Swissotel the Stamford (Singapore) underwent renovations sometime between late 2017 to mid 2018, and this staycation marked our first stay in their newly refurbished rooms.
Booking
When i booked this room via the Accor website, I selected the Premier Room King, however, thanks to a voucher I got as a American Express Platinum Reserve Credit card holder, I received a complimentary room upgrade to the Premier Harbour View King.
In order to use the voucher, it is recommended to call the hotel before booking to ask if there are rooms available if you wanted to upgrade. The staff are able to upgrade you over the phone – on the condition that the voucher is surrendered at check-in.
Room
Upon entering the room, we Immediately, we were captivated by the views of the marina bay sands. As it was late in the day, the sky darkened and one can get a pretty good view of how Singapore transitions from day to night.
Of course, we were delighted at the spacious expanse of the room. Given that this was a corner room – it felt even bigger – there was ample room for an extra bed as well.
The coffee-making facilities. These days, a Nepresso machine is considered almost a necessity at high-end hotels, and we were very happy to have one.
Overall the room was ergonomically designed, which would appeal to those who love a modern-style hotel. Even in simple things such as the bedside table and shelving area – the spaces are made to be both functional and aesthetically pleasing.
The bathroom felt minimalist, complete with purovel pump bath amenities. Personally, i do like the pump containers rather than disposable items – the tendencies for hotels to use small disposable bottles generates so much environmental waste.
Dinner at Clove
Located at level 2 at Swissotel the Stamford, Clove is part of the amex love dining programme. Sweet – this meant that the hubby and myself – 2 adult diners – could feast at 50% off (and our two-year-old could eat for free) at the lovely international buffet.
The basic buffet price is $95++ per adult (before considering any AMEX love dining benefits), and comes with coffee and tea. However, one can top up an additional $28 for unlimited craft beer or $35 for unlimited sparkling wine or wine.
One word to describe the Friday evening crowd: INSANE. Every table was full, the staff couldn’t clear the tables fast enough. Despite that, they were polite and were genuinely trying to work as efficiently as they can. The place appeared generally under-staffed; we felt slightly sorry for the servers – kudos to them for trying their best.
Okay, let’s talk about the food. Behold, the menu.
Menu image source: Clove, Swissotel the Stamford
Generally, food quality was really good. There was an extensive selection of salads, a DIY poke bowl bar, lots of hot dishes and a great dessert selection – that included churros and avocado ice cream.
The highlight at Clove was a foie gras and seafood grill bar – here, chefs sear the fatty goose liver, teppanyaki style. These are then served as a TOPPING over flame-torched oysters and crayfish/lobsters. The queue for this section was long (some people must come and take 10 servings at once) and never-ending, but I decided to go for this at least once, and boy was it worth the wait.
The foie gras and oysters – it was EVERYTHING a person can want in a sinful and extravagant dish. The melt-in-your-mouth goose liver bursted warm juices over oysters freshly prepared a la minute.
Totally worth the calories.
Love Dining Benefits at Clove
With the AMEX love dining programme, the cost breakdown for this dinner was as follows:
– Original price: $95++ per person ($190++ for 2 people), however for 2 dining Adults, a 50% discount applies as part of the love dining programe.
– Total for 2 Adults, including service charge and GST – $111.82
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Customer Service… or not?
The room and dinner at Clove both completely wowed us. But in terms of the service received in this hotel stay, we were majorly let down. At booking, through the reservation phone hotline, the hotel was informed that we wanted an extra bed for our child. Again at check in, i gently reminded a check-in staff to ensure that a bed would be delivered, to which he readily agreed. We left the room, went out and had dinner – and came home 4 hours later, and no extra bed was there.
So i personally went downstairs to the check-in counter and found the same staff that I had reminded earlier about the bed – and enquired again. Got brusquely told off that he doesn’t remember as he sees many customers in a day… it felt like he was trying to make us feel bad for the request. However, he did act quickly and promised to contact housekeeping who will send us a bed ‘as soon as possible’.
Except that ‘as soon as possible’ meant after 45 minutes.
By that time, we were almost angry – our small child had stayed up way past her bedtime because the bed wasn’t promptly delivered, and we were practically waiting just for it to arrive.
Seriously, Accorhotels – given that the tagline of the hotel chain is ‘Feel Welcome’, this is a real far cry away.
Unfortunately, the not-so-welcome feels extended onto breakfast the next day.
Breakfast at Kopitiam / Clove
At Swissotel, one can choose whether to have breakfast at either Kopitiam or Clove; they are literally located next to each other on Level 2 of the hotel.
As it was weekend – breakfast was crowded by early morning; long lines formed outside both these restaurants. We were miffed at the staff’s handling of the crowd. Different staff gave different instructions in terms of directing people to their seating places – at one point, someone called for a three-person crowd to come to an available table, to which my family showed up… only to be told by another flustered person that we weren’t supposed to come forward, and he looked irritated that we dared to step forward in the first place. Bummer.
