Raffles Hotel Singapore Courtyard Suite Staycation | Luxury and OLDEST 5-Star Iconic Heritage Hotel

 ABBEY:

WILL: Finally! The budget fits for us to stay to one of the most luxurious, oldest and one of the icons of Singapore…The Raffles Hotel! Is it really expensive to stay there? Hmmm. Yes! Haha! As Ms Sarah informed us, only Filipino businessmen or Presidents can afford the stay. Seldom a commoner like us. What can I say? I love to shoot for the stars. Haha! 

So what happened why we managed and mustered our finances to have another luxurious staycation this year? Well, first of all the 40x40 goal was reached 2 years earlier than we planned, Abbey passed the ITIL Certification and I graduated the DOST’s Project SPARTA Analyst Pathway. We have a bunch to celebrate right? 

Enough of us. Let’s talk about our Raffles Singapore Staycation Review. 

ROOM 

The first room was 133. The room is divided in three parts. Fist the parlour. 

Parlour

Sitting Room is where you can just lounge after you reached your room. Here where you can find your “Hermès”-like luggage and when you open it you’ll realize that it is a box for your in-room coffee(Nespresso), tea(Raffles Tea by The 1872 Clipper Tea Co.), mini bar (chargeable) and some of the glasswears. That is well-organized food and drink for the Raffles Hotel Residents. The parlour has a dining table and equipped with TV. Stationaries are inside of a mini attaché case located below the iPad controller. 

The Bedroom 

This iconic four-posted bed is one of the main attraction on your stay with Raffles Singapore. This kind of bed is a centerpiece in English castles. Now you feel more like a royalty right? Haha! The bed is not that soft nor not that hard. You can request for a pillow based on your specification. A huge TV and two (2) usual size cabinets for your clothings are in front of your bed. You’ll be happy to see that their slippers are not paper thin. The Peranakan design compliments well with the bathroom tiles. The blower is not located in the bathroom! It is cutely hidden in a dressing table. 

Bathroom 

A soaking bathtub will greet you in your Perenalan tiled bathroom. It has a marble top his and hers sink and wooden drawers. They do not have bath salts in the room but you can request for it. The toiletries are superb! It is not flowery, it is not musky, the aroma relaxes your muscles. Haha! 

RESTAURANTS 

The Suite Vacay promotion includes welcome drinks, breakfast and $100 dining voucher. 

The Courtyard 

You can either redeem your welcome drink which is Singapore Sling at The Grand Lobby or at The Courtyard, we chose the latter. This is for us to soak in with nature and courtyard’s architecture. We are not wrong with our choice! We met Tom and we had a little chat and walllllaaaahhhh! He treated us with a Tommy’s Margarita. 

Tiffin Room 

Here we had our breakfast. What reminds us the most? The hospitality of Ms Sarah. She really made a point that we were taken care of. She have done extra mile for giving us a bento meal in Tiffin Room. She recommends us to have Crispy Pancetta, definitely lovelier than a bacon. 

yì by Jereme Leung 

We had dinner here in lieu of the $100 voucher. We had Wok-fried Sichuan Style Spicy Squid, Fried Rice with Char Siew, Pork Belly and Pickled Long Beans, and Sichuan Dan Dan Noodles with Minced Iberico Pork. Flavours are exploding! Abbey and I agree that it is worthy to have another visit in this restaurant. 

OSTERIA BBR by Alain Ducasse 

Abbey had a Wake-up Call and I had Alba Rossa. This is for us to maximize the $100 voucher. You will surely love the pica-pica here specially if you like olives. 

FACILITIES 

Gym and pool is located at the third floor of the main building. The gym is not fully-equiped but you surely have the basic needs for a good workout. Be careful on their pool, the depth is a constant slope. Oh they had told us that they are not using chlorine for cleaning it. Good job Raffles! 

RAFFLES BOUTIQUE

Another voucher of $50 is for you to spend in their boutique store. you can find coffee, tea, postcards, wines and of course souvenir items. Abbey bought two packs of coffee. 

We had some mishap but it is was well taken care of, maybe you’ll ask why we had to change to another room. Anyways, this is indeed a very memorable experience specially for me. If you want to stay in historical buildings this is surely for you. 

Do watch out for their promotions. Now they have a package where the famous afternoon tea is included. 

Stay safe all! Stay jolly!

