While scrolling on Booking.com or when I ask my agent (Liv&Travel) about Singapore, I’m bombarded with endless five-star choices. Singapore really does have some of the best hotels in the world, and for someone like me who lives for the hotel experience, how on earth do you choose?

My solution? Book three.

I know, most people would say “Why bother moving around so much?” But when you travel as often as I do, you learn the trick: pack light, move fast, and treat each stay like a chapter in the story.

I touched down in Singapore after a whirlwind through Asia, each hotel I’d stayed at offering its own interpretation of luxury. Phuket gave me the sprawling villa life at Anantara, the theatrical storytelling of Bill Bensley at The Slate, and the restrained stillness of Paola Navone at COMO Point Yamu.

Singapore, though, plays a different game. This is a city where architecture is a competitive sport, where every new tower tries to one-up the skyline. And tucked into the CBD, right next to Chinatown, sits PARKROYAL COLLECTION Pickering, the hotel that dares to whisper while everyone else shouts.

From the outside, it looks like WOHA, the architecture studio behind it, was handed the Hanging Gardens of Babylon and told: “Now put this in Singapore.” The podium curves like eroded stone, draped with terraces of palms and ferns cascading down its sides. This isn’t “hotel landscaping” as an afterthought, it feels like nature is actively reclaiming the city. That tagline “a hotel in a garden”? For once, not marketing fluff.

First Impressions: Arrival

Driving up, you’re not met with a wall of glass but a living façade of greenery. The podium is layered with planting so dense it feels alive. Pulling into the drop-off, you’re under a canopy of leaves thick enough you wouldn’t be surprised if a fly flew past.

Because I work in construction, I couldn’t help but think: “How much does it cost to irrigate all this?” The maintenance bill must be frightening. But the greenery is immaculate, like a haircut from Chaps & Co, perfectly manicured, not a leaf out of place.

Inside, the lobby doesn’t try to impress with chandeliers or ostentation. It breathes. High ceilings, timber detailing, warm lighting, and plenty of open space. The energy isn’t intimidating, it’s quietly confident. Staff move with a rhythm you only notice if you watch closely, graceful, intuitive, there when you need them but never hovering. Within ten minutes, I was checked in, welcome drink in hand, and already easing into the hotel’s rhythm.

It’s not COMO calm, this is business meets pleasure. Something out of Crazy Rich Asians: polished, confident, and distinctly Singaporean.

PARKROYAL COLLECTION: The Brand

PARKROYAL COLLECTION is the eco-forward luxury arm of Pan Pacific Hotels Group. Pan Pacific itself is everywhere, London, Tokyo, Orchard, but the Collection properties are different. They’re experiments in biophilic hospitality, where greenery and sustainability take centre stage.

Pickering was the first, the pioneer. It set the tone. Then came Marina Bay COLLECTION, reinventing an old atrium hotel into a rainforest atrium, and Kuala Lumpur COLLECTION, with vertical farms woven into its design. The future pipeline includes Phnom Penh, Bangkok, Siem Reap, and Hanoi, all designed to push sustainable luxury further.

Unlike the cookie-cutter style of Marriott or Hilton, the Collection brand is carving out boutique personality within a global group. It’s not about scale. It’s about intent.

WOHA: Architects Who Make Cities Breathe

If COMO’s Paola Navone gave us Mediterranean minimalism in Phuket, Pickering’s appointment of WOHA gave us something louder, bolder, and yet, paradoxically, calmer.

WOHA, the Singapore-based duo of Richard Hassell and Wong Mun Summ, are global icons of biophilic urbanism. Their ethos is simple: tropical cities don’t need more soulless glass towers, they need buildings that breathe.

Pickering is their manifesto. Fifteen thousand square metres of gardens are built into the hotel’s very skeleton. Palms and shrubs cascade down its sides, vines thread through terraces, and solar-powered lighting illuminates them at night. Rainwater harvesting irrigates the greenery. These aren’t decorations: they are functioning, structural ecosystems

WOHA went on to deliver Oasia Downtown, the red tower veiled in living plants, and Pan Pacific Orchard, which opened in 2023 with its dramatic stacked terraces themed “Forest, Cloud, Beach, Garden.” That project won Best Tall Building Worldwide, cementing Singapore’s reputation as a leader in sustainable architecture. Their community project Kampung Admiralty shows the philosophy works outside luxury too, housing, healthcare, and gardens in one vertical village.

WOHA’s legacy? Architecture as ecology. And in Pickering, that philosophy is undeniable.

Interior Design: Subtle, Not Showy

Step inside a room at Pickering and you won’t find chandeliers or gold-plated anything. The interiors are about restraint. Warm timber, soft lines, woven details, and wall-to-wall glass drawing the gardens in.

My Collection Club Room was compact, about 28 sqm, but felt spacious thanks to the light and views over Hong Lim Park. Outside, vines from the sky gardens cascaded past my window. Inside, the details told the story: refillable glass amenities instead of throwaway minis, filtered taps replacing bottled water, even a bamboo toothbrush instead of plastic.

The bathroom was sleek and functional, stone, glass, rain shower, while the bed linens were crisp, the kind of understated luxury that beats theatrics every time.

Upstairs, the Collection Club Lounge was the real prize. Morning Champagne breakfasts, afternoon tea, evening cocktails with the skyline glowing around you. It felt like the perfect crossover between work and play. Deals being whispered at one table, friends laughing at another, me just sipping bubbles and wondering why I’d ever leave.

