Tag: Hotels

Best Singapore Staycation Deals going on in Phase 2
Here’s a specially curated list for you to consider

With more than 170 hotels now approved to take in leisure guests for stays, Singapore hotels are offering a plethora of packages to entice Singapore residents to do a staycation. While the post-Covid-19 staycation experience will definitely be different from what you used to know, it’s still at least a break from your day-to-day work-from-home life.

Here are some of the best deals you can take advantage of:

Shangri-La Singapore – from S$319++ per night

If there’s a time to check out one of Singapore’s lushiest’s resort-in-a-city, this is probably the best time.

Shangri-La Hotel Singapore

Even though Shangri-La has been around for decades, its sprawling compound makes it an ideal city holiday spot.

There’s options for everyone: whether you just want a room for your family to lounge in, or indulge in the Valley Wing Indulgence package with a 90-minute massage, unlimited all-day Champagne, daily afternoon tea and more.

Deals available:

Garden Wing Staycation (from S$319++, booking & details)
- Daily breakfast for 2 adults
- A picnic basket complete with picnic mat and food items per stay. Food allergies will be obtained prior to check-in.
- A sumptuous grilled platter for 2 per stay
- Complimentary parking
- Wireless Internet access
Fun Family Playcation (from S$378++, booking & details)
- Daily breakfast for 2 adults and 2 children up to 12 years old
- Dining credit of SGD 100 per day
- Unlimited playtime at our newly launched outdoor Splash Zone featuring 6 unique water play areas
- 3 hours playtime daily at buds by Shangri-La
- A picnic basket complete with picnic mat and food items per stay. Food allergies will be obtained prior to check-in.
- Special child-themed welcome amenities
- Extra bed for 1 child below 12 years old
- Wireless Internet access
- Complimentary parking
Valley Wing Indulgence (from S$645++, booking & details)

Valley Wing Deluxe Suite
- Daily breakfast for 2 adults
- Daily afternoon tea at The Valley Wing Lobby Lounge
- Daily evening canapes, cocktails at the Champagne Bar
- All-day champagne at The Champagne Bar
- In-room butler drawn bubble bath with rose petals per stay
- A 90-minute massage experience for 2 at Chi, The Spa per stay (view spa menu here)
- 3 hours of playtime daily at buds by Shangri-La
- 24-hour butler service for suite room guests
- Complimentary parking
- Wireless Internet access
Raffles Hotel Singapore – from S$397.50++ per night

Raffles Hotel Singapore

Raffles Hotel has reopened late last year after a refurbishment exercise, with its interiors and rooms refreshed after a much needed upgrade.

Easily one of the most expensive properties in town, this iconic hotel is running an incredible two-night deal now.

The Suite Life (from S$397.50++, booking & details)
- Complimentary upgrade, subject to availability
- Daily breakfast for two at Tiffin Room
- S$100 nett Hotel Experiential credit to be used at Raffles-operated restaurants and bars, Raffles Spa and Raffles Boutique
- History tour with our Resident Historian
- An exclusive 15% off Raffles-operated restaurants and bars, Raffles Spa and Raffles Boutique
- Complimentary parking for duration of stay
Offer valid for stays until 30 Sep 2020.

Goodwood Park Hotel – from S$249++ per night

Goodwood Park Hotel

This forgotten property by the edge of Orchard Road is a hidden gem. Designated as a heritage hotel, the compound dates back to 1900, the hotel provides a quiet retreat for discerning guests with the hustle and bustle of the city at its doorstep.

Restless in Singapore Package (from S$498++ for two nights, booking & details)
- 2 nights accommodation for 2 persons
- Choice of 3-course Big on Small Set Lunch at Gordon Grill or 3-course Local Degustation Dinner at Coffee Lounge on the first day
- Set Breakfast at Coffee Lounge on the second day
- Choice of English Afternoon Tea at L’Espresso or 5 Course Set Dinner at Min Jiang on the second day
- Set Breakfast at Coffee Lounge on the third day
- Complimentary early check in from 10am
- Complimentary late check out at 3pm
- Extension of stay at S$198++ per night (including breakfast for two)
Goodwill Family Staycation Package (from S$288++ per night, booking & details)
- Complimentary breakfast for 2 adults and 2 children below 6 years of age
- Taiwan Porridge Bento for 2 adults (4 menu choices) and Kids Meal for 2 children (4 menu choices) at Coffee Lounge during lunch or dinner, per room per stay (one-time)
- One Goodwood Park Concierge Teddy Bear or Spikey the Durian Mascot Teddy Bear per room per stay
- Cookies with 2 servings of milk during turn-down service per room per stay (one-time)
- Upgrade to next room category on availability
Goodwood Getaway with Private Chef Dining Experience (from S$350++ per night, booking & details)
- Parklane Split-Level Suite room type
- Includes one meal period with private Chef for two only
- Breakfast for two
- Set meal chargeable for 3rd person sharer in room at S$58.00++ and breakfast at S$25.00++
The Fullerton Hotel Singapore – Citi Prestige Exclusive from $209++ per night