A restaurant receptionist admitted that they were running at full capacity – but then again, wasn’t the hotel supposed to know that full capacity meant that they had to manage the crowd?
Food was alright, the usual buffet-style breakfast fare typical of hotels.
Hot food: Otah-otah, sausages, hash browns
Chinese noodle station, DIY style
Indian selection – sauces
Hot dishes – scrambled eggs, beans, bacon
Salad bar
Cold cuts
Large variety of cereal options
Various Juices – grapefruit, apple, orange
Pool, Spa, Whirlpool, Jacuzzi
For this staycation, it was too hot to do any swimming. However the indoor changing rooms and soaking areas were a real hit. At Swissotel the Stamford, the saving grace and most impressive feature for hotel-staying guests has to be the Spa facilities.
The Willow Stream spa is shared between Fairmont hotel and Swissotel the stamford. Right from the start, the mood for relaxation was already set. At the entrace and walkway, the space is decorated with a spa-like set up – koi pond, trickling water, display of the Willow Stream spa products – overall exuding a very zen feel.
Cold bath, with a continous flow
Incredibly spacious and luxuriously well-equipped with 3 baths (cold, warm, jacuzzi/bubbly), a large shower area, steamroom, sauna, and resting areas – this is hands-down the best place to go to relax in the City Hall area of Singapore.
Right next to the cold bath is a warm triangular-shaped bath (above image, right side) – at the push of a button, would generate jacuzzi-like bubbles.
Warm, soothing, comforting bath
The three baths: cold (front), bubbly jacuzzi (middle), and warm bath (all the way back)
Seasoned spa visitors, i was told, would first soak themselves first in either the triangular jacuzzi and/or the round warm bath first, and get themselves all nice and steamy – before plunging into the cold waters. Some refer to this as the hot-cold immersion baths, or contrast bath therapy. The synergy generates a mildly tingly electrical current over the body – exciting the first time, and mildly intoxicating for repeated dips.
After all the dipping in and out of the waters, guests are welcomed to relax in the resting area – again, another welcoming sanctuary for tired souls.
The vast amount of space – both in area and variety – just for people to chill is something you rarely see even in a high-end hotel here in Singapore. (In my recent stay at Conrad Centennial – which I loved, don’t get me wrong – that place did not even have a sauna or steam room; a dealbreaker for some folks, i’m sure).
There was a room with several beds to lie down, a dimly-lit areas with couches, and a brightly-lit space whereby cold fruity water was served alongside warm fruit tea.
The facilities are open to all hotel-staying guests. Those not staying at the hotel can enjoy complimentary use of the spa facilities if they have signed up for any spa treatment. Check out the spa menu below.
Conclusions
Cons: Overly crowded and can be annoying when hotel is at full capacity – at check in you compete with Airline crew members checking in, and at breakfast getting a seat is a major struggle on its own. Additionally, less than desirable customer service at times (at least from what we have received, I can’t say if others have a similar things happened to them.)
Neutral: If customers do have less-than-ideal experiences, the hotel does try to follow-up, albeit again, with not much success. After leaving our reviews, someone did contact us to apologize and offer us room upgrades if we were to stay the next time.
It would have been almost great – sadly, after the phone call ended, an email came from Swissotel to enquire about swimwear we left behind in the room. Except (i) I didn’t bring swimwear to Swissotel, and (ii) the room number in the email was incorrect – they had totally emailed the wrong person to follow up. Careless mistake? I guessed that an email switcheroo happened somewhere…
Pros: Great location, right next to an MRT (city hall) and a mall (Raffles City Shopping Center). The very amazing gym and spa/bath/sauna/jacuzzi areas. The pictures speak for themselves. Extra perks for owners of AMEX cards under the love dining and chillax programmes – most of the restaurants and bars in both Swissotel the Stamford and Fairmont hotel next door (read about my stay in the Signature King Suite here!) have amazing discounts for qualifying American Express cards.
Final words: Honestly, having stayed before at the Conrad Centennial Singapore – their breakfast was so much better and the staff were more prepared to handle the massive crowds. The price difference between the two hotels isn’t significant either. With the exception that Swissotel the stamford has literally one of the best bath/sauna/jacuzzi facilities that one can find – we literally preferred the Conrad Centennial in every way.
Accor Live Limitless Rewards
Recently, Le Club AccorHotels renamed themselves as the ‘Accor Live Limitless’ reward programme.
As a classic (most basic) member, I also earned the following points from this stay:
– Base points: 751
For more information on the Accor Live Limitless Rewards programme, please visit the Accor website here.
Love reading about hotel stays? For a list of all hotels reviewed on this Happy High Life blog, click here.
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 S$900 statement credits and Samsonite Choca Spinner 68/25 (worth S$700) when you apply and minimum spend criteria is met.
- The American Express Platinum Card: Use this referral link and receive up to S$350 statement credits 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 38, 000 Krisflyer miles and S$50 statement credits 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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