Capri by Fraser Changi City review: complimentary stay from American Express

Capri by Fraser – complimentary stay by American Express

Here’s the backstory of how I got a complimentary stay at Capri by Fraser Changi City.

Among all the credit cards out there – my favourite is the American Express Platinum Charge card.

The lifestyle benefits are practically unrivalled: Given the hotel and travel perks (complimentary hotel stays, elite statuses in 4 major hotel chains, unlimited airport lounge visitations), dining privileges (check out my love dining hotel guide and restaurant guide), and other lifestyle benefits (spa discounts) – it’s worth the hefty annual fees of $1712.

One of the lesser-known card benefits: Platinum charge card holders do NOT have to pay the annual fees of other American Express cards that they own (Update: this has changed as of November 2022).

Personally, I also hold the American Express Platinum Reserve card (not to be confused with the Platinum Charge card), and the Krisflyer Ascend Credit card – and both annual fees of $535 and $337.05 respectively are waived.

Now, I mostly use the Platinum Charge card for dining, hotel, and other lifestyle benefits. My other regular spending goes to my Krisflyer Ascend card – where I earn Krisflyer miles for expenses charged to the card.

Given that I already have the super elite Platinum Charge card – which is superior in benefits – why do I also own the lower-tiered Platinum Reserve card?

Image Source: courtesy of American Express

This is because the Platinum Reserve card comes with a complimentary 3D2N stay at a participating Fraser property – worldwide, not just Singapore. (The list of participating locations can be found here.) With no annual fee payment required on this card, this complimentary stay is pretty much a sweet add-on to my other American Express benefits.

(Update late 2023 or early 2024: this benefit has sadly been nerfed to a 2D1N stay)

In Singapore, currently at the time of writing (as of September 2020), the only participating hotel is Capri by Fraser Changi City. So the moment COVID-19 lockdowns/circuit breaker eased up, the husband, 3-year-old daughter, and myself decided to redeem our stay and head there for a staycation.

Voucher: Complimentary 3D2N stay at partcipating Fraser properties worldwide – applicable at the time of writing

Inspired by this post and want to apply for an American Express credit card? Apply through one of my referral links and receive either bonus Membership Rewards points or statement credit:

• The Platinum Charge Card: Use this referral link and receive up to 140,000 bonus Membership Rewards points when you apply and minimum spend criteria is met.
• The American Express Platinum Card: Use this referral link and receive up to 62,500 Membership Rewards points when you apply and minimum spend criteria is met.
• American Express Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Ascend Credit Card: Use this referral link and receive up to 35, 000 Krisflyer miles when you apply and minimum spend criteria is met. 

Disclaimer: the views and opinions expressed on this page are that of Happy High Life and may not necessarily reflect the position of American Express. Happy High Life is not responsible for any decisions made by readers. The terms and conditions for each credit card's application and usage may be subject to change by American Express. Therefore, readers are recommended to check any matters with American Express or its partners; the list of all benefits of the Platinum Charge Card can be found here.

Lobby: Fraser property at Changi City

First impression counts – behold the lobby at Capri by Fraser Changi City.

Check-in counters

Clean and modern, the entire hotel carries Scandanavian minimalist vibes. Yet it is not boring – quirky bits of design were observed at carefully placed areas, for example on the carpets of the hallways…

Hallways to the Rooms

… and the waiting area in the lobby.

Lobby Waiting Area

Room – Studio Deluxe

The complimentary room type is the Studio Deluxe – a spacious 44 meter square area with a large king bed, sofa, and a mini kitchenette area.

Studio Deluxe Room

While I did get the room as a complimentary stay, even if paying for the stay, it is worth the cost. Considering that the regular room rate is between SGD 150 to SGD 190 for most nights – the room is really large. There was ample space for our small child to run about, and if an extra bed or baby cot was needed, the room could easily accomodate that too.

Comfortable, spacious, ergonomic – here, the table has storage areas and wall plugs nicely hidden, the television can be pulled out and its angle adjustable

We loved the room’s design. Mostly light and neutral tones with pops of colour in small objects (e.g. the cushions, tissue boxes) – the room is brightened up while maintaining the homey feel.

Bedside area

Tip: if you are celebrating a special occasion – a birthday, anniversary, promotion, something – let the hotel know! 

At the time of our visit, we were expecting our second child along the way. So we informed the hotel that the stay’s babymoon of some sorts – and they gave a complimentary chocolate layered cake. Yay!

Complimentary Chocolate Layered Cake

There was ample storage room too – our (large) luggage barely taking up space in the open closet area.

