Tag: Sofitel

REVIEW: Sofitel City Centre Singapore, Prestige Suite

Sofitel City Centre is arguably one of the Singapore’s finest hotel. Modern furnishing, comfortable and elegant rooms, great food, this hotel still packs a punch for a staycation, even in the face of Covid-19.

In this post:
• About the hotel
• Booking & check-in
• Car parking
• Prestige Suite
• Club Lounge – Club Millesime
• Evening cocktails
• Lobby Bar – 1864
• Breakfast
• The facilities
• Final thoughts

Sofitel City Centre sits in one of the most remarkable buildings in Singapore, Guoco Tower. Formerly known as Tanjong Pagar Centre, the building has since been renamed to Guoco Tower, cementing its role as Guocoland’s flagship development in Singapore and its location where the head office resides.

Completed in 2016, Guoco Tower became the tallest building in Singapore with a standing height of 290m – a mere 10 metres taller than the famed Republic Plaza, OUB Centre and UOB Plaza. This record was made due to a lifting of height restrictions in downtown Singapore as it sits within a flight path towards Paya Lebar Airbase, which is due to be decommissioned by 2030.

Developed by Guocoland, the building was designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. Back then, it was rather hard pressed to find yet another plot of land in the heart of the Shenton Way/Tanjong Pagar business district to build yet another mixed development, but Guocoland secured this parcel of land back in November 2010 for a cool S$1.7 billion.

The building comprises a myriad of uses: retail, commercial, residential and a hotel. What’s particularly notable is Wallich Residences, a very exclusive 181-unit development which starts at 180m above the ground – equivalent to 50 stories, offering an amazing view over the city.

The hotel

Sofitel City Centre is Singapore’s second Sofitel property, after Sofitel Sentosa Spa & Resort. Opened in 2016, the 223-room property is styled as a luxury full-service hotel.

Consistent with other new hotels built in the same era, the hotel is nested as part of a larger development, with its main lobby on the fifth level of the building. Guest rooms start from level 7 to level 20, with premium rooms located on levels 15 to 17, while club rooms are 18 to 20.

Most of the hotel’s restaurants and facilities are contained on the fifth and sixth floors, which can be accessed without a key card.

The hotel has only one in-house restaurant, Racines, situated on level 5. On the same floor you will find the hotel’s lobby bar as well, 1864. The recreational facility, including the outdoor pool, So Fit gym and the hotel’s club lounge, Club Millesime, are all located on level 6.

The hotel offers only five types of rooms, three rooms and two suites. Rooms offered include Luxury Room, Luxury Premium Room and Club Luxury Room, while the two suite types available are Prestige Suite, and the largest Joaquim Suite.

All the entry level rooms are of equal sizes at 38 square metres, while the Prestige Suite takes up the footprint of two rooms. The Joaquim Suite is the largest suite on-site, spanning 114 square metres, featuring high ceilings and towering windows across the suite. The suite also comes a fully-equipped kitchen, a 10-seater dining table, a spacious living room and an exclusive lounging area.

For this stay, I booked a Prestige Suite, as well as a separate room for a group of us to spend New Year’s Eve at.

Booking & checking in

This was a new year’s eve stay, and given that international travel was nearly impossible, my friends and I decided to check out local hotels for a two-night staycation.

Most hotels were charging an arm and a leg for a New Year’s eve stay, but surprisingly Sofitel City Centre were holding prices steady. They didn’t offer any festive packages for the last day of the year, but in fact went a step further to include the date for the Accor Black Friday sale, and the suite went for about $600 per night.

One thing to note – you will not be able to add a third person to the room online. To do so, you will need to call up the hotel and get them to manually do so. The extra bed, along with breakfast and other entitlements you may have, will come at an additional $160++ per night.

A note about car park

Guoco Tower has two car parks, A & B, with only Car Park B providing direct access to the car park.

While the hotel sits in the Guoco Tower, the hotel doesn’t offer complimentary parking for guests. If you are doing a weekend stay – good for you, parking is at a very affordable S$2.50 per entry per day. However, the rates for weekdays are pretty exorbitant, so you are better off leaving your car at home.

