Originally Posted by ENIAC

Here's the Changi Village report I promised, based on a stay last week (March 26) prior to a 6am flight. Same negative trend as the others.

Check in took a long time. I'd included my SPG Plat status and number in the comments on the reservation and put my Plat card on the counter at checkin. The guy I got on the counter was much less competent than any of the other front desk staff, and got as far as issuing keys without noticing it. When we asked about the platinum benefits he went into the back room to ask what they were. He came back repeating "best room." "That includes standard suites" I helpfully added. We went through the same issue with the ammenity, which he initially stated was free pool access. I explained it was a little present, and he dragged over a colleague who explained that they hadn't yet received any ammenity cards. I told her people usually just take the 500 bonus points which she promised me. The first guy also didn't understand what an "excutive lounge" was, and just told me about the bar, which led me to assume they didn't have one. However, the woman told me that they did, but it was closed due to "low occupancy." I asked for a drink coupon instead, which she gave me. No breakfast voucher, but we were taking the 4am shuttle anyway -- they'd probably have given one if I asked.

We got room 622. Same level as the closed lounge. No apparent benefit apart from a view of water. It was clear from the fire escape map and by looking out of the window that half the rooms on that level had balconies or patios. This one didn't, though we were distracted by the neon glare from the one next door. The room itself was very small, but did have a nice shower and a light wood, modernist IKEA kind of vibe to it. Also no free water bottles. Hard to square being given that as the "best room" the the "low occupancy" comment.

The hotel staff in general were the least competent of the trip, including a $35 a night Holiday Inn resort in Sarawak, Malaysia. I think the checkin guy was mentally slow as well as having bad English, because when we tried to give him stamped postcards to mail he began to tell us that the post office was in the village. Fortunately his colleague walked over and accepted them from us. Too soon to know what she did with them....

We ate in the Japanse restaurant, where it took almost half an hour to have our order taken. The food was delicious, but despite several reminders one of the appetizers never came and was still on the bill at the end. The waitresses seemed well meaning but short staffed and under trained. We never used the drink voucher because it turned out (and this was not written on it) only to be good for non-alcoholic drinks and we were more concerned with getting to sleep early than enjoying a free fruit juice.

We did the express checkout, and I wrote my email address in the box provided to receive a copy of the folio. A week later, no folio and no starpoints posted. I'm dreading having to deal with the hotel to get a copy sent so I can claim the points.

It's true that the hotel is only 15 minutes from the airport, but at 4 in the morning I don't think downtown would be very much more. So unless you get a great price, or really need a stay, it's currently hard to recommend the hotel for a final night or transit stop in SIN.

A final note -- the LM branding was tiny on the hotel sign, in room items and so on. Missing entirely from many of them. On the other hand, there was a big glossy brochure in the room advertising the six or so other hotels owned by the same firm. None of these other hotels had brands attached. This suggests that the hotel owners weren't too interested in the brand franchise previosly, so it fits that they'll be dragging their feet with Starwood. It really made me think about how well policied the Westin and Sheraton branding is -- keys, signs, vans, front desk, toiletries, menus, etc. Starwood may have some enforcing to do.