Open Closet and Luggage Storage area

Kitchenette

The highly functional kitchenette is a real plus point especially for families with small children. It comes with a stove, sink, microwave, a somewhat large refrigerator by hotel standards (about double the size of most hotel ones), and is well-stocked with cooking utensils. 

Kitchenette in Studio Deluxe Room

I mean – check out their kitchen supplies – full plate and cutlery sets. There’s even the little things such as scissors and can openers!

Notice the Hot Plate? These pretty much work like an induction cooker – making soup or frying your own eggs and bacon here is 100% possible

This isn’t common for a hotel in Singapore; we were staring at the pots for quite a while haha.

Cooking Equipment

Another major plus point: notice that the sink has two taps. The larger one is a normal tap for washing…

Sink area

And the smaller one – is for filtered water! 

We were impressed – I sometimes find it environemntally unfriendly that hotel guests (including myself) consume single-use plastic water bottles. And while Capri by Fraser at Changi City still gives out water bottles anyway – it felt great to have the option of refilling your own bottles.

Premium Filtered Drinking Water

Bathroom

The bathroom was also really spacious.

Bathroom

It has the sink, toilet and washing area on one side…

And the large bathtub and shower on the other side.

Bathtub

Malin + Goetzi bathroom amenities were provided – i loved the fragrance of these. Also glad that the hotel didn’t resort to using disposable little plastic bottles – this is definitely more environmentally friendly. 

Bathroom Amenities by Malin + Goetzi

Swimming Pool and Gym

Capri by Fraser at Changi City has large pool on a rooftop-looking area. Behind the pool is the Gym.

Swimming Pool

The pool does have an adjoining smaller and shallower kiddy pool. 

Adjoining Kiddy Pool in the shape of a semi-circle

From the outside, the Gym looks somewhat small and unimpressive, but looks can be deceiving. Head inside and you’ll find that it’s pretty well-stocked with a huge array of gym equiptment. 

Gymnasium

Lockers, Sauna, and Steam bath

Spin and Play room

One of the more unique features of this hotel is the ‘spin and play’ room – or rather, laundry facilities room. There’s one of these on every floor.

Spin and Play room

The “Spin” refers to the laundry spinning. Do note that facilities here are coin-operated and one has to pay extra to do laundry.

Coin-operated washer and dryer

The “Play” actually refers to a set of games. These rooms are supposed to be equipped with a variety of games including boardgames or darts or ipads for visitors to tinker with. But unfortunately many of these games were removed due to the covid-19 situation. Hopefully they would reappear when times get better. 

Overall thoughts: Capri by Fraser Changi City

Given that our stay was complimentary and redeemed with an American Express Platinum Reserve card voucher (and the price point was low compared to many hotels in Singapore), we actually did not expect very much. But the room and facilities was lovely and we had a really enjoyable stay here. Even if one has to pay full price, we would recommend this hotel as a great staycation spot!

It’s not just because the staff were friendly, the rooms were clean, or the bed was comfortable. Capri by Fraser Changi City has a very superb location. Easily accessible via Expo MRT station, this is a great place if one has to stay near Changi Airport. It’s incredibly popular among locals too who wish to have a staycation while enjoying Jewel (at Changi Airport) over the weekend (our kid loves the Pokemon Center there), and useful for business folks who have events at Singapore Expo.

As if there isn’t enough malls… the hotel itself is located right next to one – Changi City. There, there’s a supermarket (if you want to cook a meal from scratch feel free to get ingredients there lol), lots of restaurants, and plenty of outlet stores for your shopping needs.

Overall, if you’re looking for a lower cost hotel in the East of Singapore, I would highly recommend this as a place to stay.

American Express Platinum Charge Card (Image source: American Express)

Inspired by this post and want to apply for an American Express credit card? Apply through one of my referral links and receive either bonus Membership Rewards points or statement credit:

• The Platinum Charge Card: Use this referral link and receive up to 140,000 bonus Membership Rewards points when you apply and minimum spend criteria is met.
• The American Express Platinum Card: Use this referral link and receive up to 62,500 Membership Rewards points when you apply and minimum spend criteria is met.
• American Express Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Ascend Credit Card: Use this referral link and receive up to 35, 000 Krisflyer miles when you apply and minimum spend criteria is met. 

Disclaimer: the views and opinions expressed on this page are that of Happy High Life and may not necessarily reflect the position of American Express. Happy High Life is not responsible for any decisions made by readers. The terms and conditions for each credit card's application and usage may be subject to change by American Express. Therefore, readers are recommended to check any matters with American Express or its partners; the list of all benefits of the Platinum Charge Card can be found here.

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