All posts filed under: Sleep

SPG members alert: 2018 is your last year to earn SPG Gold with 10 stays

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2016 and 2017 were good years for me – I had status in not one, but two hotel programmes, all thanks to Marriott’s acquisition of Starwood hotels. But obviously good things don’t last. In what seemed like a seemingly long week for SPG, Marriott Rewards and Ritz-Carlton Rewards members, all was finally revealed early today when details of the changes to unify both programmes were announced. If there are five key takeaways, they are: All three loyalty programmes are unified essentially with point, elite tiers and earning requirements aligned across, and you can transfer points freely from one to another, or earn elite-qualifying nights from one portfolio towards another programme. Marriott will only rebrand all three into a single programme in 2019. There will be six tiers in the new programmes. For SPG, this means a new Silver Elite tier at 10 night. Gold Elite will now require 25 nights, while Platinum Elite goes for 50 nights and Platinum Premier Elite at 75 nights. All elite qualifications will be made based on nights, and not …

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 …

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 …

REVIEW: W Bangkok, Spectacular Room

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As the year was coming to a close and in need for a few more qualifying nights to renew my SPG Gold status, I booked a night with W Bangkok for a weekend stay after a couple of working days in the capital city of Thailand. W Bangkok is located along the commercial zone of Sathorn, near the Chong Nonsi BTS station. A stone’s throw away from Silom, the location is great for those who needs easy access to the city centre where Siam Paragon, Central World and the likes are located, but quite a hassle if you wish to café hop along the Sukhumvit area. This Starwood property is a Category 4 hotel, the lowest category for the W Hotels brand (there are only eight Category 4 W hotels globally, with four in Asia). The hotel runs 31 floors high, featuring 403 guest rooms and 34 suites. For this stay, I booked myself into the entry level Wonderful Room. Being a SPG Gold member, I was upgraded to the Spectacular Room instead. And of …