Day / Time	Rate
Mondays to Fridays 7am to 4.59pm 5pm to 6.59am next day	$1.50 per 30 min $2.50 per entry
Saturdays, Sundays and Public Holidays 7am to 6.59am next day	$2.50 per entry

Guoco Tower Car Park B parking rates

The Prestige Suite

As the entry-level suite for the hotel, the Prestige Suite is a one-bedroom suite, with a separate living and bedroom area. Spanning the size of two regular Luxury rooms, the expansive suite is practically a mini-apartment: a living room complete with a dining area, and a luxurious bedroom with a bathroom large enough for a mahjong session.

The main door opens up to the living and dining area. The living area is located closer to the opposite end of the room from the door. Right by the full floor-to-ceiling window is a beautiful wooden work desk, with a leather seat for the work-in-room moments.

*Sofitel City Centre – Prestige Suite living room*

On the other wall was a sleek-looking four-seater sofa with an abundance of cushions, fronted by a beautiful oval-shaped glass-top coffee table. At the side was another single armless chair with an ottoman, long enough for stretching out one’s legs for those lazy afternoon naps.

Right across from the sofa was a wall-mounted 55-inch Smart TV. However, the viewing distance is a tad too far for a comfortable view.

As we had a third person in the suite, the extra bed was set up right in front of the television.

*Sofitel City Centre Prestige Suite – extra bed*

Closer to the main entrance was a dining table large enough for four people. At a corner was the minibar and pantry area, where you can find the usual Nespresso machine, coffee capsules, tea bags and glassware. The suite also had a teapot on top of the teacups, which was a nice touch.

With most other hotels, the minibar has been emptied out. However, for guests in Prestige Suites, the hotel offers a complimentary fill of the minibar, which has to be requested through in-room dining.

The minibar items are not as fancy as what you’ll usually find in a paid minibar, but still pretty generous by any standards: a small portion of coconut water, two cans of soda, a can of local coffee/tea, a bottle of coconut water, as well as some packaged snacks to last through those late night drinks.

Complimentary minibar items, replenished daily

The bedroom contained a full king-sized bed, along with an ottoman at the foot of the bed. To add on to the comfort of the room, there was yet another lounge-worthy armchair next to the window, with a small coffee stand and standing lamp, looking so inviting for afternoon reads (or mobile gaming). The room also had another 55-inch wall mounted television if you prefer to lie in bed for your TV-binging.

The bathroom was arguably my favourite spot in the room. Spacious enough for a bed, the bathroom comprised a double vanity, a humongous bathtub, as well as a separate shower and toilet stalls.

The bathtub comes with this handy tray that holds up your tablet or a book while you are taking your bath, and also comes with a slot for a plastic wine glass if you prefer a tipple in your soak. I tried using the stand for my iPad, but gave up after 10 minutes for fear that the holder will tip over and reverted to watching my show on my phone instead.

For the Prestige Suites, Sofitel City Centre uses Hermes amenities, similar to what you may find in the higher grade villas at Sofitel Sentosa. The rooms on the other hand, stock Lanvin amenities.

Lanvin amenities – found in lower room types

Club Millesime

Sofitel hotels style their club lounges as Club Millesime. Wine aficionados will know that Millesime is the french word for vintage and typically used by french winemakers to indicate the year. In Sofitel City Centre, Club Millesime is located on the sixth floor of the hotel, tucked in a corner.

The lounge is a fairly small one, although sufficient for the number of rooms the hotel has. Even with social distancing measures in place, the lounge can take up to about 15 parties of various sizes, including a couple of larger tables for bigger groups. The lounge include an al fresco area, with tables facing the swimming pool for those who prefer to be out in the open.

Post Circuit Breaker, Sofitel City Centre currently offers one-hour evening cocktail slots for eligible guests, including guests in club rooms, suites and Accor ALL Diamond and Platinum members.

By default, the lounge offers evening cocktails from 5pm to 6pm, but on busier days the lounge may offer sometimes offer a second seating from 6.15pm to 7.15pm. Due to capacity constraints, all guests will be required to make a reservation for their preferred slot via an online reservation system.

To do so, you will receive an email from the hotel a few days before your stay, with instructions on how to go about making the booking. If you run into any problems with the link like I did, you can also call up the hotel, they are more than happy to help with the arrangements.

