As one of the newest 5 star property in Singapore, I was thoroughly excited to stay at the new Sofitel Singapore City Centre and held high expectation of the hotel considering it was a Flagship Sofitel.

Check In

I requested for early check-in and it was granted upon arrival at 10am. I feared it might get rejected as the Singapore Airshow was ongoing and many hotels were fully booked but was relived upon arrival. 

We were escorted directly to Club Millesime for check-in. As usual, check in was smooth and we were offered to have breakfast at the lounge while they did the normal procedures. I was briefed by the lounge staff of what we were entitled to as per our Platnium status. We were upgraded from Luxury room to Luxury Club.

Room

There was sufficient space to put 2-3 large suitcases. Room finishing are top notch and the design of rooms gave a very luxurious feel. The SofitelMyBed was comfortable, Mini-bar was complimentary with local drinks in mind and TWG Tea/Nespresso Coffee were on offer. 

My welcome amenity to be honest was quite disappointing considering I paid over $250SGD for the room. The hotel needs to learn how to do a proper welcome amenity as the one given to me is not Platinum standards in my opinion, more of silver or Gold.

When comparing with other Sofitel's worldwide, the amenities provided here are Lavin and not Hermes which is disappointing considering that I was in a Club room and most Club room's in other Sofitel's get Hermes amenities. Maybe I'm nit-picking.

Additionally, before checking out, I did notice a few feathers poking out of my bed and reported it to the staff at the lounge. The GM got back to me ensuring that the matter is being resolves as they are communicating with the supplies of the SofitelMyBed products.

Platinum Welcome Amenity 

Feather I found on poking out my bed.

Service

Service at the hotel is definitely top notch and on par with other Sofitel's in Asia. Service at the Club Lounge is excellent and I have no faults with the level of service provided. 

Regarding the rest of the hotel, service at the Racines is good too. Both and Breakfast and Dinner, staff were professional and ensured our meals were great.

I have personally emailed the hotel to mention several names of staff who took great care of us  and I do hope they keep up with the great service.

Club Millesime

Club Millesime is located on the 6th floor adjacent to the pool and gym.

The lounge has an outdoor terrace that leads directly to the pool. In my opinion, the design of the lounge is nice however it resembles more of a restaurant than a lounge as there are no lounge chairs or proper sofas.  No doubt the chairs were comfortable but it really feels like a restaurant to me. However that is just my personal view. I'll let the pictures to the talking.

Dining

-Club Millesime-

Regarding the Food & Beverage served at the club, I have to admit that the food provided in the lounge was quite disappointing and a let down in my opinion after comparing to other hotel lounges in the same hotel category. Breakfast was adequate with room for improvement (Sofitel BKK Sukhumvit does Ala Carte orders), Afternoon Tea was a let down with the selection of food being minimal (Sofitel Macau does excellent here) and Evening Cocktails was average with lots of room for improvement. (Sofitel Manila does quite well here IMO and may I say, Novotel Singapore On Stevens does pretty well for their Evening Cocktails food selection, far better than this Sofitel)

In contrast, the beverages offered in the lounge was excellent with TWG Tea and Nespresso Coffee served throughout the day and when it comes to Evening Cocktails, Champagne (Duval-Leroy), 2 Cocktails, 4 White wines, 4 Red wines, Port wine, hard liquors, mocktails, soft drinks were all served throughout the 2 hours. That in comparison to the food was far better and excellent in my opinion. Selection of beverages here are good and would make any guest who appreciates alcohol happy. (If only they could be this generous with their food)

Breakfast at Club Millesime

Afternoon Tea at Club Millesime

Evening Coktails at Club Millesime

-Racines-

Dining at Racines is such a delight IMO. Chef Dubois has a great team of chefs behind him and the food the kitchen whips up is delicious on all palates. We had Asian cuisine for Dinner and were impressed by the quality of food that we ate. It tasted authentic and I assured myself I will be back for more.

Breakfast Buffet is also excellent and is quality over quantity. I do love the fresh orange juice machine and the selection of freshly baked breads served for breakfast. It can't compare to the Ritz Carlton Colony or Pan Pacfic Edge with regards to the spread served but Racines breakfast buffet was definitely a delight and quality was there. I have eaten here at least 7-8 times to be honest as I do love the buffet selection. (Thank god for Accor Plus)

Breakfast Buffet at Racines

Pool / Gym

The 30m lap pool and Jacuzzi is decorated with trees around the edges and the beautiful titles that adorn the pool. The surrounding areas are decorated with greenery and relaxing music is played throughout the area. At night, the trees around the pool light up with lights making the pool area a nice place to relax. If only the hotel had put a full service bar next to the pool, it would be perfect.

The hotel's gym is located next to the pool on the 6th floor and has all the equipment one needs. However should you book a premium room or higher, you will get access to Virgin Active gym located next door and have direct access on the 6th floor. The Virgin Active gym is huge and has much more equipment as it is a paid gym. Just do a quick google on the gym and you will be amazed with what it offers. Now, if you do have access to the VA gym, you will the get access to all their services (including classes and etc.) throughout your stay, a definitely plus if one is a gym addict.

Hotel's Gym

Location

Location is good. The hotel is located directly above Tanjong Pagar MRT station which makes the hotel very convenient as a base to travel around Singapore. Additionally, with the hotel located within the CBD area, business travellers need not travel far to work.

