Hello My fellow travelers,
Although we already had great accommodations at the Fernloft hostel, we decided to step it up a notch on Thursday night and stay at the Raffles hotel. This is a world famous hotel and an important part of Singapore's history. The hotel was 12.3 miles away from our hostel so we hopped in a limo and rode over there. We took a a 7-seater MPV space cab. This is a Mercedes "cab". They charge a flat rate of 50 Singapore dollars per hour. This is about $40.88 usd. Apparently tipping is not customary in Singapore but we gave the driver a few extra dollars for excellent service. It was well worth every penny for the comfort and leg room on our short 15 minute drive. We arrived at the Raffles just before lunch and checked in. The hotel boasts 12 different restaurant/bars. After some deliberation, we chose the Tiffin room, the hotel's main dining room, because of the renowned curry bar that included other Northern Indian specialties for lunch. The dining room was beautifully decorated in the colonial style of the late 1800s, early 1900s and we received excellent service. We paid $49.05 usd/person, for a total of $294.30. This was pretty expensive but at least we received complimentary champagne with our meal. Then we were off for a stroll around the gardens. The gardens make up about a quarter of the total hotel grounds and have 55,000 different plants. After our walk I convinced the boys to go to the spa. They all got the Gentleman's Executive Rescue, (apparently this was the only thing manly enough on the spa menu for them : ) ), while I enjoyed the Thermal Mineral Kur. These treatments lasted 2 and half hours and were $302.53 usd/person. We were really living it up here, after spending $ 1815.18 usd just in the spa. After the spa we went back to our suites to get ready for dinner and drinks. We started in the Courtyard for dinner. This was absolutely gorgeous. "Built in the tropical setting of an open courtyard, a
timeless structure with white arches flanked by tropical palms and
native plants, keeps the feeling of 'Old Singapore' alive." I enjoyed the Bouillabaisse with Maine Lobster. Yummy!!! An hour and half later and $350 usd we made our way to the Long Bar. At the long bar we enjoyed some Singapore slings and a live band. We also each bought a souvenir Singapore sling glass, since this bar is where the drink was started. We spent about $200 usd while there. After partying well into the night, we stumbled back to our suites and crashed. What a night!!! Upon check out our 3 courtyard suites cost us $1509. This included our breakfast that morning. This hotel goes to show you how an accommodation can be an experience in and of itself. We spent $4209.36 in a 24 hour period at the Raffles hotel.
~Krista
No comments:
Post a Comment