The Courtyard by Marriott in Novena is not a building you arrive at by accident. It sits above a shopping mall on Irrawaddy Road, flanked on at least one side by active construction.
Nothing about the approach suggests that thirty-three floors up, there is a rooftop worth making a reservation for.
I got a new perspective!
Singapore's rooftop bar circuit has calcified around a handful of reliable postcodes. Raffles Place. The CBD fringe. Marina Bay. These are addresses that justify themselves through skyline adjacency, where the view is a continuation of the city's own self-regard. They are, many of them, excellent. They are also, increasingly, the same evening.
Las Palmas sits on Level 33 of the Courtyard by Marriott Novena, and it offers something that the more celebrated rooftops structurally cannot: a vantage point that is rare for the Novena area, one that delivers an unfettered view of the cityscape from a direction most visitors to Singapore never think to look.
To the north and west, the view opens toward Bukit Timah Hill and MacRitchie Reservoir, an unobstructed sweep of greenery that makes for a particularly compelling sunset backdrop. The city's vertical ambition is present, but so is its green interior. It is a version of Singapore that the Marina Bay vantage point never quite reveals.
I arrived at half past six on a weekday evening, the hour when the light in Singapore turns briefly and convincingly golden before the equatorial dark closes in. The crowd was mixed in the way hotel rooftops tend to be: international guests in no hurry to be anywhere else, a handful of after-work tables, the easy sociability of people who have temporarily relocated their obligations to somewhere below the thirty-third floor.
What Las Palmas does?
The rooftop space plays up its panoramic views with an infinity pool and a mid-century modern, desert oasis design sensibility. A rose-quartz bartop anchors the central area, and the sorbet palette of the interiors adds a splash of colour that reads as considered rather than themed. The design takes its cues from Palm Springs at its most exuberant, pastel and flamboyant.
Outdoor seats are comfortable and well-suited to alfresco evenings. Cabanas by the poolside are available for groups, with a minimum spend that is reasonable for the setting. The indoor section provides an alternative when Singapore's humidity declines to cooperate, and the transition between the two is seamless enough that neither feels like a compromise.
The happy hour and what to order
Happy hour runs Sunday to Thursday from 5pm to 8pm, with select spirits, wines, cocktails and beer starting at $12++. Signature cocktails are $20, among the better-value propositions currently available in Singapore at this altitude. The timing rewards the early arrival: the light is at its best between six and seven, and the happy hour pricing makes lingering through the transition from golden hour to evening a financially defensible decision.
The food menu draws from Southern California with selective detours through Asian influence, and the portions are generous in a way that feels less like marketing copy and more like an operational philosophy. The popcorn chicken, listed as Fiery Chicken Little ($18), comes with Szechuan peppers and arrives in a quantity that suggests the kitchen is not interested in the small-plate school of hospitality.
The tacos from the Taco Truck section combine lemongrass chicken with cheddar jack, onion, cilantro, and lime, served with three tortilla wraps alongside fries and chipotle mayo. The churros, listed as Churro-rific, arrive piping hot, dusted in five-spice sugar and accompanied by salted peanut and Kaya dips, which is the sort of small creative decision that distinguishes a kitchen thinking about its menu from one simply executing a concept brief.
The cocktail menu is more serious than the poolside setting might suggest. It accommodates both the relaxed sundowner and the guest who arrived wanting something properly considered. The range is broad enough that it does not feel curated for one type of evening exclusively.
Why Novena is not the obstacle it appears to be
The neighbourhood works against Las Palmas in terms of instinctive destination logic. Novena is a medical and residential corridor, not a leisure postcode. The construction around the Courtyard building reduces its street presence further. A person unfamiliar with the address would walk past it without a second consideration.
This is, counterintuitively, part of what makes it worth the deliberate trip. The crowd that finds its way to Las Palmas has made a decision rather than defaulted to the familiar. The hotel guests who drift up after check-in discover something they did not anticipate. The result is an atmosphere that feels relaxed in a way that the more performative rooftops on the circuit rarely manage.
Novena may not be the typical neighbourhood for a night out in Singapore, but the view from the thirty-third floor reframes the entire calculus. The city looks different from here. Not more impressive, precisely, but more complete: the green lung of the central catchment visible to one side, the familiar towers at a distance rather than directly underfoot.
At 6:30pm on a weekday, with a portion of popcorn chicken on the table and the light doing what Singapore light does briefly and beautifully before it disappears, the case for Las Palmas required no argument. It made itself.
The practical information
Three private cabanas overlook the 20-metre infinity pool. The cabana package costs a minimum of $250 for up to four guests and includes a complimentary bottle of Astoria Prosecco and full pool access. For those without a reservation, walk-in seating at the bar and outdoor terrace is generally available on weeknights. Arrive by 6:30pm to secure the light.
Las Palmas, Level 33, Courtyard by Marriott Singapore Novena, 99 Irrawaddy Road, Singapore 329568.
Open Tuesday to Friday from 5pm and Saturday and Sunday from 3pm. Closed Monday.
fb. www.facebook.com/laspalmasbarsg
