Weekend Break at the Shangri-La Singapore
Arriving in Singapore was a culture shock after nearly a month of living as a beach bum slash wannabe surfer in Borneo.
Singapore Skyline
Within 5 minutes of landing I nearly caused a security crises when I forgot my phone on the plane and attempted to run back onto the plane to retrieve it (don’t do this in Singapore!).
Lobby of the Shangri-La Singapore
Once I recovered my phone I slowly ambled over to arrivals wearing flip flops and a raggy old beach dress while still shaking the sand from my hair.
I knew the Shangri-La had mentioned that they would send a car but being in full on beach mode I didn’t think much of it.. until of course the car turned out to be a limo with WiFi and an iPad!
Valley Wing Private Entrance – photo credit Shangri-La Singapore
Singapore, I have arrived!
Reception area at the Valley Wing
Waiting for me at the Shangri-La Singapore was Akshay, my friend and former flatmate in Dublin who has just landed himself a job as a doctor in Singapore.
This weekend had turned out to be the perfect time to catch up as Akshay was starting work the following week so it was essentially his last taste of freedom (sorry Akshay!) and a great chance for me to see Singapore.
Champagne Bar – photo credit Shangri-La Singapore
Before I go on about the hotel can I just mention that I was sent a list of pillow types to select my preference before arriving!!
Yes a a whole list of pillow types! I mean how does one decided between foam and contour?
Deluxe Room in the Valley Wing – photo credit Shangri-La Singapore
Or of course there is the newly on-trend buckwheat pillow… admittedly I did have to look that one up and the first hit on google was from a site called “Sleep Like The Dead”, well who wouldn’t want that?
Deluxe Room – photo credit Shangri-La Singapore
Once we had settled into our awesome room in the Valley Wing and eaten all the chocolates, we ventured down to the champagne bar.
One of the benefits of staying in the ultra posh Valley Wing is the complimentary champagne.
Yes that’s right bottomless champagne all day er day!!
They also serve complimentary afternoon tea, evening canapes, and cocktails.
Could this place get any better?
It was beginning to seem like Akshay and I would never leave the hotel but as it turns out friends of ours from med school, one of whom was also staying in the Shangri-La, were planning on going out so we somehow managed to tear ourselves away to join them.
My first taste of Singapore nightlife was at Kilo.
Kilo is in a totally ulu (Singlish for middle of nowhere) location on the 8th floor of a lone abandoned building.
The building that Kilo is in – photo credit Chow and the City
When we first pulled up outside I thought we were about to meet our sticky end, inside however is another story. This place is more hipster than an underground art gallery in Brooklyn.
Kilo Lounge – photo credit city nomad
The music is heavy techno, the crowd are all bankers dressed in converse and ripped jeans, and the decor is non-existent apart from some graffiti on the walls, nuts!
Raving – photo credit: The Best Singapore
After a few hours of jumping up and down to some crazy rave beats we retreated to our Shangri-La oasis and made sure to set our alarms for breakfast.
That turned out to be a solid move on our part as breakfast was not to be missed!
For Valley Wing guests breakfast is served complimentary in the beautiful Summit Room, I honestly felt like I upped my classy-ness by just walking into this place.
I was super healthy as usual and just had fruit..
And an omelette.. oops!
Akshay was far more adventurous than me and opted for the Chinese breakfast one morning and the Japanese breakfast the next.
Chinese Breakfast: Chinese congee served with pickled cucumber, preserved chili beancurd, mushroom floss, green onion, braised peanuts, crispy shallots and a salted duck egg
I also loved how the croissants were served warm! Yum!
Japanese Breakfast Pan fried salmon, poached egg, tofu, steamed Japanese rice, and miso soup
We could barely move after all the food we ate so we went for a very slowwww stroll around the gardens.
The Shangri-La Singapore has a whopping 15 acres all to themselves which is crazy when you consider how jam packed everything else in Singapore is.
One of the reasons I fell in love with the Shangri-La chain when I first stayed with them in London (read here), is their ability to create a zen atmosphere right in the heart of the city.
A few minutes walk away from the chaotic Orchard Road I could sit in the middle of this rain forrest style garden and experience total peace and calm.
As we ambled back to the room we saw they were already setting up for afternoon tea in the main part of the hotel.
No we did not eat it! Have some faith in us!
It was tempting though….
Next on our adventure around the hotel was the massive 1000 seat ballroom which was being set up for a bridal show.
Essentially future brides and grooms would come and view the venue and select various types of table settings and decor.
Fancy!
Needless to say Akshay and I had fantastic time at the Shangri-La Singapore, and I was personally delighted as I got to do all of my favourite things… eat, drink champagne, and take zen photos!
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