Four Seasons Singapore: a Hotel Review

March 7, 2023laurenslighthouse

Stunning rooms, impeccable amenities and service to the utmost excellence. Hidden within an unassuming exterior is a world of opulence that gives Four Seasons its name. We know the brand well enough to not be surprised when stepping into the Four Seasons Singapore, but sure enough, we were still amazed.

After the hotel finalized its most recent renovations, it’s no doubt that their interior design team and ownership made great choices and strides to offer their guests one of the best hotel experiences you’ll find in the heart of Singapore. The atmosphere feels blissfully tranquil with the botanical garden inspired settings, as well as bright and innovative with contemporary touches and palettes throughout.

With fantastic dining, service and facilities, there’s so much more that the Four Seasons Singapore provided to our experience on top of the visuals and comfort of our stay. The hotel went under the knife to give its guests a fresher sense of luxury and there’s quite a lot to show you guys so let’s get to it!

Arrival & Check-In

Having been built in 1994, the exterior of the hotel seems to be quite modest. It stands on a quiet plot just off Orchard Road but we would be fools to think that the same docile character applies to the inside.

Pulling up to the driveway, the doormen were swift in opening our cab doors and grabbing our luggage. Within seconds, we had a luggage tag produced for us and we were ushered through to the main foyer. At first glance, the lobby is dressed in old-world elegance, apparent in the choice of tile colours and intricate design of the floor, the ornate golden round table and traditional Chinese screen dividers behind it, as well as the elaborate floral centrepieces that sit below the lit-up dome ceiling.

We were then led to the front desk which sits facing outwards to the lobby area. There are large rectangular structural and cylindrical columns that separate the lobby space from the concierge and entrance foyer, which provides a bit of soundproofing during check-in. It’s a quiet area with comfortable seating, if you’re ever waiting for friends, family or for a meeting.

Check-in was smooth and the front desk personnel were fantastic at greeting us and providing us with necessary information for our stay. If you’ve made prior arrangements or reservations, they’ll be sure to go through them with you at this time, prompting you for any changes you’d like to make. And if you’re travelling with kiddos, this is where they’ll offer you their own keepsake: the cutest lion plushy with the Four Seasons emblem printed on it! This was our first time receiving this collectible at a Four Seasons property – I guess we were among the lucky adults to receive our own for once!

Four Seasons Boulevard King Room

We made our way to the 15th floor where our Boulevard King Room resided.

First Impressions

As soon as we stepped in, we were enamoured by the size and design of the space. 49 sqm of sheer refined luxury, from the entryway to the massive window panels that faced out to Orchard Boulevard. I loved the choice in colours, design of the carpeted floors and walls and the textures the hotel went with. The room also features a full-height Peranakan mural behind the work desk extension of the credenza, with non-uniform traditional tiling against a matte blue background.

The blues, greys and touches of lime green definitely contrasted well against the dark brown finishes of the furniture, giving the room an executive and modern aesthetic. Even without the magnificent view of the Orchard skyline, I have to admit that this is a top class room to vacation in.

View from our Boulevard Room

The Entryway

The entryway provides a large clearing to leave your shoes on the marble floor next to the closet. The sliding doors to the closet consist of a white plantation-style louvered façade which allows your clothes and other items in the closet to breathe. In here, you’ll find a cubicle section that houses the safe, an iron, a blow dryer, laundry accessories and shoe accessories (shoe mitts, brush and horn). Placed in the open section is an umbrella and the softest pairs of slippers for your stay. Hung on the bar are my favourite, baby-smooth premium Four Seasons branded oak hangers that I wish could hang in my own closet!

The Bathroom

Across from the closet and beyond a set of white double doors is the marble-clad bathroom with dual tone tiles. Though the colours differ from the palette of the bedroom, it certainly evoked a high level of luxury when we got cleaned up in here. The rose and grey tiling blended so well together and the darker tones were great to set the mood when we were ready to go to bed.

The massive mirror made the bathroom seem even larger and actually folded into two more sections on both sides to extend further against the wall. The bathroom doors also featured a mirror on each and a large mirror is placed on the wall of the bathtub, further contributing to the sense of spaciousness of the room.

The double vanity houses two under-mount sinks with a hand towel rack below each for convenience. On top of each sink is a narrow glass shelf for additional space to display your cosmetics, and there’s also another one on the side of the vanity above yet another towel rack. It was really nice having this extra counter space. The hotel provides a number of disposable amenities, if you’re running low on yours, with their own branded packaging. I never have to worry when I visit the Four Seasons if I’m ever missing one of those necessities!

