Author: Shane

REVIEW: Intercontinental Hotel Singapore, Club Heritage Room

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Tl;dr: One of the best club lounges I ever had in Singapore, with the best afternoon tea (scones are superb) Full hotel facilities, including an outdoor swimming pool, fully equipped gym and sauna Great location on the fringe of city Rooms spacious but tired   I’m not a IHG Rewards member, so in all honesty a stay at a IHG property usually ranks low on my list. Seeing that the Intercontinental Hotel Singapore has got a very good corporate rate this weekend, I snapped up the opportunity to try out – for the first time – this gem of a hotel in the heart of town. When I first walk up to the glorious lobby, I was escorted to the club lounge for my check-in. Being my first time at the property, I was immediately taken in by the design of the lounge: spacious, well adorned, boasting a good blend of peranakan ornaments with very tasteful furnishing. Check-in was a breeze, with most of the work done by the lounge staff while I tuck into …

REVIEW: Andaz Singapore, Luxury Room

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I first encountered the Andaz brand on a work trip to Shanghai several years back. Not knowing it was a Hyatt brand until I checked in then, I was instantly taken in by the swag that the brand displayed. One of the quirky thing that caught my attention (along with many other things) was the key cards that Andaz Shanghai offered – a series of bright solid coloured, text-only card that looked like an element from the periodic table. Now to the main point of this review – Andaz Singapore. The hotel’s landing in Singapore was first announced in January 2015 by Hyatt, and its opening was very much looked forward to by Hyatt fans. Andaz Singapore is the very first Andaz property to open in Southeast Asia, adding to a worldwide portfolio of less than 20 Andaz-branded hotels. The hotel, as with many new downtown developments in Singapore, is housed in DUO, a mixed use development by the fringe of the city. The hotel provides direct connection to Bugis MRT, and you are minutes …

Singapore Airlines increases miles required to redeem flights on Star Alliance partners from 7 December 2017

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If you are one of the few people who uses your KrisFlyer miles to redeem flights on Star Alliance partners instead of Singapore Airlines (horror of horrors!), you will need more miles to book your flights with these partners from 7 December 2017 onwards. This follows a devaluation SQ made on their own award redemption requirements in March this year. While that increased the number of miles required for bookings with SQ and removed the 15% online redemption discount, the change also removed the surcharges (which typically cost a couple of hundred bucks), so it was considered a nominal inflation. So what has changed this time? Across the board there is an increase in the new of miles required for redemption, particularly in Business and First. For those who have been using KrisFlyer miles to redeem on EVA Air to Taipei, it’s now a lot more expensive (and a poorer use of your miles). Here’s a look at the old and new charts: Old Chart (For bookings made up to 6 December 17) In Economy, travel …

Black Friday Airfare Deals from Singapore

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November and December are really some of the hottest sale periods traditionally for retail, but in recent years airlines and hotel partners have also jumped on the bandwagon to offer their own irresistable (some not so) sale to customers too. This year for Black Friday, here’s a round up of some of the deals available: Cathay Pacific two-to-go fares Booking period: 24 November 2017 only Travel period: 5 January 2018 to 30 April 2018 (except departures from Singapore on 9-18 February; 10-16 & 28-30 March) Return fare to Economy Hong Kong S$208 Taipei S$388 Beijing S$408   British Airways  Booking period: Now to 28 November 2017 Travel period: Now to 31 March 2018 Return fare to Economy Premium Economy Business Sydney S$684 S$1484 S$3682 London S$1210 S$2390 S$5579 Barcelona S$1118 S$2354 S$5355 Amsterdam S$1123 S$2459 S$5373 Dublin S$1135 S$2721 S$6462   Singapore Airlines two-to-go fares (technically not a Black Friday sale, but still on sale) Booking period: Economy class: Now to 15 December 2017 (except to Hong Kong, which ends 30 November 2017) Premium Economy and …

REVIEW: W Taipei, Wonderful Room

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tl;dr: If you need to try a W Hotel in the city for the first time, this is a good choice Small but very comfortable rooms by W’s standard Great proximity to shopping areas at City Hall and Zhongxiao Road Full spa facilities, including jacuzzis, steam rooms, sauna and even a cold plunge pool Small pool surrounded by Kitchen Table and Woobar, not a fantastic location On-property signature restaurant serving up Chinese cuisine Over the weekend that I was in Taipei, I took advantage of W Taipei’s Super Sunday special offer to bag another stay, in order to requalify for my SPG Gold next year. A little more about the promotion: This is not listed on Starwood’s website, but instead have to found on W Taipei’s offer page itself. When I reserved, the going rate was about NT$5,800 for a night’s stay with breakfast, which is arguably one of the cheapest rate you can get a W hotel stay at. Definitely worth the splurge even if you are usually a budget traveller. W Taipei is …