The Fullerton Bay Hotel Singapore (SG Clean, Staycation Approved)

A Hotel Entered Through a 1933 Immigration Pier

Guests reach The Fullerton Bay Hotel's reception through the old Clifford Pier Building, completed in 1933 as the landing point for immigrants and other passengers arriving in Singapore by sea, and known locally as the Red Lamp Pier for the oil lamps that once guided boats in. A link-way carries arrivals from that restored hall into a new six-storey hotel built between the Pier Building and the Customs House, where designer André Fu set a contemporary layer of marble mosaic flooring and geometric chandeliers against the harbour view. Few hotels in the city make the walk from entrance to room feel like a hundred years of history in under a minute.

Why It Works

We chose this address because the restoration kept what mattered: the Pier Building's arched concrete roof trusses and its blue stained-glass fanlight survived the conversion, rather than being replaced with a reproduction. Just 100 rooms and suites keep the hotel feeling boutique against its Marina Bay neighbours, and a rooftop pool and bar give it a reason to stay in for the evening rather than only pass through. It suits travellers who want waterfront glamour with a documented past underneath it.

Why This Location

80 Collyer Quay sits in the heart of the financial district, a short walk from Merlion Park, Lau Pa Sat hawker centre and the Esplanade, with Marina Bay Sands, the ArtScience Museum and Gardens by the Bay all visible across the water. Orchard Road's shopping is a short taxi ride rather than a walk. It's a location built for travellers who want the skyline view from their room and the city's best-known landmarks within a ten-minute stroll.

Fast Facts

• Price: €€€€

• Vibe: Waterfront glamour, maritime heritage, contemporary design

• Rooms: 100 rooms and suites, floor-to-ceiling windows, most with balconies

• Best For: Skyline views, design-minded travellers, an evening rooftop drink

• Our Favorite Thing About the Hotel: Walking into reception through the 1933 Clifford Pier Building's original arched trusses and stained-glass fanlight

• Dining: Lantern rooftop bar, The Landing Point bar, La Brasserie, 24-hour room service

• Amenities: 82-foot rooftop lap pool, rooftop fitness centre

• Attractions: Merlion Park, Lau Pa Sat, Esplanade, Marina Bay Sands and Gardens by the Bay (all walking distance or a short walk across the bay)

The Red Lamp Pier, Restored Rather Than Replaced

Before it was a hotel entrance, the Clifford Pier Building was Singapore's working gateway by sea, its open, naturally ventilated hall receiving immigrants and travellers under oil lamps that gave it its Chinese nickname. The restoration had to solve problems a modern hotel can't avoid — air-conditioning fitted into a structure built to breathe — without losing the arched concrete trusses overhead or the blue stained-glass fanlight that restorers uncovered plaster finishes to reveal. It is one of the few hotel lobbies in Singapore that would still be recognisable to someone who passed through it in 1933.

André Fu's Contemporary Layer

Where the Pier Building is kept, the new hotel wing is unapologetically of its own moment: designer André Fu set marble mosaic flooring, circular and tiered chandeliers and pyramid-shaped glass fixtures over the Landing Point bar against the older building's maritime relics, including vintage nautical maps in the lobby. Rooms carry the same logic through to the guest floors, with double-glazed, floor-to-ceiling windows and balconies that frame the harbour rather than compete with it.

A Rooftop Pool Above the Harbour

The 82-foot lap pool sits wrapped in tropical greenery on the roof, with views over the financial district and the harbour that make it worth the trip up even outside swimming hours. Lantern, the rooftop bar next to it, and a second bar looking toward Marina Bay Sands give the hotel two distinct evening registers — a quiet lap before dinner, then cocktails once the skyline lights up.