I was glad to see that the Four Seasons Singapore pivoted to using reusable containers for their hand soap, body lotion, shampoo, conditioner and body wash, utilizing a premium brand called Grown Alchemist with timeless matt black bottling to suit the bathroom setting. I never enjoy wasting a whole bar of soap or single-use plastic bottles with a short hotel stay so this was certainly more guilt-free!

The shower stall was incredibly spacious with its triangular shape and it features both a rainwater shower head that was built right into the ceiling and a flexible handheld shower head. Though we didn’t get to use the bathtub, it also has a handheld hose for a shower head which is always my preference – especially for kids, but really for anyone who wants to wash their hair in the tub! The toilet and bidet were situated in a separate enclave with a lockable sliding door for added privacy, and of course, we can’t forget the comfy and thick bathrobes hanging in the bathroom, ready to be unwrapped. We certainly made good use of ours!

The Coffee Bar

Heading out into the bedroom, the coffee bar sits on a dark grey marble countertop of a two-piece cabinet. I loved the way this piece looked and it was elevated by the tall metal rectangular frame that held some shelving and a built-in light feature. A LavAzza capsule coffee machine and a kettle are displayed, along with some complimentary waters and glass bottles of Aqua Panna water that are part of the minibar.

You’ll find the rest of the minibar within the below cabinet with drinks and snacks galore and a price list for the items. The complimentary teas and coffees are located in the first drawer of the cabinet along with all of the coffee bar accessories, and additional glassware and drink accessories are found below for your chilled drinks and wine.

I have to say, the LavAzza coffee pods were a nice touch, but the best part was the premium selection of Monogram teas they provide! It was my first time trying this brand and I’ve come to seriously love it. There are six classic flavours you’ll find in-room with a variety of black, green, white and herbal, but my favourite tea flavour by far that I got to try at the Executive Club lounge – which I’ll get into in just a bit – is Monogram’s Milky Oolong. Seriously delicious!

Right across from the coffee station, located on the bevelled corner between the entryway and the room, is the cutest vanity with drawers in the table and a large mirror against the wall. The lighting was great here when I had to do some makeup in the early morning while it was still dark out. When the vanity wasn’t in use, we used the drawer space and table top for our miscellaneous items.

Four Seasons’ Iconic King Bed

Next to the coffee bar is one of the largest hotel TV’s you’ll see on the market. We always enjoy how big the flatscreens are at the Four Seasons and the fact that we can plug in our Roku into their TV’s pretty easily. It makes it easy to catch up on some movies and shows on a big screen while in the comfort of our bed away from home. And don’t get me started on the bed! Just. So. Heavenly. You can always count on the Fours Seasons for a therapeutic sleep. And if the default pillows aren’t doing it for you, you can always ask to try out their wide array of pillow types from the pillow menu.

I can never quite get enough of their soft bedding and absolutely love their embroidered emblem on their euro pillows. If you’ve also fallen in love with their bedding and would fancy having some of it in your own home, you could actually order Four Seasons bedding, mattresses, amenities and home lifestyle goods directly from their online shop!

New Upgrades & Renovations

The changes the hotel made throughout the recent facelift of their rooms are stunning. From the extremely comfortable and handsome furniture like the chaise lounger settee that sits in front of the massive windows, to the beautiful artwork and wall textures like the headboard with built-in reading lights, to all the stunning executive style furniture with slow-close drawers, you feel like you’re living the high life in this Boulevard Room simply with the visuals and comfort quality in the space. But the added convenience of electrical controls and easily accessible plug-ins are what make the renos worthwhile.

With the touch of a button on both sides of the bed, you can control your DND and “make-up room” lights, and the opening and closing of the sun and night shades; you can turn on the night lights for those late night bathroom breaks and even turn off the master light switch. All of the control buttons are also backlit so there’s no need to fumble with them in the dark. They also provide both USB-A and USB-C as well as international plug-in outlets on the bedsides and at the work desk wall for further convenience.

Lastly, I can’t forget to mention the bonus pleasures of having turn down service daily and the beautiful real flower bouquet they welcomed us with in our room with that we’ve never received at any other stay! That was such a sweet touch, and the bouquet was filled with some of the flowers and colours we had for our wedding florals! Pale pink roses and lilac hydrangeas are my favourite.

Four Seasons Executive Club

Although we were staying in a room category, we were upgraded to have Executive Club access. Typically, this is a complimentary amenity for guests staying in suites only. But you can always request Executive Club access as an add-on if your room caliber is not within the suite category for a daily fee per person. It can be worth the splurge if you see yourself remaining at the hotel throughout most of your stay and if you like to enjoy a few drinks too.

