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We spent two nights at Mandai Rainforest Resort, and it was everything we expected and more. This Singapore Zoo accommodation brings luxury and eco-living into one experience.
Staying at Mandai Rainforest Resort by Banyan Tree was the accommodation highlight of our entire Asia trip. That’s saying something, given we also spent a night at The Venetian Macao and stayed at Disney’s Hollywood Hotel in Hong Kong. Neither of those came close to the experience of waking up inside a Singapore rainforest with the zoo on your doorstep.
If you’re planning to visit any part of Mandai Wildlife Reserve, Singapore Zoo, the Night Safari, River Wonders, Bird Paradise, Rainforest Wild Asia, then this resort makes the whole experience feel completely different to a standard tourist visit. Here’s our honest review of our stay.
Mandai Rainforest Resort
Mandai Rainforest Resort by Banyan Tree – Quick Guide
- ✔ Best for: Visiting Mandai Wildlife Reserve, families
- ✔ Location: Inside the Mandai Wildlife Reserve grounds, Singapore
- ✔ Room style: Luxury rainforest retreat with high-end finishes and smart room features
- ✔ Worth it? Yes — but it’s a premium price for a premium experience
- ✔ Good to know: A 2-night stay is ideal if you’re doing multiple wildlife areas
- ✔ BOOK IT HERE
FYI: This Mandai Rainforest Resort review is not sponsored. We paid for our own stay as part of our Singapore trip.
Is Mandai Rainforest Resort Worth It?
Yes, and we say that knowing it’s expensive. There aren’t many places in the world where you can stay inside a wildlife reserve and have Singapore Zoo, the Night Safari and other wildlife experiences a short walk from your room. The setting alone justifies the price.
The fact that the resort itself is beautiful and the rooms are exceptional makes it easy to recommend.
We had heard over and over that Singapore Zoo is the best zoo in the world, and while I think Australia Zoo gives it a very good run for that title, as far as zoos that actually care about the health and wellbeing of their animals, Mandai Wildlife Reserve is absolutely worth a visit.
👉 We loved every minute of our stay and it was one of the highlights of the trip.
Mandai Rainforest Resort Review
Mandai Rainforest Resort by Banyan Tree is a luxury eco-resort located inside the Mandai Wildlife Reserve, the 126-hectare wildlife hub in northern Singapore that’s home to Singapore Zoo, the Night Safari, River Wonders, Bird Paradise and Rainforest Wild Asia.
Being inside the reserve rather than nearby is the key thing to understand about this resort.
You’re not catching a bus or booking a transfer to get to the zoo each morning and to come back for the night safari. You’re already there, surrounded by rainforest and with the convenience of everything at your doorstep.
We booked a 2-night package that included park tickets and the Breakfast In The Wild experience as part of our Singapore itinerary. You can just book the room and add on the park passes for one or multiple, and the breakfast encounter.
But even without the zoo visit, it’s a lovely resort to spend a night or two. There is also no other accommodation close by. This means relying on public transport such as a Grab to get to the zoo otherwise.
Quick Facts About Mandai Rainforest Resort by Banyan Tree
- The resort is set within the Mandai Wildlife Reserve grounds
- Part of the prestigious Banyan Tree hotel group
- A 2-3 night stay is ideal if you plan to visit multiple wildlife areas within Mandai
- Most of the wildlife areas are walkable from the resort — Bird Paradise is the exception and has a shuttle service
- The resort is priced at the luxury end of Singapore accommodation
Location
The location is the single biggest selling point of this resort, and it’s hard to overstate how different it feels to be staying here rather than commuting in from the city.
The Mandai Wildlife Reserve contains five distinct wildlife experiences: Singapore Zoo, Night Safari, River Wonders, Bird Paradise and Rainforest Wild Asia. Most of these are walkable from the resort.
Bird Paradise is further away and has a dedicated shuttle service, which runs conveniently for resort guests.
Within the zoo complex itself, there’s a street of restaurants and a hawker centre-style food court just a few minutes’ walk from the resort rooms. So your dining options extend well beyond what the resort itself offers, which is a practical advantage during a multi-day stay.
There’s even a McDonald’s for something a little more budget-conscious and quick.
The reserve is around a 30-minute drive from the city centre.
The easiest and most convenient way to get there is via Grab, Singapore’s equivalent of Uber, which you can book straight from the app and is straightforward to use. Public transport can get you close, but the last leg involves a walk into the reserve, so Grab is the better option for a family with luggage.
Arrival and Check-In
From the moment we arrived, the resort felt different to every other hotel on the trip.
