So here’s is a hotel review of our Hilton Singapore staycation.
It’s also the last post of 2019! Whee~ Thank you all who have been supporting me on this blogging journey.
For my review on a wedding anniversary staycation at Conrad Centennial Singapore, which is also operated under Hilton’s group of hotels, please read here.
A Warm Welcome via the Hilton App
Thanks to the American Express Platinum Charge Card, I’m a Hilton Honors gold member – and I absolutely love the Hilton hotels rewards programme as Elite members (Gold and Diamond) receive complimentary breakfasts (which we did get as part of this Hilton Singapore staycation). They also occasionally get complimentary room upgrades, subject to availability.
For this stay, before even coming for our Hilton Singapore staycation, the staff actually reached out via the Hilton app to welcome me – a few hours BEFORE i arrived.
They asked if there was anything they could do to make our stay an awesome one – and honeslty, I was so very touched by the gesture.
Through the Hilton app, I asked if a potential room upgrade could be given as i have Hilton Honors Gold Membership.
The staff replied VERY quickly – within minutes – not only did they confirmed that yes, it was possible (Original booking was a Premium Room King; could be upgraded to an Executive Room King), they also gave me a choice. They mentioned that only part of the hotel had been renovated, and Executive Rooms were not renovated. I could choose to continue staying in the modern Premium Room or move to an older-style Executive room. Nevertheless, they offered access to the executive lounge either way.
In the end, I chose the Executive room as it had a bathtub (and the Premium room doesn’t)
This arrangement was all done literally on the road, on my way to the Hotel!
Lobby: Festive vibes, warmer welcomes
What I love about going to hotel lobbies in Christmas time – the decorations and beautiful christmas trees. And Hilton is no exception – the tastefully-done lobby sure had those festive vibes.
The bakery at the lobby, D9 cakery, typically features artisanal homemade patisseries, cakes, and other baked goods.
During the festive season, Christmas-themed goodies were up for grabs.
I always love their very-attractive display of little cakes.
Another thing that Hilton Singapore does exceedingly well – for Elite Hilton Honors members, they are given a welcome letter detailing the benefits of their membership. I love this reminder – it saves me the hassle/time of asking staff questions when I have all the answers right in front of me.
Toy for a kid
Did you know that Hilton hotels have trademark soft toys too?
You learn something new everyday.
Upon arrival at the lobby, the two-year-old was fidgeting and fussing about endlessly. Towing about a restless child makes doing ANYTHING harder – and that day, checking in, a usually simple task, beame a nightmare. I could barely get a few words in with the staff trying to get our key cards, before my kid would start whining again.
The check-in staff noticed my struggle and she offered a soft toy to the kid – the Hilton Lion.
An unexpected but kind gesture, it made my child so happy. I was pleasantly surprised. I always thought that giveaway soft toys were a trademark only of the Conrad Hotels and Resort Properties. In fact in my previous stay at Conrad Centennial Singapore, we had received the Conrad bear.
At any rate, the Hilton Lion is a welcomed addition to our Hotel soft toys collection.
For the backstory on how we got the St. Regis bear, check out my dining experience (yes, dining, not hotel stay) at LaBrezza at St. Regis Singapore.
Executive Room King
For our Hilton Singapore staycation, we got a room with a comfortable king-sized bed. Just what a tired family needs to recharge after an exhausting week.
The room also came with a DVD player (located under the TV). However, do note that Hilton Singapore does not have DVDs out to lend or rent – it’s purely for visitors to bring their own DVDs to play.
In the corner was a glass table workstation. (Although why anyone would do work while being on staycation is another question…) In my case, the kid mainly used the space for drawing.
In the not-so-distant past hotels simply provided tea and coffee bags. These days, however, a Nepresso machine is considered an essential for any high-end hotel.
Here, the Nepresso came with three coffee capsules: Arpeggio (intense and creamy), Volluto (Sweet and Light), and Ristretto Decaffeinato – essentially a decaf coffee.
My husband, being a coffee addict, finished all three within a half-day. We dialled the helpline for a refill and housekeeping arrived at our room in a few minutes, the staff smiling as he handed out more capsules to us.
Another perk of Hilton Honors Gold and Diamond membership – according to the website/app, selected hotels provide two complimentary bottles of water. However, I find Hilton to be more generous than that – with a number of hotels I have stayed (in Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia at least) the staff have either given out more bottles upon request, or simply left more in the rooms to begin with.
The bathroom was quite old-fashioned but beautiful. The light and dark marble contrast added to a slightly vintage feel.
Crabtree and Evenlyn standard bathroom amenities, all in Verbena and Lavendar flavour. In a number of Hilton hotels I have visited (Including Doubletree Johor Bahru, Hilton Kuala Lumpur, Hilton Bali and Hilton Garden Inn Singapore), they all provide this brand of bathroom amenities.
Outside the room, the hallways also had the slightly old-school feel of luxury: carpeted floors, glass tables, and the lift area carrying a slight marble effect.
Swimming Pool and Gym
Unsheltered and exposed to the elements, the swimming pool area is literally sunny all day long. Being Singapore – the weather is typically very, very, hot. Most locals in fact avoid the sun as much as humanly possible. In the middle of the day, usually it’s just the tourists who are enjoying the pool.
The pool is divided into two areas – a deep one and a much shallower kiddy pool. We did have a dip when the sun wasn’t so bad. Do note thought that this IS a very old hotel. So we spotted a little bit of mould between some of the swimming tiles but overall still had a relatively pleasant swim.