As an Executive Club guest, not only do you get access to a dedicated Executive Club service with some complimentary daily services as well as discounts to select treatments and retail items at the spa, but you can dine at the Executive Club lounge located on level 3 beside the pool house as much as you’d like throughout the day.

Executive Club Lounge

From 6:30am to 10:30am, a breakfast spread is provided before afternoon tea at 2:30pm to 4:30pm and evening cocktails (or “Gin’O’Clock”) from 5:30pm to 8:30pm. There are also all-day refreshments and snacks available daily from 11am to 10pm for the taking as well. All the F&B provided is inclusive as an Executive Club Guest and no one will bat an eye if you go back for seconds.

We didn’t get a chance to try out the breakfast here, but if it’s anything like what we had for afternoon tea or evening cocktail hour, it’s got to be good.

Afternoon tea was fantastic and they had an assortment of savouries and sweets laid out for us to grab: quiches, tarts, finger sandwiches and fresh bread with herbed Gournay spreads, Indonesian kuehs as well as Western treats like macarons, dark chocolate ganache tarts, cookies and of course, you can’t forget our variety of scones and their dedicated spreads.

Everything is self-serve here but there’s always a staff-member available who can help you plate your items and take your order for tea. The tea comes in these lovely glass teapots with bamboo-woven handles which are so pretty, and is served with a mini Madeleine on the side. This is where we got to try the delicious Milky Oolong tea, a recommendation by our server.

Even cocktails featured more delicious food items with high variety. It was hors d’œuvres galore here! They had about ten different savoury dishes all with different kinds of meat and some that were vegetarian. Three of the light bites sit under the electric heat lamps to maintain their warmth, while the others keep their tastiness in room temperature.

The options here were honestly beyond my expectations and for our first night, they actually served a full-on saumon cru (a baked salmon wrapped in filo pastry) and our second night it was Peking duck! My husband and I were both so pleased. The appointed staff member serving the evening cocktail hour will offer to cut up and place this special daily dish for you, but all the other appies are already individually plated.

Another thing I loved about the Gin’O’Clock was the fact that you could either mix your own drinks at the bar – either your own drink or per the recommended drinks they have listed, each with their own recipe – or ask the staff to mix one for you. They were so fantastic at coming up with a cocktail for you based on your preference and knew their liquor quite well. It was a great way for us to try something new and learn about the ingredients inside! Of course, they had a wide array of gins on display, but other spirits as well as wines and beers were available.

All of the chilled non-alcoholic drinks are also free to drink throughout the day, and they have various sparkling waters, nectar juices, flavoured sodas and kombuchas found in the fridge. You can’t go wrong with any of them – except maybe the coffee-flavoured kombucha!

Four Seasons Dining

The Four Seasons is home to some world-renown and award-winning dining spots that you don’t want to miss out on. Even if you aren’t staying at the Four Seasons, I would highly encourage you to consider having a meal at Jiang-Nan Chun or Nobu. But before I get into those, let’s talk about breakfast.

One-Ninety Restaurant

One-Ninety is the hotel’s main restaurant on level 1 specifically for all-day casual dining. They offer buffet here and have a well-rounded spread for breakfast that we couldn’t wait to dig into. The hostess will first provide you with a menu once you get seated. This menu has a list of à la carte egg selection items you can order along with your coffee and tea. The portions are lean enough for you to try more than one dish off the menu and grab food from the buffet.

I was happy to see that the buffet stations included Indian, Chinese and Western hot foods for some variety. Gotta love having a little bit of dosa and sambar, congee and sausages in the morning! There’s also a noodle bar where one of the chef’s will make your light broth noodle soup to order. In the centre of the restaurant is situated the large continental station. Here you’ll find a selection of yogurts, muesli, granola, nuts and seeds, as well as a salad bar, fruits section and freshly baked pastries.

One-Ninety Bar

Right across from the One-Ninety Restaurant is the One-Ninety Bar. It’s a stunning lounge to have a small meeting or grab a drink and some light eats. If you wanted to dine here during breakfast, you certainly could, but they have a separate menu you can order from à la carte. The space is beautiful and actually quite quiet in the early afternoon, but gets much busier as the evening rolls around.

We enjoyed a refreshing cocktail here called the Theatrum Botanicum, a homage to the book written by botanist John Parkinson. It was as delicious as it looked and it was lovely watching the bar manager Gabriel mix the drink so gracefully. We took our drink outside to the terrace called Garden @ One-Ninety, which is a beautiful outdoor patio to enjoy brunch, lunch or dinner at. It honestly felt so Balinese inspired!