*** 

Raffles Singapore 

(W) https://www.raffles.com/singapore/ 

(A) 1 Beach Road 189673 Singapore, Singapore 

(T) +65 6337 1886

The Ritz-Carlton Millenia Singapore 48-Hour Staycation with Club Lounge Access - 2021

ABBEY:

 

Our The Ritz-Carlton Millenia Singapore 48 Hour Staycation at Club Deluxe Marina Room $550++/NIGHT

The Ritz-Carlton Millenia Singapore 48-Hour Staycation with Club Lounge Access 2021
BUTLER DRAWN BATH

 

The Ritz-Carlton Millenia Singapore 48-Hour Staycation with Club Lounge Access
 FREE FLOW OF WINE AND CHAMPAGNE

WILL: The Ritz-Carlton chain of hotels are well known as a business hotel and one of the top notch here in Singapore. For your information this is the hotel where Apple got the idea for their Customer Care/Experience service.

If you have watched our vow, you will know that Abbey and I are not well off but we have many goals that we want to achieve and staying in The Ritz-Carlton is one of them. Our 10th wedding anniversary is the best time to cross those goals one-by-one. Ha! Ha!
Ahmm, we are not only the one celebrating an anniversary but also The Ritz-Carlton. They have a parade of promotions for their 25th anniversary and luckily got a very good deal on their room with a Club Lounge Access.

 
ROOM
The Ritz-Carlton is not your typical room. They are known for their octagonal window in their bathroom which they made it to the list of most sexiest and most instagrammable bathroom. But I want you to take a look on their walls. It is not a paint or wallpapers. It was covered with leather. Look closely how thick their mattresses are! That is the highest bed I have slept. I am climbing a bed. Haha!
They don’t have a care pack unlike other hotels so you may want to call their hotline or just go down to the concierge to get your masks or sanitizer needs.
Speaking of sexy bathtub. They gave us a complimentary butler drawn bath. Forget about bathhomb, butler drawn bath by The Ritz-Carlton is one of the must experience here. The aroma will fill up your entire room and the milky/creamy water will enveloped your whole body.

CLUB LOUNGE
Upon researching, The Ritz-Carlton is the only one who serves champagne from breakfast till evening. OMG unlimited pours of Exclusive champagne for The Ritz-Carlton.. the Champagne Barons de Rothschild Reserve Ritz.For the food, they have an array of currated menu from their chefs. The Club Lounge ambiance resembles to an airport lounge. It is quite and relaxing. So quite you can do a wfh in here. Haha.

The Ritz-Carlton’s Club Lounge will not be complete without Ms Sheila. Gosh! You will know that she is a manager because of her different outfit from the rest but she is so welcoming. It feels that you are in her home and you are one of her VIPs.

We were well served by her and her team. It seems that they know us well. They know our food and drink preferences in a small span of time! This is one of the most memorable staycation Abbey and I had. This set a new standard for the staycation in Singapore. Club Lounge of The Ritz-Carlton is best!

***

The Ritz-Carlton Millenia Singapore

(W) https://www.ritzcarlton.com/en/hotels/singapore

(A) 7 Raffles Avenue Singapore, 039799 Singapore

(T) 63378888

InterContinental Singapore: 5-Star Luxury Heritage Hotel - FREE Upgrade Deluxe Room King With Bathtub | Breakfast Included

ABBEY:

 

InterContinental Singapore Bugis - FREE Upgrade Deluxe Room King With Bathtub | Breakfast Included

InterContinental Singapore Bugis - FREE Upgrade Deluxe Room King With Bathtub | Breakfast Included

WILL: Our holiday booking was cancelled and moved to Hearts’ day, but Ash Harris of Holiday Inn Express gave us a news.. they still can’t accommodate us but helped us to move our reservation to their sister company, the InterContinental Singapore. Whew! That is an automatic upgrade of a HOTEL! 

InterContinental is adjacent to Bugis Plus Mall and it is quite convenient for people who love to shop. We were greeted gleefully by the concierge. The check-in process only took us around 15 minutes and informed us of room upgrade! From Heritage Room to Deluxe Room! Yeyyyy!!! We were reminded of SGD10k penalty if we breached the “hotel visitor regulation”. 

The Deluxe Room is clean. Well it should be. InterContinental is one of the prestigious hotel chains in the world. Hehe. Bathroom has separate bathtub that have this classic faucet design. They are serving TWG tea and French press coffee. Their bed is explicitly soft and relaxing. The carpet design is so cool, I mean cool in a sense that the color gives somewhat calmness. 

Of course there is mandatory check-in when entering their premises and facilities. Before heading to the gym, pool or even for your free breakfast, please book it. Gym is huge! There's space for all! Haha! Pool is not an infinity pool and many hotel guests prefer the shaded jacuzzi. Breakfast is a set menu but Ash and Elm waitress is so accommodating and advised us that we can mix their fresh fruit juices on our convenience. The beetroot juice is awesome! 

