Mandai Rainforest Resort by Banyan Tree Review: Critically endangered

Of all the hotel openings in Singapore this year, perhaps none has been more anticipated than the Mandai Rainforest Resort by Banyan Tree.

First announced in 2017, this 4.6-hectare resort was designed to offer an immersive nature experience in the heart of five surrounding wildlife parks, allowing guests to enjoy the natural environment in a respectful and non-intrusive way. This, incidentally, would also be Banyan Tree’s first resort in Singapore, filling a somewhat unexpected gap in the portfolio of the Singapore-based chain. 

The Mandai Rainforest Resort was initially scheduled for completion in 2023, only for COVID-related construction delays to push the opening date by a couple of years. The resort finally opened in April 2025, but while it has received glowing pre-opening reviews from media outlets and influencers, the experience for paying guests has been markedly less positive.

The current Google Review score (based on 180 reviews) stands at a mediocre 3.4, and it’s a bit concerning when a hotel declines to display its Tripadvisor rating on its website (which stands at 3.6/5 at the time of publishing; some of the reviews are really quite shocking).

Having completed a one-night stay earlier this week, I think I understand the sentiments entirely. This was a concept I was really excited about — finally, a unique staycation opportunity that isn’t just cosplaying a tourist in Orchard Road or Marina Bay! — but went away feeling decidedly disappointed. 

While the stay certainly had its moments, my overall sense is that the Mandai Rainforest Resort is simply not up to the high standards of service and execution that Banyan Tree prides itself on.

Booking The Mandai Rainforest Resort

How much did I pay for my stay at the Mandai Rainforest Resort? 

Too much, apparently.

When the resort first opened for bookings in January 2025, I booked a non-refundable one-night stay with breakfast for S$328++ (S$393 nett), the lowest published rate at the time.

However, when I checked the prices again in March, I found that they actually fell! The same dates and inclusions now cost S$290++ (S$347 nett), which was annoying to say the least.  You’d think a hotel would want to reward those who demonstrated faith by booking early, not penalise them for being eager beavers. 

I’m not the only one to notice this, as the Google Reviews have several more complaints from guests who booked “early bird rates”, only to later find that the hotel slashed prices even further.

That aside, I was also surprised that the opening packages merely included breakfast and nothing else. It felt like a missed opportunity not to include F&B or spa credits, which would entice guests to make bookings and be a valuable source of early feedback.

Mandai Rainforest Resort: Arrival and Check-in

The Mandai Rainforest Resort is located in Mandai Wildlife East, within the Mandai Wildlife Reserve. You do not need any park tickets to stay in the resort, as it’s outside the park gates. 

The big draw of staying here is of course the proximity to five stellar attractions: Bird Paradise, Night Safari, Rainforest Wild Asia, River Wonders, and the Singapore Zoo. A complimentary shuttle bus will bring you between all five parks, or you can walk between Mandai Wildlife West and East in about 15 minutes. 

It’s probably best to get to the resort by taxi or private car, though those taking public transport can alight at Khatib MRT, then board the Mandai Khatib Shuttle for a 20-minute ride to the resort at a cost of S$2.50.

If you’re driving, the trick is not to look for “Banyan Tree” signs. Instead, look for the signs labelled “Resort”, and follow them to the Mandai East carpark. 

Park at Lobby K, take the lift up to the first floor, then it’s a short sheltered walk to the resort. 

Complimentary parking is provided for resort guests. In theory, there is a limit of one carpark coupon per room, per day, but in practice the concierge wasn’t strict about multiple redemptions.

If you’re taking a taxi, you’ll be dropped off at the main driveway, which is sheltered by a large overhanging canopy. Keep your eyes open for a 12-metre Rain Tree and an Indian Beach Tree, both of which were retained in their original locations to symbolise the resort’s commitment to blending architecture with nature. 

