Ah, Vagabond.

I was only trying to check this off my list in line with my try-all-marriotts-in-SG grand plan for 2021. I had to cancel a previously booked stay under a good rate of $153++ under the MR4 promotion because the property declined to help shift my dates so that didn’t help in my impression of them. But I figured I should try and see what Titanium gets me in a Tribute Portfolio property so here goes!

Address – 39 Syed Alwi Road, Singapore, 2076301. Website.

Contact – Tel: +65 62916677. Email info@hotelvagabondsingapore.com / reservations@hotelvagabondsingapore.com

Location – The property is located in the Syed Alwi / Jalan Besar area which could suit those looking for an alternative locale versus shopping malls. There are random cafes / food centres to check out (head to Bersah Food Centre for the best oyster cake ever!). The façade kind of blends in with the surroundings but its a different world once you step in – its all old school eccentric plush velvets all over.

Price – $179++ = $210nett under the Marriott Friends and Family Rate which was kindly accorded to me by a generous individual. It was slightly higher than the previous sale stay which I had to cancel but I think this is a not bad rate too. Figured this first stay as a Titanium will serve me well.

Pre-Arrival – no pre-arrival email was sent but I did use the Marriott App to check in for 1pm and late check out for 4pm.

Check In – I arrived to an empty lobby on a weekday 1+pm and the lobby was really quite fun to check out, including the Rhino front desk.

I was assisted by Joyce who was completely friendly and checked me in less than 15mins. She carefully explained my Titanium benefits and highlighted that I received an upgrade to a Junior Club Suite (34SqM) from the booked Classic King. Yays! For Platinum Elite and higher, there is a choice of either breakfast or 1,000 bonus Marriott points – I picked breakfast of course.

Room – My Junior Club Suite, 403, is as expected from the website pics but poorer maintained in reality. The liberal use of dark wooden / plush tones makes it very easy to spot signs of wear & tear so unfortunately the room didn’t exactly scream luxury for me but perhaps its personal preference.

In any case, the room is accessible via a staircase after the lift gets you to level 3. The door opens up to an odd shaped loft space which houses your king bed parallel to a ledge which is situated against a wall adorned with various artsy paintings of sorts – this provides additional space along the length of the room.

There is your non-smart TV facing the bed, which comes with a desk of sorts which can double up as a WFH spot due to the presence of powerpoints there. This is also where you can find your hotel info booklet as well as laminated pages on F&B offerings.

The bed itself comes with 2 bedside tables which has bottled water + your TV and blinds remotes, and a cutest looking in-house phone ever + a notepad with a handwritten note that says “Dial 0 For Anything”. A day sitter sofa is also nestled at the end of the bed.

The Suite also contains a separate sitting area + cupboards / wardrobe / min bar. The table and chair set up feels more like a dining area due to the lack of powerpoints but certainly useful for eating your tabao stuff in. Then you have your mini bar (nespresso!), fridge (clean!), cupboard (robes!), and some other luggage space.

The bathroom area is awkwardly positioned at one corner of the room due to the structure of the building. Movable panels open up to a single sink area with limited countertop space containing Etro toiletries (a little siap for me). Separate from this space is the toilet (non-bidet) and your standing shower complete with red tiles (so cute that the shadows form a heart shape haha).

Those blind controls turned out to be very useful during the day to shield out those bright sunrays. You can also stop the blinds at any point to tailor the block out which I appreciate.

Executive Club Lounge – I usually have a higher expectation of a club lounge when there is a separate page about it on the property’s website.  The space is actually the Whiskey Library + Yellow Pot itself and occupies the neighbouring section of the ground floor besides the lobby. The space is expectedly decked out in deep rich tones of red & yellow and the whole place looks and feels very old-school plush due to the presences of velvet everywhere. And for the whiskey lovers, the whiskey collection is actually staggering!

For Platinum Elites and above, you’ll enjoy complimentary alcohol + finger food from 5 pm to 7:00 pm (from Yellow Pot). Otherwise, non alcoholic drinks are available all day til 10pm. Not sure if there is menu rotation but a Tuesday evening offers a dim sum platter as well as a chef’s special of the day. The dim sum platter was a mix of fried and boiled items and unfortunately tasted rather mediocre which didn’t warrant any seconds. The special of the day fared much better being a tasty stewed chicken fungus with rice. Quantity wise, definitely enough as dinner due to all that carbs and unlimited servings.

I do have to say though – when the staff came around for last orders for alcohol, I asked for two more of my gin tonic to nurse through another hour as they said I could stay til closing if I wanted. However, they came back with one gin tonic, but double shot. I ended up having to ask for tonic water separately to mix my own as the double shot was too strong for me. Alcohol orders are not meant to be substituted like this!

Breakfast – served at the same space as above from 7:00am – 10:30am, I was only the 2nd pax on a weekday morning at 8am and was quickly seated. You can pick your main from a printed menu (I didn’t ask if I could have seconds).

My Nasi Lemak kosong order was readily accommodated. I then heard a full conversation between the staff and chef (though out of view) about if they should give me more of other stuff on the plate – I got 2 pieces of otah in the end. Yays. Taste was not too bad – though I would not pay $22 for it if it was not complimentary. Coffee was strong too.

Facilities – I think they used to have an agreement with an Anytime Fitness outlet nearby for guests head to but that has ceased since COVID happened. Other than that and the F&B offerings, there is pretty much nothing but as expected as this is a boutique property after all.

Service – I have heard a few feedback about crappy / nonchalant service in this property but I’m pleased to report that none of that happened, and in fact, I find the service quite nice. The staff whom I encountered were warm and friendly. The night shift staff also offered to bring up my late night Grabfood supper order instead of me heading down to the lobby to collect. I bumped into Joyce a couple of times during my stay and was always addressed by last name.

Check Out – Seamlessly processed by Joyce at 4pm on a weekday with all smiley efficiency.

In summary,

I was glad I decided to go ahead with this stay after all! A good rate + points-eligible stay + Titanium was a good combi at this property and it gave me a very different Marriott experience (in a good way!). The slightly quirky fweel of the property makes it a fun place to check out I suppose. Yays to checking off my first Tribute Portfolio staycay 🙂