We hadn’t planned to visit Singapore. As our departure date and the prospect of two back-to-back long haul flights loomed on the horizon, we thought breaking up the journey from Australia back to the UK would be a wise move. Our two night stopover decided, we shunned several obvious hotel choices in favour of The Naumi Hotel, a 73-room boutique property that’s part of the SLH group.
Located in the central business district and opposite the legendary Raffles Hotel, we splurged on a spacious one-bedroom suite, thinking we’d appreciate the extra space after being cooped up in a tin can for 9 hours. And the rooms proved to be gigantically proportioned, decked out in muted neutrals with high quality linens, and in-room gadgetry to please even the fussiest technophile. The bathroom was especially a highlight – a huge tub, cavernous rainshower and Molton Brown bathroom goodies set against white flecked marble, which oozed sophistication. The downstairs communal areas are sparse and pretty non-descript, and we found the rooftop infinity pool and lounge deck to be much smaller than how they appear in pictures.
On the service side, there were many pros. The Naumi Hotel staff were charming whenever we interacted with them, and what they weren’t able to resolve for us on the spot, were diligent in making sure they closed the communication loop afterwards. They also chased after us each time we left the hotel without umbrellas, making sure we’d stay dry during the temperamental weather we were having. Asian hospitality was out in full force, and the staff demonstrated a genuine understanding around the notion of service quality.
The hotel is in a lovely, quiet part of the city, conducive to taking short walks if you can bear the heat and humidity. We strolled to the nearby Muslim quarter and did some spice shopping, ducking in to several of the artisan stores to avoid the rain. After Japan, Singapore probably has the best paper stores known to man, so we jumped into a taxi to hit the malls on Orchard Road to find Monoyono – a favourite stationary store of mine. The rest of our time passed in a whirlwind of shopping and eating, and we even squeezed in a customary visit to the Long Bar at the Raffles to have a few cocktails.
The Verdict
Would I stay at the Naumi Hotel again? For sure, but I’d probably downgrade my room type as we didn’t really need the excess space. There were a couple of niggles with the wi-fi, as it annoyingly logs out each time your device goes to sleep, but otherwise it was free and reliable. Breakfast was included in our rate, and while it was perfectly adequate, there was a lot of variance between what was on offer each day. Still a good option to consider if you’re keen to avoid Marina Sands and the usual suspects.
Hotel – 7/10
Experience – 6/10
Naumi Hotel website
