Hotel and Inn Review: Amara Singapore Hotel (Singapore)

Date of Stay: November 11-14, 2011

RATING (Scale of 1 to 10)

Location: *******

Rooms: *******

Condition and Cleanliness: *******

Staff Performance: ********

Room Comfort: *******

Food and Beverage: *******

Other Amenities: *******

Value for Money: ******

Amara Singapore Hotel

The 388-room Amara Singapore Hotel, conveniently located in Singapore’s thriving Central Business District, next to the Tanjong Pagar MRT Station, has a minimalist themed lobby.

Minimalist-Themed Hotel Lobby

Its airconditioned de luxe twin room, designed by the renowned design firm Hirsch Bedner Associates, has a spacious private bath with bathtub and separate shower; cable flat screen TV, phone, minibar, fridge, in-room safe, broadband internet access and coffee/tea making facility.

De Luxe Room

The hotel also has a coffee shop (Cafe Oriental), where we had our daily breakfast, and bar (Alphabet Bar), both at Level 1, and a collection of chic restaurants: Santaro Fine Dining (Japanese), the iconic Silk Road (Chinese), Hyangtogol Korean Restaurant (Level 2), Thanying Restaurant (Thai) and Element (International). It also has a contemporary Balinese-style, half Olympic-sized swimming pool; business center; fitness center; a spa; tennis court (Level 6); a 850-pax Grand Ballroom and 4 function rooms.

Cafe Oriental

Amara Singapore Hotel: 165 Tanjong Pagar Rd., Singapore 088539. Tel: +65 6879 2555. Fax: +65 6224 3910. Email: singapore@amarahotels.com. Website: www.singapore.amarahotels.com.

Hotel and Inn Review: Meritus Mandarin Singapore

Date of Stay: April 25 - 28, 2009

RATING (Scale of 1 to 10)

Location: ********

Rooms: ********

Condition and Cleanliness: ********

Staff Performance: *******

Room Comfort: ********

Food and Beverage: ********

Other Amenities: ********

Value for Money: ******

We checked in at the Meritus Mandarin Singapore (now the Mandarin Orchard Singapore), our home for our 3-night stay in Singapore, around 3 PM. Here, we were assisted in our room assignments by Ms. Agnes Estrada, a former EGI employee and now working in Meritus.  Grace and Cheska stayed at Room 1241, Jandy and I at the adjoining Room 1240 and Dad and Mom at Room 1232.

Meritus Mandarin Singapore

Established in 1971, the 36-storey Meritus Mandarin Singapore is prominently located in the heart of the world-renowned shopping belt of Orchard Road and is a mere 5mins. walk from both the Orchard and Somerset train stations.  In the 2004 Gold List of Conde Nast Traveler, it was voted as one of the World’s Best Places to Stay and, in 2003, into the list of The World’s Top 75 Hotels of Institutional Investor.

Room 1232

The hotel has 1,051 guest rooms (de luxe, premier), 32 suites (junior, executive, regency), 2 exclusive Club lounges and 2 presidential suites. It also has a swimming pool, business center and meeting rooms.  Its food and beverage outlets  include the award-winning cuisines from Chatterbox, home of the Mandarin Chicken Rice; the Mandarin Court Chinese Restaurant; Triple Three, an international buffet restaurant; Coffee & Crust, a coffee shop; and Bar on 5, a chill-out bar.

Breakfast at Coffee Shop

The hotel also offers safety deposit boxes, airport transfers, wi-fi in public places, currency exchange, babysitting, laundry, dry cleaning and 24-hr. room service.

Meritus Mandarin Singapore: 333 Orchard Road, Singapore 238867.  Tel: (65) 6737 4411. Fax: (65) 6732 2361. E-mail: orchard@meritushotels.com. Website: www.meritushotels.com.

Hotel Review: Cockpit Hotel (Singapore)

Date of Stay: April 5 - 8, 1992

RATING (Scale of 1 to 10)

Location: ********

Rooms: *******

Condition and Cleanliness: *******

Staff Performance: *******

Room Comfort: ********

Food and Beverage: *******

Other Amenities: *******

Value for Money: ******

The 12-storey, 3-star Cockpit Hotel, our home during our 3 night stay in Singapore, stands on the grounds of a colonial mansion that used to function as a hotel called Hotel De L'Europe (it used to be owned by a Dutchman).

Cockpit Hotel

Designed by Architect Yang Tai Tye, it was built in 1972 by Indonesian businessman Hoo Liong Thing as an extension to the old one, which had been around since 1947. The Cockpit name became official in 1960. The old mansion was pulled down a decade later.

Our Penthouse Suite

This classic-looking hotel, overlooking the Le Meridien (now Concorde) shopping center, has 230 guest rooms, a nightclub, offices and restaurants.  Luxton Hall was demolished in 1982 to make way for a new extension at the rear, adding another 168 guestrooms, swimming pool, restaurant, recreational facilities, function rooms and car parking.

Front Office

It has a white exterior, distinctive fan-shaped windows, arches and protruding wrought-iron balconies.In 1980, Hongkong jeweller Kevin Hsu bought the hotel for $45 million.

The Hotel Lobby

In 1983, he, in turn, sold it to hotelier Teo Lay Swee for $62 million. When the Raffles Hotel was closed for renovations in 1989, about 60 long-serving staff moved over to the Cockpit, as did the recipe for the Singapore Sling.  The hotel is close to many attraction and landmarks such as Church of St Peter & St Paul, Armenian Church and Cathedral of the Good Shepherd..

In 1997, the  Cockpit Hotel was bought by a Wing Tai-led group and was demolished sometime in 2000 to make way for a residential and commercial project. The Hotel Grand Central is still around, the only 3-star hotel remaining along Orchard Rd.

Cockpit Hotel: 115 Penang Road cor. Oxley Rise, 238460 Singapore.