Name of the hotel: ibis Singapore Novena
What is your Le Club status? Gold
Were you (or for multi-stayers were you generally) happy with the hotel/stay? happy
Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive?
Booked a Standard room with a queen bed and I think we got the same, but not 100% sure
(Accor website says Deluxe rooms have a Nespresso coffee maker, free minibar and an iron -- we got an iron, but the minibar was empty and there was no Nespresso machine)
How are the rooms?
Mostly standard ibis room, but with a minibar and an iron. Standard room size (aka smallish), but with a real chair and a small desk.
The bathroom has a shower.
What was good and what was bad?
Good:
The rooms are still in good shape. Quite comfortable bed and pillows. A good place for people who want to spend a few days sightseeing and don't have too much luggage. Great air-conditining. Nothing major to complain about.
You can get cool filtered water from a machine in the corridor.
There is a free shuttle bus between the hotel and Novena MRT - you can use it to get to Novena in the morning. It's not very well advertised - on two mornings we were given a private transfer (cf. "bad" below)
There's a food centre and a big supermarket right in front of the hotel. You can get a main dish for 6-10 SGD.
Bad:
One day we got to the hotel around 3.30 p.m. but the room hasn't been cleaned yet. We asked if it could be cleaned, but it still took additional 45 minutes. No siesta that day.
The distance from the nearest MRT station (Novena) to the hotel is relatively short, but there's a hill between them, so you have to walk up and down the hill in both directions -- it's more difficult than it sounds even in January.
The timetable for the shuttle bus could be improved. You can catch it at 11.30 a.m. and then only at 13.30 p.m. To catch it from Novena to the hotel, you need to phone the reception in advance.
Good OR bad:
Breakfast buffet is mostly Asian, which means a lot of hot dishes for breakfast (incl. chicken breast and fish). Scrambled eggs and beans are served every other day. Only diced cheese is served (salad section). It might be a good or a bad thing, depending on what you're use to.
Quality could be better.
Did you get club lounge access? How was the lounge? N/A
What about welcome drinks, welcome amenities or any other special perks?
Welcome drinks coupon given at check-in. The restaurant has a special menu of drink you can choose from, e.g. tea, coffee, soft drinks, house wine (red, white), 2 or 3 beers, 2 mocktails.
A welcome gift in the room (fruit, extra cosmetics, cookies).
At check-in, the receptionist ask if we needed late check-out. We asked for late check out till 14h and we got it.
Value for $ or Vouchers? Would you return?
I reserved during a special sale at around 100 SGD per day, including all taxes AND breakfast for 2 people every day and paid part of the stay with points. I was quite happy with the rate.