hburn10's Reviews
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The lobby was really empty and I had no problems checking in when I arrived at shortly after 12noon as I had requested for early check in. The staff was attentive and even walked to the lift to offer help plus carry my bag for me.
Room 501 was good sized with 2 super comfy single beds; fitting in also was a nice writing desk and also another couch-like chair with a clothes rack. The bathroom was nice, albeit a little on the small side. I love the Molten Brown toiletries!
There's also a DVD player and ipod player in the room, plus an alarm which i didnt use. One of the pillow case was stained but they very quickly changed it after we called. Requests for ice buckets, extra toiletries etc was also responded to fast.
Some of the mini bar drinks were complimentary which I thought was nice. Also free wireless in the room but sometimes the signals are quite weak, depending on which spot in the hotel you're at. No pool, but a very small gym which looked very un-used.
There's only 2 dining options in the hotel - Nectar at the lobby level (breakfast venue too) and a rooftop bar Halo. The bar is quite a nice place for chilling out if you get a nice breeze going. Otherwise, a big local market is available 5mins walk away.
I was prepared for a sad breakfast spread after reading the reviews and it was indeed quite sad. You get 1 order of your choice of eggs and sausages etc, and the rest of the spread was simple stuff like porridge, one type of dim sum, a small cheese platter, smoked salmon, cold cuts. There's of course fruits, cereals, and coffee/tea. Nothing fanciful but I actually think it fills you up suitably.
I have this review as average although I think the rooms are quite good due to its location. I'm a local so its not so bad, but for visitors it may be abit boring here. No shopping within walking distance, although there's Chinatown but a good 3-4 bus stops away. The hotel is also about 10-15mins walk away from the nearest MRT, Outram. If the weather is hot, the walk will feel much longer.
This hotel is probably not ideal for a staycation or someone who's a 1st time visitor to our country but will be fine for someone who's looking for a good night rest with good accessibility to the airport (right next to a major expressway).
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also kind enough to grant me an upgrade due to my iPrefer membership.
The 2 Executive Suites I had were well maintained, very clean, and very roomy at 64 square metre, although some of the furniture looked worn out. A long couch big enough for an adult to sleep on in the living room was a luxurious touch. The bed was super comfy too! And mini bar was free - the issue with this i will address later. There's also complimentary wifi in the rooms, and I was given a complimentary fruit platter plus some chocolates, nice! There is also the cute nespresso machine in the suite which came in handy.
Breakfast at Carousel was excellent in terms of quality and quantity, eat here! The C;ub Lounge on the 15th floor serves TWG teas and machine coffee but you get complimentary high tea from 3-5pm - British high tea but refillable. Come 5:30pm - 8pm you get alcoholic drinks plus a small variety of tapas-like bites. Quality was just alright for me.
Didnt try the pool but popped by to have a look - it was rather empty although on a weekend and also small-ish in size.
The following are issues to me though:
Rude attitude at lobby area – one of my guests was waiting for me at the lobby couch when he was approached by a staff member who asked me if he was a hotel guest. When he replied he was waiting from some friends to check in together, he was told he was not allowed to wait there if he is not a guest. I think he didn’t quite get the idea that my friend was not a guest YET but GOING to be one. When asked why, the staff member said they encounter some members of the public sleeping at the couches but my friend was obviously not sleeping at that time. I suspect the staff member realized at some point thereafter and came back to apologize to my friend but I feel it should not have happened in the first place, as it would have been a rude shock to anyone. In any case, it didn’t seem logical in the first place that members of the public were not allowed to be at the lobby.
