St. Regis Singapore vs. The Singapore EDITION: Which Marriott is Better?

St. Regis Singapore vs. The Singapore EDITION: the short answer

Book the St. Regis if the room matters most. Book the EDITION if the pool and breakfast do.

Neither hotel wins outright. The St. Regis is the classic grand hotel, with bigger, newly renovated rooms and an excellent Cantonese restaurant. The EDITION is the design hotel, with a spectacular rooftop pool, but less going on in the evening than you'd expect from the brand.

The St. Regis Singapore

What I liked:

• The renovated rooms: rich, layered and, to me, beautifully maximalist
• Yan Ting, the Cantonese restaurant on site, which was great
• Space: entry rooms are around 50 sq m

What I didn't like:

• The pool feels like an afterthought
• Breakfast is average, and the à la carte options were outright bad

The Singapore EDITION

What I liked:

• Room design that feels a lot cosier
• The long rooftop pool, which is as beautiful as it looks in the pictures
• Breakfast, which was great

What I didn't like:

• Not enough social energy: neither the rooftop bar nor the lobby bar delivers
• Limited dining on site, and dinner didn't live up to breakfast

Both are Marriott hotels, both are in Marriott's STARS advisor program, and they sit a short walk apart at the Tanglin end of Orchard Road. So this really comes down to what kind of stay you want.

At a glance

Rooms: St. Regis for maximalist grandeur, EDITION for cosy

The St. Regis finished the first full renovation in its history in early 2026, and it shows. The rooms are now very beautiful: botanical patterns, layered textures and a lot going on, maximalist in the best way. They're also big. The entry Astor Room is around 50 square metres, which is generous for central Singapore, and it's the main reason I'd pick the St. Regis for a longer stay or a family.

The EDITION's rooms are smaller, from around 38 square metres, but the design felt a lot cosier to me than the pictures online. Now, as with all Editions around the world, they dialed the minimalism to the max, which for some people might feel boring or empty. I did kind of enjoy the novelty but the rooms at St Regis are definitely better.

If you want the room to feel like an occasion, book the St. Regis.

Pools: EDITION, easily

This is the clearest win in the comparison. The EDITION's rooftop pool is 43 metres long, with a glass oculus in its floor that looks down into the garden courtyard. It's as beautiful as it looks in the pictures.

The St. Regis pool is 27 metres, outdoors, with a separate children's pool. It's fine for a swim, but it felt like an afterthought, and it's underwhelming next to the rest of the hotel. If a pool day is part of your plan in Singapore's heat, that alone is a reason to choose the EDITION.

Dining: St. Regis for dinner, EDITION for breakfast

The two hotels are almost mirror images here.

At the St. Regis, dinner is the strength. Yan Ting, the Cantonese restaurant, was great, and it's listed in the Michelin Guide. It also does a weekend dim sum brunch. Sophia, the modern Italian restaurant in the glasshouse on the ground floor, is the other main option, and there are independently run Japanese restaurants on site too.

Breakfast is the St. Regis's weak spot. It's a buffet at Sophia, and I found it average for a hotel at this level. The à la carte options were outright bad. If breakfast is included in your rate, it's worth having. I wouldn't pay for it separately.

At the EDITION, it's the other way round. Breakfast was great, and one of the highlights of the stay. Dinner didn't deliver. When I stayed, the restaurant was Fysh, from the Australian chef Josh Niland. That partnership ended at the end of 2025, and Tanica, a modern Asian restaurant with a Josper grill and wok, opened in its place on 17 September 2026. It now serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. It's too new for me to judge, and I'll update this once I've eaten there. Either way, there's much less choice on site than at the St. Regis.

The practical answer: stay at the EDITION and walk over to Yan Ting for dinner. It's a short walk away.

Bars and social life: don't book the EDITION for the scene

EDITION hotels are known for their bars and their buzz, so I went in expecting social energy. I didn't find it. Neither the rooftop bar nor the Lobby Bar delivered. The Lobby Bar, with its pink velvet and marble pool table, is a beautiful room, but neither place ever came alive.