The open-air lobby does a great job of nailing the rainforest vibe that Banyan Tree is going for. Much of the furniture here, including the reception counters and benches, incorporate upcycled wood. The light fixtures are inspired by the drooping branches of a liana, a type of long-stemmed woody vine, and actual vines hang from the ceiling in several places. There aren’t any fans here though, so you’re entirely reliant on natural ventilation for breeze.

At some point in this review, we’re going to have to talk about mosquitoes. If you’ve visited the Singapore Zoo or Night Safari, you’ll know that Mandai has a serious mosquito problem. The Banyan Tree, unfortunately, is not immune from this, and I was bitten numerous times while in the lobby.

While annoying, I’d be slow to criticise the resort for this because there’s only so much they can do. This, for better or worse, is what being close to nature entails, and if that’s a deal breaker, then the Mandai Rainforest Resort isn’t the hotel for you.

What I will criticise is the pre-arrival process. Many hotels send pre-arrival emails with information, recommendations, and to ask about special occasions. However, the Mandai Rainforest Resort’s email felt perfunctory at best. It was sent at 10.30 p.m the night before, far too late for most guests to see and respond to it, or for the hotel to take action on requests.

Moreover, it seems like they didn’t bother to read the responses anyway. Despite noting a birthday celebration in my initial booking — and mentioning it again in my reply to the pre-arrival email — there was nothing done. Other guests have been told that the hotel “doesn’t offer any birthday amenities”, which you might expect from a cheaper chain but not Banyan Tree. 

On the bright side, we didn’t encounter any of the horror stories that earlier reviewers had complained about, such as long check-in queues and extended waits for rooms (one guest reported her room wasn’t ready till 10 p.m). There was no queue when we arrived at 3 p.m, and the check-in process was completed quickly. 

At check-in, cold towels and a welcome drink of pandan, cinnamon and lemongrass were served. The drink was incredibly bitter though, so they might want to reformulate it. 

Speaking of drinks, Accor Live Limitless Silver, Gold, Platinum and Diamond members are entitled to two drinks coupons per stay. However, the Mandai Rainforest Resort does not include alcoholic beverages, so I ended up with a rather sad-looking orange juice and coffee. 

Mandai Rainforest Resort: Retreat King

The Mandai Rainforest Resort has 338 rooms, split into 314 guest rooms and suites in the main five-storey building, and 24 treehouses at the east and west ends of the resort. 

There are basically three types of accommodations in the main building, further subdivided into Retreat, Rainforest and Sanctuary categories depending on the view. 

• Regular rooms (36 sqm)
• Family rooms (44 sqm)
• Suites (55 sqm)

My booking was for a Retreat King, the entry-level category. I was assigned a room on the fifth floor, which was a short walk through the bright and airy open air corridors. While indoor corridors would have the benefit of air conditioning, they would feel strangely out of place in a nature-focused resort like this,

Banyan Tree properties generally have a love it or loathe it rustic vibe, but this room felt fresh and contemporary, which you’d expect from a resort less than one month old. One cool little feature is that the lithographs on the wall change according to the floor you’re on. As my room was on the top floor, I had the emergent layer; floors below would have the forest floor, understorey or canopy.

An LCD control panel near the door allowed you to control the blinds, lights, fan and air conditioning…to an extent. Unfortunately, guests are not permitted to lower the temperature below 24°C. Banyan Tree says that the intention is for ambient room temperatures to “mirror the cool atmospheric temperatures of the rainforests in the tropics”, but I think that’s a little too warm for a hot, tropical climate like Singapore. Besides, dictating the temperature of your room feels a little too eco-authoritarian to me.

The king-sized mattress was extremely comfortable, and the linens were suitably plush. I didn’t see a pillow menu, though the website says that one is available. 

Each bedside had master switches and a universal power socket with Type-A and Type-C outlets. It was also possible to control the do not disturb sign from here, removing the need to get out of bed and flip a switch before going to sleep. However, I did find the blue LED lights on the switches to be annoyingly bright, and had to block them with a towel at night. 