For those who are interested, you can also access the booking links below:

Reserve access to SoFit (Gym)
Reserve access to Swimming Pool
Reserve access to Club Millesime Apero Chic (For Club Guest only)

Evening cocktails

For the evening cocktail session, the lounge offers unlimited alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, as well as a selection of hors d’oeuvres. The selection is offered up as a tray of small portions dished separately in bowls, while drinks are served by the glass.

The key upside to the lounge is that they serve champagne as opposed to sparkling wine, although the choice of champagne may differ by the day, depending on what they have in stock. During my stay, I have been offered Delamotte as well as Duval-Leroy, both are pretty decent options.

In terms of food options, the lounge serves a mix of sweet and savoury snacks. The menu is displayed on the TV screens in the lounge, and the offering during my stay is as follow:

And this is how it is being served:

*Evening cocktails, Club Millesime, Sofitel City Centre Singapore*

For those looking to fill up, you can always request for unlimited refills of any of the items, but do bear in mind that the staff may be too busy to get to you quickly so please re-order early.

One other tip: if there are two sessions for evening cocktails during your stay, I’d recommend that you go for the later seating if you wish to linger in the lounge even after service stops at 7.15pm. Guests at the first service will usually be ushered out on the dot, and the last pour will be about 15 minutes before the end of the hour. So if you want to maximise your time in the lounge, go for the second seating.

1864 – Lobby Bar

As an Accor ALL Platinum member, I was also offered two welcome drink vouchers which can be redeemed at the lobby bar, 1864. Welcome drink vouchers are offered to all Accor ALL members with Silver or higher status. If you are an AccorPlus member, you will be gifted a complimentary Gold status so the welcome drink is definitely offered on each stay.

The welcome drinks list is fairly extensive, with a two-page spread of options for you to choose from.

Apart from the usual cocktails such as Cosmopolitan and espresso martini, they also offer two options of in-house barrel-aged cocktails, as well as wines, beers and spirits. Unfortunately champagne is out of the list so don’t expect any bubblies.

Facilities

The hotel also has an in-house fitness centre, as well as a swimming pool, both of which are at level 6 of the hotel.

Pre-Covid-19, the hotel used to offer access to the adjacent Virgin Active gym to guests staying in the Luxury Premium rooms or higher, but this has since been suspended as a result of capacity restrictions at the gym.

To use the facilities, a prior reservation is required. The swimming pool is opened from 7am to 8.30pm daily, with access offered in 90-minute blocks, while the gym is opened from 7am to 8pm daily and can only be used in 45-minute blocks, which is a tad short for a proper workout.

Facility	Operating hours	Slot length
So Fit – fitness centre	7am to 8pm daily	45-minute slots, available on the hour
Swimming pool	7am to 8.30pm daily	90-minute slot, available every odd hour (i.e. 7am, 9am, etc)

Reserve  access to SoFit (Gym)
Reserve  access to Swimming Pool

Racines – Breakfast

Racines is the flagship restaurant for Sofitel City Centre and have been serving up an excellent twist of Chinese-French duo cuisine since it opened years ago. An excellent choice for dinner, I have dined here several times during dinner and the experience has always been pleasant.

Since Covid-19 struck Singapore, the face and experience of dining has changed. Previously a self-service buffet spread, Racines now serve an a la carte breakfast that you order on your mobile phone using a customised QR code available on every table.

The menu is pretty extensive, but features pretty standard hotel breakfast fare:

Cold Cuts & Cheeses
- Beef Salami
- Troilspeck
- Black Forest Ham
- Smoked Salmon
- Emmental cheese
Cereal & Yoghurt
- All-Bran
- Bircher Muesli
- Greek Yogurt
- Acai Bowl
Salad & Fruit
- Quinoa Salad with Chickpeas
- Mesclun Salad with Feta Cheese and Vinaigrette
- Couscous Salad with Pepper
- Fresh Fruits
Bread & Pastries
- Mini croissant
- Assorted Oven-baked viennoiserie
- White toast
- Homemade baked bread roll
- Gluten free bread
Hot Selections
- Eggs – according to your preference
- French toast
- Waffles
- Buttermilk pancakes
- Plain porridge
- Shredded chicken noodle soup
- Paratha with dhall
- Egg fried rice
Hot sides
- Streaky pork bacon
- Grilled tomatoes
- Chicken sausage
- Crispy hashbrowns
- Baked beans
- Dimsum

There’s also a selection of hot beverages, including Nespresso coffee and TWG tea as well as assorted juices you can choose from.

