We came back to Swissotel The Stamford over the National Day period, a year after our last stay here. Since I have already written a full review of the property, there is not much point in walking through the same ground again. What is more useful, I think, is to look at what has changed in a year, because a fair amount has.
The short version: the Level 65 Lounge food has improved considerably, the Crest Lounge now serves food where it previously did not, and the National Day view is not what it was. The room we had this time was a different category, though in practice it made less difference than I expected.
Location
Nothing has changed here, and nothing needed to. The hotel sits directly above City Hall MRT, on both the East West Line and the North South Line, with a direct run to Changi Airport. Raffles City is attached to the building, so you have a shopping centre and a basement of food options without going outdoors. I covered this properly last year and it remains the single biggest reason we keep coming back.
Check-in
Last year we had the choice of checking in at the lobby or at the Level 65 Lounge, and we took the lobby. This year we did the same, using the self-service kiosks, which handle the process quickly enough with staff hovering nearby if anything goes wrong.
The Level 65 Lounge option is still available to Accor ALL Platinum members and above, but it comes with a caveat I did not appreciate last year. Lift access to Level 65 is restricted, so you cannot simply go up and present yourself. You have to call a staff member to bring you up first. That extra step takes most of the appeal out of it, and unless you particularly dislike kiosks, the lobby is the faster route.
The room
This year we were in an Executive King, which includes Level 65 Lounge access, but it doesn’t matter much since you would already get the access through Accor ALL Platinum status. Last year, we were upgraded to a Swiss Marina Bay View room instead.
Having now stayed in both, I can tell you the difference is marginal. Both measure 40 sqm, share the same finishes, and feel equally spacious. The one thing the Executive King lacks is the short entrance walkway that the Marina Bay View rooms open into, and with it, the umbrella that sat by the door last year. I noted that umbrella approvingly at the time and I did miss it slightly, though not enough to change how I would book.
The Executive King opens directly into the bedroom. The king bed is large and remains one of the more comfortable hotel beds we have slept in, which is the thing I most reliably remember about this property between visits. There is an ottoman at the foot of the bed that we found no use for, though it would take a suitcase happily enough.
Housekeeping had left swan towel art on the bed after I left remarks that we’re staying here for a celebration too.
The seating nook by the window is the best thing about the room, and it was the best thing about the room last year too. Ours looked out over Suntec City, Marina Bay and the Singapore Flyer. The work desk sits near the balcony doors, so if you do end up working, you are at least working with the skyline in front of you.
The balcony is small but usable. One thing I did not mention last year: opening the balcony doors cuts the air conditioning. It is a sensible enough energy measure, but leave the doors open while you enjoy the view and you will come back to a warm room.
The dining table, work area and minibar cabinet run along one wall, with the fridge and drawers of crockery and glassware built into the cabinet rather than stacked on top of each other.
The Nespresso machine, TWG teas, kettle and reusable glass bottles are all as they were. You fill them at the filtered tap in the bathroom, and if you want the water cold, the fridge is right there.
The wardrobe comes with a full-length mirror, a bathrobe and slippers.
The bathroom is unchanged, filtered drinking tap included. My view on that tap has not moved either: Singapore’s tap water has been perfectly drinkable for decades, so it is solving a problem that does not exist here. It works, though, and the glass bottles make it easy to use.
Bath products are still Purovel, Swissotel’s own brand. The subtle herbal scents are as good as I remembered.
Membership benefits
We received welcome drinks as Accor ALL members, and took ours as takeaway from The Stamford Brasserie so we could have them upstairs in the room.
The better option, which I did not realise last year, is that the welcome drink can be redeemed at SKAI on the 70th floor. Not doing that was the one clear mistake of this stay. SKAI is a genuinely good bar with the views to justify it, and if you have a welcome drink sitting unused, that is where it should go.
Executive lounge
The lounge occupies the whole of the 65th floor, and because the tower is circular, you get views in every direction. I covered the layout last year, so I will leave it there and talk about the food, which is where the real change has happened.
How the food compares to last year
Last year, I wrote that Swissotel seemed to be steering the lounge towards healthier options, that the vegetarian dish was mock meat and not to my taste, and that between the usual hot dishes and cold cuts you would not go hungry.