Staff came out to meet our rideshare, took the bags out for us, in preparation of delivering them to our room, and guided us to check-in. That sounds like a small thing, but after weeks of hauling luggage in and out of taxis ourselves, someone just handling it for you without being asked is a proper luxury.
The reception area is beautiful. Open-air, surrounded by rainforest, with refreshments and snacks available and plenty of seating. We were handed tea and a refreshment towel while we waited.
It doesn’t feel like a hotel lobby since it’s open-air. Fully covered above, so you don’t have to worry about getting rained on, but lovely and open with plants everywhere.
If you arrive early before check-in time, they will store your luggage so you can head straight into the zoo. Equally useful on check-out day if you want to squeeze in more wildlife time before heading to your next destination.
We did this as we arrived at midday, and check-in is from 3 pm. This was intentional to get some of the zoo visited before official check-in time.
The Resort Setting
The resort is surrounded by rainforest, and the contrast with the city we’d left behind made it feel exactly like a relaxing retreat. Even though we did a huge amount of steps still visiting the zoo areas, the calmer pace was refreshing after our crazy busy city days.
The sounds, the greenery, the humidity that somehow feels different when you’re in an actual rainforest rather than a city street. It all contributes to an atmosphere that’s unlike any other Singapore accommodation option.
We had our own wildlife encounters without even setting foot in the zoo.
Our youngest spotted a tiny snake crossing the path during one of our walks through the resort grounds, and we came across a squirrel going about its business.
When the resort experience itself involves wildlife sightings before you’ve even bought a zoo ticket, you know you’re somewhere special.
Our Room
We stayed in a Retreat Double Double room. Two double beds for four people.
The rooms are huge by Singapore hotel standards with plenty of space for luggage. Every detail has been considered to make the stay comfortable while keeping the rainforest setting front and centre.
The Smart Room Features
The blinds and screens throughout the room are electronically controlled. You can black out the windows entirely, drop just the flyscreen, or open everything fully. The kids were the bosses of the windows during our stay, thinking themselves real clever to operate the controls.
It sounds like a minor thing, but in a rainforest setting where the view changes constantly and the light shifts throughout the day, it’s actually very useful. The kids spent a significant amount of time opening and closing everything the moment we arrived.
While you don’t have a balcony as such, you do have a guardrail and a glass sliding door you can open.
Being in the rainforest, you definitely need that flyscreen if you’re having a door open because of the mozzies. But the flyscreen distracts from the view so at least you can open that to have just glass when the door is shut.
The shower has a glass wall overlooking the resort, with a blind you can close or open as you choose. Dramatic design choice. It works.
Bathroom
The bathroom had a double sink area in the huge central area. Then the toilet and shower have separate doors at either end with large double doors in the centre.
The double doors have frosted glass, which our kids were not entirely comfortable with and insisted on closing the main doors every single time to use the toilet or shower, despite them being entirely adequate for privacy.
Room Amenities
- Large, comfortable beds with reasonable pillows
- Small table and chairs
- TV (most channels are pay-to-view, but you don’t come to a rainforest resort to watch TV)
- Bar fridge
- Coffee machine with pods and teabags
- Robes and slippers
- Beach bag and umbrella provided for your stay — a nice practical touch
- Room service available: pricey, but the food was good with a reasonable variety
The Infinity Pool
The infinity pool at Mandai Rainforest Resort overlooks the river and the rainforest canopy below, and it’s one of the most beautiful pool settings we’ve come across anywhere.
It does get busy during peak hours, and the trade-off is that pool loungers and chairs are limited, with very little shade. If you’re hoping to spend a long afternoon beside the pool, arrive early to secure a spot.
The far end of the pool has a spa section for a quieter soak. There’s also a kids’ pool area for wading in.
The afternoon ice cream sandwiches were a surprise highlight.
Every afternoon they hand out free ice cream bars folded into a slice of bread beside the pool. It sounds like a strange combination and we were a little surprised when they handed over literal ice cream sandwiches but it was a nice refreshing treat for the hot afternoons.
It’s the kind of unexpected little touch that makes a resort feel like it actually thought about what guests might enjoy rather than ticking boxes.
We spent each of our afternoons in the infinity pool. Exactly how you want to wind down after a big day of zoo exploring!
Dining Options
In-Room Dining
The resort has its own dining available, including room service. The room service menu is priced at the mid to premium end, as you’d expect, but the food quality was good and the variety was reasonable.
We had a room service for dinner one night when we just didn’t have the energy to go down and find another place to dine. The food was good. Even the kids ate it.
Within the Zoo Complex
This is the practical advantage most reviews don’t mention clearly enough: you don’t have to eat at the resort every meal.
