Six Senses Duxton
Six Senses Duxton closed in May 2020, with Duxton Reserve Singapore, Autograph Collection from Marriott International opening shortly after.
When one of the leading hotel brands in the world opens a property in Singapore, you just know they’re going to do it with the ethos and concept that they’re well known for. Six Senses have a passion for sustainability, environmental issues and working with the local communities that they operate in so when Six Senses Duxton opened in Singapore, all of these initiatives were at the forefront of their debut as a city based luxury hotel operator. The 49 room hotel, which is housed within 8 restored shop houses, is subtle and understated in a way that blends perfectly with the surrounding buildings and it’s new neighbours. Walk beneath the stained glass awning and step through the door of 81 Duxton Road and you will immediately realise that no expense has been spared and no detail left to chance throughout this immaculately designed hotel. The project was delivered by renowned hotelier and interior designer Anouska Hempel, whose previous creations have included Blakes, Grosvenor House and La Suite West. It is impossible to miss the bold black and yellow hues that run throughout the property, or the bespoke wallpaper which was created from ancient indentures presenting a unique and historic feel. Upon check in guests will be invited to step into a giant Himalayan singing bowl to mark their arrival before being led to one of the tastefully appointed guest rooms and suites.
Guest rooms at Six Senses Duxton are unique, stylish and luxurious, next to your supremely comfortable bed expect the newest Bose Revolve sound dock to sit harmoniously aside your Himalayan singing bowl. Be drawn to one of the most stunning mini bars we’ve ever seen, complete with artisanal local liquors and healthy, hand blended tonics, enjoy a chilled water which is filtered on site and supplied in a glass bottle or pop the kettle on for a loose leaf tea from local Chinese tea purveyor Yixang Xuan Teahouse. We slept like babies at Six Senses Duxton and were always well rested in order to continue our exploration of the local Keong Saik neighbourhood complete with boutiques, bistros, wine bars and very soon, Six Senses Maxwell, the sister property of Six Senses Duxton which is opens towards the end of 2018.
Before we move on to the vegan food we enjoyed at Six Senses Duxton, let us just say how good it was to find vegan snacks left in our room after turn down. Rich and decadent, organic dark chocolate from Montezuma and stem ginger cookies from Doves Farm were the perfect way to end our first day, so often we find non vegan snacks that we cannot eat left on our bed, so top marks to Six Senses Duxton for looking after their vegan guests!
The Vegan Food
Yellow Pot Restaurant is where all meals are taken at Six Senses Duxton, once Six Senses Maxwell is open guests will also be able to chose to dine (including breakfast) at either location which is an exciting concept. That said, we were perfectly happy with everything we sampled at Yellow Pot, from light and healthy, plant based breakfasts to a selection of dishes from the main menu, and on our final day a specially prepared ‘Vegan Lunch’. Our breakfast started with freshly squeezed grapefruit juice and a pot of chrysanthemum tea accompanied by a tropical fruit platter; next we could have selected from Pumpkin Rice Congee (which was labeled vegan), sauteed mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, hashed potatoes with seasonal greens from the Full English Breakfast or the chef was happy to prepare a vegan fried noodle dish ‘off menu’ if we wished. However, we were happy to choose Avocado Toast, again labeled as vegan, which was creamy smashed avocado and cilantro on toasted wholegrain, served with pickled green mango and toasted nut clusters.
