In May 2025, I checked into the Premier Room (Marina Bay View) at JW Marriott Singapore South Beach. Set within the South Beach mixed-development complex comprising luxury residences, office space and dining concepts, the 634-room property is directly connected to Esplanade MRT station and minutes away from City Hall MRT station as well as major shopping centres such as Raffles City, Suntec City and Marina Square. The hotel is a 20-minute drive from Singapore Changi Airport and in close proximity to popular attractions such as Marina Bay Sands, Gardens by the Bay and the Merlion.
Nearby hotels include Conrad Singapore Marina Bay; Mandarin Oriental, Singapore; The Ritz-Carlton Millenia Singapore; PARKROYAL COLLECTION Marina Bay, Singapore; Pan Pacific Singapore; Fairmont Singapore; Swissotel The Stamford; and Raffles Hotel Singapore.
The UTW (“Under Ten Words”): Valentine to mirrors + Singapore’s longest Executive Lounge evening cocktail presentation.
The must-dos (if any): Enjoy four hours of evening drinks at the Executive lounge, enjoy the view from the 18th floor pool, have breakfast at Beach Road Kitchen.
JW MARRIOTT SINGAPORE SOUTH BEACH
Housed within a pair of distinctive glass and steel towers in the South Beach development, the hotel’s architecture comes courtesy of Foster + Partners (also behind Capella Singapore and various Apple stores around the globe), with interior design by renowned French designer Philippe Starck. The hotel prides itself on its art pieces, with over 30 different art works scattered throughout the premises. At the hotel entrance sits Gorilla, a reclaimed scrap metal sculpture by Turner Prize winner Iain Nutting, and past the automatic doors you are greeted by a 7m-high interactive video wall installation by South Korean animation artist Lee Lee Nam. As you make your way down the lobby hallway, you would recognise in the naked-woman-on-a-horse Donna a Cavallo sculpture the distinctive style of renowned Columbian artist Fernando Botero, the man who has a penchant for creating rotund, whimsical, curvy sculptures such as the fat “Bird” outside UOB Plaza. The guest elevators feature colour-changing RGB wallpaper by Milan-based art and design duo Carnovsky, which communicates simultaneously 3am night-club delirium and Junji Ito-style underwater horror imagery. My favourite would be the enchanting Flying Flames by Ingo Maurer, a light installation of 160 floating candles with LED “flames” above the reception counter which play it all mesmerising fairy light wonder meets Chinese Hungry Ghost Festival talisman chic.
The hotel boasts two infinity pools. The main pool is located at Flow 18, the social space on the 18th floor of the Main Tower which also houses the hotel’s fitness centre as well as outdoor foosball and table tennis facilities, while the other pool is situated at Ebb 6, the social space on the 6th floor of the East Tower. Based on a quick scan of social media posts, the former appears to be the preferred water body, being the location du jour for countless artistic and brooding swimming pool shots as well as events such as New Year countdowns and Grand Prix champagne parties, while the latter is more ideal for sun-tanning and swimming laps.
Set within the second level of the East Tower, Spa by JW offers a variety of affordably-priced treatments. The spa premises also houses thermal facilities such as a jacuzzi, steam room and sauna which are complimentary for use if you have a spa appointment lasting at least one hour.
PREMIER ROOM (MARINA BAY VIEW)
Boasting views of gleaming high-rises and the shimmering waters of Marina Bay through tall windows, the cheerily lit 40sqm Premier Room (Marina Bay View) plays it clinically white with stylish, bold design features as well as mirrored and reflective surfaces in the room which create the illusion of infinite expanse (most dramatically observed in the mirrored walls around the bathtub). I must say, while the reflections may be ideal for narcissistic yogis and OnlyFans content creators, they are not likely to please Marriott Bonvoy elite member Pontianaks or Langsuirs (do not Google these if you are home alone – Malay Folklore Enthusiast).
The pantry is equipped with a Nespresso machine, TWG tea-making facilities as well as a mini-bar comprising snacks and a fully stocked refrigerator with wines and other beverages. The wall behind the pantry is actually the back of the bathroom mirror, slidable from the other side to create a naughty peepshow opening. Aside from the kinky window feature, the bathroom offers a bathtub as well as a rainfall shower, with bathroom amenities are from Aromatherapy Associates.
Pro tip: the shower space is prone to flooding if you go full blast on the (therapeutically strong) rainfall shower for too long, and the water really travels into the main bathroom area.
DINING
Breakfast is served at Beach Road Kitchen, the hotel’s all-day dining concept located along South Beach Avenue accessible via a short walk from the hotel’s main entrance. What the sprawling space offers is an impressive breadth of offerings – think (deep breath) Cold Soba, Somen and Udon; Fried Wanton, Egg Tart, Yam Bun and Lor Mai Gai; Nasi Lemak and accompanying Crispy Chicken, BBQ Otah Otah and Sambal Egg; an Indian spread with options such as Cottage Cheese Paratha and Mysore Vadai; a noodle station serving Singapore Laksa with Prawns (the latter is absent in the equivalent offering at the Executive Lounge); an egg station offering eggs prepared your way, including a variety of Omelette flavours (chilli crab, salmon & spinach, sambal ikan bilis, masala, ham & cheese); Asian staples such as Fried Noodles, Stir Fried Vegetables and Sambal Fried Rice; a fresh orange juicing machine; bakes such as Mushroom Quiche and Fruit Danish; fresh French Toast, Pancake and Waffle with accompanying spreads; a machine dispensing Yogurt Soft Serve; and assorted sweets such as Kueh Lapis, Mango Pudding and Soya Pudding.
