villas and manors on a knoll of Sentosa, with 3 pools, Auriga Spa and 38 villas with plunge pools | The beach is a 726-metre trail away and the city a taxi or a shuttle ride: for Marina Bay at the door, look on the mainland. |
| The Fullerton Hotel Singapore | Travellers on a first visit to Singapore who want to see it on foot | 400 rooms in the General Post Office of 1928, where the Singapore River runs into Marina Bay, with a 25-metre pool below the Doric columns and the Merlion 5 minutes away on foot | Courtyard rooms look into the roofed atrium and have no window on the street; for a rooftop pool or a resort’s grounds, look across the bay. |
| The Fullerton Bay Hotel | Couples and short stays that want Marina Bay from the balcony and the financial district on foot | 100 rooms over the water at 80 Collyer Quay, each with a balcony, with a 25-metre rooftop pool and Lantern on the roof | Light sleepers choose with care: the rooftop bar is open until 1am, 2am on Fridays and Saturdays; the spa is at the sister hotel across the road. |
| Mandarin Oriental, Singapore | Travellers who want Marina Bay on foot and a resort pool in town, with the family or on a first visit to Singapore | 510 rooms and suites redone in 2023 on the bay’s north shore, with 9 places to eat and the HAUS 65 lounge on the 21st floor | The NS Square building site stands in front, due by 2027: for a bay view free of cranes from the room, look elsewhere. |
Raffles has been a hotel on Beach Road since 1887; The Fullerton Hotel is the General Post Office of 1928, a hotel since 2001; Mandarin Oriental opened in 1987 and was redone in 2023; Capella opened on Sentosa in 2009; Marina Bay Sands and The Fullerton Bay Hotel both date from 2010.
Civic District, Singapore
115 suites with butlers in a colonial hotel open since 1887 on Beach Road, with 8 restaurants and bars, the Long Bar of the Singapore Sling and afternoon tea in the lobby
Food and drink: Raffles Long Bar: Singapore Sling
Food and drink: Raffles Singapore afternoon tea
Discover Raffles SingaporeMarina Bay, Singapore
3 towers on Marina Bay with about 1,850 rooms rebuilt by 2025 and, on top, the 150-metre infinity pool kept for guests who stay
Location: The Marina Bay Sands infinity pool
Location: Marina Bay Sands prices, night by night
Discover Marina Bay SandsSentosa, Singapore
38 villas with private plunge pools and 2 colonial bungalows of the 1880s on a knoll of Sentosa, with 3 pools, Auriga Spa and peacocks on the lawns
Spas and pools: Auriga Spa: prices, hours and the day pass
Discover Capella SingaporeMarina Bay, Singapore
The General Post Office of 1928 at the river mouth: a 25 m pool below the Doric columns, tea in the atrium and the Merlion 5 minutes away on foot
Food and drink: The Fullerton Hotel restaurants
Food and drink: The Fullerton Hotel buffet
Discover The Fullerton Hotel SingaporeMarina Bay, Singapore
100 rooms with balconies over the water of Marina Bay, a 25-metre rooftop pool and Lantern bar; you enter through Clifford Pier, the pier of 1933
Food and drink: Lantern, the rooftop bar around the pool
Discover The Fullerton Bay HotelMarina Bay, Singapore
John Portman’s fan, redone in 2023: a 25-metre pool facing the skyline, 9 places to eat and the lounge on the 21st floor
Food and drink: Mandarin Oriental Singapore restaurants
Discover Mandarin Oriental, SingaporeLoading map…
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Marina Bay keeps the bay’s sights within a walk: on our measured routes the Supertrees of Gardens by the Bay are 16 minutes from Marina Bay Sands and Merlion Park is 4 from The Fullerton Bay Hotel. The civic district has the museums and the theatres: Raffles is 11 minutes on foot from the National Gallery, The Fullerton Hotel 8. Sentosa is an island of its own, with beaches and Universal Studios: Capella is 12 to 16 minutes by car from Raffles Place without traffic, and a car or taxi entering the island pays S$2 or S$6 at the gantry, by the hour of day.