This year is a different proposition entirely. The selection is far wider and the dishes are more interesting. Things do still run out, particularly once the lounge fills up, but the difference this year is how quickly the staff bring more out. Trays were not left sitting empty, and if something disappeared you did not have to wait long for it to come back. That is the sort of operational detail that separates a lounge you tolerate from one you actually plan the evening around.
Some of that is down to the kitchen running themed evenings. On the night we were there it was an Indonesian and Malaysian menu, and having a theme clearly gave the kitchen licence to cook something more characterful than the international hedge that most executive lounges default to.
Throughout the day
Outside the main service, the lounge keeps a light snack selection going, mostly cookies. That sounds unremarkable until you eat one. There is a coffee machine and the same TWG teas you get in the room, so it works as a place to sit with a drink between things.
Evening canapes
The hot selection ran to sambal tempeh with peanut and rendang beef meatballs, braised tofu with king oyster mushroom and carrot, and chicken fried rice with bean sprouts alongside beef short rib sambal. The rendang meatballs and the fried rice were the pick of them, and the vegetarian dish this year was actual braised tofu rather than mock meat, which is an improvement I noticed immediately.
Over at the Crest Lounge side, there were fried onion rings, spinach quiche, and mini mac and cheese.
There is a noodle station with a full run of condiments, and the teochew duck noodles I had there was the best thing I ate in the lounge across the whole stay. A live noodle station is not something I recall from last year, and it does a lot of work in making the evening feel like a proper meal rather than a holding pattern before dinner.
The cold side covers cold cuts, cheeses and antipasti with a Mediterranean leaning, along with salad and a small sushi selection.
The salmon sushi deserves a special mention, because it was the one item people were genuinely competing for. Every time a fresh tray came out it was cleared within minutes, and there was a small crowd that had worked out roughly when to hover near the counter. We joined them eventually. If you want it, keep an eye on the counter rather than assuming it will still be there when you wander over.
The canapes themselves included sushi, mini brioche with prawns, savoury tarts and mini mac and cheese.
Dessert
Dessert is where the lounge gets slightly indulgent. There were doughnuts, chocolate puffs, and a chocolate fondue with strawberries for dipping, plus a fruit counter and a nyonya kueh selection that suited the evening’s theme.
Drinks
There is a decent run of spirits and mixers during evening drinks. There is no cocktail list that I saw, but the bartender on duty was happy to mix something from what was available if you asked. That works if you know what you want and is less helpful if you do not.
The wine is from La Minga in red and white, and I will be blunt: it is below average. It is the one part of the lounge offering that has not moved with the rest, and given how much the food has improved, it stands out more than it did last year.
Crest Lounge
This is the clearest change from last year. When I looked in during our previous stay, the Crest Lounge, set aside for Crest Suite guests, had no food service during evening drinks at all. That has been reversed. There is now a spread of its own, running to finger sandwiches, fried finger food, and a chocolate fondue with dipped strawberries.
As before, nobody appeared to be monitoring movement between the two sections, so you can wander in for a look. We spent most of our time in the main lounge regardless, because the seating nearer the entrance faces Marina Bay, and that is where you want to be for the flypast.
National Day Parade 2026
This is where the stay fell short of last year, and it has nothing to do with the hotel.
Last year the parade rehearsals were held at the Padang, which sits almost directly below the tower. We watched the Red Lions come down, caught the performance rehearsals, and stayed past 8pm for the fireworks. I wrote at the time that you did not need a Marina Bay View room to enjoy it, because the lounge balconies gave you everything.
This year the parade moved to the National Stadium, and the view from Level 65 changed accordingly. What we did get was the state flag flypast, which passes over Marina Bay and is genuinely worth staying up for. Seeing the flag go past with Marina Bay Sands behind it, from an air-conditioned room with a drink in hand, is a good way to spend a National Day evening.
The fireworks were the disappointment. The view from the hotel is largely obstructed this year. You can hear them clearly and see very little given that the parade has been moved to the National Stadium and there isn’t a clear line of sight from any parts of the hotel at all.