Also set along South Beach Avenue, modern Japanese dining concept Akira Back delivers modern Japanese cuisine with hints of Korean influences, with the menu comprising sushi/sashimi, hot and cold sharing plates (including the hotel’s signature AB Tuna Pizza and AB Signature Tacos), signature rolls (I had the AB Seoul comprising crab meat, homemade aged kimchi and rayu) as well as more substantial mains (think Sanchoku Ribeye, A4 “Tochigi” Striploin and Atlantic Black Cod). Elsewhere, the hotel’s lobby bar Tonic specialises in gin and gin-based cocktails.
Further dining and drinks options await at The NCO Club, a lifestyle destination situated within the same premises as the hotel – Chinese fine-dining restaurant and bar Madame Fan, which plays it all modern sexy Shanghainese sophistication with its dim lighting, Tangela-esque overhead installation and live DJ spins; champagne bar Fish Pool which houses an Olympic-depth diving pool with the occasional “human mermaid” performance; Gentleman’s lounge-esque wine concept Stags’ Room; and snazzy live music bar Cool Cats, which combines traditionalist crafted cocktails with live entertainment across genres such as blues, jazz and R&B.
Madame Fan Bar’s current menu weaves Asian and oriental flair into the concept cocktails with an eye on the aesthetic – the floral gin and whisky-based Dragonfly features the titular creature hovering above your tipple; refreshing tea-tinged Leo’s Voyage involves the use of a visually arresting contraption; and the boozy Five Spice Red Hook showcases the bar’s beautiful logo on ice.
While not part of the hotel, other dining concepts along South Beach Avenue include modern Japanese restaurant Black Cow; Indian-French concept Bombay Brasserie; Italian ristorante d.o.c.; popular dessert space Lady M New York; casual bar concept Harry’s; local craft microbrewery restaurant and bar Little Island Brewing Co; Tex-Mex restaurant Mamacita; omakase restaurant Masaaki; specialty whisky bar Quaich Bar Avant-grade; and Vietnamese concept Saigon King.
EXECUTIVE LOUNGE
Located on the second floor of the Main Tower, the sprawling Executive Lounge serves all-day refreshments as well as breakfast, afternoon tea and evening canapes and cocktails. The sprawling executive lounge premises has dual personalities – one half of the lounge bears bright coloured partitions seemingly made from some acrylic-esque material of the sort widely used in Design & Technology classes in secondary schools, while the other half plays it more traditional lounge and M18 in its intentions, housing the bar counter and booze supply, massive television screens broadcasting the latest headlines as well as the bulk of the lounge’s blazered and professional guests.
Breakfast is a buffet-style affair comprising options such as Kiwi Danish, Apple Turnover, Chicken Siew Mai, Grill Veggies, Speck, Scrambled Eggs as well as a hot food station serving dishes such as Omelette and Singapore Laksa (the latter is more basic in ingredients compared to that offered at Beach Road Kitchen), while afternoon tea featured offerings such as Tuna Brioche, Chilli Chocolate Canele, Osmanthus Wolfberry Jelly, Chicken Apricot Sandwich, Mini Ivory Orange Mousse and Pistachio Financier.
The Executive Lounge has the distinction of having one of the (if not the) longest evening canape and cocktail presentations in a Singapore hotel lounge, spanning across four entire hours. The sumptuous buffet spread includes dishes such as Smoked Snowfish, Smoked Salmon, Tuna Tataki with Wafu on Rice Cracker, Truffle Mushroom Cream Eclairs, Inari Chuka Wakame, Chicken Yakitori, Peri Peri Wings, Ratatouille, Crab Meat Mango Salsa Tartlet and Vegetarian Maki, while the dessert station offered sweets such as Rose-scented Swiss Roll, Passionfruit Mousse, Black Forest Cake, Yuzu Mousse and Banana Crumble with Vanilla Sauce. The evening hot food station typically comprises two noodle soup dishes (e.g. Ramen Soup Noodle, Singapore Prawn Soup) as well as a daily rice bowl dish (e.g. Chicken Katsu Don and Chirashi Don, both of which were surprisingly excellent).
In terms of drinks, prosecco and wines are served alongside a variety of classic cocktails such as Negroni, Manhattan, Old Fashioned, Margarita and Daiquiri. (Pro tip: skip the cocktails and go for the bottled stuff.)
I was extremely pleasantly surprised by the quality of the Executive Lounge’s offerings – definitely one of the highlights of my stay.
CONCLUSION
The hotel’s scale and popularity means the property may not be a ideal destination for those seeking exclusivity and calm, but foodies and degenerates would find plenty to love at the impressive Executive Lounge, and the hotel’s strategic location remains a strong reason to stay.
Still not a fan of the mirrors, though.
JW Marriott Singapore South Beach
30 Beach Road
Singapore 189763
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