A few minutes’ walk from the resort rooms, within the zoo complex, there’s a street of sit-down restaurants across different cuisines and a hawker centre-style food court with more casual, affordable options.
For a multi-night stay this makes a real difference since you have proper variety without ever needing to leave the reserve. Otherwise the nearest shopping centre is quite a way from the resort and you would need a Grab to get there.
On our first night we headed to the hawker centre-style food court in the zoo complex. We grabbed food from a couple of different stalls before heading to the night safari experience.
Good variety, reasonable prices and no need to dress up or make a reservation. Completely packed though and difficult to get a table during peak dining times.
Getting Around Mandai Wildlife Reserve
Most of the five wildlife areas are easily walkable from the resort. Around 7 to 15 minutes on foot for the majority of them. Bird Paradise is further within the reserve and has a dedicated shuttle for resort guests.
We did not get the chance to visit Bird Paradise as we only had 1 and a half full days to spend at the zoo before heading off on our Disney Adventure cruise from Singapore on the final morning.
How Many Nights Do You Need?
Two to three nights is the sweet spot if you’re planning to visit multiple areas of the reserve.
Mandai has five distinct wildlife experiences and trying to do all of them in a single day is practically impossible.
The Singapore Zoo alone warrants a full half day, and the Night Safari obviously requires an evening. Spreading the visits across two or three nights lets you see everything properly without the whole thing feeling like a rushed checklist.
One night is possible if you’re combining Mandai with a broader Singapore itinerary and only want to visit one to three areas. But if the wildlife reserve is a priority, give it more time.
We managed to squeeze in 4 of the 5 experiences into 1.5 full days, which was a bit of a marathon effort when we had so little time but do-able.
Is Mandai Rainforest Resort Good For Families?
Yes, the resort caters well to families, as you would expect for a zoo stay. Despite being on the more luxe side of things, there is a playground for the kids.
The pool has a wading area for younger children. And the free ice cream sandwiches in the afternoons.
Our room accommodated 4 people with two queen-sized beds.
And within the Mandai complex, there is an indoor play centre as well which is air-conditioned and perfect for hot days.
What We Loved About Mandai Rainforest Resort
- The arrival experience was smooth
- Being inside the wildlife reserve rather than commuting in from the city
- The rooms are large, modern with beautiful finishes and thoughtful details
- The infinity pool setting overlooking the river and rainforest
- Free afternoon ice cream sandwiches at the pool
- Easy access to the food court and restaurants within the zoo complex
- No transfers, no logistics, just walk out the door to visit the zoo areas
- Friendly and attentive staff throughout the stay
- Free water refill stations around the resort
- Playground for kids
What We Didn’t Love About Mandai Rainforest Resort
- It’s expensive — this is a luxury resort and it’s priced accordingly
- The pool gets busy and there’s very limited shade and not enough loungers
- Room service is pricey
Who Should Stay At Mandai Rainforest Resort?
This resort is the right choice if:
- You’re planning to visit multiple areas of Mandai Wildlife Reserve across several days
- You’re doing the Night Safari and want the convenience of being onsite
- You want a unique Singapore experience beyond the city hotels
- The Jungle Breakfast with Wildlife is on your list
It’s probably not worth the premium if you’re only planning a single visit to one wildlife area and are primarily based in the city.
Alternatives Near Mandai Wildlife Reserve
There is one other alternative on site and that is the Mandai Glamping experience. This would be another really awesome experience to have if you want something a little more ‘wild’ and back to nature.
Otherwise, there are no other accommodation options really close by and you will need to transit either with public transport such as a Grab (not cheap) or with a hire car.
It’s around 30 minutes from the centre of Singapore. It’s a manageable day trip for one or two of the wildlife areas.
Our Verdict: Do We Recommend Mandai Rainforest Resort by Banyan Tree?
Yes! It’s one of the best stays we’ve had as a family and we loved the whole experience.
Yes, it’s expensive. But the setting is unique, the resort is beautifully designed, and the experience of staying inside Singapore’s wildlife reserve is something you simply can’t replicate by visiting on a day trip. Waking up there, walking out into the zoo grounds before the day crowds arrive, having the Night Safari right on your doorstep, it changes the whole Mandai experience.
We loved it and would go back without hesitation.
BOOK MANDAI RAINFOREST RESORT BY BANYAN TREE HERE
Singapore Planning Resources
- Mandai Wildlife Reserve guide
- Night Safari Singapore review
- Jungle Breakfast with Wildlife Singapore
- Singapore travel tips
- Best things to do in Singapore with kids
- 4 day Singapore itinerary
- Disney Adventure cruise review
- Things to do at Changi Airport
- Travelodge Harbourfront Singapore review