Facilities
Level 65 fitness centre
The fitness centre on Level 65 is reserved for guests with lounge access. Last year I only had the hotel’s own photograph of this room to go on, so it was good to finally use it. It is on the smaller side, but well equipped with Technogym machines throughout, and it is open 24 hours. The showers inside are stocked with Purovel dispensers, so you can clean up without going back down to your room.
Fairmont Singapore fitness centre
One correction to what I wrote last year. I said the main fitness centre was on Level 8. It is actually on Level 6, on the Fairmont Singapore side of the complex. Both hotels are under the same ownership, so guests of either property can use either gym. You reach it either through Level 8 where the pool is, or from the lobby up to Level 6 on the Fairmont side. It is also open 24 hours.
Swimming pool
The pool on Level 8 is shared between both hotels, and it is shaped as a figure of eight. What I did not emphasise enough last year is how small it feels for the number of rooms it serves. Between Swissotel The Stamford and Fairmont Singapore, you have well over 2,000 rooms drawing on one pool deck, and it shows. It was busy every time we looked in.
Opening hours are 7am to 9pm, so an early morning or late evening swim is out.
Breakfast
Accor ALL Platinum members can take breakfast at Clove, Asian Market Cafe, or the Level 65 Lounge. Last year I tried all three and said the restaurants were the ones to go for. That advice has not changed, so this time we skipped the lounge entirely, ate at Clove, and went to look at Asian Market Cafe afterwards.
The opening times differ and are worth planning around. Asian Market Cafe opens earliest at 6.30am, Clove follows at 7.30am, and both finish at 10.30am.
Clove
Clove is the more international of the two, and it was very full when we were there, which tells you something.
The Western side covers bacon, baked beans and scrambled eggs, with the eggs made at the live counter rather than sitting in a tray going rubbery.
There is a live noodle station where you can pick from a selection of ingredients. This is in addition to the regular live egg station that you can find in most hotels.
There is also a smoked salmon and cheese counter, pastries, curry potato puffs and lemongrass chicken puffs, steamed bao, and congee with condiments.
The orange juice machine that squeezes fresh in front of you is still here, and it is still the thing I look forward to. I called this one of the best hotel breakfasts in Singapore last year. Having gone back, I have no reason to walk that back.
Asian Market Cafe
I did not have many photographs of Asian Market Cafe last year and gave it a shorter write-up as a result, which was unfair to it. Going back with time to look properly, it deserves better.
The framing is what sets it apart. The counters are styled as market stalls and named after streets around Singapore, so the Indian food comes from the Serangoon Road counter, coffee and tea from the Jalan Kayu station, and drinks from the Haji Lane station. It makes moving between counters more interesting than working down a straight buffet line, and it gives the restaurant a sense of place that Clove, for all its strengths, does not have.
The spread covers a cold seafood and salad counter, keropok with local condiments, a noodle station, and dim sum and steamed dishes. There is more overlap with Clove than you might expect, since both run live stations and both cover Singapore-Indian, Malay and Chinese food.
The fresh orange juice machine is also here, beside the Haji Lane drinks counter.
If you are only here one morning, Clove still gets my vote. If you have two, do both, because they are different enough to make the comparison worth your time.
Concluding thoughts
A year on, the things that made this hotel worth returning to have not moved. The location is still unbeatable, the beds are still excellent, and the breakfast is still the strongest part of the package.
What has genuinely improved is the Level 65 Lounge. The food selection is wider, the themed evenings give the kitchen something to work with, and the mock meat has gone. Things still run out when the room is busy, the salmon sushi most of all, but the staff are quick about bringing more out. Add the Crest Lounge now serving food where it previously served none, and the lounge has gone from a pleasant place to sit with a view to something I would actively plan the evening around. The La Minga wine is the one thing left to fix.
Two things went the other way. The National Day view is diminished with the parade at the National Stadium, which is nobody’s fault but does change the calculation if that is why you are booking. And upgrades remain the persistent frustration here. Two recent stays, and on neither occasion did we see much movement on room category. If you are chasing suites, this is not the property for it.
None of which changes the conclusion. We will be back next year, and I suspect the year after that.