Another cool feature was the writing pad and pencil. This wasn’t any regular pencil; it had a small container of rose seeds at the tip that you’re encouraged to grow at home. I’m told the choice of seeds may change with the seasons. 

As a leisure-focused hotel, the room did not have a proper work desk, opting instead for a living room setup of a two-seater sofa, coffee table and two backless stools. 

Wi-Fi speeds, however, were extremely impressive. The network clocked download speeds of 100 Mbps and upload speeds of 116 Mbps, making 4K streaming and video calls effortless (also important because not all telcos have great coverage in the Mandai area).

The room’s 55-inch television has a built-in Chromecast feature, allowing you to stream media content to the big screen.

Pressed against the windows was the bar area, which had a Nespresso coffee machine with coffee capsules from Suzuki Coffee, and Monogram tea bags.

There was also a water filter, but since it wasn’t connected to the mains, the tank had to be refilled manually, making it less convenient to use. 

Inside the mini-fridge was an assortment of (paid) beverages, including canned beer, sparkling water, fruit juice, soft drinks and coconut water. The selection of snacks was minimal, though I doubt you’d want to pay S$6++ for a small pack of mixed nuts anyway.

The open-concept wardrobe had a couple of bathrobes, a safe, and an emergency flashlight. There was no mosquito repellent or an electric mosquito coil, which felt like an oversight given the mosquito issues.

The bathroom featured his and hers sinks and a large, backlit mirror that spanned the full width of the vanity area. Towels and a weighing scale were found beneath the vanity area, though only two bath towels were provided by default (I’d expect four at a minimum).

Inside a wooden box were various single-use amenities like dental kits, sewing kits, shower caps, shaving kits and mouthwash. 

The hairdryer appeared to be a Dyson at first glance, but turned out to be a lookalike (Treehouses do get Dyson hairdryers though). 

While the rain shower head was impressively large, it was let down by weak water pressure. I’m guessing the flow rate was deliberately restricted as another “eco-friendly” measure, but if they wanted to save water, a smaller shower head with a higher flow rate would have been better.

Banyan Tree shampoo, conditioner and bath gel were provided in bulk-sized pump dispensers.  I’ve found this to be consistently excellent across all the Banyan Tree properties I’ve visited.

Finally, the toilet was in a small room of its own, and had a bidet hose (Treehouses get electric bidet seats).

While the room looks nicer with the bathroom in full view, there’s also the option to close a pair of pocket sliding doors for privacy. 

Mandai Rainforest Resort: Facilities

Swimming pool

One of the crown jewels of the Mandai Rainforest Resort is no doubt its rooftop swimming pool, open from 7 a.m to 7 p.m daily. This offers stunning vistas of the Upper Seletar Reservoir, and I’d rank the view as one of the best in Singapore, second only to Marina Bay Sands and The Fullerton Bay Hotel.

The pool has a small wading section for toddlers…

…but of course you’ll want to spend most of your time in the infinity pool, drinking in the lush greenery of the nature reserve. Grab one of the half-submerged loungers, and you could spend an entire afternoon here.

Sadly, there are annoyances. There are only ten pool loungers available, which is completely inadequate for a resort of this size (and there was clearly space to put more). When the pool got crowded, guests had to leave their belongings on the floor and on ledges, which spoiled the otherwise gorgeous environment. 

Compounding the problem was the fact there was no pool attendant, so used towels lingered on the already scarce pool chairs for longer than they had to. In fact, the pool area was untidy most of the time I was there, and the resort should really have done a better job of housekeeping. 

It’s also a shame there wasn’t any F&B offered at the pool— not even water. Apparently the hotel plans to eventually open a poolside bar, but it wasn’t in operation at the time of my visit.

Gym

The Mandai Rainforest Resort’s gym is open 24/7. It’s a fairly small facility, but has all the exercise equipment you’d need, such as treadmills, elliptical machine, strength trainers, and free weights. 

