Having had to stay at many a hotel in Singapore over the last fifteen years I have become used to a feeling of deja vu as I enter each new lobby to check in. It is almost as if I could inform any old passerby where they can find the fridge, television and in-room dining menu without myself having yet reached the new room.
The large hotels that I am talking about are the crux of the tourist and business industry to Singapore. They are the mid-priced hotels that cater to tour groups, lost individuals like myself and to the all important business men that throw money around and these hotels have sprung up everywhere on the Island over the last couple of decades. From Orchard Road to Boat Quay: The East Coast to China Town, large and eye-catching structures covered in glass or greenery open doors to prospective customers of a shapes and sizes the world over.
With room rates from 120 SGD to 170 SGD (Internet Saver) the standard range of items are on offer and advertised like a gift or novelty that only they provide. For this price I expect my own controlled air conditioning unit, my own toilet and shower and I also expect a phone in the room - with IDD no less! But past all the glitter, the ringing bells and fanfare each hotel boasts the same items, the same attitudes and the same repertoire.
Except that is for the latest hotel that I had the pleasure of staying in recently!
Night Time at the Intercontinental Hotel
Photo Copyright © Ieuan Dolby, 2006
THE INTERCONTINENTAL - SINGAPORE
I promise all who read this article that the hotel has not bribed me in any way or form to write this article; they are also not holding a loaded gun to my head whilst I quickly write these words. It is the truth that when my taxi pulled up into the courtyard (yes, a courtyard) I knew that this might be a new experience for me. And I was correct: this hotel that I paid over-the-odds price for of 175+++ per night had its own style and touch and was well worth the slightly larger price paid for.
Colonial is the world I would use here. From outside the hotel is not that easy to see, it does not impose over all else around but fits very cleverly into the Bugis and Parco Shopping Mall so as to be almost invisible. Tall but unobtrusive: classy yet unimposing. Checking-in was easy and simplistic, the luggage whisked away to re-appear in the room without the hassle of all being led to the room by an underpaid and talkative 'bellboy' looking for tips, and in-general I was in the room before I could say 'boo'.
The Room at the Hotel
Photo Copyright © Ieuan Dolby, 2006
The Room
A room is a room is a room. The nicest room I ever stayed in was at the Michelangelo hotel in Rome. This cost me nearly 400 US Dollars for one night and with that I got a remote control that opened and shut curtains plus buttons that controlled endless other weird and wonderful things. The room service 'maiden' at the Michelangelo became extremely irate the third time that I summonsed her to my bidding, when I once again pressed the wrong button. But that was another life-time and one were money paid for all the extra frills and services.
Since that time I have become used to a standard room equipped with the standard bed, table, lights, bathroom, television, kettle and bar fridge, the hairdryer and an in-room safe. Somehow the Intercontinental has managed to get some flare and dash to the standard offerings through excellent decor and old style furniture - without old sheets and covers - and through slightly larger rooms and an excellent bathroom. It was obvious from my first entry to the room that thought had been placed in its design and it was actually a pleasure, the first time in years, to sit down and enjoy the atmosphere of the room.
An excellent view came with the room: a view that looked down over the top of the Parco Shopping Mall and across the city and beyond. Not a "Sea View" were one has to stretch their head around corners and into weird and wonderful positions to catch a glimpse of blue water, or the "city view" where large buildings under construction obstruct any further sights of the city - this was a genuine view and one worth looking spending time over.
The Cleaning Lady
The other pleasure was the cleaning lady who gave a slight personal touch (not that sort), not only by placing some extra large red cushions on the bed and a strange cloth across the end but by being friendly and smiling in her work. I have over the years become used to a certain grumpiness amongst cleaning staff - probably due to the fact that I like to wash my socks in the bath and to eat bananas in bed - I have come to accept irate sniffling as the norm. I have also been used to a battle as I struggle to have my room cleaned before the usual 3.30 pm when I like to have a nice afternoon rest.
My lady of the day is from Mainland China, I have no name but full marks go to her enthusiasm and dedication to the job in-hand. Her impeccable service (not that sort)- including the neatly return of my still-drying socks to the drying line in the bathroom from the chair arms where they resided and the provision of a little basket for the bananas that I had left hanging around - went beyond the normal and all came with a smile. She did not infuriatingly ring the bell at nine am to wake me up and she did not annoyingly buzz the bell at 3.30 pm in a fit of impatience to clean the room. In fact she asked me smilingly, in the morning when she saw me leaving, when I would like her to clean the room. Wow, that was a shock indeed.
Swimming Pool at the Intercontinental Hotel
Photo Copyright © Ieuan Dolby, 2006
The Swimming Pool
Two types of pool tend to come with hotels. The ones that are very large and neglected or the ones that are large and over crowded with armed gangs of tourists. Not this hotel - a nice sized pool in a pleasant atmosphere with a suitable number of chairs occupied and a few empty for others to use. What else can I say about the pool? Except that it was excellent!
The Food
An excellent breakfast buffet, I can't complain at all, except for the bacon that was a bit on the chewy side - but then that is expected at 9.59 am, the time when I deigned to present myself. The buffet feature that I hate most was absent on the three mornings that I attended, the mad and excitable rush of the hordes as they see "free" food and I could have quite happily spent a couple of hours in-situ reading a mornings newspaper if I had got up early enough.
In fact the Olive tree restaurant that hosts the breakfast is in itself unique, boasting alcoves and decor that go well past the usual four legs and a piece of wood that go to make a table. Again the layout had been thought about with a sense of privacy easily found amongst the trees and colorfully laid tables and chairs that stretched in unorthodox lines around and through the pillars.
Other meals in the Japanese and Chinese restaurants showed excellence at all turns and I say no more on the subject.
In Summary - food excellent, service excellent, security excellent and general ambiance and sense of welcome excellent. Well done to the Hotel Intercontinental in Singapore.
A great stay indeed and one that surprised me greatly. I am not sure how I came to book this hotel, it was certainly fate and not of my doing. I had been scouring the Internet looking for inspiration and had basically run out of ideas. Every hotel that I drew out of the hat came forth with the same patter and the same old list of attributes, I felt like something different yet I could not find it. The last I can remember is of choosing a previous hotel that I stayed at and I was in the process of punching in my Credit Card details when suddenly I was at the website of the Intercontinental.
A great big "thank you" to the staff and managers who make the hotel what it is today!
Shame they don't have a remote control for opening and shutting the curtains though!
