Stayed a few nights at this hotel, in the signature king suite, last week.

First impression - the entrance/lobby is not as grand as most other 5 star hotels; we arrived on a busy Saturday morning and there was no one there to help with suitcases immediately. A porter didn’t become available until a few minutes later. Overall, the place is nice, new and clean (can tell it’s been renovated not long ago) but it certainly doesn’t give you that luxury feel.

Check-in - this is self service whereby you check yourself in at one of the many kiosks. They do have staff roaming around ready to assist and we did require assistance as I kept getting error messages but the lady I dealt with was very friendly, enthusiastic and helpful. Personally, not a fan of self check in as it makes us feel like we’re in budget hotel. Also, doesn’t help that the whole process is a little fiddly.

Room - this is probably what we love the most about this hotel. It’s not spacious (compared to other suites/junior suites we’ve stayed) but it’s clean, it’s aesthetically pleasing, it’s probably a couple of years old but extremely well maintained, and the overall design/layout of the room is clever and practical. Our room has 2 balconies offering amazing view of the city and the marina. We were there during a festival so we had great view of the fireworks as well.

Service - everyone we dealt with was professional, friendly and helpful. We had a few small requests and they were all actioned very quickly. We also requested for a baby cot and it was all set up in the room beforehand. The cot provided is sturdy (not one of those flimsy, portable ones) and even comes with a quilted bumper! I have stayed in many hotels before and I can say this is the best hotel baby cot we have ever had.

Location - second to none. Right above a shopping mall and MRT. Walking distance to the esplanade and the bay area.

Breakfast - we were a bit jetlagged so we didn’t wake up until 9ish (breakfast finishes at 10:30) hence we did not bother going to the buffet breakfast.

Check-out - check out was quick and easy. Worth mentioning that they also kindly extended our check out time to 4pm and that was very much appreciated.

Overall, we enjoyed our stay there. Will I return? Maybe - this is only because I feel like Fairmont hotel next door ticks perhaps more boxes for me and it’s priced about the same as Swissotel.