Emily Taylor
My son issued the decree a few months before he turned five: he wanted to celebrate “in another country”. He wasn’t entirely sure where but knew it should involve animals and a plane ride. I nodded, not wanting to spook him with overt enthusiasm, and began making travel plans.
Some weeks later, our family of four touched down in Singapore, a destination I’d previously considered mainly for its excellent airport, a frequent staging post on trips further afield. But beyond the city’s gleaming skyscrapers and busy theme parks, a different landscape unfolds: mangrove wetlands, nature reserves, tropical rainforest. And, as of last November, a rather good new hotel.
The opening of Mandai Rainforest Resort was a milestone for the Singapore-headquartered Banyan Group, its 100th global operation but the first in its home town. It’s also the first to offer a wildlife destination within a capital city, and the jungle location makes a compelling case for Singapore as the stay, rather than the stopover.
The breakfast is one of myriad immersive experiences across the Mandai Wildlife Reserve, which enjoyed its own grand opening in May following a 10-year transformation. The 126-hectare precinct now encompasses the zoo, the famous Night Safari, three more wildlife parks and numerous nature-based attractions that promote conservation and connection to the natural world.
The new resort streamlines access to all of it. The rainforest setting has been considered in every aspect of the build, a showcase of biophilic design. Treehouse rooms are shaped like giant seed pods, glass-walled suites invite the green canopy inside and hotel corridors open to the elements. It’s as if the 338-room structure has been there for decades, rather than months, thanks to the retention of mature trees and the jungle vines that tumble from every balcony.
My newly minted five-year-old declared it his best birthday ever, though he also said the same about a barbecue in the park last year.
EMILY TAYLOR
Our Family Sanctuary room shows that the hotel inherently understands family travel, with a king bed on one side and a wooden loft bed, roomy enough for two little ones, on the other making bedtimes manageable. A child-sized nook beneath the bunk came furnished with pebble-shaped floor cushions and tasteful jungle wallpaper, while a rattan blind, concealed in the ceiling, descends to engineer some privacy after kids are asleep.
The birthday boy was most enchanted by the rooftop garden and its expansive infinity pool. It’s an extraordinary spot to watch the sun rise – something you inevitably do when travelling with little kids. We played I spy across the reservoir in that atmospheric dawn haze specific to tropical destinations, and are fairly certain we spied the languid progress of a rather large crocodile. (The resort staff looked horrified and delighted in equal measure when I enquired whether large, languid crocodiles were common in the area. By all official accounts they are not, but our unconfirmed sighting made the nature-immersion ethos all the more exciting.)
While the resort is child-friendly, it is not only for families. Accommodation at the pointy end is proper luxury and, should you wish to escape other people’s offspring (or, indeed, your own), there’s an on-site fine diner with a strict dress code and 10-plus age requirement.
As fancy restaurants weren’t on our holiday bingo card, we found plenty of options at Food Republic, the precinct’s new hawker centre. Cheap and cheerful, it caters for the adventurous and the fussy alike. We ate from stalls serving fresh-cooked noodles, delicate satay and flaky roti prata.
The celebratory birthday dinner was followed by a visit to the Night Safari. Singapore’s renowned after-dark wildlife park is just next door to the resort, so when everyone is slightly hysterical after nocturnal tram rides past vocal lions, surprisingly active elephants and a white tiger materialising from the shadows, you can stroll home to bed along the prettily lit walkways.
Falling asleep to the rhythm of the rainforest felt a bit like camping, if you like your camping with a minibar, a good pillow and a high thread count. The jungle cadence is startling in volume if you’re not expecting it, but the sound of frogs and cicadas going about their nocturnal business heightened the sensation of being somewhere remote.
My newly minted five-year-old declared it his best birthday ever, though he also said the same about a barbecue in the park last year. What I will say is that I didn’t bake a single cake, there were no piñata-related injuries and nobody cried – not even me. We emerged from the jungle more refreshed than we’ve ever felt after staging a celebration. And that crocodile will go down in family lore as one of the more unexpected gatecrashers at a kid’s party.
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