With great deals comes great (financial) responsibilities. Spinelessly spurred on by the opportunity of stacking good promotions with elite benefits, here I am back again after my last stay 8 months ago. I also managed to pick a super peak period for the property as my dates coincided with the Bloomberg Forum held at Capella and the hotel was pretty full with the delegates, on top of the staycay madness. What better time to stress test St Regis Singapore.

Address – 29 Tanglin Road Singapore 247911. Website.

Contact – Tel: +65 65066888. Email: stregis.singapore@stregis.com.

Price – $674++ = $791nett booked for an Executive Deluxe via Hotelux’s Stay 3 Pay 2 promotion which gives me USD100 dining credit as well as other benefits which I would already have as a Titanium Elite: welcome amenity, breakfast for 2pax, room upgrades, early check in and late check out. Timed with the Amex offer of $100 off for every $400 spend and a small top up, my stay came up to be “only” $600nett. Yays to savings!

Pre-arrival – There was strangely no pre-arrival sms this time compared to my last stay, nor pre-arrival email. But I did see my room type change to Grand Deluxe one week prior, then Penthouse Room about 2 days before. Boo to no suite but none are selling on their site for the same dates too so the availability matches up.

Check In – I arrived to a relatively empty lobby at 12:30pm on a weekday and was quickly attended to. Signages to manage the Bloomberg Forum delegates are in place for crowd control too. Check-in is as always a sit-down affair here, and the process took about 15mins including explanation of my benefits etc.

Welcome letters include the usual entitlements and benefits with particular mention to a printed QR code which all guests need to go to for bookings for breakfast, pool, gym, and Aperitivo Hours @ Astor Bar.

Room – The Penthouse Room (52SqM) is a fancy name for their high floor units with a Botanic Garden view, which is exactly the same as a Grand Deluxe except for the floor level. I think being so wowed by the St Regis Suite during my earlier stay has muted my senses a little this time but its still a nice and very spacious room nonetheless.

As you step in, you’ll first see the signature circular St Regis mini bar in the hallway – equipped with the quintessential bottled water, a kettle and (disappointingly) a french press for coffee instead of a coffee machine (if you prefer a proper cup, there is always the butler). The fridge itself is kept empty due to the pandemic but (rather pricey) mini bar drinks and snacks can be delivered upon request.

The bedroom section takes up most of the space in this room type and is very well equipped

A huge king bed with bedside tables and controls on both sides, a single seater lounge chair in one corner, and then a line of closed-door wardrobes on the side which offer luggage space and the usual bathrobe and racks etc.

Facing these is a red 2-seater velvety sofa with a little circular coffee table, adjacent to a giant swivel TV and the work area lined up in one length. I really appreciated the swivel function of the TV which means it can be adjusted to face the sofa or the work area. The work space is a decent spot with enough powerpoints but unfortunately paired with a chair which is not meant for long sitting/typing (but who comes to St Regis to WFHotel anyways. Except me).

Bathroom is all marbly which is quite a St. Regis standard: a free standing bathtub (with great water flow), double sinks with plenty countertop space, separate toilet and shower (with fancy show knobs!). Toiletries are a little schitzo with a mix of Remede Spa shampoo and conditioner with Pharmacopia body wash.

I was a little disappointed that the only welcome “amenity” in the room is a sad bowl of fruits that had seen better days, though accompanied by a welcome note (but says welcome instead of welcome back).

Their care kit consist of 2 individually wrapped masks and a bottle of hand sanitizer.

After settling into the room, I started to uncover a few issues which was unexpected of a St Regis though quickly resolved:

• One side of the bedside control panel was not working
• Obvious stain on the single-seater sofa
• Obvious dust on the “work” chair
• In-room Bose system left switched on

Breakfast – Compared to my last stay, bookings are now required for breakfast at Brasserie Les Saveurs (menu) and mains have since been limited to 2 per pax but still plenty enough for me. I was bright and early at 6:30am on one morning and the space was really quiet except 1-2 tables. Other days, I reached at 8am and was ushered to sit at Drawing Room to enjoy my breafast instead.

Menu is available via a QR code but selection seems to have been nerfed compared to my last stay.

Over the 3 mornings, the mains I tried includes Nasi Lemak (kosong), Laksa (kosong), Epicurean Omelette (asked for smaller portion as otherwise they do it as 3-egg), and an off-menu dim sum.

Coffee was only passable though – the butler served version is better in my opinion. Service was sometimes polished (great service from one staff who actively recommended off-menu items I can try) and other times with rough edges eg. staff walking too close to the table in an attempt to see if there is anything they can clear encountered in Brasserie Les Saveur.