For those holding the Citi Prestige card, Fullerton Hotel is now offering its Premier Courtyard Room for a one-for-one rate, effectively giving a 50% discount over its regular rates. Booking must be made between 1 and 31 Aug 2020 for stays up to 31 Dec 2020.

The Fullerton Hotel Singapore Premier Courtyard Room

This is a very good deal, considering that the current promotions are running above S$500 per night, all-in.

Citi Prestige Premier Courtyard Room complimentary night offer (from S$209++ per night, booking & details)
- Premier Courtyard Room room type
- Daily breakfast for two adults
- S$80 nett Food & Beverage credit per stay
- Unlimited high-speed Wi-FI for multiple devices
- Note that the reservation and payment must be made using the Citi Prestige card. Cardholder must be one of the guests staying in the room.
Final thoughts

There are plenty of offers out there now that Singapore is progressively opening up its economy and hotels are fighting for revenue in the absence of tourists. Definitely plenty to choose from, but bear in mind that hotel offerings will be distinctly different from what it used to it.

I won’t be in a rush to book many staycations at this moment, given that there will be plenty of time to do it in the months ahead. So keep an eye on bank offers and more offers from hotels, and watch this space as we bring you more offers as they come along.
1 August 20
Singapore has reopened for staycations: first five hotels approved to take guests
Four of these hotels are on Sentosa, plus a serviced apartment property in the city

It’s been three months since hotels have shuttered their doors to guests – both local and foreign – so it’s pretty exciting that hotels are starting host guests who are staying for leisure again.

After all, most hotels in Singapore have been procured by the government earlier in the year for returning Singaporeans and residents to serve their ‘stay-home notices’ (SHN), or isolation, to contain the possible spread of Covid-19.

Hotel Jen Tanglin is serving as an SHN hotel (credit: Hotel Jen)

Since 3 Jul, STB has opened applications for hotels who wish to accept staycation guests once more. While approvals officially was going take up to two weeks, but it seems like they are working pretty quickly given that the first batch of five hotels is now announced. This page will be updated as and when new hotels are added to the list.

As of 9 Jul, the approved hotels include:
- lyf Funan Singapore
- W Singapore Sentosa Cove
- Crockfords Tower (Resorts World Sentosa)
- Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort & Spa
- ONE15 Marina Club
Sofitel Sentosa is definitely moving very fast

At the time of writing, all hotels listed above are accepting reservations as early as today, except for lyf Funan and Crockfords Tower. lyf Funan will start accepting guests from 13 Jul, Monday, while Crockfords Tower is still not accepting reservations yet.

Crockfords Tower still not accepting reservations yet

So what will the post COVID-19 staycation experience be like?

STB has laid out a fairly extensive set of requirements for hotels to comply before applying to take in leisure guests once again. Here are some of the more significant ones that you should take note of:

1. Staggered check-in and check-out timings. This is a good thing, in my opinion. Most hotels have a standard check-in and out timing of 3pm and 12pm respectively, so hopefully this move will encourage hotels to rethink this policy. Hopefully this will also see the return of 24-hour staycations that some hotels have previously offered, where guests can check-in at a particular time and check-out at the same time, 24 hours later.

2. No more than five people in the same room at any point in time, unless they are all from the same household. This means no more frivilous birthday parties, drinking sessions or any other gatherings you may fathom.

3. Mini-bar items should be provided upon request only. Now this is a tricky one. This is usually good for those overpriced minibars, so that the fridge can be used for other purposes, but in hotels that provide complimentary mini-bar items, it remains to be seen how this will be managed. Let’s hope this doesn’t mean a cut back on comps.

4. No more buffets. With many hotels offering free breakfasts either as part of the room rate or for elite members, this change is likely to affect guests the most.

