Remember my obsession with new hotels? Yup this is one of them.

Also have not experienced a Mondrian property before – Accor markets the Mondrian brand as “Sleek and Sculptiral – Always at the heart of the most exciting cultural scenes in the world, Mondrian serves up innovation and creativity with it progressive forward thinking approach that plays with perspective and makes you dream, meaning both guests and locals alike can immerse themselves in the culture of each city it inhabits“.

Impressed yet?

Address – 16A Duxron Hill, Singapore 089970. Website.

Contact – Tel: +65 6019 8888. Email: enquiry.sg@mondrianhotels.com.

Location – opposite Shake Shack is the spot you should be looking for – right in the heart of the very hipster Keong Saik / Neil Road neighbourhood where plenty of fancy cafes and eats await. If local food is what you need, an abundance of options lie in the Maxwell / Chinatown locale. The closest MRT station is Outram Park (EW16 / NE3 / TE17) at a 5-7mins unsheltered walk away, but you are also kind of near Maxwell Station too.

Price – $330++ = $395nett booked for a Duxton King under their Opening Offer which comes with breakfast and $30 credit. I was also excited to see what room upgrade will be granted to an Accor Platinum – their Suites look absolutely stunning on the website! This was a reschedule from my original stay dates due to their delayed opening and while the email response to settle this was quick, I had to reconfirm with them that the new dates will have the same inclusions and was given an affirmative.

Pre-arrival – I received a pre-arrival email 5 days prior, in particular highlighting the fact that the property does not participate in the Accor Plus programme which is a programme offering dining benefits at Accor properties in Asia Pacific. It is useful to note that Accor Plus is a completely different and separate programme from the ALL (Accor Live Limitless) programme although the share the same namesake.

The Cabana booking site looks like this

I enquired about possibility of an upgrade to their Shophouse Suite as I saw on TripAdvisor that an Accor Gold received an upgrade to that room type but was told that the Suite is excluded from status upgrade and that upgrade I saw on TA was “exclusively provided to the very first guest who stayed with us on the first opening day of our hotel”. Ah wells.

Anyways, neither Accor’s nor Mondrian’s website contain too much info about how much of Accor Platinum’s benefits apply so I further clarified and got written confirmation. The Guest Experience & Event Manager also offered to meet me at check in to welcome me – setting high hopes for a great stay indeed!

Getting There – I took a grab and arrived to the street level lobby drop off / pick up around 1pm on a Saturday. A kind gentleman welcomed me but I was not assisted with my bags. I was told check-in happens on level 3 where the front desks were located.

Check In – I arrived to a relatively empty lobby and was immediately assisted with, and was offered an in-room check in thereafter which was a nice touch. However, the Guest Experience & Event Manager who offered to meet me was not present, so another staff escorted me to the room to complete the formalities. The entire lobby area felt small due to the elongated shape of the building, but quite classy due to the liberal use of glossy dark jade and brown tones.

Once in the room, my check in folio was already laid out on the table and the staff brought me through the necessary. However, she did not proactively mention about the $30 credits and the Accor Platinum welcome drinks so I brought them up. And here’s where I’d encourage to have all your benefits in writing at hand where possible:

• $30 F&B credits – I showed the screenshot and she said she had to check and will come back to me on them.
• Accor Platinum welcome drinks – she at first denied that this will be applicable because Mondrian Singapore does not participate in the Accor Plus programme (which is actually not applicable in this context because the welcome drinks are part of the regular Accor membership progamme’s status benefits and nothing to do Accor Plus). When I showed her the screenshot showing the benefit in writing, her response was that since it was confirmed in writing, then I can enjoy the benefit. Oh okay?

I also asked about the “Exclusive Mondrian Singapore Experience” and was told that it will be offered at turndown, but I was not told what it will be.

Room – As mentioned earlier, I wasn’t expecting an upgrade even a Platinum Accor, so Duxton King, 602, it is! The space was similarly awashed in classy dark jade color and everything still feeling quite brand new – and plenty of mirrored panels which reminded me slightly of M Social.

You get a luggage space and open concept wardrobe to the right as you step in, where a handful of hangers and drawers containing the hairdryer and one of the best bedroom slippers lie.

Following along this is a narrow mirrored compartment which opens up to hold an ironing board + iron (sorry forgot to take pics), plus a separate section containing bathrobes and a little side table with a slot for the hairdryer after usage – such a thoughtful design I thought!

This spot is followed by the mini bar + fridge area equipped with the quintessential coffee machine (Lavazza) + tea (Monogram brand) + necessary cupware etc.

On this min bar top is an assortment of welcome + anniversary amenities which were very much appreciated.

The bedroom space is a nice blend of modern design featuring a cushy king bed flanked by adequately-sized bedside tables + lighting controls, as well as a cosy sofa area with a coffee table (this is the spot where I had my check-in).

For those who mind, the TV whilst new and had chromecast abilities, did not offer alot of TV channel options for chillaxing which I thought was a missed opportunity.

Bedside charging is completely possible, including a wireless option on one side of the bed but it charges very, very slowly.

