Onwards to more new(ish) hotel experience!
I think this hotel is more known for housing the crazy expensive Cedric Grolet than the rooms but nonetheless how can I miss out trying yet another new property?
Address – 30 Bideford Road Singapore 229922. Website.
Contact – Tel: +65 62333888 Email: metsin@comohotels.com
Location – The hotel occupies a prime spot in the Orchard belt right opposite Paragon Shopping Centre, though its not too visible from the main roads. This location means unparallel access to any shopping or dining options for your entire stay even if you stay for a week. Good for mind, bad for wallet.
Price – Booked via Trip.com‘s promo rate of $267nett after a $20 discount inclusive of:
- breakfast for 2pax
- free mini bar
- early check in at 12pm and late checkout at 3pm
I thought it was rather decent given that the property was pegged at the $300-$400 range when it opened so why not.
Check In – I arrived to the small-ish arrival lobby on the street level with no staff in sight. I was initially slightly confused as I didn’t realize the entire building is COMO Orchard which houses the hotel alongside other facilities – Club21 (fashion), COMO Metropolitan Singapore (hospitality), COMO Cuisine (dining), COMO Shambhala (wellness), Cedric Grolet Singapore, COTE Singapore.
Check in happens on level 6 and is an elongated stretch of walkway, with 2 large desks playing the role of check in / concierge. I tried to use the automated check in system but it asked for passport copy which I didn’t have so it was onwards to a rather stagnant wait while I waited for the lone staff to finish attending to a guest before I secured his attention. It was a 15min process as staff seemed somewhat new to the process – there was also no printed welcome letter so explaining of breakfast timings, facilities etc were all verbal. But they did give out a scented cold towel which was quite nice.
There are more cushy seats located at the end of the stretch equipped with what I think is a cute (and perhaps deliberately hidden) feature – a robot barista making complimentary coffee for in-house guests with orders placed by an screen self-service style. They even had Baileys coffee on offer – tasted absolutely fantastic!
Room – My Cairnhill King Room (28SqM), 902, was decently sized for 1pax but at first glance was alot more…. basic than what I was expecting. Perhaps it was COMO’s wellness branding which unconsciously fed me those expectations but I sure wasn’t expecting such a minimalist vibe. Design wise, it was alot of grey built in surfaces which unfortunately gave the room a little of a dull factory fweel.
The room starts with a wide walkway with most of the non-bedroom stuff to the right side: a small kitchenette area equipped with a sink, microwave, utensils etc followed by the mini bar and fridge area. I was surprised to see serviced apartment facilities – nothing wrong of course but just abit different from what I thought. I later found out that the brand took over a former service apartment spot hence the hardware.
Apart from the usual coffee machine etc, the mini bar contained Boxgreen snacks and a handful of drinks in the larger than usual fridge which were complimentary as part of my package.
The wardrobe laid at the end of this stretch, with 2 separate compartments for bathrobes, slippers, hairdryer (in a basket), and spaces for hanging clothes and a yoga mat (yay) / umbrella.
At the corner after the above sits a cosy dining table + chairs where a platter of welcome fruits laid, accompanied by a welcome note and more Boxgreen snack packs.
The main bedroom space is a simple layout of a swivel TV, a firm king bed and 1 bedside table where the blinds / lights controls are. I found this layout rather inconvenient as I had to weave my way around the bed to get to the controls instead of directly assessing it from the other side – couldn’t understand it as it doesn’t seem like space was a problem here. I did love the double panel windows though as it meant plenty of natural lighting though the only view from the room was the neighbouring atas condos.
The bathroom space was thankfully more modern than the rest of the room, equipped with open concept toilet, a single sink but plenty of countertop space, and a huge shower space (why no bathtub though since COMO is somewhat a wellness brand). Toiletries here are COMO Shambhala ones which were nice, while the toothbrush set here comes with some eco-friendly toothpaste which some may not get used to.
Breakfast – served at COMO Cuisine from 6:30am – 10:00am, the space is alot more casual than what I had in mind and boy was it busy at 9am on a weekend. It is a industrial casual cafe-ish set up offering plenty seats for either families, couples, or solo-ers. Vibe wise, it was terrible that morning due to the overwhelming presence of tantrum-throwing babies and kids – but of course that’s hardly the venue’s fault.
On the food, there was a very limited buffet of cold stuff – fruits, juices, yoghurt bowls, granola. Sadly, both quantity and quality failed to impress - in particular, the overly sweet granola and yoghurt sure didn’t fit the wellness theme. The restaurant manager was however receptive to feedback and we even had a nice chat about the property and its brand.
Meanwhile, breads are served to you while you pick a main from a small selection. My Egg Royale was uninspiringly bland and seemingly sloppily assembled – Boo. Coffee was great though.
Facilities – I hopped by the rooftop pool on level 19 and it was super empty as it was absolutely blazing that day. I would however imagine this to be a nice spot when its cooler in the evenings.
I also floated by the 3-days old COMO Shambhala on level 4 and enjoyed an impromptu tour of the brand new facilities including the fitness centre. It is useful to note that only the fitness centre is complimentary for in-house guests – there is no wet facilities on offer as the facility priorities paying members. Though I understand the business decision part of things, it seemed weird that a wellness branded hotel didn’t offer anything more.
Anyways, the fitness centre was bigger for a hotel standard and everything still had that new rubber smell, including the very fancy Red Light Therapy Room where a lone spin bicycle sits amongst light panes which can be switched on to emit heat and red infrared lights – supposedly helps to warm up muscles before a workout.
The rest of the facilities were abit fancier – think infrared sauna, ice baths, oxygen chambers etc. Would have been nice if they offered guests the chance to try at least something?
Perks – there is a published list of perks for in-house guests eg dining, shopping etc – here – but I never go to trying them out.
Service – service was pleasant enough – staff can seem hurried at times and unsure but they were still politely friendly and try their best. I asked for a later check out at 4pm in the afternoon of my check out day and it was granted with no issues too.
Check Out – Seamlessly completed at 4pm.
In summary,
I would say this was a decent experience for the price I paid but I definitely will not pay full price. The wellness theme I was expecting from a COMO brand was sorely absent – I mean I would not have known I was staying in a COMO property if not for the namesake. I felt it was a missed marketing opportunity for more people to know about the brand, especially when the brand’s foray into city hotels is still relatively new.
There was also no references to its loyalty programme, COMO Club - throughout the stay which I felt was another odd thing. Perhaps something the marketing department would like to review?
Since the loyalty programme on it own is rather lacklustre, I think there is no harm in checking out OTA’s deals for this property?