No more hotel buffet breakfast for now

Given that most hotels will unlikely move to an a la carte breakfast model given the high costs and manpower requirements, hotels can potentially move two ways: first, they can man every buffet counter, so guests don’t handle any utensils; or secondly, they may offer a pre-plated/pre-trayed breakfast set that customers can just grab, similar to what some airline lounges are moving towards.

Given that hotel restaurants are also given capacity limits, the larger hotels may utilise a combination of the above, in other to cater for potentially large crowds during breakfast.

This will be a forgotten sight in hotel lounges – for now

This will also mean that hotel executive lounge offers will almost certainly be affected, with offerings almost certainly changing. As Milelion pointed out, at higher end hotels this is likely going to shift towards some sort of table service, while at lower end hotels this could mean a reduction in quality and spread.

5. Expect to book slots at hotel gyms, pools. Hotel recreational facilities are subjected to the same restrictions as their public and commercial counterparts, so that means that most hotel pools and gyms will only be able to take a modest number of guests at any one point in time given their small size. Gyms, for instance, will be limited to one person per 10 sqm, so it’s likely that these facilities will be oversubscribed.

Hotel pools will never be crowded again

Similar to what’s happening at most commercial facilities now, guests should expect hotels to provide a booking system where reservations must be made for specific timeslots to use the hotel facilities.

Spa facilities will also have similar restrictions to commercial operators, such as:
- Refraining from serving food and beverages to customers and removing shared items like newspapers and magazines
- Assigning one therapist to follow-through on all treatments with the same customer, where practicable
- Changing all clothing, towels and bedding after every use
- Using single-use massage oil, creams and beauty products
- Allowing sufficient time to clean the premises during operating hours
While this specifically doesn’t provide any guidance on spa facilities such as jacuzzis and steam rooms, it’s likely that those facilities within hotels will remain closed, given that it’s hard to ensure safe distancing within those facilities.

5. Extensive cleaning regime after every stay, including deep cleaning of room carpets, sanitisation of every item after every use. At first glance, this may seem like a good thing given that it gives guests a peace of mind, knowing that every item in the room has been disinfected. However, what this means is a significant cost increase for the hotels, which will almost mean that this cost may be passed on to customers in one form or another. My guess is that a cleaning surcharge may be imposed at some point in time, unless this requirement goes away.

Which other hotels are likely to join this list?

It’s hard to tell for now, although some of the hotels outside of the city who are not serving as government isolation facilities are preparing and applying to take in leisure guests at the time of writing.

Speaking to some hotel insiders, it seems like most of the bigger hotels, particularly those within the city and are currently used for isolation purposes by the government, will be unlikely to jump on this staycation bandwagon anytime soon.

This is because most of these hotels are wholly ‘booked out’ by the government for at least the next two months, and that means guaranteed income even if it’s at a much lower rate. By blocking out part of the rooms for leisure customers, most hotels risk losing a guaranteed revenue – even if it’s low on a per room basis – for a domestic leisure demand that they can’t predict.

Final thoughts

While the number of hotels approved for staycations is fairly small and uninteresting now, it’s a good sign that this list has started. What this signals is that STB is equally keen for hotels to start operating again, in a move towards normalcy.

As far as guest experience is concerned, it will be naive to expect that it’s gonna be the same old experience when you head off to a hotel post-coronavirus, as the world continues to grapple with containing the virus. Some of the changes that the hotels are expected to make will definitely be inconvenient (why must I book a time to go to the pool?), but there are some upside to this, such as enhanced cleanliness of the rooms.
10 July 20

IHG runs 4X bonus points promotion for stays

Earn up to 301,000 bonus IHG points on stays between 15 February and 15 May 2020

IHG has launched another bonus points promotion, offering up to 4 times the base points you normally earn.

The mechanism

Upon registration, you will start earning bonus points on your stays during the promotion period between 15 Feb and 15 May 2020. The first stay will see you net an additional 1,000 points, while subsequent stays will depend on the number of nights you clocked, as well as the base rates.

The table of points earned is as below:

Nights	Base points earned	Bonus points earned
1st night	10 points per USD on base rate	1000 points
2nd to 5th night	10 points per USD on base rate	100% bonus*
6th to 14th night	10 points per USD on base rate	200% bonus*
15th night onwards	10 points per USD on base rate	300% bonus*

*You can only earn up to 100,000 bonus points under each category, for a total of 301,000 bonus points for the entire promotion period.

While the headline number is 4X bonus points, note that it is probably more accurate to say that it is the usual number of points, plus up to three times (or 300%) of that base number of points, to make the ‘4X’.

How much are IHG reward points worth?

