Raffles Singapore

The grande dame of Southeast Asia, white-columned and teak-verandahed, occupies an entire city block like a colonial-era ship run aground. Suites are vast, high-ceilinged, attended by butlers trained in the art of invisible presence. The Long Bar still serves that original gin-cherry cocktail, though the literary ghosts now share space with billionaires and honeymooners who understand the difference between old and historic.