In early February, I took a break from my usual chain hotels to stay at a special boutique hotel in Singapore, I reviewed The Scarlet Singapore. The hotel is one of the 2 hotels in Singapore which are part of the elite Small Luxury Hotels, a select group of boutique luxury hotels.
The Scarlet Singapore occupies a row of 13 quaint heritage shophouses from the 1860s and a corner 4-storey 1924 Art Deco building. There is an eclectic mix of shops occupying the ground floor of the shophouses ranging from a bespoke tailor to a high-end pet accessories store.
The hotel also has three tenant restaurants – a sushi restaurant, Mei i Sushi, in a shophouse next to the hotel; a northern Italian restaurant, Casa Tartufo, located on the 2nd floor of the Art Deco Building and Aria, a rooftop bar on the 4th floor of the hotel which offers a great view of Chinatown and the surrounding skyline.
Location
The Scarlet Singapore is located in the quaint central neighborhood of Chinatown, which is actually located within the Central Business District. Singapore’s Chinatown has a wide array of restaurants and 2 famous food courts located within walking distance of the hotel – the Maxwell Food Court and the Chinatown Complex Food Court. The latter even has a renowned Michelin star stall selling Chicken Rice for less than £2 GBP!
There are many specialty shops, art galleries, and boutique shops for adventurous shoppers, and many affordable spa services to relax and pamper yourself. At night, just take a left turn to enter Ann Siang Hill and Club Street, where many bars and drinking spots are often packed to the brim and spill out onto the street. For those looking to head to other parts of Singapore, the hotel is also located within walking distance to 2 metro stations – Tanjong Pagar and Chinatown.
Hotel Rooms
The Scarlet Singapore houses 80 hotel rooms across 3 floors. There are 5 categories of regular rooms – Standard, Deluxe, Executive, Executive with Balcony, and Premium. The regular rooms are cozy and plushly decorated with a strikingly bright color palette. There are also 5 specialty themed suites, each with their own distinct flair and decoration. The bathroom offers bath amenities from a brand called Flair, which had a nice lavender scent.
For this stay, I stayed in the Executive room, which was located on the second floor of one of the shophouses. This Executive room had a large King bed and was decorated in beautiful shades of gold, peridot, and lime green. One convenient perk that the hotel offers was a Handy phone – a fully functional mobile phone which comes preloaded with maps, guides, and various offers. While relatively common at high-end chain hotels in Hong Kong and Singapore, I was pleasantly surprised that The Scarlet Singapore offered it as well. It certainly made my navigation in Singapore a lot easier.
During the stay, I also had the opportunity to view a Premium room which was located on the ground floor. The room’s color theme was gold, orange, and topaz, and featured higher ceilings, a sleeper sofa, and a bathtub. I was also shown one of the 5 suites – Opulent. The suite’s color theme was purple and gold and evokes a sense of the W hotels. It was larger than the other rooms and featured a separate living area next to the bedroom. The suite also had an outdoor balcony to relax.
Both the Premium rooms and Suites also offered a complimentary mini-bar with soft drinks which was replenished daily.
Hotel Facilities
The Scarlet Singapore featured a small fully functional gym on the ground floor. The gym, cheekily called Flaunt, has a treadmill, cardio and weight machines, exercise balls, and free weights. There was a small open-air Jacuzzi pool with views of Chinatown called Soda on the 2nd floor. Lastly, for the business crowd, there was also a cozy meeting space called Bold which was next to the lobby. Keeping with the theme of the hotel, the meeting space was plushly decorated and could accommodate up to 8 people.
Breakfast
My stay at The Scarlet Singapore came with breakfast, which was served at Casa Tartufo, the northern Italian restaurant.
The breakfast buffet spread was fairly simple – a selection of Western (cold cuts, bacon, sausages) and Asian (fried rice/noodles, congee, and condiments) dishes. There were also eggs or omelet to order, as well as cereal, bread, milk, and juices. Of course, there was tea and coffee( freshly brewed and from the machine) as well. Despite the simple spread, the breakfast offerings were delicious.
Conclusion
Overall, I was actually quite impressed with The Scarlet Singapore. The hotel was definitely something unique and different from the monotony of international chain hotels. The great location of the hotel also makes it a superb launchpad to explore Singapore. I would recommend this hotel, especially for solo or traveling couples.
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