Andaz Singapore REVIEW - MASTER THREAD
Dec 28, 2019, 9:17 pm
#316
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: SYD | HGH
Programs: CX DM, Hyatt Globalist, Hilton DM, Marriott Plat
Posts: 2,121
Just about to check out in an hour, here is my little report:
1. check in was moved to level 2 (the entrance to the hotel) from level 25 a year ago. With the room, I insist that I would not like to be moved, and the hotel let me keep the room for the entire stay.
2. The resident suite is about the same size as studio suite, however, a real corner suite and has a better view. I think that is the main different between the two same size suites.
3. The breakfast is of great quality, however slight lack in variety, I assume due to the size limitation of the whole dining area. The table at the lounge and continental area is tiny, you can only fit 2 plates on the table, not very ideal for buffet breakfast.
4. The outdoor pool is great, with help your self water....if the water is chilled could have been be better.
5. The view and music at Mr Stork is fantastic, it is definitely one of the best rooftop bar in Singapore. However you would need to book in advance in order to have a table. I believe most people here are not hotel guests.
1. check in was moved to level 2 (the entrance to the hotel) from level 25 a year ago. With the room, I insist that I would not like to be moved, and the hotel let me keep the room for the entire stay.
2. The resident suite is about the same size as studio suite, however, a real corner suite and has a better view. I think that is the main different between the two same size suites.
3. The breakfast is of great quality, however slight lack in variety, I assume due to the size limitation of the whole dining area. The table at the lounge and continental area is tiny, you can only fit 2 plates on the table, not very ideal for buffet breakfast.
4. The outdoor pool is great, with help your self water....if the water is chilled could have been be better.
5. The view and music at Mr Stork is fantastic, it is definitely one of the best rooftop bar in Singapore. However you would need to book in advance in order to have a table. I believe most people here are not hotel guests.
Dec 28, 2019, 9:47 pm
#317
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Niwot, CO
Programs: AA XP, BA G, AS 100K, Hyatt G
Posts: 146
Hm This must be very recent. The check-in/out area was still in L25 when I checked out on Nov 8.
Dec 29, 2019, 7:56 pm
#318
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: SYD | HGH
Programs: CX DM, Hyatt Globalist, Hilton DM, Marriott Plat
Posts: 2,121
Dec 30, 2019, 3:10 am
#320
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: SFO
Programs: UA 1K, AA EXP, Hyatt Glob, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Plat, Total Wine & More Reserve
Posts: 4,497
I’ve always thought the variety that is offered at breakfast there was quite good. Did you explore the entire area? There are multiple sections.
Dec 31, 2019, 7:45 pm
#321
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: SYD | HGH
Programs: CX DM, Hyatt Globalist, Hilton DM, Marriott Plat
Posts: 2,121
Sorry... I was just comparing it to the breakfast at Grand Hyatt Singapore. i.e. Andaz only have 4 fruits, 3 juices.... I would call it limited in a tropical area hotel. And only the eggs and noodles are made to order.
Jan 15, 2020, 2:45 am
#322
Join Date: Nov 2012
Programs: SPG Platinum
Posts: 1,689
The pandan cakes that they make for sale are very nice, I would highly recommend buying one.
I've stayed at this property twice now - great location, great food (set lunch at the steak restaurant was good), good hard product. Frontline customer service staff usually pleasant too.
However, my sense is that management is very arrogant and doesn't really care about guest satisfaction. I made a booking for 6 nights in a Twin Room via Virtuoso, which included a stay 4, pay 3 offer. Thus the rates displayed on the booking were:
Night 1: $280
Night 2: $280
Night 3: $280
Night 4: zero
Night 5: $280
Night 6: $280
Since it was a Virtuoso booking it was meant to offer free changes/cancellation until 48 hours before check-in. Well in advance of arrival I asked to shorten the stay so that I would no longer stay on nights 5 and 6. What followed was an illogical, belligerent and ridiculous response from Federica Brugnara, who wrote:
This response was patent gibberish and was clearly nothing more than an egregious attempt to squeeze more money out of me without any genuine justification, bearing in mind that:
1) The alleged unavailability of Twin Rooms was irrelevant since that's what I had already booked and I wasn't proposing to stay on dates different to that which I had already booked.
2) The end of the stay 4 pay 3 offer was irrelevant as again, I wasn't proposing to stay on dates other than those I had already booked. I was merely proposing to not stay on nights 5-6. So there was no justification for her demand that I pay an extra $70 per night for a room that I had already booked.