If you have gone for repeated stays at the property like I did, you will realise that the menu remains the same and there are no ‘seasonal’ items that switches out every so often.

Final thoughts

Sofitel City Centre is indeed one fine hotel for a staycation in the midst of Covid-19, with an excellent location coupled with well maintained rooms and facilities.

This little oasis in the heart of town is a gem, it’s proximity to plenty of good food around the area makes it an excellent choice for a get-together venue, especially for those late night in-room drinks with family and friends.

The hotel offers a decent range of facilities good for a city hotel, even though it’s pretty basic. While the hotel does not offer any spa facilities, the pool is adequately scenic and perfect for that Instagram shot and the fitness centre is sufficient for a basic workout.

Some of the downsides to the hotel is obviously the limited offerings for evening cocktails, but this is pretty compensated with the fact that they serve champagne, a rarity among Singapore hotels. If you would, the hotel’s restaurant, Racines, also The breakfast is also adequate, although the queue situation can be a little out of the world.

If you still have your Singapore Rediscover Vouchers, you can also consider checking out the packages that Klook has to offer here.

20 March 21

Accor Black Friday sale now on, till 30 Nov 2020

SO Sofitel from S$174 nett, Sofitel City Centre from S$191 nett and more (fully refundable)

Accor has launched its Black Friday sale, offering up to 50% off hotel stays. Plus, earn double rewards points for Accor ALL members if you register before your stay.

Offer details

The Black Friday sale runs between 26 and 30 Nov, and booking must be done directly with Accor either through their website or mobile app. The base discount is 40% off the Best Available Rate, with an additional 10% off for Accor ALL members (more on that later).

For stays in Singapore, Malaysia or Indonesia, your stays must be between 7 Dec 2020 and 8 Dec 2021. If you’re staying in Taiwan, Hong Kong or Macau, stay period must be between 7 Dec 2020 and 14 Mar 2021.

Rooms booked under these rates are fully refundable if you cancel at least 72 hours before arrival.

Accor Plus members will enjoy additional 10% off for a total of 50% off.

Great deals at SO Sofitel and Sofitel City Centre

SO/ Sofitel Singapore has earlier announced that it will be reopening in mid-December 2020 and is currently open for bookings for stays from 10 Dec onwards.

The lowest rate currently available is S$148++ (S$174 nett) for a base-level SO COSY room with a Accor Plus membership.

Sofitel City Centre has been opened for staycations some months earlier, and under this promotion the cheapest room you can find goes at S$162++ (S$191 nett).

The good news is that if you weren’t planning to head to Hong Kong over the new year, the sale rates are still available at this property for your countdown staycations.

Final thoughts

This is a definitely a good sale to take a look at, even if it means booking rooms for the longer horizon. No harm doing that although you need to make some upfront payment, given that these rates are fully refundable.

We have booked some rooms for ourselves in case the Hong Kong Air Travel Bubble fails to ta k e off, so why not do the same?

27 November 20
REVIEW: Sofitel Shanghai Hongqiao, Club Luxury Room

Travelling to the China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai, I had the chance to stay at the Sofitel Shanghai Hongqiao together with some of my colleagues.

The luxury hotel is located close to the Hongqiao CBD and within a shrt ride away from the Hongqiao international airport and railway station. Located near by was also the National Expo and Convention Centre, the venue for the CIIE.

The location is somewhat off if you are visiting the city for leisure, as most of the places of interest are closer to the Bund. However, many companies and larger enterprises are starting to move towards Hongqiao, so that part of the Greater Shanghai area has been developed at a fairly quick pace over the last few years.

The hotel

The hotel is a magnificent building constructed not too long ago, having only started operations in 2016. Boasting 354 rooms and suites, the eight-storey hotel is located what is called Hongqiao CBD. Within the same compound are some private residences which also boasts some of the most expensive properties in the area.

