Fodor's Expert Review Raffles Hotel

An extensive 2019 makeover added elegant new suites, restaurants, and bars to this 1887 Grande Dame, which was once the home of a British sea captain and is still Singapore's history-steeped showpiece—not only has its guest list included the likes of Rudyard Kipling, Somerset Maugham, Elizabeth Taylor, and Michael Jackson, but its chic plantation-themed Long Bar is the original purveyor of the Singapore Sling cocktail and the only place where you can litter legally (help yourself to peanuts from the gunny sack, then throw their shells onto the floor).