Hotel Review: Conrad Singapore
***This is part 6 of my “Big Fat Indian Wedding” trip report detailing a recent trip to Singapore and India***
1. Introduction
2. United Global First Lounge at SFO
3. Singapore Airlines Krisflyer Lounge at SFO
4. Singapore Airlines First Class San Francisco to Seoul
5. Singapore Airlines First Class Seoul to Singapore
6. Conrad Singapore
7. Eating Singapore Part 1 – Flowers, Supertrees, and a River Safari
8. Eating Singapore Part 2 – Hawker Stands, Chili Crab, and Kouign Amanns
9. Dinner At Singapore’s Best Restaurant, Restaurant Andre
10. Premier Lounge at SIN, SilkAir Economy Class to Hyderabad
11. Part Hyatt Hyderabad
12. Exploring Hyderabad
13. Etihad Airways Business Class Hyderabad to Abu Dhabi
14. Etihad Premium Lounge at AUH
15. Etihad Airways (Jet Airways Config “Jetihad”) First Class Abu Dhabi to San Francisco
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I’ve heard this sentiment shared by many others and I’d tend to agree. Singapore is a frustrating hotel market.
While there’s a nice mix of boutique and chain options, the prices are in no-man’s land. In other words, they aren’t expensive enough to feel like you’d get a good deal by using points, but they’re expensive enough that you’d consider using points rather than shelling out cash.
So after doing quite a bit of research, I ended up settling on the Conrad since I was able to leverage the “Discover Asia” promotion to get 40% off the standard prices which tipped the scales away from using points.
We pulled up into the driveway around 2AM and stepped into the completely empty lobby.
I had emailed the hotel in advance to advise of our late arrival, mainly to ensure that I wouldn’t be arriving only to be shown the door to another hotel.
Check-in just took a moment and we were informed of our upgrade from the entry-level room to the Deluxe room. This hotel is notoriously stingy with upgrades, and sticks to just 1-category upgrades regardless of status. So if you want to be potentailly upgraded to an Executive room, you’ll need to book the Deluxe room at a minimum.
At this point we are Conrad veterans, so in a lot of ways the room, the decor, and the style felt familiar to us. But this was definitely one of the least impressive Conrad hotels we’ve stayed at, and the room was beginning to show its age.
The room had a nice workstation, but unfortunately this was also one of the only power outlets in the entire room which was a bit annoying. Literally, all the other power outlets in the room were inaccessible, either by virtue of poor design or as a feature that was simply overlooked.
On the side table there were the standard Conrad animals waiting for us, along with a fruit plate and chocolates.
As much as I wanted to jump right into bed, since I’d been traveling, before sleeping the germa-phobe in me required that I take a shower.
The bathroom was huge and featured a large tub. One of the best feelings is a piping hot shower after a long day of traveling.
The standard Aromatherapy Associates toiletries were provided.
On the desk there was a welcome letter which I typically just throw away, since it always contains the same information. I’m glad I took a closer look, since the Deluxe room upgrade came with a couple unique perks, including a $20 SGD daily laundry credit and complimentary shoe shine.
Now, I rarely ever utilize laundry services at the hotel, since you can usually buy a new outfit for the outrageous prices that that they charge. But I was happy to be able to wash a couple items of clothing per day, which was especially useful given the insanely hot and humid weather.
After a good night’s sleep, we headed downstairs to the pool restaurant for the breakfast buffet. The breakfast buffet was located right next to the pool and the gym, and we witnessed no fewer than 10 people already working out.
We had big eating plans in Singapore and had even discussed skipping the hotel breakfasts altogether so that we could eat out more. But at the end of the day, free is free. We tried to exercise some restraint, which wasn’t hard to do since the breakfast was pretty average.
The buffet featured a nice mix of Western and Asian items including an omelet bar and dim sum.
In particular, I really enjoyed the chawanmushi egg which were freshly made.
The bread station looked quite sad and was barely touched, and there was also an Indian station that got even less action.
Again, this wasn’t the best buffet we’ve ever had but it was convenient and free, so who am I to complain?
As I mentioned the buffet was next to the pool, which provided a great reprieve from the heat. As a bonus, it featured a great view of the Singapore Flyer.
The gym featured a range of equipment and was constantly in use by the clientele at the hotel.
The hotel’s location was pretty good since it’s just a few minutes away from the MRT. Taxis were also relatively cheap option and it was easy to catch one from the hotel, although we had to wait up to 5-10 minutes at times.
It does take a day or so to learn how to navigate the maze from the hotel to the MRT, which took you through a shopping mall and then through an office building.
Since the Singapore F1 race was just around the corner, we also got a sneak peak of the festivities with a constant stream of supercars parked outside the hotel.
Overall, the Conrad Singapore was a solid hotel that presents good value to Hilton loyalists, especially if you’re able to capitalize on a sale. However, within the Conrad brand and among the Conrads we’ve stayed at in the past, this one probably ranks lowest.