A New Kind of Retreat Opens in Singapore’s Mandai Wildlife Reserve—Here’s What It’s Like

The Afar take

Opened in April 2025, Mandai Rainforest Resort by Banyan Tree immerses guests in the green edge of Singapore’s wildlife corridor. Overlooking the Upper Seletar Reservoir, the resort is steps from the zoo and its Night Safari, far away from the urban buzz.

A Singaporean based in California, I checked in recently and found the experience to be a rare sensory delight in the city (so much so that I’ve already booked another stay on a future trip home). Tranquil spaces embraced by nature are uncommon in the city-state, which is better known for its fast pace. But here, guests are invited to slow down, take in the greenery outside their windows, and retreat into the cool, cocooning hotel rooms after a walk in the heat.

Founded by two Singaporeans, Banyan Tree has more than 40 hotels in Asia, and this Mandai Rainforest Resort marks Banyan Tree’s first property on home soil. It’s a meaningful debut underscored by the resort’s achievement as Singapore’s first hotel to earn the Green Mark Energy Super Low Energy certification from Singapore’s Building and Construction Authority. The designation recognizes buildings that significantly reduce energy use (at least 60 percent improvement in energy efficiency beyond the national benchmark) while maintaining high performance and comfort. Created by Singapore-based WOW Architects, Mandai has a biophilic design that intends to blend in with its surroundings (for one, structures are elevated to allow the resident wildlife to move with ease through the property).

Who’s it for?

Courtesy of Mandai Rainforest Resort by Banyan Tree

Thanks to its unique setting, the resort draws both couples looking for a romantic retreat and families seeking a nature-forward getaway. The resort’s four-acre grounds have a wide range of amenities, including wellness treatments and kid-friendly programming. Most rooms face the Upper Seletar Reservoir, where commercial activity is prohibited, so the water remains serene at all times of the day. However, travelers hoping to experience the city-state’s energetic nightlife, dining scene, or shopping may feel too far from the action.

The location

Singapore is in constant motion, and Mandai Rainforest Resort offers a rare counterpoint: a quiet retreat immersed in nature. The resort is tucked within Mandai Wildlife Reserve, which is adjacent to the city’s largest reserve, the Central Catchment Nature Reserve. Its placement is part of a larger plan to turn the area into a nature-based tourism hub that integrates eco-conscious stays with nearby wildlife parks. Mandai is a five-minute walk from the Singapore Zoo, Night Safari, and other wildlife parks. For a slower-paced adventure, walk the nearby Mandai Boardwalk, a two-mile path that winds around the zoo, offering shaded stretches and the occasional glimpse of giraffes grazing nearby.

As the hotel is set within the wildlife reserve, it’s common to encounter wildlife around the hotel. Macaques are often seen walking along railings, and wild boars can be spotted along the perimeter of the hotel. I developed a new appreciation for the resort’s resident broad-handed Carpenter bees, the largest bee in Singapore and an important pollinator in the flower-abundant city-state.

The rooms

Courtesy of Mandai Rainforest Resort by Banyan Tree

Mandai Rainforest Resort has 338 guest rooms, many of which cater to families. These suites hold a king-size bed for the parents and a queen bunk bed with a cozy nook below it for children. Reflecting the resort’s biophilic design, interiors draw inspiration from the surrounding natural world. Much of the furniture is crafted from repurposed local timber, and each floor’s wallpaper design corresponds to a different layer of the rainforest (the understory, the canopy).

The standout accommodations, however, are the Mandai Treehouse Suites. The 24 elevated, seed-pod–inspired structures offer panoramic views of the reservoir and sunrise views from private balconies. Guests in these rooms have exclusive access to two private bird nest–shaped swimming pools and a dedicated dining area for breakfast at the on-site restaurant Forage. I stayed in a ground-floor Treehouse Suite and felt immersed in nature while gazing out at the reservoir and the surrounding rainforest from both my bed and a lounge chair on my veranda. At night, I was lulled to sleep by a chorus of toads and insects, and at sunrise, I woke to birds singing.

The food and drink

Planter’s Shed, the resort’s main all-day dining restaurant, serves generous breakfast and dinner buffets with a focus on Southeast Asian flavors. The menu leans local, with such dishes as Hainanese chicken rice, satay, and an indulgent pandan crème brûlée. I grew up eating Cantonese soups, and the restaurant’s version of Old Cucumber Soup really hit the spot— it tasted like my grandmother made it.

Forage, which faces the reservoir, offers a tasting menu that sources its ingredients from seafood, meats, and vegetables that were sustainably harvested, along with native herbs plucked from an on-site garden.

Spa and wellness

Courtesy of Mandai Rainforest Resort by Banyan Tree

The spa offers a menu of treatments that aim to help guests feel more restored and balanced, and it was exactly what I needed after a long and muggy day exploring nearby wildlife parks. For something special, book one of the three treatment pods adjacent to the spa lobby. These pods are modeled after the critically endangered Sunda pangolin, native to Southeast Asia.

In addition to indulging in treatments, guests can go to yoga sessions and hands-on wellness workshops where they can make their own body scrubs or blend essential oils.

Staff and service

The staff were young, energetic, and mostly Singaporean. It was great to see the team excited about the environmentally friendly aspects of the hotel, and many were eager to answer the questions I had about the biophilic architecture. I often needed to ask for mosquito patches to keep the bugs at bay, and everyone I asked was kind and accommodating about that. Turndown service was impressively quick; housekeeping would often slip into my room when I was out exploring or having dinner.

Accessibility

Mandai Rainforest Resort by Banyan Tree is wheelchair-friendly, with accessible rooms, public areas, and restaurant access, plus a network of lifts connecting different levels, making it navigable for guests with mobility needs.

The resort and the surrounding Mandai Wildlife Reserve are designed to be wheelchair- and stroller-friendly. There are accessible accommodations and routes, complimentary wheelchair rentals at park entrances (on a first-come-first-serve basis), and sensory maps to aid navigation.

Going above and beyond

Sustainability efforts at Mandai Rainforest Resort started from the ground up. The resort was constructed around several preexisting structures from the wildlife parks, and special care was taken to build around old-growth trees, minimizing deforestation on the site.

As Singapore’s first resort to earn the Super Low Energy certification, the property integrates energy mindfulness into the guest experience. Each room includes a monitor that tracks your energy use in real time—and in true Singaporean fashion, it displays how you stack up against fellow guests, using a little social pressure to encourage conservation. Ceiling fans in every room help reduce reliance on air conditioning, and most public spaces are open-air and shaded, designed to harness natural ventilation. The resort has eliminated single-use plastics and offers guests reusable water bottles made from sugar cane that they can take home.