When you first walk through the revolving door, you will find yourself standing in a grand lobby, adorn in class and grandeur. A large chandelier hung down from what seem to be a double volume ceiling, adding to the elegance.

I was booked into an executive floor room for the next four nights. Upon arrival, executive floor guests had a choice to check in at the Club Millesime if they wanted to. As I usually prefer to get check-in formalities done quickly so I can get to the room and dump my bags, I stayed at the check-in desk while my check-in was processed in record time. Soon, a bellboy was guiding me to my room on the eighth floor.

The room

The room for my stay was on the top floor of the hotel, where Club Millesime was also located. I was booked into a Club Luxury Room. According to the hotel, there’s only 61 club rooms over the top two floors of the hotel, which tips about 20% of all available rooms.

Measuring 44 square metres, the room has a high ceiling, with an incredibly large window, extending from the ledge to the ceiling. The room is designed in a modern French style, but if you honestly ask me I couldn’t really tell the distinction. The room was made to look even more spacious with a see-through bathroom, equipped with a privacy blind that can be pulled down if you are staying with another person.

Each room comes with Sofitel’s signature MyBed, a King-sized bed generous in size too, soft to the touch yet slightly more firm, which I found very comfortable. The pillows are excellent too. I had very good sleep for the few nights I was there.

Probably one of the disappointment was a lack of view from the room. Funnily, the windows sit slightly below the facade walls, so what I saw when I looked out of the window was a little service balcony which was pretty dirty by the way.

The room is fully packed with a mini bar (albeit not complimentary), as well as free coffee and tea packs. But if you are staying in the club room, save yourself the trouble and just walk over to the club lounge if you need a coffee or a drink in the middle of the day.

The bathroom consisted of a full bathtub, a large vanity and a separate shower and toilet cubicle. The rug at the vanity was fluffy and comfortable to step on (excellent for cold winters). Sofitel Shanghai Hongqiao uses Lanvin amenities, and that comes in a range of shower gel, shampoo, conditioner and body lotion.

The bathroom is right beside the glass pane separating the bathroom and the bedroom, so I reckon that’s pretty good for watching TV while you are soaking it up.

If there’s one thing lacking from a luxury hotel, that was a double vanity, although that’s a tad too minor a point to dent the experience.

The hotel also offers daily turn down service, and each day I received a fruit platter, which I thought was rather elaborate. As it was the week of CIIE, there was also some extra treats in the room as well, such as pastries and chocolates.

Club Millesime

One word to sum up my experience: excellent.

The club lounge, which Sofitel styles as Club Millesime, is an exclusive lounge only for guests staying in rooms and suites on the executive floors. Guests staying in these rooms can check in and out at the lounge as well, if they prefer.

The decor is immaculate, with modern European furnishing. There was a good array of seats, from sofas, to armchairs, dining tables and chairs, and even bartop tables. There was even a glass wine cellar in a corner, although I’m not sure if the wines are actually used or part of the decoration.

There’s also a meeting room that users could book, although every room is limited to a two-hour slot per day.

Club Millesime offers all-day complimentary beverages, including soft drinks, coffee and tea. There’s also high tea available from 3pm to 5pm, with an array of savoury and sweet snacks available. In the evening, free cocktails and hor d’oeuvres are available from 6pm to 8pm. Alcohol on offer include red, white and sparkling wines, as well as spirits and beer. I personally liked the fact that they have sparkling wine (even though it’s not champagne), given that not many hotels offer that in their lounge.

There was a mini buffet for both high tea and evening cocktails, featuring both sweet and savoury light bites. The lounge seem to fare better in its pastries, as I recalled going back for second servings of its cakes and puffs. The savouries however was pretty much forgettable, but then again, this is not meant to be a full meal but instead an accompaniment for your drinks.

The first night I was in the club lounge with my colleagues, both Peter, the Director of guest services, and Guido, the General Manager, came by to say hi to everyone in the lounge. I reckon that was also because it was a big week for Shanghai, given that it was the inaugural CIIE, held at the National Exhibition and Convention Centre minutes away.