Marina Bay Sands and The Fullerton Bay Hotel. Marina Bay Sands has the 150-metre infinity pool on Level 57, open from 6am to midnight to registered hotel guests only: there is no day pass at any price. The Fullerton Bay Hotel has a 25-metre pool on its roof, open from 7am to 10pm to staying guests; from 3pm the rooftop bar, Lantern, opens beside it. The Fullerton Hotel, Mandarin Oriental and Raffles each have a 25-metre outdoor pool, Mandarin Oriental with a children’s pool beside it; Capella has 3 pools down the slope and a 3 m × 3 m plunge pool at each of the 38 villas.
It depends on the night and a great deal on the hotel. On Google Hotels, read on 12 October 2026 for 2 adults and one night, the day’s lowest price ran from S$362 on 22 November 2026 to S$1,771 on 3 November at The Fullerton Hotel; from S$645 on 2 March 2027 to S$2,640 on 3 November 2026 at The Fullerton Bay Hotel; from S$893 on 2 December 2026 to S$5,326 on 7 August 2027 at Marina Bay Sands; from S$1,075 on 23 June 2027 to S$3,606 on 29 December 2026 at Raffles; from S$1,205 on 15 May 2027 to S$2,637 on 2 January at Capella, 3 nights above S$29,000 aside. At Mandarin Oriental the calendar, read as far as 31 January 2027, ran from S$456 on 5 January to S$1,074 on 1 January and stood below the sellers: for 13 October 2026 it showed S$732 while the official site asked S$1,073.
A 10% service charge, then 9% GST, the goods and services tax, on the rate and the service charge together: 19.9% in all, by our arithmetic. All 6 hotels apply it, and their restaurants add the same 2 charges to menu prices; at Marina Bay Sands a S$1,000 night becomes S$1,199, and the hotel also holds a deposit of S$200 for each night. No tourist or city tax is named on the pages we read. On Google Hotels the sellers’ totals for 13 October 2026 already had both charges inside; at Raffles that follows from our arithmetic on the hotel’s own offers.
By taxi or in the hotel’s car: none of the 6 publishes a scheduled airport shuttle. Marina Bay Sands estimates 20 to 30 minutes and S$20–S$40 for a metered taxi. On OpenStreetMap’s roads, without traffic, the drive from Changi is 19 minutes to Raffles and to Marina Bay Sands, 23 to The Fullerton Bay Hotel, between 23 and 28 to Mandarin Oriental, between 21 and 28 to The Fullerton Hotel and between 28 and 31 to Capella, where a taxi also pays Sentosa’s gantry. A hotel car costs S$250 nett each way in a Toyota Alphard at Marina Bay Sands and on the price lists of The Fullerton Hotel and The Fullerton Bay Hotel; Capella and Mandarin Oriental publish no price.
Marina Bay Sands has Bayfront station at the complex, a 5-minute walk from exits C and D by the hotel’s figure. On our measured walks Raffles is 188 metres and 2 minutes from Exit F of Esplanade station, and Mandarin Oriental 424 metres and 6 minutes from exit A of Promenade. The Fullerton Hotel gives 3 minutes from Exit H of Raffles Place; The Fullerton Bay Hotel gives 5 minutes from Exit B of the same station, which is 636 metres and 8 minutes on our route. From Capella the hotel’s free shuttle leaves every 30 minutes, from 10am to 9.30pm, for VivoCity and HarbourFront station.
Mandarin Oriental has 35 family suites, each with a kitchenette, a washing machine and a sofa bed, and a children’s pool beside the main one. Marina Bay Sands has Family Suites with a children’s room and bunk beds, from 85 m² for up to 4 guests, and a children’s pool 0.5 metres deep at the rooftop pool; an ordinary room there sleeps 3 at most. At Capella children up to 11 stay free with a paying adult and Universal Studios Singapore is 17 to 19 minutes away on foot. The 2 Fullertons give a child a welcome pack and one ice cream a day; Raffles accepts children of all ages.
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