Royal Plaza On Scotts

This was a staycation choice for a farewell for a close friend who was going overseas for a while, plus a good 60 days advance purchase deal. The room reservation was 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.