After some prompting, my Virtuoso agent (Classictravel.com) apparently escalated the issue and we then received the following reply from the Operations Director, Amy Lu, a ridiculous 9 days later:
Once again, a nonsensical reply from Andaz Singapore management which was shockingly slow - what kind of 5 star hotel takes 9 days to reply to a customer? The reference to a cancellation fee being applicable and the portrayal of their shakedown offer being some kind of generous favour was particularly galling, especially as they had deliberately waited until after I had checked-in to send that reply, bearing in mind that the original request had been made well before the cancellation deadline.
If the hotel really were that busy, they should have been grateful for me foregoing Nights 5 & 6 so that they could resell the room to someone else at the new higher rate that was supposedly applicable. I would also mention that on check-in I asked if I could have or be upgraded into a King as per the Virtuoso benefit (bearing in mind that they supposedly only had King rooms available as per the earlier emails) and was told none were available. More lies!
Had things not been so hectic for me over the Christmas/NY period, I would have cancelled the whole booking given their disgusting behaviour and attitude. That being said I also felt in a way that staying would be a form of just desserts to block them from reselling the room to someone at a higher rate, which was clearly their real agenda.
Also. some other minor complaints:
1) after check-out, the bill only credited me for 5 nights to WoH (presumably they didn't want to credit a night for the zero-rated 4th night). Thankfully a message to Hyatt on Facebook resulted in a prompt correction to my account.
2) the poolside food menu is operated via QR code, which routes orders through a Facebook platform. I ordered a burger without cheese (it prompts you to add notes to your order) but I ended up with a burger that contained cheese. They also had to send someone out to ask me how I wanted the burger cooked (a good 20mins after my placing the order) rather than being able to ask the question instantly via the electronic platform.
I've stayed at this property twice now - great location, great food (set lunch at the steak restaurant was good), good hard product. Frontline customer service staff usually pleasant too.
However, my sense is that management is very arrogant and doesn't really care about guest satisfaction. I made a booking for 6 nights in a Twin Room via Virtuoso, which included a stay 4, pay 3 offer. Thus the rates displayed on the booking were:
Night 1: $280
Night 2: $280
Night 3: $280
Night 4: zero
Night 5: $280
Night 6: $280
Since it was a Virtuoso booking it was meant to offer free changes/cancellation until 48 hours before check-in. Well in advance of arrival I asked to shorten the stay so that I would no longer stay on nights 5 and 6. What followed was an illogical, belligerent and ridiculous response from Federica Brugnara, who wrote:
"Before I amend the booking, I must inform you that the rate is going to change. We currently only have City View King Rooms available at SGD 370+17.7% service charge and tax. The Stay 4 pay 3 is also no longer available as the hotel is heavily booked. I am afraid I won't be able to make an exception, all I can do is honor the room type and offer the City View King at the Twin rate of SGD 350+17.7%. If he must have a Twin, I will look into making that happen"
1) The alleged unavailability of Twin Rooms was irrelevant since that's what I had already booked and I wasn't proposing to stay on dates different to that which I had already booked.
2) The end of the stay 4 pay 3 offer was irrelevant as again, I wasn't proposing to stay on dates other than those I had already booked. I was merely proposing to not stay on nights 5-6. So there was no justification for her demand that I pay an extra $70 per night for a room that I had already booked.
After some prompting, my Virtuoso agent (Classictravel.com) apparently escalated the issue and we then received the following reply from the Operations Director, Amy Lu, a ridiculous 9 days later:
"We have reviewed the reservation and have noted that his stay with us was booked based on the promotional plan of "Stay 4 Pay 3" at the rate of S$280 plus taxes per night for 6 nights. We understand that he wishes to shorten his stay now to 4 nights. As mentioned by Federica, any changes in the length of stay would affect the rate structure and is based on current availability. I further understand that it was conveyed to you that the promotional plan of Stay 4 Pay 3 is no longer available and the rate that was quoted was S$350 plus taxes per night.