There are two more places worth knowing about. Punch Room, EDITION's signature punch bar, opens late, Tuesday to Saturday, and Wonder Room, a small club downstairs, opens on Fridays. If nightlife is the point of your trip, time your stay for those nights, or plan to go out elsewhere.

The St. Regis is a different kind of hotel. The St. Regis Bar opened in August 2025, and the Tea Room serves afternoon tea with a harpist. It's polished and grown-up, not a scene, and it doesn't try to be.

Service and extras: St. Regis's signatures

The St. Regis has two things the EDITION doesn't. The first is 24-hour butler service. The second is a serious art collection of more than 70 works, including a Botero sculpture at the entrance and works by Picasso, Chagall and Miró, with a daily butler-led art tour at 5:30pm.

The EDITION's extras are about design and atmosphere rather than service rituals. It also has a proper spa with thermal pools, a sauna and a steam room.

Where each one falls short

These are the weak spots I'd warn clients about.

The St. Regis pool is an afterthought. For a hotel this grand, it's underwhelming. If you plan to spend afternoons by the pool, book the EDITION.

St. Regis breakfast doesn't match the hotel. The buffet is average, and the à la carte menu is weak. It's fine as a perk. It isn't worth paying for.

The EDITION is quieter than the brand promises. If you're expecting the energy of other EDITION hotels, you'll likely be disappointed.

Dining at the EDITION is thin. With one main restaurant, you'll eat out most nights. And after the switch from Fysh to Tanica, the dinner offering is still settling in.

The EDITION's rooms are smaller. At around 40 square metres they're comfortable for two, but tight for a family or a long stay with big suitcases.

Neither hotel is right on Orchard Road. Both sit at the quieter Tanglin end, about a 10-minute walk from the main shopping stretch. That's pleasant, but plan on taxis in the midday heat.

My verdict: who should book which

Book the St. Regis if:

• You want the bigger, newly renovated room
• You're travelling with kids, or staying a week or longer
• Cantonese food matters to you, and you want a great dinner without leaving the hotel
• You like butler service and a classic grand-hotel feel

Book the EDITION if:

• You're a couple, or travelling solo
• A pool day is part of the plan
• You care more about design than grandeur
• You'll eat out most nights anyway

Book neither if you want a buzzing nightlife hotel or Marina Bay skyline views. Both are calm hotels at the quiet end of Orchard. For the skyline, stay around Marina Bay instead.

How I'd book it

• At the St. Regis, the entry Astor Room is already big enough. Spend the upgrade money on dinner at Yan Ting instead.
• At the EDITION, plan at least one full afternoon at the rooftop pool, and book dinners out before you arrive.
• Wherever you stay, have one dinner at Yan Ting. It's the best meal across the two hotels.
• Book through an advisor, not direct. Both hotels are in Marriott STARS. When you book through me at the Marriott STARS rate, you typically get complimentary daily breakfast for two, a room upgrade on arrival when available, and early check-in and late checkout, at no extra cost. Send me your dates and I'll price both side by side.

FAQ

Is the St. Regis or the EDITION better in Singapore? It depends on the trip. The St. Regis has bigger, newly renovated rooms and better dinner. The EDITION has the better pool, the better breakfast and a cosier design.

Is Fysh still open at the Singapore EDITION? No. Josh Niland's Fysh closed at the end of 2025. Tanica, a modern Asian restaurant, opened in its place on 17 September 2026.

Which hotel has the better pool? The EDITION, by a distance. Its 43-metre rooftop pool is one of the best hotel pools in Singapore. The St. Regis pool is smaller and underwhelming.

Which is better for families? The St. Regis. The rooms are bigger, there's a separate children's pool, and there's more choice for dinner without leaving the hotel.

Are the St. Regis and the EDITION close to each other? Yes. They're a short walk apart at the Tanglin end of Orchard Road, so you can stay at one and eat at the other.