If you must stay in Singapore, do it at the Vagabond

100   Recommended
Room 403 , Suite
January 8, 2018 by

 Map | 1 Review | 100% Recommended
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The Vagabond Club, A Tribute Portfolio Hotel, Singapore
 Map | 1 Review | 100% Recommended

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Room 403

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Introduction

Heading to Singapore for New Year’s with some friends, I was spoilt for choice as a devoted Starwood loyalist… but the clear pick of the litter had to be The Vagabond Club based on its unique attributes, glowing reviews and independent spirit. Little did I know that my already-high expectations were going to be madly exceeded over the course of my four-day stay.

Location

The Vagabond Club is located off the beaten path of Orchard Road, the busy Marina Bay area and the touristy hotspot of Sentosa. Sandwiched between the Malay neighborhood of Kampong Glam and Little India, the hotel offers direct and easy walking access to both of these stunning districts and places their sights, sounds and eats right at guests’ footsteps. This being Singapore, connectivity to other places such as Orchard Road and major sights is extremely easy with two MRT stations a few minutes’ walk away or - for those brave enough to take on the relentless humidity - you can really walk just about anywhere because of how small and exceptionally well-laid out everything is.

Singapore Changi Airport is approximately twenty minutes away by car.

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Check In

The Vagabond Club is the stunning end result of a renovation and restoration of an Art Deco shophouse from 1950. The owners, Satinder Garcha and his wife Harpreet Bedi, have clearly lovingly restored the beautiful three-story building into a fabulously eccentric and one-of-a-kind boutique gem that stands out the world over. Designer Jacques Garcia is behind the interiors, which are done up in his signature style. Art by many artists in many forms punctuates every corner of the property; good luck not being mesmerized by Marco Brambilla’s dramatic Evolution installation in the elevator [also ask for the art tour to see what’s what and where]. As an architecture enthusiast and artist, I remain thrilled at adaptive reuse projects and creative pieces, and this property was a non-stop delight.

The entrance is marked by two doors that open onto the lobby and salon areas. The spaces all open onto one another and are dark, sexy spaces full of red velvet and gold/brass detailing, photographs, prints and sculptures; the reception desk is actually the large brass rhino on the right!

Check-in was quick and easy, handled by two delightful associates [I believe one of them was called Max? I forgot who the blonde lady was…] who were expecting us and had our files ready to go. As SPG Platinum members, we were thanked for our loyalty and presented with a list of benefits including 500 bonus Starpoints, à la carte breakfast in lieu of the points or a local gift. As Platinum members, we were also notified of our complimentary access to the Vagabond Executive Club [an executive lounge! In a 41-room boutique hotel!] in the main salon to take advantage of à la carte nibbles during the day, free-flow happy hour from 4:30 PM to 6:30 PM and light bites.

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Room

Despite it being New Year’s, the hotel wasn’t terribly full and we were thus upgraded from an entry-level classic room to one of the hotel’s two Junior Executive Club Suites. These suites are located on the fourth floor which, due to the constraints of the original structure, are accessed by a small set of stairs from the elevator landing which only goes to the third floor.

The suite itself was absolutely lovely. High, pitched ceilings with skylights [no conventional windows here] and an open floor plan set the tone; there was a large, fluffy king-sized bed with luxurious linens and a large bench at the end, a working desk, long table that stretched the full length of one of the walls with convenient storage beneath it, a table with three seats and abundant closet space. Artwork is everywhere and air-conditioning, a much needed commodity, was powerful. I would’ve had no problem staying here on a long-term basis since the space offered was truly generous, even if 34 square meters sounds smaller than you think it might be. Heads up: standard rooms do veer on the smaller side but alas, there’s only so much you can do when you’re working with the idiosyncrasies of an older building. I like to think the designers handled it rather well.

The bathroom is located behind a set of beautiful leather and fabric screens and contains a vanity with sink and storage space as well as two separate, private cubicles housing a toilet in one and shower in the other. The shower cubicle is wrapped in bright red glass mosaics with a rain shower head and handheld wand. Toiletries are provided by Etro and were lovely to use. The towels are extremely plush and high-quality.

Complimentary, high-speed wi-fi is provided to hotel guests.

Although I absolutely loved the room, the only qualms I had were that the bathroom could be a little tight to move around in/open doors to since the screens are angled tightly, the shower pressure is on the softer side and the electrically-controlled blinds don’t block all light out. If you’re sensitive to light seeping into your dark nest, bring an eye mask!

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Dining

We exclusively ate at the salon, which forms part of the open space with the main lobby.

Breakfast, offered between 7:00 AM and 10:30 AM, was à la carte and offered a variety of options ranging from breakfast favorites, healthy choices and local options. Since we chose the breakfast option as Platinum guests, we were limited to one breakfast choice as well one hot and one cold drink. I ordered the eggs Benedict two mornings of my stay and found them to be very well made and presented… but I have to say that the local choice [the hotel calls their rendition of nasi lemak the Kampong Chief] I selected for the other two nights was an absolute knock-out. Coconut rice, tomato chicken, peanuts - a feast for the senses that I can still taste. if only I can order it in Kuwait…

Also part of our Platinum/Executive Club privileges were rotating menus of à la carte mini-bites that were beautifully served on slates between 11 AM and 4 PM. You can order as many of them as you like, which comes in handy since some of the items like the beef rendang, chili crab burger and fudge cake on one of the menus were incredible.

From 4:30 PM to 6:30 PM, the hotel puts out a spread of light bites including small salads and hors d’oeuvres, charcuterie and cheeses as well as a self-serve happy hour consisting of red and white wines and several spirits. Although I’m traditionally used to happy hour being between 6 PM and 8 PM, I’m glad it’s earlier here since it leaves plenty of time to still get out and run around!

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Leisure

The hotel offers a new gym located in a small building right across the street from the main entrance with keycard access; none of us in our party, however, used it during our stay.

Amenities

Being a small boutique hotel, you won’t find your typical hotel facilities of boardrooms and such here… but the hotel’s public spaces are flexible for all sorts of events and functions including being curtained off to form a screening room and performing arts space.

Service

From the associates at check-in to the housekeeping staff, dealing with everyone was professional, delightful and genuine. I came down with a major allergic reaction to pollen on the second day of my stay and the Executive Club team always made sure to have boiled ginger drinks on standby for me day and night as well as wishing me to get well soon every day. I can’t thank Abigail and Spencer in particular enough for taking such good care of me.

It is said that service makes or breaks any experience and suffice to say, the staff at this hotel were all EXCELLENT.

Overall

There aren’t enough words to properly quantify how much I loved this hotel and enjoyed staying in it. I love Singapore and would go back to it in a heartbeat for so many reasons but when I do, I’d happily overlook all the other options in the city for an encore at this cheeky gem.

I can’t wait to see what the Garcha/Bedi team have in stock at the forthcoming Duxton Club…

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