Unfortunately, while the machines looked like they should support apps like Netflix and YouTube, nothing was installed on them. In fact, there were zero entertainment options, because none of the TV channels worked either!

Just like the pool, there was no water provided in the gym. How hard would it have been to set up a dispenser?

Kids Club

The Mandai Rainforest Resort’s kids club is known as the Rangers’ Club, and operates from 8 a.m to 12 p.m and 2 p.m to 6 p.m daily. Admission is complimentary for all guests.

The club has its own restroom and nursing room, and is well equipped with games, toys and books. There’s also an outdoor playground to help the little ones burn off their energy.

Spa

The Banyan Tree Spa is open from 10 a.m to 9 p.m daily.

A 60-minute body treatment starts from S$210++ (S$252 nett), which was too expensive for us so we skipped it. You can find the spa menu here.

Discovery Garden

One feature that visitors can easily miss is the Discovery Garden, a rooftop green corridor that runs from one end of the building to the other. 

This is where the resort grows fresh produce that is used for dinner service at Forage. It also has several lookout points that make it a pleasant walkthrough when the weather isn’t too hot. 

Mandai Rainforest Resort: Dining options

Dining is a notable weakness of the Mandai Rainforest Resort, with just two venues available:

• Planter’s Shed: Buffet and all-day restaurant, open daily
• Forage: Tasting menu, open for dinners Thursday to Monday

Forage was closed when we visited, but I popped by to take some photos anyway. 

We had dinner elsewhere in the resort (Cavern; verdict: meh), but just for fun, ordered a mee goreng from the room service menu. It was mostly forgettable, and very salty. 

I can’t help but feel that what this hotel needs is a good bar with a cocktail list utilising ingredients from the Discovery Garden, and a chef-driven menu that showcases original creations rather than generic hotel cuisine. As it stands, the selection feels rather staid and unexciting. 

Mandai Rainforest Resort: Breakfast

Breakfast is served at Planter’s Shed from 6.30 a.m to 10.30 a.m daily, and is currently included with all rates. If you’re an outside guest, the cost is S$52++ (~S$62 nett) per adult.

The restaurant can get very crowded in the mornings, and there are signs around the resort encouraging guests to arrive between 6.30 a.m to 8 a.m for the lowest traffic. As early risers, we showed up right at opening time. 

Cold options included cheese, cold cuts, cut fruits, yoghurt, cereal, and a salad bar.

The bakery section had various kinds of bread, pastries and cakes, together with a toaster oven.

In a corner was a separate section which I assume is for kids, with all kinds of sugary treats.

The Western hot food options consisted of soft boiled eggs, scrambled eggs, chicken and pork sausages, baked beans, cherry tomatoes, oatmeal, hash browns, and (very badly burned) pork bacon.

There was also an automatic pancake machine, and while there’s some novelty value, I tend to associate these machines more with cheap motels or airport lounges. It would have been nice to get properly made pancakes at a 5-star resort. 

The Asian options included dim sum, curry chicken, stir-fried noodles, otak-otak, tomato egg, and a noodle station.

In terms of drinks, there were several types of milk, various juices (including a do-it-yourself juicer) and coffee machines. Barista-made coffee is also available on request.

The biggest surprise was to find an alcohol corner with prosecco and GH Mumm champagne. Vodka and other Bloody Mary ingredients were provided too, and I have to commend Banyan Tree for offering this to all guests- there are much more expensive hotel buffets which don’t!

As much as I enjoyed the booze, I felt the food quality was somewhat lacking. It leaned heavily towards processed items like premade dim sum, sausages and hash browns (I don’t believe the pastries are made in-house either), which is at odds with Banyan Tree’s overall focus on wellness.  Also, the variety was smaller than it first appeared because several of the dishes were just eggs prepared in different ways. Some live cooking stations would have made the experience much nicer.

