In January 2025, I checked into the Valley Wing One-Bedroom Suite at Shangri-La Singapore. Set within 15 acres of lushly landscaped gardens off the famous Orchard Road shopping district, the sprawling 792-room property simultaneously feels private resort-esque yet accessibly central. The hotel is located near the city’s famous Orchard Road shopping belt where shopping centres such as ION Orchard, Ngee Ann City and Paragon are located. Singapore Changi Airport is less than 25 minutes away by car, while Orchard, Orchard Boulevard and Stevens MRT Station are around 15 minutes away on foot. 

Aside from being the frequent destination for luminaries, heads of state and celebrities alike, the Shangri-La Singapore is best known for being Donald Trump’s residence in Singapore during the historic Trump-Kim summit in 2018.

Notable hotels in the vicinity include The Singapore EDITION, Artyzen Singapore, Conrad Singapore Orchard, Four Seasons Hotel Singapore and The Standard, Singapore. Other Shangri-La properties in Asia include Island Shangri-La, Hong Kong and Shangri-La Tokyo.

The UTW (“Under Ten Words”): Iconic, Prestigious (and Champagne-Fuelled) Sanctuary Fit For Heads of State.

The must-dos (if any): Enjoy Veuve Clicquot champagne all afternoon at the Marble Bar, have breakfast at the Summit Room, take an Acqua di Parma-tinged soak in the bathtub.

SHANGRI-LA SINGAPORE

Aside from being one of the original grand hotels in Singapore, the Shangri-La Singapore is also famed for being the city’s venue of choice for major high-security events, from the yearly inter-governmental security conference Shangri-La Dialogue to the landmark meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and then Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou in 2015.

The hotel consists of three distinct towers, each with its own personality and offering a vastly different guest experience. Decked in eye-catching artworks, the recently-refurbished Tower Wing feels the most contemporary. The first thing that immediately catches your eye when you walk through the hotel’s main entrance is “Tree Canopy”, the ceiling art installation of seemingly swaying glossy metallic leaves by Hirotoshi Sawada (the artist behind the similarly magnificent “Naga” and “Pagoda Mirage” at Park Hyatt Bangkok) that suspends over the reception area. Elsewhere, a mossy and ferned rock wall by horticulture artist Charlie Albone looms tall behind the Lobby Lounge’s bar counter, while scattered around the lobby are six sculptures of flat and compressed gambolling children (someone’s been reading J.K. Rowling – Literary Editor). The Tower Wing houses most of the property’s dining concepts as well as the hotel’s Horizon Club lounge (which I note has updated and upgraded their evening cocktail offerings since my last visit in 2019). 

The Garden Wing plays it all tropical resort vibes with its verdant lushness, wood-decked rooms and cascading waterfall with lively, swishing orange and gold koi fish in the pond waters, while the Valley Wing – accessible from the Tower Wing via a skybridge – is the most luxurious of the three wings, having its own private driveway and dining areas with exclusive access granted only to guests staying at its 131 rooms and suites. The Valley Wing is the preferred address for the hotel’s most esteemed guests, ranging from celebrities and heads of state to the impossibly posh, silver-haired couples I observed having afternoon tea who look like they just waltzed in from the set of Titanic or Downton Abbey.

In terms of facilities, the hotel has a Health Club comprising a 24-hour gymnasium and jacuzzi facilities with an aesthetic ripped straight from the ‘90s, four floodlit tennis courts, a dedicated tanning terrace with numerous sun-beds, a nail lounge and beauty salon, a free-form swimming pool as well as Chi, The Spa which offers a range of wellness treatments. Elsewhere, Buds by Shangri-La is an interactive indoor and outdoor play space for children available to both guests and non-guests, while Shophouse by Shangri-La serves cakes, pastries, coffee and beverages as well as retail goods.

VALLEY WING ONE-BEDROOM SUITE

Scented with the vanilla-ginger aroma of “The Essence of Shangri-La”, the 85sqm Valley Wing One-Bedroom Suite conveys a certain old-world elegance with crystal chandeliers, European chairs and colonial-style cornices. On your bedside table lies a copy of Jame Hilton’s Lost Horizon, said to be the source of the term “Shangri-La” to mean a utopian paradise. The bedroom is fitted with a dressing table with a Dyson hairdryer and light-up mirrors, and you would find yourself relying a lot on the power outlet at the dressing table or work desk for your charging needs due to the absence of bedside electrical or USB points. 

