Singapore hotels in recent years have concentrated on the epic side of the scale, notably the Marina Bay Sands development with vast hotels in a startling design of three towers with a deck/swimming pool hanging over the side. It’s only one of a number of attention-getting architectural constructions in the Asian city state, which is also drawing attention for its bid to become a sports powerhouse, a few months ago hosting the Formula One race and last week, the Women’s Tennis Association finals. I was at the opening night of that one; between the pyrotechnics, the thunderous ovation accorded Asia’s own Li Na, the tournament ambassador, and the Singapore tourism promotion lines spouted by the eight top women players in an introductory video, the event was an emphatic debut.
With all of this oversized attention, though, it’s often possible to overlook a more subtle debut. The Small Luxury Hotels member boutique Naumi Hotel, tucked in a small street behind the iconic Raffles, recently reopened after a multimillion dollar renovation that turned intimate rooms into cleverly designed, whimsical spaces, dressed up its lounge area surrounding its rooftop infinity pool and created an all day lounge area in the lobby for businesspeople holding informal meetings and hotel guests availing themselves of the complimentary wine offerings in the late afternoon. It’s a friendly, intimate, welcoming place but one with just enough style to impress but not so much as to call too much attention to itself. And it's a particularly good spot for female travelers, with an extra security floor and hair straightening flat irons as an amenity. Anyone who has experienced the year round super humidity of Singapore will understand how nice a touch that is.
Getting there: I was given a ticket by Singapore Airlines which has long been one of my favorite airlines. Their cosseting service receives much deserved attention, the large leather near-couches that were their first class seats when I last flew them a few years ago are now the business class seats, which flip over to become large, comfortable beds. The meals are some of the most obsessively produced (and sampled in their 30,000 feet pressurized test kitchen before they take to the air) and designed by an international coterie of chefs. And their base of operations, Singapore's Changi Airport, is one of the best organized and easiest airports to go through.
