the luxury boutique hotel exudes colonial splendour
At best, the towering skyscrapers of Singapore’s Central Business District are only four kilometres away. That’s less than the length of Central Park in New York City, but it feels like we are a world away from a hustling, bustling city at Villa Samadhi. Surrounded by the lush tropical greenery of Labrador Nature Reserve, only glimpses of steel-and-glass towers through tree branches remind us that we are still well within city limits.
The immediate impression of Villa Samadhi is colonial. A former British military garrison, the stately white façade with louvered windows, black trim and graceful red tiled roof takes one back in time to colonial days. In the 1920s, when the building was built, it stood on stilts with quarters elevated above the path of wild animals. In 2018, that lower space has been filled out after three years of restoration by the Samadhi Group – creating space for the hotel’s 20 luxurious rooms. Divided between Crib, Luxe Crib, Sarang and the separate single Luxe Sarang suite (from SG$205/RM610 per night), the rooms make full use of the limited space, imbued with a colonial charm and a generous bathroom space that includes inviting wooden bathtubs or (in Sarang rooms) an indoor plunge pool.
Labrador Nature Reserve was once home to a large military enclave – cannons and defence ramparts still dot the paths here – and that British legacy lives at Villa Samadhi. A complimentary high tea of scones and local flavours is served daily, while cocktail hour takes place in a communal Library space, designed to look like a colonial country club lounge. Sustenance (and also breakfast) comes in the form of a short walk to Tamarind Hill, also managed by the Samadhi Group, famed for its Thai fine dining. The food can also come to you – the restaurant’s full menu doubles as Villa Samadhi’s in-room dining menu. While you dine, the turn down service places a decanter of port wine in the room – another lovely old world touch that fits in perfectly with the boutique hotel’s ethos.
Villa Samadhi does not claim to be the most spacious or the most well-appointed of Singaporean hotels, but what it does, it does very, very well. It somehow manages to transport guests to a place of nostalgia and peace that feels a world away from the hectic buzz of cosmopolitan Singapore. Boutique luxury hotels are defined by their character, and Villa Samadhi has personality in spades.
