[4][5] The hotel hosts the annual meeting of the Shangri-La Dialogue,[6] described by the International Institute of Strategic Studies as "Asia's premier defence summit".

[2] Additionally, the majority of the dining outlets in the hotel are located in the Tower Wing.

Shangri-La Singapore describes it as "the accommodation of choice" for heads of states, business executives, and luxury travellers.

[10] The IISS Asia Security Summit: The Shangri-La Dialogue, also simply known as the "Shangri-La Dialogue", is an annual "Track One" inter-governmental security forum held by the International Institute for Strategic Studies; it is attended by defence officials from primarily Asia-Pacific states, including all 10 ASEAN member states, the United States, China and more.

On 3 June 2018, in preparation for the Trump–Kim summit, a "special event area" was declared around the hotel and Capella Singapore.