I spent quite a fair bit of time in the club lounge throughout my stay, given the lack of amenities nearby, as well as the distance from the main city. I reckon I had at least two dozen beers during my stay there and many more sparkling wines.

One thing to note though, the lounge doesn’t serve up breakfast for executive floor guests. According to the hotel, the lounge wasn’t quite ready to serve breakfast yet, so all guests had to go down to the main breakfast restaurant, Kwee Zeen, instead.

The restaurants

Kwee Zeen is the mainstay restaurant of the hotel. For those familiar with the Sofitel brand, you’ll note that Kwee Zen is usually a buffet restaurant which also serves up as the breakfast restaurant. While I’m not a big fan of hotel breakfast (I think there are only a handful that serves up quality hotel breakfasts for the price you pay), Kwee Zeen was pretty impressive.

First, the space. It’s a double volume, spacious hall decked in the basement of the hotel. Glamourously adorned with some of the most ridiculously ornate decorations, the restaurant is pretty classy and not really tacky as I thought it might be.

For the executive floor guests, the hotel has kindly cordoned off an area in the breakfast restaurant for their exclusive use. Apart from the exclusive seating area, there are also dedicated wait staff for the area, making the service really attentive.

The breakfast spread is probably one of the best I had in China. There are ample live stations, including an egg station and my favourite noodle station. Apart from the usual Oriental and Western food options, what I liked was how they included local delicacies as well, such as the famous Shanghainese egg pancakes.

Of which, I thought the pastries were the best. I couldn’t resist a croissant every morning even though I was stuffed. There is also ice cream and waffles available, if that’s what you fancy as part of your breakfast.

Outside of breakfast, Kwee Zeen offers an international ala carte menu during lunch and dinner, as well as buffets on special occasions.

Beyond Kwee Zeen, the hotel also has two other restaurants: Le Chinois, a modern Cantonese restaurant, as well as Ocho Tapas and Wine, a Spanish tapas bar. There’s also a lobby bar which was opened from late afternoon if you need a tipple and had no access to the lounge.

I managed to check out Le Chinois with several of my colleagues one evening, which I found was excellent value for the price you pay. (RMB250 for a Peking Duck!) The food was top-notch, and I couldn’t find much fault with any of the dishes we had.

The facilities

As a full service hotel, the facilities were all present and in tip-top condition. The hotel features So Fit, their signature gym, tucked away in the basement of the hotel.

Don’t let the location ‘basement’ fool you, because the back of the gym walks out to a back common space shared by the gym, swimming pool and Kwee Zeen, featuring an outdoor mini waterfall, making the entire place so picturesque.

Back to the gym. It’s probably one of the largest I’ve seen in a hotel, with equipment fairly spaced out so there’s no fear of the guy running on the treadmill next to you peering over wondering how much (or how little) you have run.

There are plenty of machines available, from cables, to free weights and cardio, enough for half the hotel to be there and still not feel overcrowded. (Of course, I kid.)

Next to the gym, there’s an indoor swimming pool. By the side of it are some aqua deck chairs in the shallow part of the pool which I believe has some bubble jets coming out of it for a good water massage.

There’s also a spa, Le Spa, in the hotel, which was unfortunately closed during the entire time I was there. However, there’s also a sauna and steam room in each of the changing rooms, so you can still enjoy some relaxation facilities without heading into the spa.

Final thoughts

This was indeed one of my most memorable hotel stays in Shanghai – Gorgeous property, impeccable service, excellent dining.

While it could have been a one-off instance due to the CIIE happening nearby, but the extra mile in the hospitality is very much commendable, and also not an easy feat given the large team needed to ensure that all guests’ needs were met.

The rooms were incredibly well appointed, and everything works – the bed was incredibly comfortable, the bathroom was very enjoyable. The rest of the hotel, from the lounge to all the other facilities, were also very impressive.

The only shortcoming of the hotel was the distance. Being in the heart of Hongqiao CBD, that also means that you are terribly far from everything else downtown. A taxi ride from the hotel to Jing An district (where most of the shopping would be), took me about 30 minutes and almost RMB100.

The sheer distance in itself limits the possibility of recommending it to other people who goes to Shanghai for leisure, but if you ever have business in the Hongqiao area, this is certainly the hotel to choose next time.

24 November 18