I’m quite sure most people have seen this striking red building while passing through this area.

“Designed by noted architecture firm WOHA, the 27-storey 314-room Oasia Hotel Downtown is a breath of fresh air and welcomed greenery in Singapore’s Central Business District. A true respite in the city, the tropical skyscraper is refreshingly sleek inside, thanks to the modern functionalist style of architect and renowned designer, Patricia Urquiola.

The living, breathing vertical garden is a remarkable combination of lush foliage, copper, wood and stone. Filled with picturesque sky gardens, terraces and green screens, the hotel is as inviting to the flora and fauna as it is to visiting guests”

Official marketing spill about the property

Address – 100 Peck Seah Street, Singapore 079133. Website.

Contact – Tel: +65 68126900. Email: reseasy@fareast.com.sg.

Location – Located in the Tanjong Pagar happenings and a 3-min walk to the Tanjong Pagar station (EW15), the property enjoys access to a flurry of options especially on weekdays when the office buildings are bustling with peeps trying to get their food options settled. There is Guocco Tower, ICON Village, 100AM , and Tanjong Pagar Central within few mins of walking so you’ll have plenty to walk about for. Hit that 10,000 steps!

Price – I was lucky enough to be extended a complimentary 2-night stay in a Club Room by the Far East Hospitality team but a dummy check for my dates saw $282++ per room per night.

Check In – I arrived at 12:30pm on a weekday afternoon to an empty ground level lobby and took the lift to the main reception located on level 12. It was a really pretty place with all that greenery and outdoorsy set up and yes, completely alfresco.

I was then invited to proceed to the Club Floor located on level 21 for my check in once it was known my booking was for a Club room. However, the male staff staff at the Club reception was completely not interested in any sorts of welcome – I was curtly asked to wait while he went somewhere. He came back soon enough but no welcome no smiles no nothing, just all curt and stern. I felt like I was checking in for duty at the military.

A pity though, because the level 21 grounds are such a delight with added touches of classiness to the greenery and alfresco landscape.

Room – My Club King Room (28SqM), 2320, was actually quite nice although not quite luxurious. The room comes with the following benefits:

• Exclusive access to Club Floor, Club Lounge and Infinity Pool on Level 21
• Complimentary breakfast at Club Lounge from 7 – 10am
• Complimentary evening cocktails and canapés from 6 – 8pm
• All-day non-alcoholic refreshments, barista-prepared coffee and light snacks
• Complimentary 2 pieces of laundry per night (min. 2 nights’ stay, non-accumulated)
• Complimentary early check-in or late check-out

The space itself felt bigger than it is and looks exactly like how the online pictures are. Your wardrobe and mini bar (contains 4 ‘wellness drinks’) to the right of the door as you walk in – TWG teabags and nespresso are the brand of choice for those who are particular about stuff like this.

The main “bedroom” contains your Kind bed with 2 bedside tables with light controls and plugs, the long-ish desk + luggage rack (?) platform, a circular desk of sorts, and of course the TV (non swivel and non-cast). In one end of this is a single -seat chair but for some reason it is set up facing the bed. Not creepy at all.

The bathroom is more than functional with a single sink with plenty of countertop space, a verified-clean toilet (no bidet), and a bathtub + shower area. Toiletries are Biology brand which I last saw at Hilton Inn KL – does what it does.

There was a view of the Chinatown landscape if you look out the windows but the ledge on it is so unkempt – very distracting.

Club Lounge – located on the 21st level of the hotel, the lounge is an small-ish enclosed airconditioned area right opposite the club reception with what I think is a super nice space with multiple shades of pastel and inviting chilling set up including 2 sets of high back chairs + low table high tea-sque fweel.

You are able to enjoy simple snacks (nuts, cookies) and non alcoholic drinks (including multiple flavours of TWG teas) all day so I could see this as a potential Work From Hotel option for sure.

Come Happy Hour from 6pm – 8pm, no reservations are needed and you are invited to drink your fill of alcohol from a list accompanied by a sad (and seemingly thoughtless) selection of 3 canapes – think generic squares of cake and what felt like frozen / store-bought stuff. Due to COVID restrictions, the lounge is also devoid of any background music which could have softened the awkward quietness on my visits. Food quality leaves much to be desired so I ate my fill of nacho chips instead and supplemented it with a sweet potato from Don Don Donki @ 100AM amongst other stuff.

Breakfast – served at the Club Lounge from 7am to 10:30am and no reservations are needed. I was only the 2nd table at 9am on a weekday and a mini croissant a+ fruit cup was served once seated. But service can be a little inconsistent as I was the only pax there on my second morning and didn’t get any croissant nor fruit cup.

Over my 2 mornings, I tried the TMP Breakfast Platter and Healthy Toast. The Platter had great eggs and passable bacon and sausage. The Toast was a little too healthy for me being devoid of any sauce of sorts and poached eggs were slightly overcooked. Coffee was your typical cafe-ish brew with some acidity which I don’t prefer but oh wells.

Facilities – I breezed by the Infinity Rooftop Pool, the Club Floor pool + Skyline Pavilion, and 24-hr gym.

The Infinity Rooftop Pool located on level 27 turned out to be quite a sad sight – perhaps with the ongoing construction. The somewhat neglected greenery made it look a little post apocalyptic and was certainly not a pool I would want to wade in.

The Club Floor pool on level 21 was a much better sight – a proper lap pool with sunbeds dotted all around, including 3 cosy cabanas (?) which I could see being very useful for poolside peeps who want to hide from the sun.

The Sky Pavilion located on level 21 has a grander name than actual as its actually just an alfresco space beside the Club pool with outdoor furniture – seems to be closed off as during my stay.

I also liked that the level 12 lobby has a boxgreen vending machine where you can buy healthy snacks at a reasonable price (<$2 per mini pack) instead of splurging on overpriced mini bar snacks.

The gym located on level 12 (main reception) is one of the more compact I’ve seen with a handful of treadmills and a rowing machine in one corner. There was a guy doing his cardio burst when I passed by so I just took pics from the outside in case I look like a stalker.

Service – Alfiz, Gwen, and Vilcent from the Club Floor were the 3 stars of my stay: stellar service, warm, friendly and it felt like they liked their job! Housekeeping is quite thorough too so that’s a definite plus. My fridge was also missing a Pierre (as mentioned in the club welcome letter) and I enquired on Day 1 only to be told they had ran out of it – they then proceeded to place 2 bottles in my room on Day 2 afternoon which was quite sweet of them.

I also enquired about the laundry service being a club benefit but was told that does not apply as I didn’t book directly via their website (my stay had to be made via email with the reservations team directly).

Check Out – painlessly done at 1pm on a weekday.

In summary,

I have to be fair and say for a complimentary stay, I have no complaints. However, I may feel short-changed if I were a paying guest due to the COVID-related adjustments. The hotel should think about buffing up their Club Lounge’s evening cocktail bites to stay competitive in this climate.

Thanks again Far East Hospitality!