Our fifth wedding anniversary happily clashed with our six months in Singapore “anniversary”, so my husband and I wanted to do something super-special to celebrate, while staying close to home in case of any kiddo-related issues! While Sentosa initially sprang to mind, we decided we wanted more of a city getaway instead — where we could sip on some cocktails, head out for dinner and feel… um, young and hip again? The Fullerton Bay Hotel (not to be confused with The Fullerton Hotel, its older, more stately sister) lies right on the waterfront with fabulous views of the harbour and the Marina Bay Sans in particular, and has a cool, boutique feel. The décor is sleek, feminine and modern; think lots of shiny chrome, silk and elegant chinoiserie. The hotel rooms are a good size, with floor-to-ceiling windows on all sides to show off the Singapore skyline.
We took a Friday afternoon off work so we could spend the rest of the day hanging out and enjoying our child-free peace — we checked in, dropped our bags in our room at lightning speed and then dashed across to The Fullerton Hotel for a massage (The Fullerton Bay doesn’t have a spa of its own). To be honest, while the therapists were good, we were kind of underwhelmed by The Spa Artisan. The spa reception is right in the hotel’s gym, so not super-relaxing, and the whole setting was rather non-luxe for such a nice hotel. We slightly wished we’d just stayed in our hotel room and had a good nap instead! Feeling more relaxed even so, we headed back across to The Fullerton Bay, where it was time to get dressed up for drinks at Lantern Bar.
Lantern Bar is on the rooftop of The Fullerton Bay, and is the ideal place to head if you have guests in town. It has a fun buzz, especially on a Friday evening with people grabbing a pre-weekend drink, and it’s one of those places where it would be wrong not to order champagne – perfect! The bonus? If you arrive early there are plenty of tables, so you can sit and kick back with waiter service rather than needing to hover near the bar. After a couple of drinks and some arguing over the husband’s excessive Blackberry use (so romantic) we headed over to Catalunya for our celebratory dinner, a convenient three-minute walk away!
After dinner, we didn’t want to head straight back to the room to go to bed (the night was still young at about 9.30pm!) so we grabbed a glass of wine at The Landing Point, The Fullerton Bay’s gorgeous lounge bar, which was very quiet and peaceful. We chose to sit outside to soak up more of those gorgeous views, and felt rather smug to have the whole place basically to ourselves — finally, a truly romantic moment.
After a good night’s sleep in our wonderful hotel bed (so soft!), we were pretty keen to get home to see the babies, but were excited to treat ourselves to a good breakfast first. Breakfast is served at Clifford, a gorgeous room with amazing double-height ceilings looking out onto the water. While the buffet spread was fantastic, the service was definitely struggling as it seemed like every guest at the hotel had decided to come down to breakfast at the same time! We had to wait a while for a table, and then flag down passing waiters each time we needed something. The rush was soon over and we lingered over buttery croissants and our coffees, savouring our last few moments of relaxation before jumping in the taxi to head home to family chaos… A romantic getaway for less than 24 hours right on our doorstep in Singapore? Done!
Rooms at The Fullerton Bay start from $650 per night for two people, including breakfast.
The Fullerton Bay Hotel, 80 Collyer Quay, Singapore 049326
Tel: (+65) 6333 8388
www.fullertonbayhotel.com