The bathroom is cosy with a single sink, open-concept toilet, and a separate standing shower space. toiletries were pump-sized Malin + Goetz branded which were not bad.

Shortly after, I got a call from the Guest Experience & Event Manager whom I was supposed to meet at check in – she apologized for not being able to meet me at check in. I appreciated this follow up!

I headed out for a bit thereafter and came back to my room for a spot of chillax. At around 5pm, I received a call to ask how was my stay and I feedback that I had yet to hear on the $30 F&B credit. I was then told that they tried to reach out to me “just now” to affirm the benefit but I wasn’t in my room – I thought it was weird that I didn’t see a missed call on my in-house phone from this. In the same conversation, the staff also mentioned that she has spoken to the management and confirmed that I will be able to earn points from my stay even though the hotel is not participating in the Accor Plus programme – I decided that since I’ll get points anyhow I will not further clarify on the Accor versus Accor Plus confusion.

Later that evening, the Mondrian Singapore Experience was delivered to my room – I thought it was a cute touch and enjoyed the nibbles for sure!

Facilities –

The pool is located on level R (which I assume meant rooftop) is blazing hot but absolutely photogenic – I meant just look at the views! Dotted on the sides are a handful of cabanas which require pre-booking.

Co-located on this floor is the Canyon Club, a pool bar of sorts which I imagine is quite popular in the evenings.

Their in-house Fitness Centre is still undergoing renovation I believe so meanwhile they have partnered with an off-site gym to offer in-house guests access and classes. Didn’t try it so can’t comment.

Breakfast – served at Bottega Di Carna from 7:00am-10:30am, the place located on level 3 is quite a pretty spot with plenty of green design including a central sky-roof design taking centerstage.

Breakfast here is a semi buffet concept where cold stuff and carbs are laid out in a buffet format and you get a choice of main from a list – the buffet section saw the usual breads, cold cuts, cheeses, salads fruits, yoghurt, juices etc – the spread does what it does.

From the mains menu, we tried the Chilli Crab Omelette and the Free Range Eggs (sunny side up) which were both just average. In particular, the accompanying sides for the eggs did not seem to be freshly made. Coffee was disappointingly weak and acidic as well.

Welcome Drinks @ Bottega – I opted to enjoy my welcome drinks at Bottega slightly prior to check out and it was quite a bumpy experience.

First of all, the staff wanted to sit us at the bar but we asked to sit at one of the corner tables instead and she said okay. But one of the staff at the bar clearly was not happy with this for some reason and he certainly made his displeasure known with his expression and hand gestures towards the staff who sat us. This interaction done in full view of us!

There was no printed menu for welcome drinks but a staff verbally told us what was on offer – beer, wines, and international cocktails. So we tried an Espresso Martini and a Gin&Tonic but both were no good – in particular the G&T was flat. When I gave feedback, another staff offered to re-do them but I declined and instead asked for them to be replaced with white wines instead. I headed back to my seat….but the wines never came. Until we asked yet another staff and they then came pretty quickly.

Didn’t understand the whole experience as the bar area was completely empty, even though the same team was working on the lunch crowd in the same space. The only good part was when I asked for 2 more white wines to burn off my $30 credits (@$22++ per glass) thereafter and they offered to bring them to my room which was appreciated.

Other service – As the property does not offer sheltered access to the neighbourhood, there are large Mondrian-branded umbrellas for loan at the street level concierge which was super useful for me.

Check out – My requested late check out of 3pm was confirmed at check in and there was abit of a wait before I was attended to around that time on a Sunday. It was this time that I felt the front desk can be better staffed than only having 2 manned desks (but 3 monitors?).

After settling my bill, I asked to affirm the fact that my stay will accrue points and the staff who was checking me out had to double check with someone else in a room before coming out to inform that I will earn points as an exception as the hotel is not a participating property in the Accor programme.

I was surprised as the hotel’s official site clearly states that members are able to earn points (screenshot appended below)? I asked if this applies to the entire Mondrian brand and was told only this only applies to Mondrian Singapore. Huh?

In any case, I asked for a printed check out folio and will certainly follow up to get my points in if they don’t automatically post.

Service – Service was sadly such a mixed bag for me which was completely unexpected for the Mondrian brand. I am not sure if I am too critical for a 6-weeks old property but my stay was definitely not a smooth one and definitely bumpier than I expected.

In Summary,

I left the property feeling disappointed as I really wanted to like my first Mondrian experience. SIGH.

And if the property is really not a participating property in the Accor programme and does not allow for accrual of points, they really need to make this very clear in their website!

[Afternote]

The hotel has since clarified via email that the property DOES participate in the ALL (Accor Live Limitless) programme which means Accor members are indeed eligible for points accrual and redemption and status benefits etc when staying at the property. The staff in the emailed admitted that there was confusion over the difference between ALL and Accor Plus hence the issues. While my points have since been deposited into my account and the matter considered resolved, I can’t help but think that such confusion is not really acceptable in the first place (what have they been telling guests for the past 6 weeks?!).