L'Occitane toiletries / housekeeping issues – when I was granted the upgrade, I was given a list of entitlement for Suite guests which included my favorite - L'Occitane toiletries. But when I saw there were only the hotel’s in-house toiletries in both rooms, I made a call to housekeeping to ask and was told some checks would be made. Half an hour later I was still waiting in the room and decided to call again and this time spoke to a different person who told me the same thing, that checks would be made. 10mins later, my doorbell rang and a lady from the housekeeping brought up this pack of Chopard toiletries and asked if this was what I was asking for. I said no and showed her the print-out of the email – she said the hotel does not have such brands. I was planning to visit the Club Lounge after that and brought up the toiletries to see if anyone can help. The staff at the lounge said that all suites are given the Chopard toiletries now and the hotel doesn’t hold the brand, but said he will check for me and someone will call me back at my room. About half an hour later, the housekeeping brought me the packs of L'Occitane toiletries. I find it very odd that what the hotel apparently did not have could magically appear after making some calls. I am really fine with having house-brand toiletries, but if it is stated that that is one of the perks of the suites then I look forward to the extra treat. If the hotel cannot commit to having that particular brand of toiletries available, then it is better not to state the brand and just say ‘luxury toiletries’. Otherwise the above incident will make me wonder if hotel is trying to hold on to the toiletries for some reason and not provide unless the guests repeatedly asks for it.
The ipod dock was also missing in my room but I did not ask about that since I had no use for it. But again, for someone who was expecting it, it would have been a disappointment.
Bottled water – I called to ask for 4 more bottled water (on top of whatever is in the mini bar) for my room as I get thirsty quite often. Shortly, a staff brought me the 4 bottles and told me it would be chargeable at $5 per bottle, and I thought he was kidding from the way he said it. I later called the housekeeping only to be told that yes, it is indeed $5 per bottle. I know the min-bar is free and I would understand if the hotel wants to charge for any additional soft drinks etc but I have never heard of anyone charging $5 per bottle, it is ridiculous. And why was it that I was not told when I requested for it? Plus there is no signage in the room anywhere to inform guests about it. Ultimately, the housekeeping agreed to waive the charges and let me have them at no charge when I expressed my displeasure and asked for someone to collect the 4 bottles back. But this also means that a guest who did not know because there was no way they could have known will get a rude shock upon check out. I seriously think the hotel should review this. If not, the hotel should just simply revert to the good old standard of charging for everything except bottled water.
And in fact, I was informed that the mini bar is replenished once a day and I had assumed it meant it will be topped up maximum once a day AFTER I have consumed the first round of the contents. The word ‘replenished’ is misleading and should be rephrased.
A minor issue was that there was supposed to be a personalised check in at Royal Club Lounge for Suite guests / Royal Touch member but I never got that, nor was I ever acknowledged for being a member throughout my stay. Again, I would have been fine except that I was expecting it as it was listed all in the same email. The hotel has to improve on its member acknowledgement.
The conclusion is that while the hardware is perfectly okay, it is the software i had issues with. They need to buck up on it, given its reputation as a 5-star hotel.
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Was seated quite promptly and the stylist came over to talk to me. I was actually expecting her to recommend some styles as she is quite senior but she didn't, and instead passed me some books to browse through. Not sure if it was supposed to be like that but I heard from the grapevine that some stylists dont recommend because they do not want to be saddled with any kind of responsibility for how it turns out.
I picked one, and the new colour for my hair. The stylist gave a few advice on the things to look out for for the colour I picked, which was nice.
The stylist took off a bit of my length before washing my hair - nothing fantastic about the wash nor the products. The colour came next, and all was quickly done with no fuss. The stylist was shuttling between me and another lady but totally okay for me as there's no point in her standing her and watching the colour set in.
Then came the supposed treatment which I asked to take as a package - cut colour treatment $189. Again, it didnt feel anything special and no one explained to me what the treatment does.
Finally the cut. The stylist was quite meticulous with the cut, even explaining to me that she was using a razor to shave off the hair ends at the nape of my neck before actually starting the shave - I would have panicked otherwise. The end result had some resemblance with the picture which I thought reflected good skills I guess.
Ginger tea was served during my 2 hours there, plus magazines. There was also initiative to bring me some more magazines when I was finished with the 1st 2.
