I have an unhealthy obsession with new hotels. Seriously.

This property seem to have launched rather quietly by Far East Hospitality for some reason even though its the first Vibe Hotel outside of Australia. I’ve actually never heard of Vibe Hotels

So what are Vibe Hotels?

A lifestyle hotel designed to connect guests with their fellow travellers, other guests, that inner health nut or their own creativity. Each has spaces and experiences that allow guests to connect, with inspired interior design in bright rooms and cool communal areas, drink and dine offerings that emphasise what’s fresh, plus connected conferencing spaces.

From Vibe Hotels | Experience Great Accommodation

Ah so des.

Kind of reminds me of Bonvoy’s Aloft, Hilton’s Tapestry/Tempo, and Oakwood’s Unlimited Collection. Samey samey youthful mid scale modern properties targeting the young travellers segment.

Time to find out!

Address – 24 Mount Elizabeth, Singapore 228518. Website.

Contact – Tel: +65 67381189. Email: info.vhso@fareast.com.sg.

Location – This property used to be The Elizabeth Hotel by Far East group and opened in Sept 2022 after a 6-month long refurbishment. The former self was old-ish okay-ish but definitely in need of a facelift. It enjoys rather immediate (but unsheltered) access to the Orchard Road happenings but requires a bit of a slope-y walk due to the terrains.

Price – $205nett for a Premier Room booked under the Getaway Deal which supposedly offers a 25% off Best Flexible Rate with the following inclusions:

• One-night stay in Premier Room
• Breakfast for 1pax (a 2-pax booking was a +$21 rate)
• In-room Nespresso coffee machine 
• Unlimited Wi-Fi access

Pre-arrival – I received my pre-arrival email 3 days prior to my stay asking for some info. And though I appreciated knowing that booking of my desired breakfast slot is necessary, I wonder why this requirement is in place when most hotel shave already relaxed their in-house breakfast arrangement.

Getting there – The property is located up a hill in between Paragon and Lucky Plaza and a leisure walk took me about 8mins~. But if not, getting a grab is not an issue. I wish the property will offer a shuttle for guests to Orchard MRT though.

Check In – I arrived to an empty lobby on a weekday afternoon and ….had the weirdest check in experience ever. Nothing unpleasant but the staff seemed a little…off tangent. No welcome no hi and went straight to the process – she also asked to reconfirm that I’m staying for one night and then asked if I’m extending my stay. Eh?

Then we proceed to have a strange conversation where she talked about breakfast and that I can book a desired time but not mandatory – to which I replied that’s great as not needing to book gives more flexibility. Then she proceeded to ask if I would like to make my booking now. Eh??

Lastly, I was then asked to settle room charges in full as it was the hotel policy. Ah wells.

Thereafter I was then informed that official check in time is 2pm and hence my room is not ready yet so I asked for my luggage to be stored. While having this conversation, another staff came over and said she may have a room for me – I waited for her to type something in the system and voila a room was available now and I was shown to the lift lobby. But not before I had to get my luggage from the off-tangent staff who insisted that they can send it to my room when I was already heading off to it. Eh?

In between all this, I had time to take in the renovations to the property and the lobby area was actually quite nicely done up – a modern cool vibe type of design which was a stark difference to its former self.

But some parts of the property remained looking aged and did not get much love from the reno.

Room – I was assigned Room 608 and as I got to level 6, I was hit by a strong metallic smell + a whirring noise. I later realized that its coming from a small machine that was running at the end of the corridor near my room – I asked the front desk and was told that it was an ionizer. The smell was quite indiscernible once I stepped into my room and closed the door but I found it anonying that the property is not doing anything to mitigate the weird metallic smell.

My Premier Room (25SqM) is compact but rightly adequate for a 1-nighter. The conventional layout means you get your cupboard and mini bar to the left of the walkway, enclosed in a wardrobe space. There are 2x thin-ish robes, slippers etc, and the mini bar is equipped with a Nespresso (yays!) and tea bags.

The main space contains a cushy king bed in the middle facing a TV, 2 generous bedside tables, a luggage rack, an okay-sized work desk.

The bathroom was also rather adequate, but I was disappointed by the presence of the very pre-loved mirrror with its edges looking quite burnt out while the rest of the bathroom looking cleaner. Toiletries are O&M branded in a big pump bottles which is increasingly seen in hotels these says – they were a little too sweet smelling for me though.