I am surprised when saw the flock of people at the lobby. I thought it might take us half-hour for checking out. But I am wrong. It didn’t even take us 5 minutes because of their express check-out program.

Even the hotel is next to a mall and busy shopping street, you will feel well tucked-up for a relaxation. Again, thank you Ash for the hotel upgrade. Thank you so much InterContinental for warm staffs, free room upgrade and of course how can we forget the free macarons and chocolates!

***

InterContinental Singapore: 5-Star Luxury Heritage Hotel 

(W) https://singapore.intercontinental.com

Capella Singapore - Sentosa Hotel & Resorts in Singapore | FREE Constellation Room

ABBEY: 

Capella Singapore - Sentosa Hotel & Resorts in Singapore | FREE Constellation Room

WILL: Good hotels are not always at Marina Bay Area surrounded by skyscrapers of Singapore some “greater” ones are located at luscious greeneries of the Sentosa island and one of those is the LUXURY 5-STAR Hotel and Resort, CAPELLA. 

How do I found out about Capella? When Horst Schulze (the founder of Ritz Carlton Hotels) talk about Capella’s service and said it is better than Ritz. Well, who will not be enticed on that no holds barred description? Immediately Capella is on our bucket list. To add up a reason why Capella is to check out the emblem of President Trump and North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un. That’s a history! 

Another reason? Price wise? They are offering almost the same rate BUT with ala-carte buffet breakfast, $100 dining voucher, free high tea, complimentary fruit basket, free to consume juices and cola on your fridge and a curated activities not only for couple but for the whole family. Ladies and gentlemen please let the Culturist Team know your preferences on activities you want them to book for you. It is like you have your own butler right? Oh! Don’t worry about how to go to the hotel, they also have a complimentary shuttle from Harbourfront station. 

We were greeted with a smile when we arrived the hotel. Done the Trace Together check-in and temperature checking, we signed some papers at the reception and after few minutes one of Culturist came with us to to acquaint us to our room. 

Our room? I booked for Premier Seaview King Bed Room for $828.00 BUT we were upgraded to Constellation Room. That FREE upgrade almost doubled the amount of our paid room reservation. Woootwoooot! We didn’t shy off to show our excitement and gratefulness to our Culturist. 

The Constellation Room is one of the sexiest/romantic room in Singapore and now I know why. Haha! Let’s describe the room. Capella only have 4 Constellation Rooms. They are at the top of the building, so you can consider it as their “penthouse” room. So sosyal and ATAS! Their blinds and curtains can be commanded by a click at their Touch Panel. Forget the Do Not Disturb and Make Up My Room paper signage can also be found in the control panel. The Sealy bed is not so soft nor too hard. It is indeed a comfort. Rivolta Carmignani Linens which can only be found at top notch hotels! What do you expect? Capella has it! The 4 pillows at the bed is firm enough to my preferences. 

Each room has it’s own bathtub and balcony provided with the room view you have chosen but Constellation Room comes with a your own private Jacuzzi Hot Tub! Imagine soaking at a relaxing hot tub overlooking the Palawan Beach! This is indeed feels like a royal.   

Capella really do take it personally haha! As I requested, they provided my husband a cake and balloons for his birthday. When I asked for the price, they gladly to informed me that it is on the house! What a delight! Abbey and I opted to have in-room dining instead of going to either Bob’s Bar or The Knolls. 

Abbey had a steak and I indulge on my paneer. It is a feast of flavour and the mushroom soup soothes as an appetiser.  

Food service and room service men do not roam around their eyes around the room. They are always looking down or directly to the man they are talking. That is a good point. A sign that staffs are not nosy. Haha. 

The pools. There are adults only, family pool and lap pool. In adults pool, they can totally enjoy the water with serenity of nature and chirping birds. While in the family pool you can play around using floaters. Of course in the lap pool, you can enjoy your swim without any interruptions. 

I am surprised to the sweet taste of their oatmeal prodidge, ordered thrice of their prawn dumpling and delighted on their not too strong ginger lemon tea. That’s all I liked at their a la carte buffet breakfast. 

Unwind at The Living Room with their books together with a plate of sweets and a cup of tea or coffee.  

Thank you so much Capella not only for the upgrade, complimentary cake and balloon but most importantly you make us feel special. 

Capella is truly a 5-Star Hotel. Staying at this hotel resort is a luxurious experience for me and my hubby. We will never forget this stay! Hope to see you again!

***

CAPELLA SINGAPORE

(W) https://www.capellahotels.com/en/capella-singapore

(A) 1 Knolls Sentosa Island, Singapore 098297

(T) 6377 8888