Naumi, Singapore

Situated on a side street right next to the world-famous Raffles Hotel Singapore is the independent boutique hotel Naumi. 

Naumi is part of  a 2-property Singapore hospitality brand.  Housed in a small 10-storey building, the top floor (tenth) offers a bar as well as a small infinity pool overlooking the city skyline of Singapore. 

The hotel’s gym is split into 3 small rooms over 3 floors: on Level 5 and 7, you find cardio machines; on Level 6 you find a multi-exercise weight machine, 2 benches and dumbbells up to 17kg. 

On the ground floor is served breakfast . 

At night, the space becomes an Indian restaurant.

The standard rooms in Naumi are called Habitat rooms.  The sense of space is maximised using light, calming earth tones, an open layout vanity area and an open wardrobe.  There are no bathtubs, only shower stalls in Habitat rooms.   You get a Nepresso machine with complimentary capsules, as well as complimentary snacks, soft drinks and complimentary small bottles of spirits.  The coffee, tea and soft drinks are replenished but not the snacks and spirits.   There are 20 channels on the television.  They have thoughtfully placed the safe next to the writing desk.  They lend out Xbox and Wii to guests.

Staying here, food should not be a problem.  As mentioned, there is an Indian restaurant in the lobby of the hotel.  On the same street as the hotel, you can find local food such as Chicken Rice and Beef Kway Teow (flat white rice noodles) and a bar.  There is a McDonald’s across the road from you.  You can get the original Singapore Sling at Long Bar in Raffles hotel as well as other food options in Raffles Hotel.  Beyond Raffles Hotel, you will find Raffles City, a shopping mall with even more food options.  Raffles City is also where subway lines intersect (City Hall station).

Breakfast here is a simple but quality affair—— some Western hot food, cereal, baked goods, fruit.  You can also order waffles or free range whole eggs or egg white only done to your liking.  The best part is, they have my all-time, all-weather happy medicine—champagne, EVERYDAY!!!!  Hip and young at heart, if you have a hangover, they also have aspirin, alka seltzer and protein shakes to help you recover.  On Friday nights, the staff go to each room and offer you an alcoholic shot (tequila..etc) of your choice.  Woohoo!

Naumi offers a reasonably convenient location for business travellers.  It is a short 5-10 minute drive from various business locations in Singapore such as Raffles Place and Shenton Way in the CBD, the conference meccas of Suntec and Marina Bay Sands (also where the casino is).  You can actually walk to Suntec if you are not dragging a business trolley bag behind you.

Naumi is also very near to shopping such as Raffles City and Suntec, and just 2-3 subway stops away from the shopping stretch of Orchard Road.

If there is no traffic, you can travel between the airport and hotel in around 25 minutes on the expressway.    

Tip: Get a room on the front of the building (facing Raffles Hotel) so you can get a view of the city skyline.  Make sure the room is on a Level 9 or you would be blocked by Raffles.  Supposing you have a room with a good view and you are in Singapore on their National day (9 Aug) or New Year’s eve, then probably you would be able to catch a view of the fireworks from your room. 

Impossibly hip, if you are tired of standard-issue hotels, check into Naumi for a refreshing change. Who says business trips have to be boring?