Staycation at The Westin Singapore

The new Westin is housed in Asia Square Tower 2, though navigation was tricky due to a lack of road signs, we managed to park & find our way to the lobby which is located on level 32nd. The high ceilings felt grand & the spacious lobby was welcoming but what was seemingly lacking was the human interaction, no staff were present, no warm welcomes. We looked for the nearest empty counter & proceeded for check-in. When we approached the staff for check-in, she also did not greet nor welcome us. What a shock, considering how Westin markets itself to be a 5-star hotel.

Our deluxe room was on the 38th floor, it features "a wall of floor-to-ceiling windows that frames views over the city’s modern financial district and the heritage buildings of Chinatown." (http://www.starwoodhotels.com/westin/property/rooms/room_class_detail.html?propertyID=3624&roomClassId=1022727755).

Being a relatively new hotel, the amenities in the room were brand new & the luxurious living space was definitely a far cry from my humble HDB abode. On the topic of staycations I believe there are 2 camps, one which believes that the money can be better spent on an overseas trip while the opposing camp (which I'm in) believes that rather than rushing to catch flights for the trip, why not slow down the pace & be a tourist in our little red dot.

I guess on staycations you are partly paying for the luxuries which you can't afford in everyday life. The spacious room furnished with posh interiors, the huge bathroom & accompanying bathtub.I imagine if my house was this stunning, I would be home most of the time!

Our room reservation was accompanied by with buffet breakfast at Seasonal Tastes but the spread was nothing worth shouting about.

Lastly before check-out, we popped by the pool. A non-swimmer like myself can only pose & sit pretty for photos because it's not everyday that you get to be by an infinity pool right? Surprisingly, despite the scorching Sun, the pool water was freezing cold.

Staycation at Equarius Hotel, RWS (Part 2)

Following morning, buffet breakfast was served at Forest 森 (Equarius Hotel, Lobby). Before arriving in the restaurant I was feeling all hyped because c'mon, buffet breakfast = scrumptious meal = superbly done scrambled eggs + yummy sausages + oily sinful bee hoon + all things yummy/delectable blah blah blah!

As it was a Monday morning, the restaurant was pretty empty, we got seated promptly. First dish I went for has got to be scrambled eggs. Gosh, it was a major disappointment! :( If McDonald's scrambled eggs was a perfect 10 then their scrambled eggs will be a miserable 2. Goodness gracious, the eggs were completed soaked in milk, all gooey & yucky. Gets me upset just to talk about it.

Well, since they are capable of screwing up such a simple dish, needless to say the other dishes were totally not worthy of mention. You honestly will not revisit for a second helping. Even the watermelon juice was horrid, super diluted! Please don't tell me they actually used syrup! My oh my. After the unsatisfying breakfast, we crawled back to bed.

Requested for late check-out at 1pm, after checking out we realized we just missed the shuttle bus going toward S.E.A. Aquarium. Normally buses come at every 15min interval but as its lunch time, the next bus only arrives 30mins later. We were hanging round the lounge area, waiting for time to pass. Round 15mins later, a friendly staff approached us & offered to get a buggy to send us to our destination. SWEET!

Related posts -

Staycation at Equarius Hotel, RWS (Part 1)

Staycation at Equarius Hotel, RWS (Part 1)

1st weekend of 2014 saw us celebrating our 6th anniversary with a staycation at Equarius Hotel in RWS. Since our anniversary falls on the 6th of Jan, it made sense to book our stay on 5th Sun -6th Mon which inevitably helped saved us some money because if we were to book our stay on the weekend (4th Sat - 5th Sun) the price will be alot higher. Furthermore, when I was doing my research I was also surprised to find quite a few hotels that require a minimum number of stay during this weekend since it was the first weekend of Jan.

After reading mixed reviews on TripAdvisor, I went with no expectations, or rather I am ready for the worst & all prepared to meet & counter-attack nasty duty managers & any other nonsense that may come my way. Official check-in was at 3pm but I did make a request for earlier check-in, we arrived round 2pm & all service staff at check-in counter were pre-occupied serving other guests. To my surprise, less than a minute of standing in queue, a friendly staff stepped out & offered to settle my room check-in. Delightful surprise! I had half expected some waiting time spent queuing. The staff who served me happened to be a sweet young thing (quite a chiobu leh!) too, pleasant on the eyes indeed hehe.