This is the existential question of all miles & points collector, and as the saying goes, YMMV (your mileage may vary).

I value IHG Reward Club points at about 0.7 Singapore cents (US$0.05) per point, so as a base member you get essentially a $7 bonus on your first stay, and then a 5% rebate on your 2nd to 5th night, 10% for 6th to 14th night and 15% thereafter. This is a rather good value, given that other hotel chains almost don’t offer as much a point.

For the purpose of illustrations, these are the number of points you will need for an award booking in some of the Singapore IHG properties:

Six Senses Duxton, Superior Shophouse – 55,000 points
InterContinental Singapore, Deluxe Room – 50,000 points
Crowne Plaza Changi Airport, Deluxe Room – 40,000 points
Hotel Indigo Katong, Deluxe Room – 35,000 points

The fine print

Note that you will need to register for the promotion here first before you can earn the bonus points. Needless to say, this promotion cannot be applied retrospectively. All stays must be booked by 15th April and consumed by 15th May.

If the booking is more than one night, the average nightly rate will be used in calculating the bonus points. This is a crucial point if your stay cuts across the tresholds (e.g. from 2x bonus to 3x bonus).

The full terms and conditions of the offer can be found here.

5 February 20

50% off Hilton rooms in Japan, Korea and Guam: 4 days only!

Hilton is running a flash winter sale for the rooms in Japan, Korea, Hong Kong and Guam for four days only, from 26 November 2019, 1pm (Singapore time) to 29 November 2019, 1pm (Singapore time).

While the marketing spiel reads 50% off, bear in mind that this discount is off the flexible rates and not the sale rates. Also, non Hilton Honors members will only enjoy 40% off. On top of that, you will be slapped with other terms, such as non-refundable terms.

While the sale period is tight, you have some flexibility in your travel dates. You can stay between 26 November 2019 and 30 June 2020, giving you quite a fair bit of dates to play with if you haven’t lined up any plans for the first half of next year. Obviously black-out dates do apply, and I will expect that the sakura season will be excluded given the traditional high footfall.

What’s good?

Tokyo traditionally has one of the most expensive hotel rates in Asia, so this is a good time to check out the properties if you have been hesitating. For instance:

If you are looking to book a ski holiday, Hilton Niseko goes from SGD125:

Conrad Tokyo is another exceptionally property that can command more than S$700, but for this sale you can grab rooms from S$356:

If you are looking at some other luxe properties in Japan, Conrad Osaka can be booked from SGD260, down from the usual SGD500+:

Elsewhere in Asia, Conrad Hong Kong is also on sale, from SGD180!

Are the rates really available?

I did a quick search for the rates for Conrad Tokyo (which I’m dying to check out), but it seems like the really low rates are quite hard to find.

For instance, during the Chinese New Year season in early February, you are quoted about JPY32,000 (JPY40,800 after taxes, or about SGD511) per night:

Conrad Tokyo availability during Chinese New Year 2020

As for March school holidays, the lowest pre-tax rate is JPY25,000, which works out to about JPY31,825 or SGD400 per room per night, which isn’t shabby at all.

Conrad Tokyo availability during March school holidays

I tried the same with some other properties around Japan (and even Conrad Hong Kong!), while you may not always get the lowest advertised rates, the discounts are still significant.

In any case, do try your luck and play around with the dates if you have some time. Remember, sale ends 29 November 2019 at 1pm (Singapore time), so you might want to just lock in your plans quickly. Book here.

26 November 19
REVIEW: W Taipei, Wonderful Room
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
W Taipei, Wonderful Room

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 located at the City Hall station along the Taipei metro, in the same building as the Hankyu President departmental store.

The entrance of the hotel is a little hard to find though. If you are arriving from the metro station (a la budget traveller), you will have to get out of the mall and walk around it to get to the main entrance. Otherwise, there is a little side entrance from the mall to the hotel ground floor lobby, but this is only accessible during the mall hours.

Check-in desk

W Taipei technically does not have its own building – it occupies a significant number of floors, including the top floor that houses the signature Yen restaurant and bar. The check-in desks, as well as Woobar, Dining Table and the WET pool are all located on the 8th floor.

The moment you arrive by foot or by car, the friendly front of house guests will offer to take your bags for you and send it straight to your room, while you head up to the lobby to handle your check-in.

As I was an SPG Gold member, I was upgraded to a room with a premium view – the Taipei 101. Note that the room is still a Wonderful Room, just that the Taipei 101 view comes at a higher price than those on the other side of the floor. The front desk also noted that my birthday was around the corner, and offered me a cake to be sent to my room at my preferred time. How thoughtful!

