Concierge.com's insider take:

This legendary property, built in 1887, is probably Singapore's most famous tourist attraction. Long before the 1991 renovation that transformed the hotel from a run-down curio into a gleaming landmark, a Singapore Sling at the hotel's Long Bar, where the sugary pink cocktail was first mixed, was de rigueur for visitors. Some say the old girl now gleams too much: The public areas on the first three floors have been turned into a mall-like shopping and dining complex trading on the hotel's famous name. Hotel guests, though, still get to experience the elegant ease of colonial-era Southeast Asia. The 103 standard suites have high ceilings, antique reproduction furnishings, Oriental carpets on polished teak floors, and small sitting rooms and dressing areas. The 12 Personality Suites, which have spacious parlors and dining areas, also include photographs, letters, and memorabilia of some of the hotel's famous guests, such as Rudyard Kipling, Charlie Chaplin, Noël Coward, and Somerset Maugham (who wrote many of his most famous stories here). The signature restaurant, the Raffles Grill, is a bit stuffy and more than a bit overpriced, but a full breakfast overlooking the courtyard shouldn't be missed.