Sunday, December 27, 2020

Toddler Staycay: The Fullerton Bay Hotel, Marina Bay View!

πŸ‘ Gorgeous decor with an amazing view, above average breakfast.
πŸ‘Ž Room was only ready at 6pm, no personalization or little touches.

Our Year of the Covid 🦠 Staycay tour continues* at the gorgeous Fullerton Bay Hotel! Being perched directly on the banks of Marina Bay (opposite Marina Bay Sands), the hotel's Bay View rooms are essentially directly over the waters of the bay, so we're pretty excited about the stay!

* Hotels in the Staycay tour:
Raffles Hotel | Capella Singapore | Marriott Tang Plaza | The St.Regis Singapore | Grand Hyatt | The Fullerton Bay Hotel | Parkroyal Collection, Marina Bay | Marina Bay Sands.


First impressions were, unfortunately, quite sour as our room wasn't available even though we turned up at the 3pm check in time. We were then basically asked to leave the hotel and go entertain ourselves for the '45 minutes' it would take to get the room ready. We went to the One Fullerton Starbucks for coffee and babycino to wait for a phone call (that never came). With a cranky toddler in tow, we headed back to the hotel lobby to eventually get our keys at 6pm - three hours after check-in time / our arrival at the hotel. No service recovery was offered - we had to press the receptionist into agreeing to comp an in-room dining dinner.

The Fullerton Bay Hotel

Once we got our keys and got settled into the room our moods did begin to lift a little, though! At 495–570sqft, the Bay View Rooms are big enough to feel comfortably spacious, with enough free space for the little one to freely run around even with a large desk, and sofa chairs / coffee table in the way.

The Fullerton Bay Hotel Bay View Room

While I'm not a fan of the carpet design or the slightly 'old world' feel of the sofa seats, the rest of the room feels luxurious and classy. The bed / mattress are - as expected of any hotel nowadays - extremely comfortable, although the non-adjustable air conditioning vent blows directly onto the center of the mattress.

The Fullerton Bay Hotel Bay View Room

A door on the left opens up to a pretty sizeable, mostly rain-sheltered balcony, which is a great place to laze away the evenings. If you have a toddler, you might have to keep an eye on him/her though: Although the balcony area is toddler safe, there is a very small gap between the floor and the glass railing which will allow little ones to drop/throw thin items onto the units below.

The Fullerton Bay Hotel Bay View Room

The television's big enough, and has the usual complement of local and cable television channels. We also liked the Harman Kardon bluetooth speaker, which allowed us to play - at a reasonable volume - our own music while relaxing on the balcony.

The Fullerton Bay Hotel Bay View Room

Day and night curtains, and all lights are electrically controlled at the bedside (panel can be folded into the side table once you get tired of your little one constantly turning everything on and off). Plus points for the room lighting being very bright when everything's on.

The Fullerton Bay Hotel Bay View Room

The minibar is very well stocked, but anything other than water, coffee, or tea is chargeable at normal (read: exorbitant) hotel rates. How normal? Well ... the medium-sized pack of wet wipes goes for SGD8. The countertop is more than big enough to prepare milk for the little one, and fridge cold enough to store any leftovers that he doesn't drink.

The Fullerton Bay Hotel Bay View Room The Fullerton Bay Hotel Bay View Room

Over at the desk, there are VGA and line in, and HDMI ports in addition to two universal power sockets, so you can play your own content from your laptop (or tablet) if you're not a fan of local / cable channels. Housekeeping should be able to loan you a cable or two if you don't have your own.

The Fullerton Bay Hotel Bay View Room

A special shoutout to the bathrobe in the Fullerton Bay Hotel, which is insanely comfortable: Probably the fluffiest / plushest ones we've ever tried on. It's so comfortable that if we didn't live in a 30-degree-all-year-round climate we'd have totally bought a pair for our own home use.

No bathrobes (or slippers) for the little one ... though it's not like he would appreciate it.

The Fullerton Bay Hotel Bay View Room

Moving on to the bathroom: The bathtub (and entire bathroom, really) has a large window (with electric blinds, if you aren't staying with people who you're comfortable naked with) so you can still take in that the Marina Bay (Sands) view while taking a luxurious bath-salted soak.

The Fullerton Bay Hotel Bay View Room The Fullerton Bay Hotel Bay View Room

If you're not so interested in the scenery, the bathtub wall has a smaller television built in so you can watch TV instead.