I wish to assure you that we definitely value the support of your agency which is why we extend the Stay 4 Pay 3 plan to Mr. XX at a daily rate of S$350 plus taxes per night (for all 4 nights starting from 6th-10th January 2020). The rate difference is SGD 70 plus taxes per night and total is SGD 210 plus taxes which will be lower than paying one night cancellation fee at SGD 280 plus taxes for shortening the stay"
I wish to assure you that we definitely value the support of your agency which is why we extend the Stay 4 Pay 3 plan to Mr. XX at a daily rate of S$350 plus taxes per night (for all 4 nights starting from 6th-10th January 2020). The rate difference is SGD 70 plus taxes per night and total is SGD 210 plus taxes which will be lower than paying one night cancellation fee at SGD 280 plus taxes for shortening the stay"
If the hotel really were that busy, they should have been grateful for me foregoing Nights 5 & 6 so that they could resell the room to someone else at the new higher rate that was supposedly applicable. I would also mention that on check-in I asked if I could have or be upgraded into a King as per the Virtuoso benefit (bearing in mind that they supposedly only had King rooms available as per the earlier emails) and was told none were available. More lies!
Had things not been so hectic for me over the Christmas/NY period, I would have cancelled the whole booking given their disgusting behaviour and attitude. That being said I also felt in a way that staying would be a form of just desserts to block them from reselling the room to someone at a higher rate, which was clearly their real agenda.
Also. some other minor complaints:
1) after check-out, the bill only credited me for 5 nights to WoH (presumably they didn't want to credit a night for the zero-rated 4th night). Thankfully a message to Hyatt on Facebook resulted in a prompt correction to my account.
2) the poolside food menu is operated via QR code, which routes orders through a Facebook platform. I ordered a burger without cheese (it prompts you to add notes to your order) but I ended up with a burger that contained cheese. They also had to send someone out to ask me how I wanted the burger cooked (a good 20mins after my placing the order) rather than being able to ask the question instantly via the electronic platform.
Jan 15, 2020, 7:18 am
#323
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Parts Unknown
Posts: 10,052
The pandan cakes that they make for sale are very nice, I would highly recommend buying one.
I've stayed at this property twice now - great location, great food (set lunch at the steak restaurant was good), good hard product. Frontline customer service staff usually pleasant too.
However, my sense is that management is very arrogant and doesn't really care about guest satisfaction. I made a booking for 6 nights in a Twin Room via Virtuoso, which included a stay 4, pay 3 offer. Thus the rates displayed on the booking were:
Night 1: $280
Night 2: $280
Night 3: $280
Night 4: zero
Night 5: $280
Night 6: $280
Since it was a Virtuoso booking it was meant to offer free changes/cancellation until 48 hours before check-in. Well in advance of arrival I asked to shorten the stay so that I would no longer stay on nights 5 and 6. What followed was an illogical, belligerent and ridiculous response from Federica Brugnara, who wrote:
This response was patent gibberish and was clearly nothing more than an egregious attempt to squeeze more money out of me without any genuine justification, bearing in mind that:
1) The alleged unavailability of Twin Rooms was irrelevant since that's what I had already booked and I wasn't proposing to stay on dates different to that which I had already booked.
2) The end of the stay 4 pay 3 offer was irrelevant as again, I wasn't proposing to stay on dates other than those I had already booked. I was merely proposing to not stay on nights 5-6. So there was no justification for her demand that I pay an extra $70 per night for a room that I had already booked.
After some prompting, my Virtuoso agent (Classictravel.com) apparently escalated the issue and we then received the following reply from the Operations Director, Amy Lu, a ridiculous 9 days later:
Once again, a nonsensical reply from Andaz Singapore management which was shockingly slow - what kind of 5 star hotel takes 9 days to reply to a customer? The reference to a cancellation fee being applicable and the portrayal of their shakedown offer being some kind of generous favour was particularly galling, especially as they had deliberately waited until after I had checked-in to send that reply, bearing in mind that the original request had been made well before the cancellation deadline.
If the hotel really were that busy, they should have been grateful for me foregoing Nights 5 & 6 so that they could resell the room to someone else at the new higher rate that was supposedly applicable. I would also mention that on check-in I asked if I could have or be upgraded into a King as per the Virtuoso benefit (bearing in mind that they supposedly only had King rooms available as per the earlier emails) and was told none were available. More lies!
Had things not been so hectic for me over the Christmas/NY period, I would have cancelled the whole booking given their disgusting behaviour and attitude. That being said I also felt in a way that staying would be a form of just desserts to block them from reselling the room to someone at a higher rate, which was clearly their real agenda.
Also. some other minor complaints:
1) after check-out, the bill only credited me for 5 nights to WoH (presumably they didn't want to credit a night for the zero-rated 4th night). Thankfully a message to Hyatt on Facebook resulted in a prompt correction to my account.