The drawing room is furnished with a work desk, window-side seating as well as a classy sofa area for top discussions and high-level summit meetings, complete with ornate vases in the backdrop for extra gravitas. The pantry offers Nespresso and Shangri-La branded tea, while the minibar is stocked with canned beverages, spirits and wines.

Elsewhere, the marble-clad bathroom boasts double vanities, a built-in bathtub, Valley Wing-monogrammed bathrobes, a toilet with bidet functionalities as well as a walk-in rainfall shower. Bathroom amenities are courtesy of Italian luxury brand Acqua di Parma.

DINING

 Breakfast is served at The Line, the hotel’s international buffet concept located within the Tower Wing. Decked in cheery shades or red and orange, the restaurant serves a variety of local dishes, including Indian Masala Omelette, Sambal Egg, Otah, Sardine Puff, Wok-Fried Noodles, Fish Curry Gravy, Roti Prata and Singapore Laksa.

As The Line services guests from all three wings, it is the epicentre of human activity during breakfast hours, and it is imperative that you avoid the space during peak hours, unless your idea of a enjoyable  morning involves go-karting amidst merry-go-rounds of children and being stuck in queues that are simultaneously snaking and formless.

Also located at the Tower Wing, Origin Grill showcases both land and sea dishes such as Kagoshima 200g (craft Wagyu, Kyushu, striploin), Sanchoku 200g (full blood Wagyu, grain fed Queensland, tenderloin MB5+), Char Grilled Octopus (fremantle octopus, chickpea, peppers, green tomato, lime, walnut), Crispy Pork Belly (cannellini bean, pancetta, tomato, gremolata), Grilled Tiger Prawn (coconut, curry, chili, sesame, spring onion, wild rice) and Pan Seared Barramundi (aubergine, tomato, thyme, pumpkin seed)

Origin Grill will forever hold a special place in my heart as it was where I first discovered Japanese snow-aged Wagyu beef. At that time, I complimented the Snow-aged Full Blood Wagyu A4 from the restaurant’s first menu for its “gloriously buttery, uniformly fattiness of the melt in your mouth”, and how it was “deliciously smoky across every inch of its being” and “triumphant in its unpixellated, au naturel glory without any sauce whatsoever.”

The chic Origin Bar – ranked No.32 on Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2024 – plays it all sexy train station-esque with shades of teal, dramatic arches and wooden textures. Their current Infinity menu provides something for everyone in its array of elaborate cocktail ideas – you would wonder for a brief second how exactly one consumes Wick & Wick (beeswax, hazelnut, yuzu, Michter’s Bourbon), which looks like a scented candle; Super Glow (clarified kiwi, cucumber, green tea, Codigo 1530 Blanco) comes in a gold container in the shape of luscious lips; Voyager Negroni (freeze-dried berries, pomegranate, vermouth, Bombay Premier Cru) visually brings you to space with its planetary inclinations; and Starbugs (salted caramel, soy, coffee, alternative protein, Kakubin) features a scandalous ingredient not for the faint-hearted.

Helmed by Michelin-starred Executive Chinese Chef Daniel Cheung from Hong Kong, Shang Palace Singapore serves up exquisite Cantonese fare, with the space playing it all sumptuously red and Chinese garden dining with its various floral motifs. Chef Daniel’s signatures include the Deep-Fried Stuffed Sri Lankan Mud Crab Meat In Shell; Smoked Bean Curd Rolls With Carrot, Black Mushrooms And Pickled Radish In Black Truffle Sauce; and Traditional Stewed Pomelo Peel With Shrimp Roe. The sizzling, sweet and peppery Baked Live Prawns with Garlic and Sarawak White Peppercorn was a revelation, its seductive olfactory charms having the vice-like grip of a particularly insistent pontianak that your memories would find hard to shake even days after. The Barbecued Poultry Meat Combination proved to be great value, while the Traditional Stewed Garoupa Belly Served in Clay Pot delivered a comforting, matronly loving embrace. 