However, the way the chairs and slots for the tea and magazines were not friendly at all. You cant reach them if you're seated. At all. You either need to reach to your far left / right or bend down. Quite annoying for me.
I quite liked the cut, and have received compliments about it. Plus the price is reasonable too. Worth a return visit for me.
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The place was understandably quiet on a weekday 12:30pm with just a few tables occupied, mostly looking like business lunches. The have a open kitchen concept, plenty of sofa seats, and the non-sofa ones comfortably spaced out as well. It looked like it would make a great for a date at night!
They have quite a variety of choices for lunch alone: ala carte, the Executive Set Lunch ($68 for 4-course), or the 2 or 3 course Daily Set Lunch ($38 for 2-course; $42 for 3 course). We both took the 2 course as 3 would be too heavy for us. The bread is an extra order.
StoneHearth Flat Bread ($11 for 1 portion) - served with extra virgin olive oil, butter, dip - there's 4 choices of bread and you can pick 2 halves for that 1 portion. We had the Truffled Kalamanta Olive Flat Bread and the Wild Fire Spiced Flat Bread which were both very good, especially the olive bread. It also came with a macadamia dip (the dips change daily and are made in-house) which was excellent!
Barramundi (choice of chicken, beef, risotto, or this) - preserved lemon, vine tomato, whipped parmesan potato, extra virgin olive oil - The best fish dish I have ever tasted in a very long time. The 2 chunks of fish was very fresh and its skin grilled to perfection and adequately salted. The whipped potato was a little too fine for me, almost too smooth to taste like it should be.
Valrhona Chocolate Soup (no choice of desserts) - Black pepper ice cream, sesame crisp - this was recommended to be the specialty and it indeed was good! It came in what looked like a giant spoon with the top bit baked to harden a bit more while the insides are still liquid (literally soup). The accompanying ice cream didnt taste like anything black pepper though but the sesame crisp was quite nice although it could have been a bigger piece.
Service was quite good and the staff is very efficient at clearing your plates and were very attentive in fact. No grouses here.
The ala carte prices seemed reasonable altho not exactly cheap but I suspect they may find it abit hard to get attention due to the stiff F&B competition at RWS. I also did not expect to see a $68 lunch set to be honest.
I probably not return on my own as although the food was good but it was not too exciting either.
[Sorry no pictures of the food this time!]
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The former Bliss cafe premise is now more crowded with people wanting to try Willin Low's new venture and of course this being the first ever proper hang out place in Hougang area made it even more popular.
They have a surprisingly big seating comprising of indoors (which is seldom the first choice), the 'patio' which is more lounge-y and on the same level as where the bar is. Then there's the ever popular pondside seats on a wooden deck complete with very efficient fans which makes sitting there bearable even on a hot day.
Before I went, I've already heard of the wildly popular lychee beer which is so popular that it is currently sold out until end of the month according to the staff. Oh well.
Timmerman's Strawberry ($10) - supposedly the popular option to try. But not nice! It taste like a very sweet cider and gets cloyingly sweet after a few mouthfuls.
Erdinger draft ($12 for 1pint) - fresh from the tap but it could have been better chilled.
Chicken wings ($4.90) - Nice but beware of the seemingly innocent dip which gives its kick quite soon.
Giant Sausages ($12.90) - Nice! 2 giant pork sausages nicely grilled served with your choice of mushroom sauce, black pepper, or mayo. The mashed potato was not too bad and the shredded cabbage was fresh and crunchy. The side of fries was shoe string and served hot but could have been less salty.
Chicken Chop ($13.80) - Chicken was tender but came with a whole sheet of skin. The rest of the sides are the same.
Chendol ($6.20) - I didnt have this but everyone I've seen ordered this says its nice.
Service was slipshot and the staff team seem to be sometimes forgetful, ignorant, and doesnt make the effort to look up from their ipads order system to spot people waving their hands to ask for service. Be prepared to face bad service on weekends.
That being said, I will still return as this is the only decent place around for me. Prices are reasonable too.
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