However one point to take note, the hotel still DOES NOT provide complimentary parking for in-house guest. That itself is just appalling for a hotel of this calibre and I do hope it is just a teething problem and not a permanent one. For a 5 star hotel in Singapore not being able to provide their in-house guest complimentary parking is just a big let down and I hope management can change this as even at Ibis Bencoolen, the hotel provides complimentary parking to their guest who pay for rooms that it almost 1/3 of the price of a room here. #Ranting

But I do have to point out that my stay was back in February and things might have changed since then. 

Overall

Overall the stay was pretty good with certain teething problems that I do hope the hotel can recover from soon. My points issue was fixed and the hotel apologised for crediting the wrong amount of points (nearly 1000 bonus points worth)

The hotel has alot of potential of becoming the best AccorHotel in Singapore and one that can lead as an example as a Flagship Sofitel and I do hope that my next stay with them in the future would be even better. The design and ambience of the hotel is one that befits a 5 star property and I do hope Sofitel Singapore City Centre makes full use of is. Would recommend the hotel for sure once their teething problems are settled.

Now, it’s my turn to write a review of Sofitel Singapore City Centre. We had very positive and also mixed reviews in this thread since the hotel opened. I am definitely in the WOW category. I had a great stay (4 nights) and would return without blinking an eye, if prices are OK of course.

I was traveling with family and we had 2 rooms booked (2 distinct bookings, 2 LCAH accounts, 2 e-mail addresses). There was some prior to arrival communications from an “Ambassador” but surprisingly with only one of the booking (not mine ;-) ), but no big deal. 

Arriving in the ground floor lobby, I said I was Platinum and asked to be bring to the lounge for check-in, which was done promptly. 

The ground floor lobby:

Pictures of the main lobby on the 5th floor:

Two droid butlers in the lobby (called Sophie and Xavier)...

Check In

Warm welcome and greetings in the Club Millésime by various staff members who gave us their business cards and told us to contact them for any needs we may have. We were obviously expected ! We were given the welcome letter and lounge benefits details. After a refreshing drink, we were bring to our rooms on the 16th floor. Note that at my stay dates (shortly after CNY), only 2 floors are still not open and are scheduled to open very soon (may be they are now). No welcome drink coupon was given but I didn’t really care (and didn’t ask) as we had lounge access and the minibar content is free, but still...

Room

The upgrade situation is also not very clear at this hotel as mentioned by previous posters (because the rooms are all the same except the suites). We had booked luxury king rooms and were given luxury premiums which is in fact the same, eventually on a higher floor. They are really nice. Everything has already been said about the room and bathroom, so I will not repeat this. However, I report here one inconvenient of the rooms in this hotel, if there is a closet where you can hang jackets, pants, dress, there is no drawer where you can store other clothes after having unpacked your suitcase. This is weird as they have the space to put that. I mentionned it to the GM who told me I was not the 1st client to mention this problem. They are currently studying how to solve this.

I encountered a problem the 1st evening. My room had a communication door to the adjacent room (there are not that many having that looking at the floor map displayed on the emergency panel on the door). Going to bed at around 11 pm (and was quite tired as I was just arriving from Paris), I realized  I was hearing everything from the adjacent room (people talking, kids laughing, TV). To make it clear, the people in this room were speaking normally and the kids playing quietly, but it’s just that those communication doors have been badly designed and are not soundproofed, which is a pity for such a luxury hotel. While in my bed, I typed an e-mail to the GM and the Ambassadors to inform them about the problem. The following morning waking up, I already had a response from the GM apologizing and saying that the problem would be promptly addressed. Arriving at the lounge for breakfast, everyone was aware of the problem and I was proposed another room on the same floor. It was the same kind of room but without communication door. So the problem was rightly and promptly addressed. My reco : if you have a room with communication door, ask to change right away!

Welcome gift : a bottle of wine, a bottle of sparkling water and some excellent sweets.

Dining

Service at the lounge was great. Temperature of champagne and white wine was perfect :) . The staff makes sure your glass is always filled ! While at the lounge, I had the pleasure to have a discussion with the GM and with the French chef Dubois (who was working at the Raffles before). We had dinner once at Racines to try his cuisine and it was super good. The cold food selection was the same every day, but this is usually the same in most hotels and as long as it’s good, I am fine with this. They have a warm option, different every day and it was of very high quality. I like also the option of ordering food from the main restaurant to eat at the lounge. There are a few tables outdoor for the lounge (on the pool deck). That was our favorite spot while at the lounge for both breakfast and evening cocktails, as we were coming from the cold European winter and so we were happy to be in Singapore heat !!!

For breakfast, we had it at both the Racines restaurant and at the lounge. It is certainly better at Racines because you have an incredible choice, but also it is more crowded and noisy. I tend to prefer the lounge BF because of the quieter and exclusive atmosphere and because I am not a big eater at BF, so it’s more than enough for me.

Club Millésime:

Racines restaurant:

Pool

I truly enjoyed the pool. It has been very nicely done IMO and gets very nice at night with all the little lights in the trees. In this thread, some posters have mentioned that there were « many people » coming from the gym at the pool, but I didn’t see any during my stay.

Overall

Check-out was done quickly at the lounge and we were already « good friends » with the lounge attendants who have been really nice to us, hoping to see them again, but it was time to leave to reach my dear Cambodia and my 2 favorite hotels there ;)

Overall, an excellent stay with minor issues quickly resolved. Great staff