If you don’t want to swim but still wish to get some exercise done, the 24-hour fitness center has a fully equipped gym and aerobics studio.
Executive Lounge
For visitors who have the priviledge of visiting the Executive Lounge, they would be given this very-informative card:
Those staying in Executive rooms or Suites, and Hilton Diamond members (Hilton Gold members too – if they are upgraded to Executive level rooms), are given Executive floor privileges, including:
– All day coffee, tea, and various beverages. I 100% love this – I can take my child in anytime during opening hours, to request a cup of milk for her. Much easier than bringing our own formula. Plus, for some reason the kid is more happy to drink out of a hotel-served cup – I guess that presentation matters? At any rate, this service has allowed our family to truly relax during the staycation!
– 6.00am to 10.30am: Choice of having breakfast either in the Lounge or Opus Bar and Grill at level 1.
– 3.00pm to 4.00pm: Afternoon tea in the middle of the day.
– 5.30pm to 7.30pm: Evening and dinnertime cocktails, for those who would like a drink.
– Complimentary pressing – do note that this is not laundry (wash, dry), this is simply ironing of one item.
Teatime
A smorgasboard of sandwiches and dessert.
Note – there are variations in the food at the lounge. For the sandwiches during teatime, on Day 1, we had smoked salmon and cream cheese filings. But on Day 2, it was a smoked duck sandwich. Likewise, for dessert – the cake was a red velvet on our first day but a chocolate brownie on our second day.
Various local and international cookies, peanuts, and chips were on the other end of display during teatime.
If you love bread and butter pudding – you’re in luck. This hot dessert was lovely – flavourful but not too sweet. A great combination with the vanilla or berry sauce.
Dinner
Rather than having a full course meal, the lounge’s dinner had some finger food (wontons, bits of fried chicken), a salad spread, and dessert. Again, over the two days that we stayed, the food was slightly different on both days.
Day 1 Desserts: (from top left, clockwise) cream puff, banana cake, strawberry cheesecake, mango cake, fruit punch
Day 2 Desserts: (from top left, clockwise) red velvet cake, walnut cake, chocolate cake, panna cotta, fruit punch
Day 1 Salads: (Left to right) DIY caesar salad bar, bean salad, pasta salad
Day 2 Salads: (Left to right) DIY caesar salad bar, mediterrenean salad, house salad, and a thai shrimp salad
The wontons were a real hit. Crunchy and filled with shrimp, you really can’t go wrong with this dish – it’s idiot proof. Sadly I couldn’t get a picture as everyone would literally dive for them whenever a fresh batch came out.
I also loved the salads here – all the varieties were refreshing and healthy (presumably) but the taste was not compromised.
Especially enjoyed the DIY Caesar salad bar – we definitely piled on the parmesan cheese, croutons, dressing and sun-dried tomatoes on this one. Then convinced ourselves that it was healthy, lol.
Jokes aside – while there were no real ‘main dishes’ in the traditional sense, it was easy to feel full and happily satisfied just with small bites, salads, and desserts alone.
Plus, one of the highlights of the Executive lounge is the free flow alcohol between 5.30pm to 7.30pm: red and white wines, beer, sparkling wines. Naturally the food was designed more to be small bites and bar grub that accompanies the drinks, rather than be big meals in their own right.
Breakfast at the Lounge
A small but decent spread – the lounge is a less-crowded option for guests to have breakfast.
Breakfast at Opus Bar and Grill
For this Hilton Singapore staycation, we decided to dine at Opus Bar and Grill instead. Despite it being really crowded on a weekend, we couldn’t turn down the huge variety available for breakfast.
Bacon, Sausage, Quiche. Yums.
Hot Dishes – Including beans, roasted tomato, cooked brocolli, hashbrown and potatoes.
All sorts of pastries / baked goods
Live Egg Station – Made-to-order eggs of any kind. Omelette lovers – tell the Chef what toppings you desire and he’ll whip up an omelette for you.
Juice varieties – includes strawyberry milk, carrot, orange, apple, guava
Noodle bar – the variety changes. Today it’s Chicken Meatball Noodle Soup
My breakfast – you’d think that I didn’t have enough salad from the Executive Lounge the night before.
Overall, guests were simply spoilt for choice. There were also indian options, chinese steamed buns, an array of fruits and salads… even the pickiest eaters can definitely find something to suit their palate.
Hilton Singapore staycation overall
Throughout the stay – the staff were always helpful – i texted them on the app, made calls to ask quesitons – and they were always patient and just couldn’t do enough for you.
The staff at the executive lounge were especially service-oriented – given that i have a child, they brought me a baby chair and were very friendly to the kid, no matter when the visit was.
The only thing was swimming pool appeared to be a little mouldy between some of the tiles – but its hard to say if its because its old or some other reason. But really i’m just picking on something very small at this point.
Bonus: Location was great – right at Orchard Road near the main shopping malls. Forum mall is actually right next door.
Hilton Honors Points Earned
As a Hilton Honors Elite Gold Member, I also earned the following points from the Hilton Singapore staycation:
– Base points: 3,525
– 2019 Go More Get More – 2X points beginning on 2nd stay: 3,525
– Gold Elite 80% Bonus: 2,820
Total points: 9,870
Note: My Hilton Honors Gold status comes with ownership of the American Express Platinum Charge card.
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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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