Singapore's most celebrated hotels are not merely places to sleep — they are institutions with histories that intersect with the full arc of the city's story, from British colonial trading port to Japanese occupation to independent nation-state. The buildings that now house Raffles, The Fullerton, and Goodwood Park Hotel have sheltered royalty, witnessed wartime occupation, housed government offices, and entertained the most famous names in literature, film, and politics across more than a century. Staying in one of these properties — or simply visiting for a drink or afternoon tea — is a distinctly different experience from checking into any other luxury hotel. This guide covers Singapore's most historically significant hotels and what makes each one worth visiting.

Book your flights to Singapore. Find the best rates on Singapore's historic hotels and plan your stay in a piece of living history.

Raffles is the most storied hotel in Singapore and one of the most famous in the world. Originally built as a private beach house in the 1830s, it was acquired by the Armenian Sarkies Brothers in 1887 and developed into the grand colonial hotel that still defines the city's romantic imagination. Its guest list reads like a roll call of 20th-century cultural history: Somerset Maugham (who famously described the East as beginning at the Raffles Long Bar), Charlie Chaplin, Elizabeth Taylor, Ava Gardner, and Michael Jackson among many others. The hotel was also the birthplace of the Singapore Sling cocktail, reportedly created by bartender Ngiam Tong Boon in 1915.

A comprehensive two-year restoration completed in 2019 refreshed the hotel while preserving its essential character: the white colonial facades, the tropical courtyard gardens, the colonnaded corridors, the Long Bar with its floor-strewn peanut shells, and the Tiffin Room that has served Indian curry since the 1890s. New restaurant additions include the first Asian outpost of three-Michelin-starred French chef Anne-Sophie Pic. All rooms are suites — the smallest at Raffles is a suite — and rates reflect the heritage accordingly.

Address: 1 Beach Road, Singapore 189673. Nearest MRT: City Hall (EW13/NS25).

The Fullerton Building is one of the most architecturally significant structures in Singapore — a grand neoclassical edifice with fluted Doric colonnades and an elaborate portico, built between 1924 and 1928 at the mouth of the Singapore River. The building has served as the General Post Office, the Chamber of Commerce, ten government departments, the Singapore Club (a British civil servants' club), a wartime hospital and bomb refuge, and the headquarters of the Japanese military administration during World War II. Even the late Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew is said to have had a secret office entrance in the building during his time as Finance Minister.

Converted into The Fullerton Hotel in 2001 after a USD 400 million restoration, the building is now a National Monument. The 400-room hotel wraps around an extraordinary atrium created from the building's former central courtyard. The rooftop infinity pool, the restored Fullerton Square outlook, and the waterfront restaurant The Fullerton Waterboat House all make excellent reasons to visit even if not staying overnight.

Address: 1 Fullerton Square, Singapore 049178. Nearest MRT: Raffles Place (EW14/NS26).

Goodwood Park Hotel on Scotts Road has one of the most unlikely origin stories of any hotel in Asia. The building was constructed in 1900 as the Teutonia Club — an elite enclave for the German expatriate community in colonial Singapore. After WWI, it was purchased by three Jewish brothers and renamed Goodwood Hall, becoming a fashionable café-restaurant. It became a hotel in 1929 and quickly established itself as one of the most prestigious in the region, hosting the Duke of Windsor (then Prince of Wales) and other distinguished guests. During WWII, it served as the residence of high-ranking Japanese officers and later as a British War Crimes Court. The property was gazetted as a National Monument in 1989.

Today, Goodwood Park's tower block — fashioned after the castles of the Rhine with its distinctive castellated crown — remains one of Singapore's most recognisable heritage buildings. The hotel is particularly famous for its durian desserts, served during the durian season each year and drawing dedicated queues. A more accessible visit option: afternoon tea in the hotel's poolside restaurant.

Address: 22 Scotts Road, Singapore 228221. Nearest MRT: Orchard (NS22/TE14).

The great Singapore heritage hotels welcome visitors who come only to drink, dine, or browse. Specific experiences worth the visit without an overnight stay:

Find the best deals on Singapore's historic hotels. Discover more things to do in Singapore's heritage districts. Check the latest Traveloka promos, arrange an airport transfer from Changi, and plan your complete Singapore experience at Traveloka.