I booked 2 nights at the Fullerton Bay Hotel on the back of our Indonesian holiday in August 2019. I wanted a hotel in a good location, and the Marina Bay Area fitted that bill. With the iconic Marina Bay Sands Hotel being far too big and impersonal for me, and too glitzy, I found myself choosing between the long-established Fullerton Hotel, and it’s younger sibling the Fullerton Bay Hotel. I chose the latter on a friend’s suggestion.  I booked a “Bay view corner room” from their website at SGD1657 inc tax, service and breakfast (c£940) for 2 nights.

I had booked a hotel car to transfer us from the airport and it was a nice surprise to find that that included being met at the gate and escorted to immigration and baggage reclaim.  We had another inconvenient delay getting across the border (Singapore doesn’t like Mr. A’s name, and always pull him aside) which put us in a bad mood, so it was a relief not to have to join the long queue for a taxi.

Upon our arrival at the hotel (20 minutes from Changi airport) we were personally greeted kerb-side and escorted to our room on the 1st Floor out of 7 (But like in America, the Singaporeans count ‘Ground’ as the First floor). It was spectacular! The lady checking us in said it was one of their best rooms, and because it looked like a suite I assumed they had upgraded me, but no, this was the room I’d booked.  It was a good size with full height windows on two sides, giving great views of Marina Bay. There was a small balcony to capture the views along with the local warm weather.

The special feature of the room was the ensuite bathroom having glass walls! Blinds could be lowered to protect modesty when preferred.

The bedroom came with all the whistles and bells you would expect in a 5 star hotel; water, coffee machine, posh toiletries and the cosiest, most comfortable slippers ever.

We took breakfast in a ground floor restaurant which overlooked the water. It was pretty busy, but the staff worked hard and well to provide an efficient service. There was a very good buffet, some live cooking stations, plus a good a la carte selection of cooked dishes 8/10.

The Fullerton Bay Hotel has a very good pool area on its roof (7th floor). The pool is surrounded by sun loungers positioned in shallow water, there are tables and chairs on wooden decking, and a large open air bar area called Lantern, serving drinks and light food throughout the day. From the bar area you can see the pool has a glass wall.

We had a nice afternoon sunbathing by the pool, but it did feel a little strange sunbathing whilst being overlooked by investment bankers in their skyscrapers!

When I booked our room I asked the Concierge to email me a list of restaurant suggestions. It was from that list that I booked Les Amis, a sensational 3 Michelin star French restaurant in the Orchard Road area, for our second night’s dinner.  On our first night, after a late arrival, we just grabbed something casual in the ground floor water-side terrace bar. I had a really good steak tartare and truffled fries. 9/10

Overall I was very satisfied with my stay at Fullerton Bay Hotel. The room was excellent, location suited us well, the pool area was good, the food we had was good and staff service was good.  8.5/10

However the hotel layout was a bit of a rabbit warren and a big negative was that I left a new pair of Vilebrequin swimming shorts in the room when I checked out and they claimed not to have found them!

I was rather extravagant in booking a Mercedes S class to and from the airport, at SGD260 each way. This was too much for a 20 minute journey (c£150). The hotel wrote to me a week later to say they had mistakenly undercharged me for one of the journeys, and wanted me to pay an extra SGD80. I told them I didn’t want to pay for their mistakes and they accepted my position.