Plenty of water in the room

Upon entering the room, I realise this must be one of the smallest W rooms I’ve ever stayed in. The separation between the bed and the desk against the wall was nominal, and with a couch beside the window there was hardly any space to move around.

The décor remains consistent with the W theme, with its wacky designs and vibrant colours. The bathroom is an open concept one, with hints of Chinese elements such as the wooden stool and the bamboo ladder that serves as a towel rack.

Bath amenities

One good thing I love about the room: there were plenty of bottled water around the room. I feel this is a small but often overlooked detail, so that drinking water is always within reach anywhere in the room. While some people argue that this leads to a higher wastage, but I feel that is the responsibility of the guest rather than the hotel to ensure minimal wastage.

Party room amenities

There were its usual plethora of in-room merchandise and F&B creative packages (which I thought was clever marketing but incredibly annoying), but also several nice touches such as the white noise machine that aids with falling asleep. The bath came with the standard W amenities, including my all-time favourite lemon scented body wash.

Complimentary coffee and TWG tea

After spending some time in the room, I went to check out the gym and the spa, both of which were incredibly delightful. The gym was spacious and well-equipped, and also has a separate room for classes. There were plenty of treadmills (although Taipei city is a great city to run in), as well as barbells and even a smith machine.

Spacious gym, well equipped

If you are living in Taiwan and have a lot of money to spare, the FIT gym is also opened for public membership at NT$150,000 (that’s right, 150 grand) a year. The membership comes with a free night’s stay at W Taipei, 5000 starpoints, a range of discounts, complimentary parking and other perks. There are also group and multi-year discounts as well, check them out here.

Over at the AWAY Spa, there was a full suite of spa facilities in the changing room, including two jacuzzi pools, a cool dip pool, a sauna and a steam room, which was a far cry from what W Bangkok offered.

Jacuzzi

Beyond that, what’s amazing is that there were even lounge chairs for guests to lie on, each complete with its own TV screen if they need a little entertainment.

The WET Pool is located on the 8th floor as well, right next to Woobar and adjacent to the WET bar. The pool is rather large by a city hotel standard, although it can look rather intimidating with deck chairs all around the pool, as well as the Kitchen Table and Woobar overlooking it as well.

During my stay, it was the WET Pool’s monthly pool party (happens every

WET pool

As an SPG Gold member, the hotel also serves up complimentary cocktail hours at both Woobar and the Yen Bar on the top floor, from 5pm to 7pm daily. What’s available on the menu (which are the same at both venues) include prosecco, wines, housepour spirits and soft drinks.

YEN Bar

Along with the drinks, Woobar also serves up free snacks for you to nibble on. However, I personally recommend heading up to the Yen Bar – I can’t describe the view enough, you just have to enjoy a drink while watching the sun goes down, a very pretty sight.

Evening drinks for elite members, 5-7pm

Next morning’s breakfast was at the Kitchen Table, serving up a good mix of local fare and the usual western breakfast offerings. One thing I always love about hotel breakfasts in Asia is the availability of Chinese staples, such as soup noodles or rice and soup.

The Kitchen Table

Today, I had a bowl of cooked-to-order soup noodles with braised meat and shrimps, a good start to a cold morning. Other asian offerings such as dumplings and scallion pancakes were also on the table, which happen to be some of my favourite Taiwanese fares. What was disappointing though was that I could not find luroufan, or braised pork rice. I swear I saw someone in the restaurant having it, but I just couldn’t find it anywhere on the buffet line.

Cook-to-order soup noodles

What was also interesting was the availability of ice cream for breakfast, which I gamely took. (Well, if you can have champagne for breakfast, I don’t see why you can’t have ice cream for breakfast too.) The ice cream proved to be disappointing on scooping, as it was half melted, so I took a bite and threw the rest away.

Udon noodles

Overall, the breakfast was decent but I wouldn’t pay the door rate for the breakfast, as affordable options around the area can be found very easily since this is Taipei.

Even without the promotion, W Taipei turned out to be rather outstanding, packing a lot of punch into the floors that it occupies. The unobstructed view of Taipei 101 also makes it a premier choice for Taipei’s well-known year end countdown parties, given its first class view of the fireworks from the iconic building at the stroke of midnight. All in all, the great Taiwanese service, W design philosophy infused with local flair and premium location adds up to a memorable premium stay on your holiday in Taipei.
23 November 17