My one and only stay at this property was maybe 10 years ago on a family wedding occasion and was too drained to properly appreciate the offerings. So when some timely opportunities came into play, I decided to give this Orchard Road icon, a property usually bustling with business peeps, a go.
Address – 10 Scotts Road, Singapore 228211. Website.
Contact – Tel: +65 67381234. Email singapore.grand@hyatt.com
Location – the property is made for shopaholics as it offers somewhat sheltered and immediate access to everything in Orchard Road including Orchard station (NS22) – clocking your 10,000 steps is easy peasy. However, there is limited convenience when it starts raining as there are short stretches which is not covered, but hey, short sprints is good for the heart.
Price – 20,000 points were redeemed for a King room (the same room was selling for $256++ for my stay dates.) This was also a Hyatt Globalist Guest of Honor booking (explained very well by Ben from One Mile At A Time here) which a friend kindly helped with – this gave me access to all Globalist benefits laid out here. A dummy check shows the price to be $266++ for a normal room, and $406++ for a Club Room for my dates. [THANK YOU FREN!]
Pre-Arrival – I didn’t get one but I supposed it’s because I’m the “booked for” GOH.
Check In – The check in area was completely empty on a weekday at 1:30pm and I was attended to immediately. Jeffrey was all smiley politeness – my pseudo Globalist benefits were explained, was proactively given a 4pm late check out, and I was heading to my room in 15mins. No mention of any “Guest of Honor” in the process though.
Room – I was accorded a high floor on level 20, Room 2017. The Deluxe King (54SqM) was huge for a entry level room, probably equivalent to a suite in other same class hotels. Coming from a 14SqM Yotel to this was …. refreshing. I mean, look at all that space!
Once you enter the room, you’ll spot the mini bar counter to your left before you reach to your living area containing a proper work desk and chair, a big sofa, a lounge chair, and a big TV for you to chill to.
The bedroom is separated from the living area by a sliding partition and contains another big TV, a HUGE King bed, a luggage / cupboard area, and the closet.
The bathroom is quite a big space too though uninspiringly decked in dark green tiles which shows its old shell from eons ago. The single sink but plenty of counter top space, and have bathtub! You then have separate shower and toilet areas – yays. Toiletries are Balmain Paris branded which left my hair a little dry and tangled. Sadness.
A care kit of 2x individually wrapped antiseptic wipes are also present. I have to sat the entire space is spotless although it is clearly a dated property.
Grand Club / Party Room – The Grand Club is currently closed (Boo) so guests with access are invited to the Party Room located within Mezza9. I was bummed at not being able to get a complete Grand Club experience but this alternative works fine too.
The space is not big but the intimate and cosy seating arrangements did help to maintain a Club Lounge kind of atmosphere. You’d see a mix of proper dining tables, sofas, and high bar seats within the space. Service is quite attentive and proactive and I spied what seemed to be a regular guest recieving special snacks.
Opened from 11:00am – 8:00pm, you can have all day light refreshments (cookies, nuts, and banana walnut / lemon cake on my visits) with non alcoholic drinks from 11:00am – 6:00pm. Very strong coffee too.
Evening cocktails and bar bites are served from 6:00pm-8:00pm, with weekday stays bringing a much better experience because there is no split seating of 1.5 hours each. Although said to be “bar bites”, there is more than enough to be a full dinner even if you only take 1 portion of everything for one round. Great quality, great variety, complete with great service by Issac.
Alcohol wise, you have 3 types of red, 2 types of white, and sparkling Chandon Brut. Also a list of spirits I didn’t try.
Breakfast – this is served at Straits Kitchen in 2 timeslots (7:30am – 845am / 9:15am – 10:30am) and reservations are required even on weekdays though they don’t regulate it so much if crowds are thin. I booked for the 1st slot and was right on time at 7:30am which allowed me to take some pics of the really empty space.
At the point of my visit, assisted buffet lines have been allowed and I actually didn’t think I would be so excited to experience it after so long. The offerings can be shown in their full glory but with shields and socially distanced queue lines. You just let the staff know what you like and they’d plate if for you. Yays to being able to customize your portions (kind of).
Quality was quite good, with eggs made to order and a super nice vadai made on the spot. Though sausages could be of better quality.
Beverages can be ordered via scanning a QR code which leads you to an online ordering system. Unfortunately, coffee was weak and the Kopi C tasted like instant coffee. I tried ordering a mixed juice but it turned out to be packaged ones – why then do they have all that fresh fruits laid out at the beverage section? Bluff.
Facilities / Damai Spa – Both located at the Terrace Wing accessible from level 4, this feels almost feels like a separate entity from the main hotel because its so….resort-y. Lush green landscape with waterfalls and a koi pond with good sized kois chilling around, it made me feel I was at a resort instead of a city hotel.
The pool is definitely one of the nicest one I’ve seen – maybe its the emerald colors?
The gym was rather occupied when I walked past so I didn’t go in but it looked very well sized and probably plenty equipment for the gym rats.
I also did a cursory dip in their hot jacuzzi (chickened out from trying their cold plunge) and am pleased to report that the water temperature here is just nice! The steam room does what it does.
Check Out – I approached the Globalist front desk for my check out as I was pointed out at check in that as a Guest Of Honor I’d have access to the desk. I asked to confirm if my World of Hyatt membership number is on file as the night should be accrued to my account – was told it was not and I duly gave. I also asked for a printed check out folio but was told “there is no folio” to print out due to the fact that it was a Guest of Honor booking. I then asked how should I go about seeking accrual of the night if it does not post automatically since I had no document of sorts to show? She said to simply quote my confirmation number – I was a little perplexed by this process especially the fact that there was no folio to print) but I sure hope it won’t become a problem later.
In summary,
A great stay in a very well-maintained property complete with mostly great service. I was however left a little disappointed by the lack of elite recognition which I think a Globalist will usually get. Even a ‘thank you for being our Guest of Honor” would have been nice. Is it because they knew Guests of Honors are not the Globalist themselves hence no need for that extra touch? But that’s the point of the benefit isn’t it – to experience what a Hyatt elite would. Having a great experience through this could potentially result in conversion from other loyalty programmes if the guest likes it enough.
I guess I think too much.