Food in Singapore: Outside the Hotel Walls

I can’t really comment on dining at Pickering, I spent most of my time either in meetings or eating out. And honestly, in Singapore, that’s exactly what you should do. The city’s food culture is unrivalled.

Hawker centres form the beating heart: stalls like Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodles and Hawker Chan proudly hold Michelin stars while charging less than a London flat white. On the other end of the scale, temples like Odette and Les Amis deliver three-star refinement with tropical confidence. In between, you’ll find mod-Sin bistros, izakayas, Peranakan kitchens, and rooftop bars where the cocktail is inseparable from the view.

For me, though, one ritual is non-negotiable: Burnt Ends (IYKYK). The wood-fired Australian barbecue institution is part addiction, part pilgrimage. Sitting at the counter, watching the theatre of smoke, flame, and precision, it’s primal and refined all at once. Every visit cements why Singapore is, pound-for-pound, the best food city in the world.

Wellness: Pool, Spa, and Gardens

The pool is the hotel’s showpiece. Floating above the city, flanked by sculptural birdcage cabanas, it’s as photogenic as Marina Bay Sands’ pool, just less crowded and, dare I say, less tacky. Here, you don’t swim to perform, you swim to retreat. The city hums beneath you, the gardens rise around you, and for a moment, time slows.

The garden walk looping the wellness floor is another gift, an elevated trail through greenery that alternates between skyscraper vistas and canopy calm.

The St. Gregory Spa delivered one of the best massages I’ve had on the road, equal parts science and serenity. The gym is small but solid, and the yoga classes on the terrace make you forget you’re working out in one of the busiest business districts on the planet.

Sustainability: Beyond Buzzwords

Pickering’s green credentials aren’t cosmetic, they’re structural. The hotel holds a Green Mark Platinum rating (Singapore’s answer to LEED Platinum). The gardens regulate heat and act as thermal buffers. Rainwater is harvested and reused. Solar panels power the gardens at night. The shallow building depth reduces cooling demand. And in-room filtered water means no plastic bottles.

There’s even an urban farm supplying the spa and kitchens. This isn’t marketing; it’s operational sustainability woven into every corner of the hotel.

Singapore’s Hotel Scene in 2025 (and Beyond)

2025 has been a breakout year for Singapore’s hotel scene, with new openings reshaping the landscape. Mandai Rainforest Resort by Banyan Tree launched with treetop pods and eco-immersion, while Raffles Sentosa brought the country’s first all-villa resort of 62 private pools and butlers. The Laurus added sleek all-suites to Resorts World Sentosa, and lifestyle brands like The Standard Singapore and QT Singapore are set to inject a cheeky, modern edge.

By the numbers, 2025 alone adds 650 rooms, with nearly 5,900 more by 2029, an 8% jump in capacity. On the horizon, the Marina Bay Sands’ $8B fourth tower promises 570 suites, rooftop gardens, and a 15,000-seat arena by the 2030s, while Skywaters Residences will rise to 305m by 2028 as Singapore’s tallest, blending residences, offices, and hotel space with sustainable terraces.

Even Hotel Indigo is eyeing a “zero-energy” airport hotel above Terminal 2 with a floating forest by 2028. Against this frenzy of spectacle, Pickering still feels like the quiet innovator, the hotel that proved luxury doesn’t always need to shout.

Pricing & Value

Rates start from AED 1,400 per night for an entry-level room, rising to AED 1,800 for Club Rooms and around AED 2,200–2,600 for suites. During Formula 1 season, brace yourself: prices across the city hit four digits fast.

Is it worth it? I’d say yes. Because you’re not buying hype or heritage, you’re buying design, sustainability, and a genuine sense of calm in the heart of a frantic city.

The Followers: PLP, BIG, and the Biophilic Wave

WOHA may have pioneered the look, but others are following. PLP Architecture, the London-based firm, brought us Park Nova, a butterfly-wing residential tower wrapped in greenery that echoes Pickering’s ideas. BIG and Heatherwick Studio have dabbled in plant-covered façades too.

Biophilic design isn’t a trend anymore, it’s the future. And Singapore is leading it. Pickering was the proof of concept. Now everyone else is playing catch-up.

Things to Watch-Out For

Nothing is perfect. The rooms are compact compared to Southeast Asian resort standards, so this isn’t where you sprawl. The pool, while beautiful, is a magnet for influencers with tripods at golden hour. And the calm vibe may not suit families or party-seekers. If you want constant energy, Marina Bay Sands or Resorts World will be more your speed.

Final Thoughts

PARKROYAL COLLECTION Pickering isn’t just another hotel, it’s a philosophy made physical, and then wrapped in greenery. In a city that loves spectacle, it whispers. Its luxury is restraint, its strength is sustainability, and its memory is how it makes you feel calm in the chaos.

For me, it’s my number one pick in Singapore. Because I know what I’m getting: service, location, rhythm. I want to walk in the CBD, and this hotel gives me that in a setting that feels human. Coming from Dubai, where walking anywhere is a rare luxury, this felt like the antidote.

Would I stay again? Without hesitation.

Next stop: Marina Bay Sands, because after Pickering’s quiet philosophy, I want to see how the city’s loudest icon holds up.

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