In-Room Dining

For our first morning, we decided to opt in for an in-room breakfast and it was such a great decision to have our own private dining experience with a view. We seriously can’t stress enough how wonderful it was to wake up to a close-up picture of the boulevard! The staff brought up all the food on a cart that converts into a large enough round table which we placed right up against the window.

Our food was sublime. With in-room breakfast, you can order one of the breakfast sets and we decided to go for the Japanese and Chinese sets. I had developed a craving for Chinese rice porridge (i.e. congee) ever since we arrived in Singapore, so the Chinese set definitely caught my eye when we looked at the menu. And my hubby takes any chance he gets to order a Japanese breakfast because it’s his absolute favourite way to enjoy his first meal of the day.

My chicken congee came with five classic condiments on the side that I could add in to my taste. And three little chicken char siu baos came with it in a bamboo steamer basket. The sliced fruit platter was the best way to end my meal as it was all really fresh and sweet. I also had a teapot of jasmine tea to sip on during my meal.

The Japanese set looked and tasted bomb. So much umami! It featured a miso-glazed salmon served with agedashi tofu, an onsen egg, tamari, pickled vegetables, jasmine rice and a miso soup with soft nori. My husband also had his own fresh fruit plate and his set came with an uji sencha green tea.

Nobu

You might have already heard of the Nobu brand and can already picture the food and atmosphere that one of its restaurants would boast. We’ve been wanting to dine at Nobu for years now and missed out an opportunity to do so in Vegas. But we were glad that Nobu Singapore was our first! It had just launched its opening on June 1, 2022 and is the first Nobu restaurant in the world to have its own Japanese zen garden. It’s a beautiful feature that you get to walk through on your way to the fitness centre as well!

Nobu is located on level 3 and accents minimalist contemporary Japanese style interiors with the light tone exposed wood, architectural lines and large windows to bring in the natural light. It also continues the botanical garden theme that you’ll find across level 3 of the hotel that is at the heart of the recent renovations. Additionally, the kitchen has an open concept which I love, because it always amazes me to watch the chefs, cooks and pastry chefs at work.

Nobu Signature Bento

We dined here for lunch on Valentine’s Day and there was actually a promotion going on for the month of February for the bento boxes. Of course, we had to give them a try! What we adore about Nobu is that it pioneered traditional Japanese cuisine with Peruvian ingredients and inspiration.

We were excited to try the individual dishes in the Nobu Signature Bento and see how the flavours blended together. In Nobu’s very own oval bento box containers, we were served six different dishes: prawn tempura with ponzu sauce, 72-hour marinated black cod miso, spicy garlic vegetables with rice, sashimi salad with matsuhisa dressing, chef’s choice of sushi and maki, and miso soup. I loved taking turns with all of them but my favourite had to be the black cod miso!

Nobu Singapore Fan Favourites

We also ordered some sharables including the Crispy Rice with Spicy Tuna, a highly favoured appetizer that melted like butter in our mouths! The chefs also prepared the Kanpachi Sashimi with Chilli Ponzu for us to try, even though it was on their dinner menu. One thing I would definitely love to come back for is their Omakase if we ever get a chance to come back for dinner.

Nobu Singapore Desserts & Cocktails

For dessert, all of them seemed so good but we managed to narrow down to three selections: the Bento Box with Nobu Valrhona Dark Chocolate Fondant Cake with Green Tea Ice Cream, the Cheesecake and the Melon Shiso Kakigori.

My goodness were they all exquisite! I’m a sucker for chocolate lava cakes and match ice cream so the dessert bento box just did it for me. I was on cloud 9! And cheesecake is a tie for first for my favourite dessert, so my tastebuds were having a ball, especially with its perfect crumble crust and the raspberry wasabi sorbet that it came with! Wow was that good. It was only lighting spiced, nothing crazy, and the sourness cut right into the creaminess of the cheesecake.

And finally, the most uniquely creative one of all, the Melon Shiso Kakigori with shaved ice, coconut cream, fresh melon, coconut sorbet and shiso syrup. The way everything was displayed was something I couldn’t have even dreamt of, but this dessert was in fact a creation by Nobu Singapore’s pastry chef Jackie. It both tasted and looked sublime and was the most refreshing desserts of all three!

We ended our lunch with some well crafted cocktails with the perfect blends of Asian spirits and tropical fruits. The Meridian 77 tasted top-notch with the lychee, shiso, lime and egg white and the Nobu Soju Dragon was deliciously fruity and sweet with the dragon fruit and monk fruit. We hope to be back at Nobu! There’s so much more to our culinary journey with them that we hope to continue.

Four Seasons Facilities

Swimming Pools

There are two swimming pools to enjoy as a guest of the Four Seasons. They each offer a different experience from the other and are located on different levels.

