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Old Jun 8, 2008, 4:30 am
  #12  
Dr_wanderlust
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: USA
Programs: DL PM, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 2,367
Be aware that taxi drivers have no clue about this hotel yet. Mine ended up in the car park one level below the hotel. No problems, but there are not clear signs (yet) for drivers.

Walking to the CP from the arrivals area of T3 is easy. 5 minutes max. There is an incline right where the hotel starts and the terminal ends. Walking into the lobby is like going back to 1963 (not that I was alive in 1963). Or, it is as if some undiscovered furniture and decorations from a cache of a 1963 hotel that was never built was just discovered. Or, it is like visiting Kramer's (think Seinfeld) apartment in the episode where Kramer found the Merv Giffin studio set. In short, in an effort to be casual post-modern they have rediscovered a style long since forgotten.

I arrived about 2 pm (their stated check in time) to a not so efficient front desk staff. Very friendly, but clearly some training was still learning by doing. No room for me at that time. I was escorted to the lobby bar to wait for my room. Oddly, at least 4 people were able to check-in while I was waiting for my room. A free double espresso was much appreciated. The constant construction noise in the lobby was not.

My room was on the sixth floor. Only two floors are currently open. The hallways are open air, motel-like. The post-modern retro look continues in the common areas and the rooms. There is an eager attempt to have nature within the design of the building, although the building is very much "open metal, warehouse."

Internet access is 85 cents a minute with a daily max of $33; hence I am not writing this review from the hotel.

My room had a mix of Scandinavian style furniture with Vegas-casino carpet (green, brown, beige, white), and a lot of glass; e.g., bathroom has a glass wall. LArge room and large bathroom. Nice amenities. The shower and tub were separate, with a rain shower head (a plus in my book).

The only problem in the room was the TV/remote. The remote only worked within 3 or 4 feet of the TV.

Outside my window was a construction site. Also, the building is wrapped with a metal lattice sculpture which obscures the views. I had hoped to watch some A380 take off, but the lattice works made that difficult. I can also predict the hotel will have a problem with birds nesting in the sculpture.

Sometimes design should not come before function. This hotel is trying to be something other than a lay-over hotel. I am not sure who they are going to get as a median customer. Most of the people I saw checking out were TG flight and cabin crews. There are a couple restaurants and a bar. I tried Azure. The staff were very nice and made me a custom, fried noodle dish since they only had pizza as a vegetarian option on the menu.

In short, a pleasant enough stay, but they will have a hard time competing with the transit hotels for transient travelers and non-airport locations for people staying a few days in SIN, especially at $235 Sing per night. Also, just beware that an argument could be made that the hotel should not be open yet because of the construction noise.
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