I booked a deluxe room but the staff, upon knowing we were celebrating our anniversary, has generously upgraded us to a deluxe garden room with a huge-ass lawn + balcony. Honestly, the area was so big, it could probably house 6 mahjong tables! Our room 301, faced lush greenery but if you looked downwards, it was the road leading to the hotel. I especially liked the serene surroundings, the peace & tranquillity was exactly what I needed. For those who prefer another view, the other end of the hotel rooms face RWS Adventure Cove Waterpark.

I was the mastermind behind this year's anniversary celebration, in my reservation I had stated we are celebrating our anniversary. The hotel was generous enough to offer a complimentary cake (which tasted just like a lump of milk, but well, free things cannot hiam right) though I did try to request to swap the cake for 2 glasses of champagne instead since for my dinner reservation I had requested for a customized cake. So much for inflexibility & certainly UN-personalized service. Which brings to mind how awesome W Singapore Sentosa Cove was when we celebrated our 5th anniversary there.

Equarius hotel does not offer free wifi which seems pretty ridiculous considering this is a 5-star hotel! Booo! I spoke to duty manager Randy who handled my enquiry really badly.

Bad experience aside, the walk to the pool was horrendously far & there was no shelter! Barely 10mins into the pool & rain came, we had no choice but to retreat back to our room. Soon it was dinner time & we caught the Sentosa island shuttle bus to Quayside Isle (the stop to alight is W Singapore Sentosa Cove). Being a Sunday night, the restaurants were pretty empty & we dined at Quayside Fish Bar & Bistro, pretty decent food. Only quibble being the time taken to serve our dessert, at 8pm I already gestured to the waiter to bring our the surprise - customized cake. It was a frustrating long wait as the fiancé was asking for the bill & wanting to leave the restaurant.

Finally at 8.30pm my long-awaited surprise came! Phew! The restaurant served the cake complimentary & even gave us 10% off the bill.

Related posts -

Staycation at Equarius Hotel, RWS (Part 2)

Staycation at Studio M Hotel

Over the weekend my BFF & I booked a room for one night stay at Studio M Hotel. This was my second stay, first time being last year over Christmas with friends. Their Loft room concept appealed to us hence we decided on staying here for our staycation.

The day didn't start off smoothly as we waited in vain for a taxi at my BFF's place. We flagged till our arms were sore & called till our iPhones were heated from prolonged use yet we still couldn't get a cab :(

After more than half an hour round 12.30pm we were finally in a taxi, on the journey to the hotel I called up the Front Desk to check on their room availability (official check-in time is 2pm). When I made the room reservation on Agoda, I specifically stated my request for early check-in however how the hotel handles such request really falls short of expectation to say the least. The staff whom I spoke to could only give textbook replies such as "I cannot promise you anything", "there is nothing I can do", "official check-in is at 2pm."

For the record I am not demanding the staff to promise me anything. What they could or should have done to help with the situation could just be a simple gesture such as offering to call me up once the check-in queue has cleared or when the room is ready. I guess that would really mark the difference between outstanding customer service versus just doing their job.

Leaving this unhappy incident aside, our cab arrived at the hotel at 1pm & to our surprise there wasn't a queue for check-in like what the staff had earlier mentioned on the call. Check-in was a breeze & we even got an upgrade from the Studio Loft to Premier Loft.

BFF & I had a chillax time, just lazing around in the comfortable room & taking pictures in the room, at the pool & around the hotel :)

 
When hunger finally caught up with us, UE Square was just a stone throw away & we bought tidbits to fill our tummy. Dinner was settled at Watami at Central (also walking distance from our hotel).

We had included breakfast with our room booking & breakfast was served from 6.30-10.30am. Early in the morning we got up & went for a jog down Singapore River, scenic view indeed!

Back at the hotel, we showered & its time for breakfast! Another unhappy incident happened when we were at the eggs station, this auntie appeared out of nowhere rudely demanding to know our room number. I thought she was a tour guide so I brushed her off by saying "we are not with you guys." But she pressed on to which my BFF replied. Seriously WTH? Who is this woman? Later on we found out she was a hotel staff too but her outfit really does not differentiate her from the hotel guests!

Anyways, we enjoyed our breakfast at the alfresco dining area. Nothing beats having natural sunshine accompanying us as we chomp on our food. If only we could spend Sundays morning like this all the time!

Soon it was time for out check-out but after this successful staycation I'm sure the BFF & I will be having more in the future :)