Raffles to close for 6 months

[Geegeela]

Raffles Hotel to close for 6 months for major renovation - Nikkei Asian Review

 

[TomVexille]

Well I can't actually afford to stay there anyway...

 

[Geegeela]

Well I can't actually afford to stay there anyway...

Well as long as they keep the Long Bar open, I'll be happy.

 

[Pushka]

Well as long as they keep the Long Bar open, I'll be happy.

Peanuts. Shells. Crunch.

 

[mmchow]

Phew. Closing in Jan 2017 in phases, just in time for me to sample my first Singapore Sling in the iconic Raffles

 

[RooFlyer]

Well I can't actually afford to stay there anyway...

Me neither and we certainly won't be able to afford it after the reno.

 

[Pushka]

Me neither and we certainly won't be able to afford it after the reno.

Even the cost of the Singapore Sling waters the eyes. But you've got to do it, once.

 

[Cruiser Elite]

Our fav Hotel in SIN - yep they don't give the rooms away but it is such an iconic hotel and such a pleasure to just soak up the history. Right down to how the scrambled eggs are plated for brekky. Raffles had always been on top the Ette's bucket list of hotels - first time we stayed here she was like a kid in a candy store. I have a pic of her sitting on bottom of big staircase in main lobby - I need to get it off a drive at work but I'll post it morrow - her all time fav pic. It too adorns the wall at home but I cannot get image without light reflection.

The Sing Sling in Long Bar a must I agree - and to retain the time honoured concept of peanut shells on floor just adds more romance to your stay. Here is a pic of a poster we grabbed at one of our stays and which now adopts a wall at home:



Footnote: Any AFFers here remember Lone Star Steakhouse that had 20 odd outlets across Australia 20 odd years back? They too provided complimentary buckets of peanuts in shells on tables for diners enjoyment - just like their parent chain in USA and like Raffles concept was to shell peanuts and throw shells on floor. That lasted only year or so before opportunistic injury litigation forced them to abandon the concept - not one claim by staff - all by diners.

 

[Anna]

Makes me feel old because I remember the last time Raffles was closed for a major renovation, and it doesn't feel like it was that long ago :shock:

The Long Bar - do it once for the experience, don't bother with it again. It is full* of Aussie tourists, often quite loud ones, and there are much better places to drink in Singapore that are way more representative of the current vibe of the place. Even the Raffles courtyard is a nicer place to drink than the Long Bar IMO.

*Perhaps these days not quite as full as it was in the old days of the much-missed QF Kangaroo Route to the UK via SIN

 

[Franky]

From memory, the last closure was around the time of the Tsunami - 2002 or so?

 

[Flying mermaid]

1535458[/URL]]Makes me feel old because I remember the last time Raffles was closed for a major renovation, and it doesn't feel like it was that long ago :shock:

The Long Bar - do it once for the experience, don't bother with it again. It is full* of Aussie tourists, often quite loud ones, and there are much better places to drink in Singapore that are way more representative of the current vibe of the place. Even the Raffles courtyard is a nicer place to drink than the Long Bar IMO.

*Perhaps these days not quite as full as it was in the old days of the much-missed QF Kangaroo Route to the UK via SIN

we did the Singapore sling in the Long Bar thing, and it was quite fun to throw shells on the floor (don't quite know why), but it seemed to have mainly quite loud tourists in it.

I have actually fallen in love with the hotel and it is now the only hotel I will stay in in Singapore, so will need to plan carefully. It is only totally closed from end 2017 to mid 2018. While it looked beautiful, it probably does need a bit of a refurb - hopefully they can do something about the water in the shower - it would be at exactly the right temperature and then there would be a short burst of very hot or cold - maybe it is a feature

 

[Quickstatus]

Me neither and we certainly won't be able to afford it after the reno.

AT $1240 per night with breakfast included its completely out of my price range. :shock:

Just as well we can have a bit of a tour with Flying Mermaid's recent trip report.

 

[Geegeela]

Peanuts. Shells. Crunch.

 

[Geegeela]

 

[Geegeela]

 

[Pushka]

I see the tip space is blank

 

[Quickstatus]

What's the tipping custom at Raffles?

 

[Abdul_A350]

What's the tipping custom at Raffles?

Better to tip the glass towards your mouth than away from it.

I found some similarities between Raffles and this place:

The Hotel | Eastern & Oriental Hotel, Penang, Malaysia

 

[Spongbob]

Now I have to find a new place to reside for those 6 months!

 

[Flying mermaid]

1535683[/URL]]What's the tipping custom at Raffles?

Singapore doesn't have a tipping culture, except for porters. We tended to tip in Raffles' restaurants and handed direct to our waiter. We tipped our waitress in the Long Bar, but she seemed surprised.....

Which reminds me I must add tipping in Langkawi to my trip report - it was very civilised.....