 During our dinner, we were well taken care of by the restaurant’s in-house sommelier, Harry, who was responsible for some surprising and inspired wine and spirit pairings (I tasted my first ever China wine).

Rounding up the F&B concepts at the hotel are Zeniya, the kaiseki concept located on the 24th level of the Tower Wing; the Lobby Lounge on the ground level of the Tower Wing which specialises in local heritage dishes; afternoon tea destination The Rose Veranda on the mezzanine level of the Tower Wing; and poolside Italian restaurant Waterfall Ristorante Italiano on the ground level of the Garden Wing.

VALLEY WING

Boasting its own private driveway and entrance, the Valley Wing is the hotel’s most exclusive and prestigious wing. Built in 1985, it has served as residence for the likes of celebrities such as David Beckham as well as former US presidents Barack Obama and George H.W. Bush. Upon your arrival at the driveway, you are immediately divested of your luggage and guided to the check-in counter to complete the registration process before subsequently being escorted to the Marble Bar for a welcome glass of Veuve Clicquot champagne to kick-off your stay in style.

The Valley Wing experience is a marked departure from the large-scale, public proceedings at the Tower Wing. The white marble lobby, crystal chandeliers and soaring ceilings – accentuated by the 8.6m tall painting by Hong Kong artist Lam Chung which depicts an idyllic scene of mountains and golden tung trees, said to be inspired by James Hilton’s take on Tibet in his novel, Lost Horizon – set an appropriate sense of grandeur, occasion and dignity.

From 12pm onwards, champagne and wines are served all day at the Marble Bar, and the watchful team ensures your wine glass is seldom left empty for long. Afternoon tea offerings include treats such as Organic Egg and Chicken Sandwich, Pastrami Beef with Sauerkraut, Cheesecake, Raspberry Lychee Swirl and Vanilla Scone & Orange Raisin Scones, while evening canapes consist of dishes such as Foie Gras Mousse, Seafood Roulade with Smoked Romesco on Toast, Ratatouille on Tomato Toast, “Kam Heong”-style Crispy Seabass as well as ‘Lap Mei’ Arancini with Hoisin Sauce alongside spirit-forward cocktails such as Origin Negroni (barrelled gin, campari, mancino rosso vermouth, orange bitters), Martinez (gin, mancino rosso vermouth, maraschino, orange bitters) and Manhattan (bourbon, mancino rosso vermouth, chocolate bitters). Everything is served to your table, you are able to cherry-pick the dishes you want second (or third) servings of, and you may possibly not need to leave the property for dinner.

For breakfast, Valley Wing guests have access to the circular ballroom-esque Summit Room on the ground level which is an elegant, table cloth affair with plenty of natural light. (Technically, you also have the option of visiting The Line, but why would anyone prefer a bustling zoo to a quiet, exclusive sanctuary?) Breakfast is presented in a semi-buffet, a la carte format, with made-to-order dishes such as Steak & Egg (200 days grain-fed beef tenderloin, beef jus, seasonal mushroom), Fish Noodle Soup (inaniwa udon, tomato, tofu with fish collagen soup), Miso-glazed Scottish Salmon (butternut squash purée, broccolini, cherry tomato), Nasi Lemak and Roti Prata (with house made fish curry or vegetable curry).

The Valley Wing also hosts a variety of evening programmes at the Marble Bar, from live carving (Monday) and live music (Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday) to wine and spirit tastings (Wednesday, Friday, Sunday).

CONCLUDING THOUGHTS

I had stayed at the Tower Wing back in 2018, and my Valley Wing experience was markedly different in terms of exclusivity, pampering and calm. While the Valley Wing is indisputably in need of rejuvenation and being brought up-to-date in terms of technological standards, its concept as a luxury product capable of looking after the most esteemed of guests means their software is slick and confident. (I was surprised that members of the Valley Wing team whom I had met years ago at another local property remembered me took the effort to come forward to say hello.)

There are a few exceptional club lounges in Singapore – Mandarin Oriental, Singapore and The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore come to mind – and I would add the Shangri-La Singapore’s Valley Wing to the list.

Shangri-La Singapore
22 Orange Grove Road
Singapore 258350