The Fullerton Hotel : A Historic Landmark

19th April, 3rd & 6th May 2011. Written by Xin Li.
Well the elections are over, quite a colorful one especially my family who have been through walkovers under Tanjong Pagar until recently. The last election was probably 22-30 years ago. No point discussing about it, may the new parliament will work beyond partisan lines for the good of Singapore.

Today I will like to share about a building that has been part of our skyline for more than fifty years and it is almost as old as our national history. In fact, the history of this building paralleled our national history.

The Fullerton Building stands on what was formerly Fort Fullerton, named after a Scotsman named Sir Robert Fullerton, the First Governor of Penang. There is almost no trace of the fort today which was demolished in 1873.

The present building dates back to the 1920s and it was designed by Perry & Co. Overseas Ltd. London. The building itself was the result of an international efforts with carpenters from Fujian, China, architects and designers from London, Milan and Shanghai, not to forget the laborers from India and China who built it. The total cost of the building was estimated to be 4.09 million SGD – 4.75 million SGD.

Throughout the years, the Fullerton Building was the home for the General Post Office, the Singapore Chamber of Commerce, and a makeshift Hospital during the war, an administrative headquarters when Singapore was Syonan-to and as the Ministry of Finance including the Economic Development Board during the early years of our independence.

Today it is a luxurious hotel owned by the Far East Organization reflecting the prosperity of the country today. The sad fact being that not everyone can afford it.

The Fullerton Hotel is easily one of my favorite hotels that I hope I could spend a night there one day. I love the huge spacious, sky-lit atrium where you can enjoy live classical music and splurge on afternoon tea or chocolate buffet at the Courtyard.

The atrium is nothing short of majestic with its massive, raw textured columns and a grand staircase that leads to the basement where the event spaces are.

The event rooms have names like the EDB Room, the Monday Meeting Room, the Boardroom and the GPO Room which reflects the building’s history.

The Post Bar used to be part of the Post Office Gallery.

The hotel has a gallery corner, which features artworks of historical exhibitions now and then. During out time of visit, an exhibition entitled “6000 Metres” was going on. It was organized by Chan Hampe Galleries together with the The Fullerton Heritage featuring a series of paintings of the Singapore River by Chankerk.

The paintings explore the iconic architecture that frames it which is “the vehicle through which he highlights the contrast between the demand for progressive growth and the desire to preserve Singapore’s cultural heritage.” The title refers to the length of the river.

For people who wish to relax and enjoy the music (and if you could afford it), you could chill out at the Courtyard.

Located just outside the hotel building is the Foundation Stone of the Monument, a tribute to the early founders of Singapore. It was laid by the Late Yusof bin Ishak, our First President on 18th January 1970. It was originally laid on Clifford Pier before it was moved to the National Archives HQ then back to the Fullerton Heritage District in 9th July 2010.

Moving across to One Fullerton via the underground, you can reach the Fullerton Bay Hotel which is housed in a contemporary structure and part of Clifford Pier, another historic building.

Besides being known as a luxurious destination with impressive views of Marina Bay and having one of the most expensive rooms to date.

The Fullerton Bay Hotel was designed by DP Architects, a local architecture firm. However, the interiors were designed by Andre Fu and the LCL Architects from Hong Kong.

Opposite Fullerton Bay Hotel is the Marina Bay Sands Integrated Resort where you could enjoy occasional light shows from the waterfront.

Glass-clad offices and residences dominate the west side of the bay. Our erroneous perception that glass=modern=prosperity toppled the rationale for energy-saving and climatically responsive buildings.

Towards the east, stood another national icon of Singapore, the Merlion, which has been desecrated or to given a unique presentation as the Merlion Hotel by Tatzu Nishi for the Singapore Biennale 2011.

I shall end this post with a series of cakes that we got for half price after 6 pm from the Fullerton Hotel. The service we experienced while purchasing the cakes was poor if not abysmal for a five-star hotel standard. We were being ignored despite us waiting at the counter for quite some time.

Firstly, we have the Fullerton Blackforest Cake for 8.50 nett SGD which lacked what I am looking for in a Blackforest Cake, a good balance of chocolate and cherries, in this case, the chocolate was too strong and the cherries was almost like jam.

The Strawberry Tart (8.00 nett SGD) has gone soft after sitting in the chiller for so long, the tart base was too moist and the strawberries were too dry and the tart base crumbles easily (not in a good way). I will give this a miss (at least after 4-6 pm)

The Chocolate Manjari Cake (9.00 nett SGD) was the best among the three with its rich chocolate and three layers of texture that reminded me of a divine dessert at La Table de Tee in Bangkok. It has crunchy nutty layer intermingled with soft rich chocolate mousse and chocolate glace. The only odd thing is the pink, hollow chocolate ‘sotong’ ball which contains alcohol.

Finally if you are interested in staying over at the Fullerton Hotel, they do offer some really attractive promotions now and then such as the two nights and one night free offer which allow you to stay in one of its atrium rooms with breakfasts included for 400+ SGD for 2 nights compared to 300-400 SGD per night. although it is still beyond my financial reach.

We could still play with the koi fishes for free.