RAFFLES HOTEL

Whenever I visit Singapore I always make sure we go to the famous Raffles Hotel. It is such a romantic and beautiful hotel. I like to imagine what it would have been like staying there during the Colonial days.


This was the first time we visited the Raffles Museum which is within the hotel grounds, near the shopping arcade. It contains many artefacts and nostalgic items which portray the hotel's history.

An old rickshaw.

A model of the hotel grounds.

An autographed book and letters from my favourite author, Somerset Maugham.

You will notice there are several places in Singapore named after him. He stayed at length at the Raffles whilst he wrote some of his novels which are based on the Colonial days in South East Asia.

This looks like an original Louis Vuitton suit case.

I purchased one of these replica advertising posters.

Momentos of Her Majesty's visit.

Apparently tigers were once native to Singapore, but you won't see them around anymore sadly.

I love the pristine whiteness of the walls in this hotel.

The courtyard where one can sit and sip a Singapore Sling whilst listening to live music on a lazy afternoon. Sounds good to me!

I always make time to have afternoon tea in the Raffles coffee shop. You can have high tea in the Tiffin Room, but I think it is quite expensive. So the more economical option is the cafe, which sells divine cakes which are all served on Royal Doulton china, so it's still a little posh! My cake was a creamy chocolate and banana concoction.

The interior is so quaint, in keeping with the hotel's history. You can also have Yum Cha there at lunchtime.

My son had this wicked chocolate cake.

The hotel's grounds are truly spectacular, filled with lush, tropical plants.

One day, I'd like to stay here.

I love these exotic plants. The colours are so vibrant.

My favourite plant; the heliconia.

I think this may be a ginger plant.

The front verandah.

So please take time to visit the Raffles Hotel. It is a unique little piece of Singapore's history. The cafe is very affordable for afternoon tea and it is enjoyable strolling the hotel's grounds. Visitors are permitted to enter the hotel lobby, which has some spectacular floral dispays. And of course, there is a wonderful shopping arcade. Many of the shops are high end, so you may just want to window shop there. However, the Gift shop is fantastic and it sells some really lovely Raffles souvenirs as well as some stylish and unusual Singaporean gifts. I went a little nuts in the gift shop, so have alook at my next post to see what I found.
The Raffles Hotel will take you back to a bygone era, smack bang in the middle of a high tech city. I love it!