2) the poolside food menu is operated via QR code, which routes orders through a Facebook platform. I ordered a burger without cheese (it prompts you to add notes to your order) but I ended up with a burger that contained cheese. They also had to send someone out to ask me how I wanted the burger cooked (a good 20mins after my placing the order) rather than being able to ask the question instantly via the electronic platform.
I've stayed at this property twice now - great location, great food (set lunch at the steak restaurant was good), good hard product. Frontline customer service staff usually pleasant too.
However, my sense is that management is very arrogant and doesn't really care about guest satisfaction. I made a booking for 6 nights in a Twin Room via Virtuoso, which included a stay 4, pay 3 offer. Thus the rates displayed on the booking were:
Night 1: $280
Night 2: $280
Night 3: $280
Night 4: zero
Night 5: $280
Night 6: $280
Since it was a Virtuoso booking it was meant to offer free changes/cancellation until 48 hours before check-in. Well in advance of arrival I asked to shorten the stay so that I would no longer stay on nights 5 and 6. What followed was an illogical, belligerent and ridiculous response from Federica Brugnara, who wrote:
This response was patent gibberish and was clearly nothing more than an egregious attempt to squeeze more money out of me without any genuine justification, bearing in mind that:
1) The alleged unavailability of Twin Rooms was irrelevant since that's what I had already booked and I wasn't proposing to stay on dates different to that which I had already booked.
2) The end of the stay 4 pay 3 offer was irrelevant as again, I wasn't proposing to stay on dates other than those I had already booked. I was merely proposing to not stay on nights 5-6. So there was no justification for her demand that I pay an extra $70 per night for a room that I had already booked.
After some prompting, my Virtuoso agent (Classictravel.com) apparently escalated the issue and we then received the following reply from the Operations Director, Amy Lu, a ridiculous 9 days later:
Once again, a nonsensical reply from Andaz Singapore management which was shockingly slow - what kind of 5 star hotel takes 9 days to reply to a customer? The reference to a cancellation fee being applicable and the portrayal of their shakedown offer being some kind of generous favour was particularly galling, especially as they had deliberately waited until after I had checked-in to send that reply, bearing in mind that the original request had been made well before the cancellation deadline.
If the hotel really were that busy, they should have been grateful for me foregoing Nights 5 & 6 so that they could resell the room to someone else at the new higher rate that was supposedly applicable. I would also mention that on check-in I asked if I could have or be upgraded into a King as per the Virtuoso benefit (bearing in mind that they supposedly only had King rooms available as per the earlier emails) and was told none were available. More lies!
Had things not been so hectic for me over the Christmas/NY period, I would have cancelled the whole booking given their disgusting behaviour and attitude. That being said I also felt in a way that staying would be a form of just desserts to block them from reselling the room to someone at a higher rate, which was clearly their real agenda.
Also. some other minor complaints:
1) after check-out, the bill only credited me for 5 nights to WoH (presumably they didn't want to credit a night for the zero-rated 4th night). Thankfully a message to Hyatt on Facebook resulted in a prompt correction to my account.
2) the poolside food menu is operated via QR code, which routes orders through a Facebook platform. I ordered a burger without cheese (it prompts you to add notes to your order) but I ended up with a burger that contained cheese. They also had to send someone out to ask me how I wanted the burger cooked (a good 20mins after my placing the order) rather than being able to ask the question instantly via the electronic platform.
Jan 15, 2020, 9:35 am
#324
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Taipei
Posts: 1,121
yeah what a terrible experience. Isochronous did you end up staying the 5th and 6th nights?
Jan 15, 2020, 10:19 am
#325
Join Date: Feb 2000
Posts: 6,544
related, this concept can be helpful more generally in securing a lower rate at booking by seeing if the daily rate is lower by adding an extra night or two at the end. hyatt, rather foolishly on their part, doesn't generally price each day differently and instead uses an average rate based upon check-in & check-out and then lists that average as the daily rate.
further, it is the standard for all Hyatt hotels to not grant a qualifying night credit for a paid stay where the rate plan marks a night as $0. no reason to penalize Andaz Singapore for this.
more generally, i have zero complaints about the management of this property. on my Prive stay recently with TSU applied and arrival at 10AM, they extended a standard room to use immediately until the suite was ready at 4pm. further, they give globalists 2 chits per day for drinks and the chits can be used on any drink at any bar or restaurant. including $18++ "best G&T" and rather theatrical "flozen sling". The housekeeping is perfect, twice daily. The mini-bar includes a couple free alcohol choices. They put two mini-champagne bottles in our room for free on NYE. The all-day iced tea is so good. All day lattes and tea for free. 30% of lunches & dinners at Alley restaurants for in-house guests. this hotel is a star in the Hyatt system.
the fancy drinks are quite nice.