Our specially prepared vegan lunch at Six Senses Duxton was a feast of delicate and divine, plant based goodness, this combined with the ambiance of Yellow Pot at lunchtime and the attentive service making it a memorable vegan lunch indeed. Our duo of starters were ‘Chilled Organic Vine-Ripened Tomatoes’ and ‘Vegetable Spring Rolls with Apricot Sauce’, the Li Hing plum infused tomatoes which were topped with organic micro herbs were juicy and perfectly sweet, the flavour exploded in your mouth and left us wanting more. Next up were the spring rolls and trust us when we say these were no ordinary spring rolls and the accompanying sauce was no ordinary apricot sauce; homemade Worcestershire sauce combined with homemade apricot jam for a spicy, fruity and tangy deliciousness, providing the perfect partner for the crispy spring rolls which were packed with vegetables and rich shiitake mushrooms, wow. We shared a selection of 5 main courses with the first being ‘Vegetable Soup with Shimeji-Stuffed Tomatoes’, it was a light and flavoursome vegetable broth that was akin to the flavour usually delivered by a traditional double-boiled soup, with the sweetest of tomatoes perfectly complimented by the earthy flavour of the mushrooms within. Next up were ‘Fried Lions Mane Mushrooms’ and all we can say is that we need more of these in our life; the firm and meaty texture is unique, they were lightly fried, perfectly seasoned and served with avaocado puree, topped with finely diced radish they were outstanding, so good that we requested the same dish with our dinner in the evening! The remaining 3 main course worked very well together, a ‘Braised Kampong Style Bean Curd with Young Leeks’ was a somewhat soothing dish with perfectly cooked and delicious firm tofu, white cabbage and carrots allowing the young leeks to be the star of the show due to their fresh flavour; this was served with a fresh and crunchy ‘Wok Fried Pea Shoots & Beansprouts’ and ‘Black Olive Fried Rice with Shitake’ on the side. Our vegan lunch at Six Senses Duxton ended with ‘Lemongrass & Calamansi Jelly with Fresh Fruits’, the refreshing jelly with delicate flavours of lemongrass and calamansi throughout provided the perfect finale to a very enjoyable vegan dining experience.
The bar adjacent to Yellow Pot was the perfect place for a pre dinner drink, offering cocktails including the signature ‘Escape to Kaifeng’ and a selection of wines, we were naturally drawn to the Marques de Caceras Tempranillo Rioja as all wines from this Spanish winery are vegan. The three dishes we selected for dinner were clearly marked as vegan on the menu making ordering very easy with no adaptations required. Our outstanding starter was similar to the dish we enjoyed at lunch, an interesting combination of creamy avocado with lightly fried lions mane mushrooms which had a fantastic texture, the dish was perfectly seasoned and is something we would seriously struggle not to order every time we dined here. Our main course was a crunchy and healthy stir fry of pea shoots and bean sprouts which was the perfect accompaniment to our ‘Braised Sweet and Sour Eggplant’, this rich and flavour packed creation sounded so simple but tasted so good, in fact it was very good.
The Vegan Essentials
There was a feather free duvet and pillows on the bed in our ‘Opium Room’ and we loved the vegan snacks supplied during turndown, also the loose leaf tea and coffee machine are a welcome addition to any room. Drinking water in re-usable glass bottles that is filtered and mineralised was something that we believe EVERY hotel and resort should offer in an effort to reduce single use plastic waste. The bathroom amenities were in planet saving ceramic dispensers (again no plastic bottles) and the contents were from The Organic Pharmacy. This British based company create their wonderful products without using animal testing and with ingredients that are all organic and nearly all vegan, sadly they use honey and beeswax in some lines. However, we can confirm that the shower gel and shampoo at Six Senses Duxton are suitable for vegan guests and free from all animal derived ingredients.
The Vegan Food Quest Verdict
We are big fans of Six Senses and were excited to experience how the brand would present itself as a city hotel, all we can say is that Six Senses Duxton is chic, sexy and stylish with a truly individual feel, yet still manages to deliver everything you would expect from Six Senses; a strong commitment to environmental issues and sustainability including plenty of organic, healthy, vegetarian and vegan food makes Six Senses Duxton a vegan friendly luxury hotel that we can’t wait to return to. With Six Senses Maxwell now also open, complete with multiple F&B outlets, a rooftop 25m lap pool and a Six Senses Spa, together the two hotels will offer guests with a unique experience in a unique location when they visit Six Senses Singapore.
We were guests of Six Senses Duxton but please rest assured that their generosity in hosting us didn’t influence our views.
Six Senses Duxton
83 Duxton Road
Singapore 089540
Telephone: +65 6914 1428
Email: reservations-duxton@sixsenses.com
Cost From: £190 / $250 (Sept 2018)