Some useful stuff to note: there is wireless charging available by the bedside, and there is no bottled water provided – instead you get a glass jug to fill with tap water as drinking water.

There was also a letter placed on the work desk informing guests of ongoing renovation works in the property.

Unfortunately, upon doing my routine wipedown, I found a hideous long strand of curly hair on one of the pillow (!) and to approach the front desk to ask for a change in pillow cases.

Ugh (shall spare you the pic).

Later in the evening, I ended up asking to be downgraded to the Deluxe Room (the entry level room type) as I was not comfy with the remnants of the metallic smell and was assisted by the same staff who got me my room earlier alongside her colleague – they were both super professional and patient and a world of difference from the off-tangent lady. I had a short wait but didn’t mind it as they explained they had to reconfigure a twin room into a king – very grateful for the proactiveness!

My Deluxe room, 216, was much brighter and had a more ‘modern’ feel to it.

The size being the same, the key difference with this room is:

• an open concept wardrobe (versus the enclosed design)
• lack of Nespresso machine (only freeze-dried ones here)
• slightly different bathroom design with a shower-tub (versus a walk-in shower)

While I liked this room better, I later realized the bathroom suffers from a few issues which I suppose is due to limited love from the renovation:

• the water in the shower tub doesn’t drain properly so you get ponding around your feet as you shower. The water did eventually drain off thereafter, but it still means something is clogged somewhere.
• the half panel lining the shower tub does not do anything to prevent water from splashing out during a shower so do note that the bathroom floor can be slippery!
• the cold water knob in the shower was stuck so I had to deal with hotter than desired water temperature throughout. Didn’t bother to buzz the staff as it was only one night.

Breakfast – served at the all-day dining restaurant, ROOS, from 7.00am to 10.30am (last order 10.00am) at ROOS, bookings of your desired hour (7.00am – 8.00am, 8.00am – 9.00am and 9.00am – 10.00am) is recommended but not mandatory. This all-day dining restaurant only opened in early September 2022. and according to the website is an all-day dining venue with Aussie-inspired dishes.

The space looks really pretty!

The place was rather packed at 7+am on a weekday morning so come early to avoid the crowd! You get to pick from a small menu and all mains are served with mini pastries and yoghurt. My choice was the Avo Toast which was decent even when eaten kosong – especially liked the the dukkah which was a tasty and unique touch. Self-served strong coffee was a bonus!

Facilities – all located on level 1 which made it easy to check them out.

Vibe Pantry – One unique thing about this property is the Vibe Pantry, which I believe was initially set up for Premier guests to have 24-hour access to snacks and drinks on-the-go. I recall seeing it on my original reservation, but I suspect things changed along the way and I was told now it’s only for corporate guests. I was however accorded access as a one-off exception and boy was it nice! A surprisingly wide variety of drinks and snacks awaits those who have this exclusive privilege – like a 7-11 but free. Yay.

The pool is opened from 6:00am – 10:00pm – typically old school and dotted with a handful of deck chairs. Only night shots as I didn’t remember to stop by in the daytime.

The 24-hour gym is a small block of 4 machines + weights – does what it does if need be.

Service – Other than the off-tangent staff, every other staff I encountered was actually great! Special shoutout to the 2 lovely ladies who were so patient and efficient processing my room change – they made my day. Bell desk staff were equally welcoming with offers to show me the walking route to Orchard Road and accommodating my request for paper bags.

Check Out – painlessly done at 12+pm, though I would have given feedback about the wonky things in my Deluxe room if I had been asked. Ah wells.

In Summary,

Despite the multiple hiccups during my stay, I was glad I managed to check this off my list! I do hope the ongoing renovations will translate to positive changes to the aged exteriors of the property as the current really do not reflect the nice new life the insides contain. The property has a good location going for it as well even though it’s an unsheltered way to Orchard Road.

However, I would hesitate to pay more than what I did for the entire experience, and I know prices have already gone up (is it the location?).

And since you should know by now that Far East Hospitality doesn’t have a loyalty programme, no harm checking out Klook to see if there is any better deals (please note that these are affiliated links)?

Klook.com