The Vagabond Club, Singapore

Here’s an enticing formula for a hotel. An Art Deco building in Singapore’s up-and-coming Kampong Glam neighborhood, plus an illustrious French architect and interior designer. Indeed, there’s much to love about the Jacques Garcia–designed Vagabond Club. That’s partly because the sumptuous 41-room boutique looks like a lot more than a cool place to sleep. The hotel’s Whiskey Library is home to a carefully curated selection of over 1,000 whiskies, and also features an Artist In Residence program, which brings writers, musicians, and visual artists from all over the globe to live, work, and socialize with guests in a Parisian salon-inspired space.

Ambitious, yes, but no one ever made an impact, especially on a hotel scene as crowded as Singapore’s, by playing it safe. It feels like a special occasion when you step into the hotel. The interiors are dark and romantic, channeling the old-world glamour of Garcia’s native Paris — red velvet banquettes, Dalí-esque paintings, bouquets of roses — as much as the Far-East flair of the neighborhood itself. You’re close to Singapore’s Little India, and it feels like it: glittering, larger-than-life sculptures of an elephant and a rhinoceros grace the lobby, a golden baboon stares back at you as you order a martini, a magnificent golden tree soaring up past the bar, the gilded branches seemingly woven into the architecture.

Garcia’s over-the-top aesthetic continues upstairs, though guest rooms and suites have a cozier look. He’s designed each room individually, but they’re all outfitted in dark wood and crisp white, with richly hued throw rugs, woven blankets, and hand-painted surfaces — from armoires to tea sets — warming things up. Bathrooms are laid with Italian marble; writing desks are made of heavy mahogany. Standard amenities include king-sized beds with Egyptian cotton sheets, Turkish towels, and bath products by Etro. But the most memorable in-room details are less mundane: they’re about entertainment and pleasure. Each room comes with a vintage-style Roberts Radio in a hand-sewn leather case, a minibar stocked with artisanal snacks and drinks, and a mini film library curated by Garcia himself. It’s the kind of place where you could hole up all weekend. But then you’d miss the chance to mingle with the Vagabond’s in-house painters and poets when they emerge from their ateliers to sip cocktails in the hotel’s one-of-a-kind salon. Plan your time wisely — there’s also a vast number of attractions within easy walking distance of the hotel’s front door — or just extend another day or two.