After many positive reviews here on FT I thought that I would give this hotel a try during my last visit to Singapore. It also helped that booking a Club room gave me a guaranteed late check-out for my evening flight to Tokyo on SQ.

I think that overall this is a very good hotel. I found the service via the Club to be very good. The service style is very low key but solid. I got the feeling, however, that this also is a hotel where the main benefits are from staying on the Club floor. I am not sure if I would stay here without Club floor benefits.

Room

Asked my TA to book a Club Harbour view room on the Seasonal Choices rate. Upon arrival at the hotel I was informed that I had been upgraded to a Club City view Suite which was a very nice surprise.

I was allocated a room on the 18th floor which had two entrances. One to the living room and the other to the "rear" of the bedroom close to where the master bedroom is located. The living room is fairly spacious, with a large and well equipped work desk fronting a large "L" shaped settee sofa (one with a low profile) and a coffee table. The TV was old style CRT but with a fairly fancy AV system attached to it. The living room had views towards the Pan Pacific and one of the shopping malls. A guest powder room, mini-bar, and double doors to the bedroom completed the living room.

The bedroom featured a king size bed with a chaise longue fronting it. The bedroom also had a CRT TV with the same fancy AV system. From the bedroom a small corridor lead to the rear door of the suite, the closet, as well as the Master bath which had a soaking tub, separate stall shower and toilet.

Oddly, broadband internet access is free in the Club Lounge (wireless, and slow) but it is not free in the guestrooms, even when booking a Club room.

Amenities

The Club Lounge is spacious but it does not feel so large. The breakfast spread is decent and I really loved the Echire butter they serve!! The selection of food is decent but not the best quality. The quality of the food is better at both the Ritz Carlton and the Fullerton. In terms of selection, however, it is quite impressive, especially the cooked to order hot items. I found the table service to be very slow, however, and not particularly warm or friendly. The service at the RC is still the best IMO.

During the afternoon sandwiches are available for order and they must be requested for. Unfortunately, these were among the worst sandwiches I have ever had (dry meats, cheese where the oil has started to come out, and terribly hard bread) and they took forever to arrive. I sent it back once and basically was given the same thing the next time.

The evening spread is huge and offers many choices. One can easily make a meal out of the selection as it is more "tapas" style. At the RC, the choices are fewer but they tend to be more "main course" style and are more substantial. The chicken satay at the MO is quite nice, though not as good as the one on SQ!!

The service at the Club Reception, though, is very very good. They promptly handled any enquiries and requests that I had, and much faster than going through the regular hotel "Guest services" channel.

Service

As I mentioned above, service through regular channels, i.e. picking up the phone and speaking to "X" department, were always slower than dealing with the Club Lounge personnel directly. However, oftentimes when I would call the Club Lounge, my call would be passed along to Guest relations or some other department.

For example, while the rooms are well equipped I required a plug converter for other electrical gear I was using. There are none in the room and had to be requested. Delivery of this plug converter took 30 minutes. For a sore throat, I asked Room Service for some lemon and honey and this also took well over 30 minutes.

I felt that these times were a little bit on the slow side. However, the staff members who kindly delivered the items to me were panting and sweating profusely so it appears the hotel was pretty busy.

Yet, requests made directly through the Club, like a power bar and humidifier were taken care of immediately and quickly.

Overall

I liked being adjacent to Marina Square (though the access to the mall has become minutely more inconvenient) and being able to grab a quick bite to eat at the Kopitiam or go to the HyperMarket to stock up on other essentials.

Curiously, when settling the bill, I tried to use up all of my leftover Singaporean coins and the Club Lounge attendant told me that it is hotel policy NOT to accept 1 cent coins and that they round up or down the bill to the nearest 0 or 5 cent level. Being in a rush to get to Changi for my flight I did not question this and still find it mildly amusing and quite curious.

Overall, I am still undecided on this hotel. Nothing in particular stood out, which, in and of itself may not be a good or bad thing, but it did not leave a strong impression, good or bad, on me. Perhaps, I found the whole experience average. Perhaps I need to return to give it one more try.