Level 20 Sky Pool

On the highest floor of the building is the rooftop pool where families, couples and solo travellers alike will enjoy a dip in the curved pool while taking in the 360-degree views of the Orchard skyline. The pool deck honestly exudes luxury in my opinion. The stunning architectural feature wall, the design of the pool bar and of course the contemporary sun beds and cabanas are a few of the visual concepts that make the rooftop pool feel luxurious.

Though it was quite high occupancy when we visited the Four Seasons, the sky pool was always empty. It allowed us to delight in some quiet time here, having the pool all to ourselves. One thing I’ve always loved about the FS brand is that they provide you with a great SPF 50 sunscreen at the pools for you to replenish your UV protection. At Four Seasons Singapore, they offer Nivea sunscreen at the dispensers. If you forget to bring yours up to the pool, know that you can get some just steps away from the pool.

Level 3 Lap Pool

Back on the third level is the second pool meant for a more invigorating swim. The lap pool is perfect to get your cardio in but it still offers a space for relaxation and sun lounging at the cabanas and sun beds. Just adjacent to the pool is also a hot tub jacuzzi. It’s a great spot to unwind after a workout, whether you’ve spent time at the gym or done some laps in the pool.

If you ever need to hydrate, the hotel places recyclable water cartons by the towels at the pool entrance for your taking. And if you would like to dine and relax here, there’s a poolside dining area. You can enjoy some delectable and healthy F&B from the pool house here. All while taking in the luscious green surroundings and cityscape views of the neighbouring towers!

Pool House

The indoor Pool House is the perfect spot to enjoy some light and healthy eats and drinks. It’s a large and quiet lounge that is placed at the centre of level 3, connecting Nobu, the gym, the Executive Club lounge, the lap pool and the spa. We enjoyed a delicious coffee here shortly after checking in and could have easily stayed longer for the ambience alone.

Fitness Centre

This might be my favourite interior design feature in all of the hotel, apart from our beloved Boulevard Room of course! The fitness centre aesthetic is nothing we’ve ever seen before and if I could make this my home gym, I would! I don’t think the photos would do it justice and you’ll just have to experience it for yourself. With this being part of the most recent renovations, there’s definitely a certain newness in the air and it smells so clean. But I think its botanical garden inspiration has a lot to do with the fresh smells as well.

Before you even step into the gym, you’re greeted by greenery and botanical decor lined down the hallway. But inside the gym is the best part. Much of it feels like a tropical oasis, what with the tall plants hidden behind privacy glass in different corners of the room. They give you a feeling of being within a jungle mirage and as if there is no end in sight to this sanctuary. In the centre of the room is a resting area through gorgeous gold framed partitions. All the furniture here is dressed with different shades of green. Even the brand spanking new gym machine cushions are a brown leather to match the colour of the plant pots.

So much thought and love was put into the design of the space and it truly gave me the motivation to stick around for a longer workout. I tried out some of the state-of-the-art equipment and they were top tier, especially the cardio machines. However, I couldn’t get the row machine to work, though I didn’t bother to ask. The gym is luckily open 24/7 which is great for business folks who are hustling all day to still manage to squeeze in a workout at any time of day. At the entrance, they also provide you with chilled water dispensers and fresh towels. One of the waters is infused with cucumber which is always refreshing.

Spa

The spa is located on the fourth floor of the building and can be reached by taking the open staircase from the level 3 pool house. As soon as you reach the top of the stairs, you’ll find yourself looking out the floor-to-ceiling window panes out to the lap pool and the surrounding buildings. If you’re not staying at the Four Seasons but a guest for a day at the spa, you’ll be able to enjoy the amenities of the pool and adjacent hot tub. You can also dine at the pool house before, after or in-between treatments if you wish.

Though it isn’t grand, it’s definitely one of the most pleasant-looking and contemporary spas I’ve seen. They have various treatment rooms and a room for mani-pedis. But the hero is the side-by-side treatment room, perfect for pairs, and a stellar space with an immaculate ensuite bathroom that had me all googly eyes. It even has its own darling vanity in the massage room. It’s a beautiful spa to unwind in after a long day of venturing through the streets of Singapore or during a weekend staycation at the Four Seasons.


We couldn’t be happier with our stay at the Four Seasons Singapore and it was a dream to be able to stay here soon after their many upgrades and improvements! Everything we experienced was on brand for Four Seasons and we hope that you’ll share a similar experience during your stay!

This post was written in partnership with Four Seasons Singapore after a PR stay. It goes without saying that all opinions are my own and I am beyond excited to share this experience with my readers!

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