This is not a hotel I would ever choose to stay in myself, but I tagged along with my husband for a recent one-night stay (since we live in Kuala Lumpur) and his secretary booked him into this hotel as it's within walking distance to his branch office. The hotel reminded me of a Mainland China business hotel from the mid-80s, with a few more upgrades. The hotel is in a great location for shopping/being downtown Singapore/Orchard Road, but I would have preferred so many other 4/5 star hotels...this is much closer to what I'd consider a 3-star local business hotel. The lobby was neither cozy nor inviting but it was functional so it is what it is. Checking in took forever (almsot half an hour once my husband was attended to...we had no luggage and he had pre-booked the room--which was guaranteed but somehow not available upon check in; I will give the management credit as we were "upgraded" to a Club room....which did allow for free internet, Club access/breakfast, etc.). My husband booked a smoking room and even his upgrade was on a non-smoking floor (but there was an outdoor balcony (with ashtray--non-smoking room?!). The room, again, was functional but nothing special for the price (then again, all Singapore hotels are outrageous....yet, it was still quite high for the calibre of this hotel). I will say that the duvet and pillows were excellent and inviting (...as good as in any five-star and made sleeping very comfortable. I had the opportunity to settle into the bed for a nap, but it was absolutely impossible (even with earplugs) as it was soooo noisy. Granted, it was 2pm and there is no guarantee of quiet during work hours, but the room was so poorly soundproofed that I could hear absolutely anyone/everyone passing the room, the elevator coming/going, noise from above, and even the vibration of guest room doors opening/shutting. I gave up on the nap.) I decided to do some strolling and had a destination in mind (Club Street/An Xiang Hill area...fabulous little boutiques, restaurants/bars and next to Chinatown...so much fun and I highly recommend this area if you have a couple hours to kill, then drinks/dinner in the area), so I asked the concierge to show me the area on a map. I was quite surprised that they had to look it up and didn't know the area (they did know Chinatown but neither of the streets I mentioned...) but they were kind and found the location efficiently. A huge problem on the other hand, is that the hotel doesn't have a "guest" line for taxis so I had to wait in line with people just coming into the hotel to catch a taxi...I waited for 40 minutes for a taxi (I actually saw two different groups walk in from off the street to get in line while I was still at the concierge)...I highly suggest that the hotel gives their paying guests preference for their taxi queue (easily done with just a couple of signs and showing your room card). The porters were wonderful though and it's such a thankless job to have to keep rushing out to find taxis for hotel guests; kudos to them for their kindness. As for the pool, I looked out at it from the window and it was not inviting. Certainly large enough for swimming but it's located on a rooftop with sterile surroundings; you can get sun on it, but it would not be a place I'd want to curl up with a good book for hours; for the standard of the hotel though, nice enough. One look at the too-basic gym and I decided to wait til I got back home to work out the following day. One look at the breakfast offered in the Club room the next morning, and I decided to wait until my return to Kuala Lumpur to eat (catering more to Asian breakfast cuisine). All in all, sufficiently clean and well located to stay if solely working and in/out of the hotel....not a hotel I'd want to spend any quality holiday time though (but I assume that's not the purpose of the hotel either....great for bus tour groups and business people who just need a clean/adequate room for a few nights).
Room Tip: As far away from the elevator as possible.
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This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
24 January 2012
Dear Mdm,
Thank you for sharing your constructive feedback with us. We appreciate your highlight on the areas of shortfall you have had experienced. Allow me to reiterate my sincere apologies for the inconvenience caused. You have every right to expect to be checked into a hotel of efficient and high and service quality, which we have failed to deliver. Your feedback has been a high priority in our management discussion and would like to inform you that we have taken all actions to ascertain the high level of service that you have mentioned. We are in the planning stages of refurbishing our rooms and we are confident that this will address the concerns that you have expressed about our rooms.
We take this lapse in our standards very seriously. This is certainly not representative of the standards either of us expects from any hotel. We can only hope that you will give us another opportunity to redeem ourselves and to restore your confidence in our hotel. I would like to take this opportunity to invite you to contact me directly for your future visits to Singapore. It will be my pleasure to be of service to you in ensuring a pleasant and memorable stay with us.
Once again, please accept our sincere apologies.
Kind Regards,
Ng Khee Siong
General Manager
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC