A Singapore haven in London’s Square Mile

A TYPICAL LONDON EXPERIENCE THESE days seems to revolve around shopping, eating, sightseeing and trying not to be fair game for snatch thieves. But once you’ve got all of that covered – including mastering the art of hiding your iPhone while following Google Maps at the same time – how about adding the City of London to your tried-and-true itinerary?

No, not London – as in Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, rude waiters in Chinatown. We mean the City of London: the original London, a quirk of history that has kept this tiny, self-governed pocket of a city intact for 2,000 years, complete with all the ancient ruins to show for it. Today, most of London’s money can be found in this financial district colloquially called The Square Mile – or, if you prefer metric parlance, The Square 1.6 km.

But the stereotype of a more-work-than-play domain of business travellers and lanyard-wearing corporate suits is fast giving way as more luxury hotels move into the Mile, spawning more lifestyle options to keep people lingering long after office hours. It’s also starting to draw more than just jet-setting C-suites: travellers with a yen for history, architecture, or simply getting delightfully lost in this dizzying labyrinth of ancient churches and futuristic skyscrapers.

Singaporean hospitality

Among the five-star properties enjoying a renewed interest in the City is the Pan Pacific London, soft-launched at the tail-end of the pandemic, but now a hub of activity with a winning combination of sleek elegance and Singaporean hospitality.

The 43-storey, Yabu Pushelberg-designed landmark sits on 80 Houndsditch, in the heart of Bishopsgate – striking glass and steel on the outside, understated luxury within. Away from the cacophony of the streets, a sense of calm takes over as you settle down over tea and pastries at Ginger Lily, a cosy lounge by day, buzzy cocktail bar by night.

You don’t hear any Singaporean accents – in fact, there are 42 nationalities that work in this hotel – nor any overt attempts to force kaya toast or ang ku kueh into the hotel vernacular. Instead, the touches are subtle: botanical-inspired wall murals, works by Chinese artists, charming Oriental teapots in each room.

But if you’re feeling homesick, its restaurant is reassuringly titled Straits Kitchen, and its private rooms are named after hawker centres like Newton and Maxwell. Just don’t expect chicken rice or laksa on the menu. Instead, Straits Kitchen offers an eclectic blend of modern European and South-east Asian flavours.

If it can’t replicate the authenticity of hawker food, it would rather not try at all – this is the belief of general manager Anne Golden, whose definition of Singaporean hospitality isn’t about what you see, but what you feel.

Golden, who has helmed the hotel from Day One, initially grappled with the challenge of translating the Singapore experience in a London setting, for a clientele who may not be familiar with the city-state. “My daughter suggested that I write down all the things I remembered from my time in Singapore,” she says. “And the four that stood out were: kindness, humility, passion and attention to detail.”

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All of which you will experience during your stay, from the moment your luggage is whisked from your car, right through check-in and heading up to your room. You enter a freshly refurbished suite with a bird’s-eye view of the Gherkin, plump sofas and full-length artworks depicting rich Asian flora. A terrarium, ornamental boxes and cute figurines add a warm, homey touch.

Completing the 360-degree approach to comfort and wellness is a Sensory Wellbeing Floor, where you can bypass an infinity pool and gym reminiscent of the space age for the bliss-inducing spa treatments based on holistic South-east Asian therapies.

A walking history tour

That Pan Pacific London’s guests are half business and half leisure says a lot about its location and access to non-financial activities. There’s so much for everyone that you can drop a history buff, architecture zealot and food-loving market explorer in any one spot, and chances are they’ll find exactly what they want.

History buffs can start at the Monument, a 17th-century tribute to the Great Fire of London. It’s best to hire one of the many walking tour guides that the concierge can help you to book. They’ll have you trekking down narrow streets to find those with the funniest names – Pudding, Bread, Milk and Poultry – literally spelling out what was sold there back in the day.

You’ll also discover that the Square Mile might have had more churches than parishioners to attend them, at the rate you keep stumbling across one crumbling place of worship after another. But there were probably enough people to patronise all the pubs, including the Counting House, a former banking hall that now counts pints instead of pounds.

You could also drop in at Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, a 17th-century tavern on Fleet Street said to be Charles Dickens’ haunt. He may still be there.

Or if your knowledge of history is limited to Harry Potter, check out Leadenhall Market – the inspiration for Diagon Alley.

The Mile isn’t short of architectural wonders, either. Take your pick of nicknames: Gherkin, Cheesegrater, Scalpel, Walkie-Talkie or Inside-Out. Otherwise, the Bloomberg building is also a show-stopper. For garden lovers, Trinity Square Gardens offers a great view of the Tower of London, while St Dunstan-in-the-East is a creepy if beautiful public garden that used to be part of a medieval church.

For foodies, the famed Borough Market is a walkable 15 minutes away, or an easy bus ride. Spitalfields is barely a five-minute trot from the hotel, and Columbia Road Flower Market – just outside the Mile – is a charming Sunday market to explore, too. But if you’re too lazy to walk, there’s a giant Eataly store just across the street from the hotel.

Beyond the Mile

Far from being inaccessible, Pan Pacific London is just a two-minute walk to Liverpool Street station, which links you to the London Underground and rail network. If you’re so inclined – and armed with light luggage – you could skip the London traffic and be at Heathrow in less than an hour on the spanking new Elizabeth line.

In fact, if you dread sitting on subway seats that have never experienced the sensation of soap, stick to the Elizabeth line, which will take you to Oxford Street in four stops.

Still, there’s a certain vibe about being in the City that feels very different from the bigger London. It’s self-contained, less touristy and residential. Even when it winds down for the weekend, it’s still a hive of activity as residents go about their errands, and visitors hang out at the restaurants and bars.

It’s not surprising to find the Ginger Lily buzzing on weekend nights, says Golden. “We have a big drinking culture in London, but it also helps that we have exciting drinks.”

Part of the bar’s appeal also comes from its unique Singapore-inspired cocktails.

“Our overarching ambition for the hotel is to create a space where everyone belongs,” Golden adds. “We hope that everyone feels welcome and wants to come back and spend time here because they feel calm and well-looked-after, you know?”

And given the frenetic, fast-paced confines of the City of London, that could well be the true luxury.

The writer was a guest of Pan Pacific London