In-room Dining – I opted to enjoy some of my meals in the privacy of my room during my stay – Cesar Salad with Chicken ($28++), Nasi Goreng kosong ($28++), Salad Nicose ($28++) all of which was delivered to my room in 30-45mins and tasted fairly decent but portions seemed less compared to my previous stay. And of course the food was paired with butler-served coffee or tea to end.

Yan Ting (website)– finally tried this place and had to tick it off just this once, especially when in-house guests get 20% for dine-in. The Steam Chicken Claws ($8.80++) and Pork Ribs ($9.80++) were decent enough. Service was great and attentive as well.

Drawing Room (website) – I also enjoyed a very expensive glass of Barons de Rothschild Brut ($36++) to burn off my remaining credits, along with salted peanuts (had expected at least mixed nuts for a St Regis but ah wells). In-house guests get to buy a bottle at ‘only’ $118++ but I figured I should remain relatively sober.

Aperitivo Hour (only for Platinum Elites and above) – Astor Bar is now only opened from Wed – Sundays so if you stay coincides with these days, you may book (via the QR code mentioned below) to enjoy your choice of 45mins slot from 3:00pm – 6:30pm (5:45pm being the last slot). On Mon-Tue, the of drinks and canapés (non-refillable) is served to your room upon request. The beverage selection (alcoholic + non alcoholic) is listed on your welcome letter:

• White wine
• Red wine
• Screwdriver
• Whiskey highball
• Gin and Tonic
• Tequila Sunrise
• Fruit Juice (Cranberry, Orange, Pineapple)
• Soft Drinks (7-Up, Ginger Ale, Pepsi)

The choice of 4 canapés for all 3 days were varying fillings on the same carb base – tortilla, blini, tart, and bread. Nothing too memorable in terms of flavors but it was still a cool benefit since the property does not have an Executive Lounge.

I had the opportunity to experience 1 of my sessions at Astor Bar which was nice but nothing special – I’d prefer having it in the comfort of my room in fact. Just a note too that you cannot enjoy this on the day of your checkout even if you go before your check out time – I wasn’t aware as I was still able to book a slot so I ventured there only for the staff to curtly say (after I gave my room number) – “but you are checking out today right?” – which came across as quite condescending and was a departure from the usual polished St Regis service.

Facilities – Bookings need to be made via scanning a QR code on your welcome letter and each comes with pre-set time slots. Nothing has changed since my last stay so do check out the Fitness Centre and Pool stuff there instead. Interesting enough, there is no booking required if you just want to access the Wet Lounge at Remede Spa without a spa treatment – I was advised to just walk in, which I managed to do so at 12pm on a weekday and was the only pax throughout the 45mins.

Service – Service was generally pleasant and I didn’t feel the slower response pace as reported by others which was great.

I gave feedback about the room’s spotty issues via the app chat and also at front desk when they asked how was my stay and my next coffee came with a personalized note, plated macarons, and a bowl of fresh berries – it was definitely great to feel they care about guest experience!

However there was one morning when I wanted to see if I can head down for breakfast earlier at 6:30am versus my booked slot of 8:00am (because I simply couldn’t sleep). I could see 7:30am slots but not any earlier so I called the butler and without even bothering to check, she simply said all slots earlier than my booked 8:00am is full. I later managed to speak to another butler who informed that same-day changes to breakfast bookings can’t be made in the system but I may try walking in instead, which I did – and the space was only 2 tables full. The incident to me seems to show laziness in service delivery and inflexibility.

Lastly, because I am quite particular about whether staff at high end properties takes off their shoes prior to entering your room if they observe you do (and I cringe silently when they walk in with shoes), I am disappointed to announce that it was a mix here – with some staff doing that and some don’t. Granted some butlers were there to deliver meals / drinks and they were holding the tray in their hands which would have made taking off their shoes quite complicated (hence, I didn’t ask), I wonder if things can be organized differently to allow that.

Check Out – 20mins to complete on a weekday 4pm as there were billing issues which needed to be rectified on the spot. But credits to the korean lady on duty who was super patient and courteous throughout the whole process.

In Summary,

This stress test stay didn’t actually turn out to be as bad as I thought – butler service still rocks, calls via in-house phones were picked up rather quickly, and housekeeping efficiently carried out. The little pop of service recovery has assured me that the property does try its best even during peak times.

In some cases, it seems like I’m nit-picking but remember that this is a St Regis after all and pandemic / event crowd or not, I do expect the property of this level to be able to deliver in line with its reputation.

Great deal nonetheless to spend some time in this property!