Hi, Mrs Northants JP and I recently enjoyed a 4 night stay at the Valley Wing at the Shangri La in Singapore.
Overall we had a great stay BUT we had a couple of minor issues and one significant issue that necessitated us calling the hotel General Manager to resolve (a first for us). All credit to the hotel they went quite a way to sort the problem out and make recompense, more later.
We arrived in Singapore after a great stay at the Rasa Sayang in Penang. We arrived at SIN at about 12.15pm and think we were in our taxi on the way to the hotel within 20 minutes. I recall we arrived at the Valley Wing lobby about 1310. Don't think we would have done it much quicker if we had booked the hotel limo service.
We were ushered into the lobby by the doorman and asked to take seats. After about a minute we were greated by a guest relations officer who proceded to escort us directly to our room (1259). On the way she took time to explain to us the privillages of the Valley Wing - free drinks in the lobby from 1030am - 1030pm, snacks all day long, free use of the business centre including internet access. She also explained to us that one of the two lifts was being refurbished but we would be free to use the VIP elevator that takes you directly to the private VIP entrance of the Valley Wing. This, as it transpired, was very conveniant for us, because the VIP lift was very fast and was about 10ft from the door to our room.
Each floor of the Valley Wing only has about 10 rooms on it, with each pair of rooms set back from the corridor allowing them to be paired up and shut off. The corridors are very quiet and despite being told that the hotel was virtually full we never saw a single person on the corridor (including any housekeeping trollys throughout our stay). Access to each floor by lift or stairs is only by key card. This is a hotel that has to take security seriously owing to the number of VIPs attending. There was an Asian PM in residence whilst we were there. But more about security later.
We were surprised when we arrived at our room to find that housekeeping was still in attendence making up our room. Rather than being immediately allocated another room we were surprised that we were taken in, sat down on the sofa, amongst a scattering of pillows and bed covers and checked in. This was most disappointing and gave a perculiar first impression. If the room wasn't ready they should have found us another room or asked us to wait 10 minutes in the lobby and had a drink.
The room itself was very impressive, measuring a good 50m2. Laid out in a fairly traditional fashion with what I would describe as very traditional european style decor of a seemingly very good quality. We were allocated a city view room, with a view that wasn't bad but it was a little disappointing to note that half of the rooms in the Valley Wing get an excellent view of the Hotel incinerator / boiler stack.
The room came equipped with a large desk with personalised business cards and writing paper. Mrs Northants JP was a bit miffed that it was assumed that only I would require the use of such things (i didn't). I'm sure, had we asked, she would have received a stash. A large minibar (not free) featured a wide selection of wine, beer, premium brand spirits in large bottles and tasty chocolates. Disappointingly, the room only has a CRT TV. It does have a BOSE stereo and DVD player. There was no inhouse movie on demand - only the dire movie channel (Vision 4, I think - which has to be the worst movie channel ever) and HBO.
The bathroom was large and decked completely in white marble making it very light but a little stark for my tastes. The so-called mood lighting was pretty naff, seeming to just switch a couple of lights off. The mood lighting in the bathrooms at the Peninsula in Bangkok was much better. The room featured a seperate toilet and Bidet, bath with TV, double sinks, and a reasonably large walk in shower. The shower featured a fairly naff and ineffective rain-head shower which could be switched over to a conventional shower which was okay, I've had much better showers elsewhere. There was a good selection of Aigner bathroom toiletries, replensished twice daily. The bottles were the same size as standard Shangri La toiletries (Unlike at the Horizon Floor at the Shangri La in KL, where 4 years ago they were twice the size). Overall the room was very well kitted out and in excellent shape. In the evening delicious home-made mint chocolates in little boxes are left
Drinks service is in the Valley wing lobby, where, somehow the butlers know who is and who is not stopping in the wing. They very quickly work out what you like and by the second day most had worked out our names. The selection is pretty good with brand name spirits, Moet Champagne, and reasonably good French and New World Wines. A glass of this wine or champagne will set you back about £10 in the main wing of the hotel, so you can see how the savings will add up.
Breakfast is taken in the Summit Room, and consists of a small cold buffet followed by an A la carte selection cooked to order menu. However, the chefs will endevour took what you want when you want it - this extends to 24 hour room service. The only problem we noted was that the room cannot cope very well when there is a rush on. People were waiting in excess of 30 minutes for a table. You could dine in the main hotel buffet if you wished, which was good but very busy and noisy.
The wing also has a small patio area reserved for Valley Wing guests. We found that the rules over whether you could eat and drink in this section seemed to depend on who you asked or maybe who you were. We were told you could take your own drinks outside but food wasn't allowed and there is no table service in that area (something to do with smoking rules) however we saw a couple of vocal business men barking orders to staff to bring them food and drink which they did
The big problem -
On the second night we left our room at 5pm and returned at 10.30pm to find that the housekeeper had left the door ajar when she had turned the room down. We immediately called the Duty Manager, Mrs Northants JP was very upset. The Manager and I checked the room and safe and confirmed from a preliminary inspection that nothing seemed to have been taken. The Manager promised to review all the security footage that night, all key entries to the room and the Head of security was ordered to interview the housekeepers. We arranged to see the General Manager the following morning. During our meeting with the General Manager he confirmed that the Housekeepers had been the only people to enter the room that night and he offered us the opportunity to view the security footage, which we declined. He was most appolgetic and said he had sent wine and chocolates to our room. He also offered us a compementary meal in the hotels top restaurant, BLU. Whilst we were extremly disapointed over the lapse in security at a hotel that prides itself on the issue we felt in the circumstances, and given the fact that nothing had been taken, the offer was more than reasonable.
We later received a personal hand written letter from the Manager appologising. We also received VIP treatment when we took the manager up on his offer of a meal, with various hotel management coming over to introduce themselves to us and ensure we were having a good time. We didn't take the piss with the courtersy offered with the free meal and only ordered a moderately priced Chablis (it was still £40) but when we came to pay for the wine we were told that the Manager was picking up the complete cost.
The hotel has excellent grounds with a wonderful pool. Be under no illusion that the Shangri La is a big hotel with several ballrooms and function rooms. When the hotel is full the main lobby area in the main wing can resemble a busy train station concourse.
Considering the Valley Wing was only remodeled a couple of years ago I was surprised with the conservative layout of the bedroom, but maybe that's what the regulars like. Similarly, the lobby is very traditionally laid out, we would have preferred the lobby to have been broken up a little to be more like a lounge with perhaps a slightly more contemporary feel, it never really felt like you were sitting anywhere else than on a thoroughfare. These are minor observations and don't really detract from what is a great hotel to stay in Singapore.
Overall, we really enjoyed our stay. it wasn't perfect and perhaps at the prices it charges it should be. That said, the free drink on offer makes for tremendous value if you enjoy a drink. The rooms are very comfortable and the staff do seem to try very hard to make your stay special.