xar

estedman

I am staying at this hotel now and find it absolutely fabulous. Check-in was on spot, upgrade received to a larger king room. The lounge is very spacious with attentive attendants, I don't find anything wrong with the seating, the lounge is very large and there is plenty of said seating.

hockeyinsider

Some of the cladding above the pool was removed so it gets some sun, but neither pool gets significant sun, making it a lousy hotel for anyone who wants to spend a day sunbathing.

C17PSGR

Which ... if I owned a cool hotel in a prime location with an infinity pool and a great view, I'd be wondering why I wasn't blowing out the bar revenue and the place was always empty..

hockeyinsider

Yeah. It's definitely a weird hotel. You should have stayed there before it became the J.W. Marriott. It had the same owners (owners of the J.W. Marriott in Hong Kong, by the way) but was independent. It was literally empty.

When I first stayed there in April 2017, I think maybe five other people were staying in the whole hotel. I didn't see anyone for seven days use the pool, restaurants or anything. Meanwhile, it was fully staffed and they had nothing to do but twiddle their numbs. Management and staff have changed since Marriott took it over, but it's still a weird hotel.

But the independent incarnation was more of a boutique, Miami-meets-Las Vegas type hotel. They used to blast party music out of the speakers by the pool, etc. If they had a decent pool, they could have one of the fancy champagne Sunday parties with a DJ and get all the Crazy Rich Asians in Singapore.

C17PSGR

The JW in HK definitely has a better pool.

It seems to have been pretty empty the times I've been there. I don't need music being blasted or a DJ ... but a place to sit by the pool which is reasonably warm, reliable wifi, and a bartender who doesn't (a) proudly tell me they don't have cocktails or (b) complain if I go near the pool with my drink. If they did that, they'd see me more often as I otherwise like the hotel and the location. Unfortunately, there aren't great Starriott choices in Singapore.

puchong

I am a Platinum member and will be staying at the JW Marriott Singapore very soon. However the (standard) room was booked as a part of a convention package by the convention organiser. What are the chances of getting lounge access and is there anything I can do to improve my chances?

xar

Check with the convention organizer who booked the stay for you since i am not sure if the property will treat this as an "OTA" booking which carries no status benefits.

Heatherm Huang

Barcky

I suggest mentioning that you're a Platinum member when you check in and indicate you're not sure if the meeting organizer that booked your room included your status. My wife and I spent 4 nights at the JW Marriott Singapore in May and all the hotel staff were friendly and very customer focused. The room upgrade and Executive Lounge access made this one of the most memorable hotel stays we've ever enjoyed.

hockeyinsider

If your room is part of a master account then, technically, you don't get your elite status benefits. Guests paying for their room individually, even at the contracted group rate, still receive points and benefits.

jpdx

I wanted to address the benefits on third-party issue discussed in the posts above. Had a recent stay here that was booked via OTA (nothing I could do about it, but I did have a limited choice of properties). I chose the JW specifically because the old Marriott terms didn't exclude benefits on OTA bookings. These were of course changed on 8/18 (months after my booking), and are now in line with other chains. Prior to my stay, I pondered how to best play this -- contact the hotel and ask if they'd grant benefits because booking was made prior to rule change, say nothing and hope for the best, etc. I ended up reaching out by email to ask to update my contact info and add my membership number. I immediately received a response advising that no points would be earned. A couple of days prior to the stay, however, I got the usual Plat arrival emails, and when I arrived, I was indeed given a small upgrade and lounge access. YMMV, but for now, the hotel does seem to grant benefits on third-party stays.

I had a long stay that overlapped two very busy periods with 100% occupancy, so appreciate the minimal upgrade from Studio to Deluxe. Unfortunately, the room I was initially given was perhaps the worst room in the hotel, xx09, located in a nook in the building. This meant not only that I had no view to the sides, but also that two other rooms could look directly into my room. I asked to be moved, and after couple of days ended up in a very nice Premier room with CBD/Marina Bay view. The rooms have been described above -- I found the bed comfortable, bathroom fine, but seating (especially the metal rocking chair) quite terrible.

The club lounge is quite good compared to my other Singapore hotels (IC, GH, Westin, Sheraton), but I found the seating pretty uncomfortable. Breakfast in the lounge is a limited buffet plus egg/noodle station, and I was also given the option of the buffet in the restaurant. The latter has a great selection of international and local foods, high quality, but unfortunately not a lot of daily rotation. The evening spread at the club also is pretty nice, even though they really need to mix it up more; there's only minimal rotation, and things do get boring quickly.

The location and public spaces were fine for me, and I agree with others that pools are terrible. Very cold water, often windy on the 18th floor, with no loungers. Really don't know what they were thinking when they designed them. The 6th floor pool is better, and usually deserted. The most standout, positive surprise was the attitude of the staff -- from the regulars in the lobby to the club staff to housekeepers, all were very friendly and made an effort to make the stay enjoyable.

hockeyinsider

I don't know how the buffet could be called "limited" unless it has been downgraded of late. In the past, it has been pretty comprehensive with everything from cereals, yogurt, fruit, parfaits, smoothies and juices, a full salad bar, multiple varieties of cheese and then, of course, hot options.

rstidolph

hockeyinsider

Are you going to Singapore for work or pleasure? If for pleasure, what do you want to do and see? As numerous people have observed, the pools are horrible. You won't be able to sunbathe, if that's important to you.

Some platinums and platinum premiers, in the new and old programs, have reported a choice of breakfast in the lounge or restaurant. Others have said they weren't given a choice, for what it's worth.