Jan 15, 2020, 8:39 pm
#327
Join Date: Nov 2012
Programs: SPG Platinum
Posts: 1,689
yeah what a terrible experience. Isochronous did you end up staying the 5th and 6th nights?
it is very standard for all Hyatt hotels to reprice a stay when making any changes to check-in date or check-out date prior to arrival. i handle these situations, where the check-in date remains the same, to leave the reservation as-is, check-in to the hotel, stay the first night to "lock-in" the rate on the folio, and then tell the front-desk the next morning that i will be departing early. at hotels that do not disclose an early departure fee on the website, there is no rate adjustment and no additional charge for the early departure.
related, this concept can be helpful more generally in securing a lower rate at booking by seeing if the daily rate is lower by adding an extra night or two at the end. hyatt, rather foolishly on their part, doesn't generally price each day differently and instead uses an average rate based upon check-in & check-out and then lists that average as the daily rate.
further, it is the standard for all Hyatt hotels to not grant a qualifying night credit for a paid stay where the rate plan marks a night as $0. no reason to penalize Andaz Singapore for this.
more generally, i have zero complaints about the management of this property. on my Prive stay recently with TSU applied and arrival at 10AM, they extended a standard room to use immediately until the suite was ready at 4pm. further, they give globalists 2 chits per day for drinks and the chits can be used on any drink at any bar or restaurant. including $18++ "best G&T" and rather theatrical "flozen sling". The housekeeping is perfect, twice daily. The mini-bar includes a couple free alcohol choices. They put two mini-champagne bottles in our room for free on NYE. The all-day iced tea is so good. All day lattes and tea for free. 30% of lunches & dinners at Alley restaurants for in-house guests. this hotel is a star in the Hyatt system.
related, this concept can be helpful more generally in securing a lower rate at booking by seeing if the daily rate is lower by adding an extra night or two at the end. hyatt, rather foolishly on their part, doesn't generally price each day differently and instead uses an average rate based upon check-in & check-out and then lists that average as the daily rate.
further, it is the standard for all Hyatt hotels to not grant a qualifying night credit for a paid stay where the rate plan marks a night as $0. no reason to penalize Andaz Singapore for this.
more generally, i have zero complaints about the management of this property. on my Prive stay recently with TSU applied and arrival at 10AM, they extended a standard room to use immediately until the suite was ready at 4pm. further, they give globalists 2 chits per day for drinks and the chits can be used on any drink at any bar or restaurant. including $18++ "best G&T" and rather theatrical "flozen sling". The housekeeping is perfect, twice daily. The mini-bar includes a couple free alcohol choices. They put two mini-champagne bottles in our room for free on NYE. The all-day iced tea is so good. All day lattes and tea for free. 30% of lunches & dinners at Alley restaurants for in-house guests. this hotel is a star in the Hyatt system.
Jan 16, 2020, 6:09 pm
#328
Join Date: Nov 2009
Programs: QF WP, WoH Glob, Accor Plat, Hilton Gold, Marriott Gold
Posts: 291
I have to agree, despite some of the shortcomings of the hotel in service and breakfast, I've had the best late checkout experience at this location. I had booked a suite, and was upgraded further. They couldn't extend a late checkout for the room, so instead put me in a regular room after the standard checkout time, and then extended the checkout to 6pm for me without prompting.
Jan 16, 2020, 11:49 pm
#329
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: PHX
Programs: AS 75K; UA 1MM; Hyatt Globalist; Marriott LTP; Hilton Diamond (Aspire)
Posts: 56,446
Since it was a Virtuoso booking it was meant to offer free changes/cancellation until 48 hours before check-in. Well in advance of arrival I asked to shorten the stay so that I would no longer stay on nights 5 and 6. What followed was an illogical, belligerent and ridiculous response from Fxxxxx Bxxxxx
Feb 21, 2020, 9:35 am
#330
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Austin, TX
Programs: Free agent AAdvantage LT GLD
Posts: 221
Am landing at 8am on a Monday in 2 weeks. Should I book the room for Sunday night or chance it on the "refresh" room mentioned in this thread being available? I have no status but am going to book a suite. Not sure how the residence suite is different from the regular one.