Mandai Rainforest Resort: Overall thoughts

Let’s start with what I liked about my stay.

The Mandai Rainforest Resort is beautifully designed, no two ways about it. One of the biggest concerns about building a resort in the middle of a wildlife reserve was that it might stick out like a sore thumb, but the architects have done an amazing job of blending it into the natural environment. 

The swimming pool — when not overcrowded — is a lovely place to unwind, and the vibe you get at this resort is unlike anything you’ll find in Singapore. I’d go so far as to say that this is probably the best opportunity to get an out-of-Singapore experience without packing your passport.

There were also a couple of thoughtful touches, like free cookies in the lobby and a pair of cold drink dispensers (why couldn’t they have put one of these by the pool or gym?!).

But if I were to sum up the overall experience in a word, it would be unpolished. No property is immune from teething issues, sure, but you would really expect a brand like Banyan Tree to make a better first impression with a flagship property like this.

I’ve already highlighted numerous issues in my review, and to add on a few more, a simple request for additional bath towels took several follow ups and more than an hour to be fulfilled.

While one or two staff members were warm and personable, they were the exception rather than the rule. Most staff members came off as inexperienced (a few were unable to speak English), and it really showed in the interactions.

For example, when we ordered coffee during breakfast, the staff member pointed us towards the coffee machines at the buffet. I asked whether there was barista-made coffee available; she looked confused, before walking over to the machine and pressing the button for us. Full marks for intention, but it really reminded me of my stay at the Oasia Resort Sentosa, where the advertised “butler-drawn bath service” turned out to be someone coming and filling the tub with nothing but hot water!

The resort should also be doing a much better job of communicating its programming. While it does offer daily activities such as yoga and pilates, the schedule is hidden away in the TV menu where most people won’t find it. 

At better hotels, it’s common to see management making the rounds during peak periods like breakfast or check-in, introducing themselves to guests, lending a hand, soliciting feedback and troubleshooting problems before they escalate. There was none of that here, and the general absence of management no doubt contributed to a lack of coordination amongst the rank and file staff. 

What concerns me more is that many of the issues I encountered were completely foreseeable, and the fact that they happened nonetheless suggests a lack of attention to detail that is so antithetical to the Banyan Tree brand.

It’s not rocket science to know that the gym and pool should offer water, or that the entertainment systems in the gym equipment should be working, or that mosquito repellent would be appreciated by guests, or that staff should patrol the pool area regularly to tidy up.

But if there’s one thing that summed up my stay, it was the dinner buffet, where one of the items was labelled….wait for it… signature cocaine rice. Yes, like Pablo Escobar cocaine.

It’s a harmless little typo, yet it’s one of those things that would never have slipped into the wild had someone been paying attention. And that perhaps is the Mandai Rainforest Resort in a nutshell: good hardware, hamstrung by a pervasive sense of absent-mindedness.

Conclusion

The sign at the entrance may read Mandai Rainforest Resort by Banyan Tree, but the experience sure doesn’t feel like it. From the baffling oversights to the glaring lack of polish, this very much feels like a property that’s still in soft launch mode, rather than one ready to host paying guests. 

And that’s a real shame, because the concept is inspired. A serene, eco-conscious resort nestled within Singapore’s premier wildlife precinct? That should be a winner.

I want the Mandai Rainforest Resort to succeed. I really do. It’s a breath of fresh air for the Singapore hotel scene, and a welcome change from yet another glass and concrete monstrosity. But right now, I’d say its conservation status is best described as “critically endangered.” It can be saved — and is worth saving —though there’s a lot of work that needs to be done. If it’s struggling to get the basics right, how is it supposed to be brought up to Banyan Tree standards?

So my advice would be to hold off visiting for now, because as it stands, this property is not ready. Perhaps with the benefit of time, it could grow into its skin, and earn the right to the Banyan Tree logo out front. 

I really hope so, because this is one great concept that shouldn’t be allowed to go extinct.