The Fullerton Bay Hotel Bay View Room

Water temperature and pressure are really good, and bathroom amenities are pretty much complete (mostly Balmain-branded).

The Fullerton Bay Hotel Bay View Room The Fullerton Bay Hotel Bay View Room

Of course, one main selling point of the Fullerton Bay Hotel is the view, which really doesn't disappoint whether in the day or at night.

The Fullerton Bay Hotel Bay View Room Marina Bay

Once you're tired of lazing around on the balcony enjoying the view, you can head up to the roof* to get some exercise in the fitness center / gym (which truth be told, doesn't seem particularly sizeable even given the hotel's relatively boutique ~100 room size).

*Note: As you might expect, bookings do need to be made beforehand thanks to covid.

The Fullerton Bay Hotel Gym

The pool is much better sized, and there are (relatively) large wading areas at the sides for toddlers to wade around and play with toys or whatever with little risk of drowning. If you're not planning to actually swim, though, there are a few mini jacuzzi pools off to the side (which can probably comfortably hold a 4-6 person family).

The Fullerton Bay Hotel Pool The Fullerton Bay Hotel Pool

Once you're done with gym or swim, it might probably be time for food! Room service (or I guess it's called 'in room dining' nowadays) is perhaps a little on the pricey side, but the food options are good, and actual food quality is great! We had an order of lobster roll, braised beef cheeks, and a side of mashed potato, and all came hot and delicious.

The Fullerton Bay Hotel Room Service

Naturally, baby / high chairs are available for loan (from room service / housekeeping).

The Fullerton Bay Hotel Room Service

Breakfast in the mornings is at La Brasserie, the hotel's French restaurant. The restaurant's decor is gorgeous, and the leather-topped tables are a particular luxury that we've not encountered before. Breakfast is ala-carte buffet style, with juices, coffee/tea, fruits, and bread basket accompanying unlimited orders of western and asian main courses.

The Fullerton Bay Hotel Breakfast The Fullerton Bay Hotel Breakfast

Of the dishes we tried, the eggs were pretty good (though the benedict could use a tad bit more hollandaise). The Laksa was also pretty good, as was the dimsum and congee (except that the cruller / you tiao / 油村 was a little tough). Overall one of the better hotel breakfasts that we've had in recent memory, inferior only to the breakfast at the Raffles Hotel.

The Fullerton Bay Hotel Breakfast

Overall, giving the Fullerton Bay Hotel a final score is a little tricky. We paid SGD428++ a night thanks to a Citi Prestige promo, but non-promo rates are usually 50% higher. At the price we paid, other than the 6pm room check in (which was satisfactorily compensated with the in-room dinner), we did have a very enjoyable stay and wouldn't hesitate to come back again. at non-promo rates, though, we would perhaps expect that little extra mile: For example, a simple call earlier in the day to inform us of a room delay, or a personalized welcome amenity (no matter how small).


Monday, December 21, 2020

Toddler Staycay: Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay (Lifestyle King Room)

πŸ‘ Gorgeous lobby, well-designed rooms, great Food & Beverage options.
πŸ‘Ž Renovation (drilling, hammering) noise in the daytime, no wading pool for toddlers.

Note: At time of stay, the hotel has only just partially re-opened. Several public areas and many guest rooms are still under renovation, so construction-related issues will undoubtedly clear up with time.

We continue our year of the covid 🦠 Staycay* tour at the newly-reopened Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay hotel! We've never had a chance to visit the hotel prior to its rebranding (previously the Marina Mandarin), so we won't be able to give any before-and-after comparisons, but we imagine that the old lobby didn't look anywhere as gorgeous as the new one.

* Hotels in the Staycay tour:
Raffles Hotel | Capella Singapore | Marriott Tang Plaza | The St.Regis Singapore | Grand Hyatt | The Fullerton Bay Hotel | Parkroyal Collection, Marina Bay | Marina Bay Sands.


Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay

The hotel markets itself as the first "Garden-in-a-hotel." I'm not totally convinced, really, but in any case the building's triangular design allows a cavernous lobby area in the middle, which is used to pretty great effect by the current interior designers. Wanting to skip the ~3pm crowd, we turned up at check in at ~12pm and there was hardly anyone in the queue. Thanks to Discovery Black membership we were able to get our room immediately, with a one-category upgrade* from Urban King to Lifestyle King.

* Discovery Black members normally get two-category upgrades, but the hotel currently only has these two room types ready.

Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay

In any case, we make our way up to the 12th floor to check out the room, and are pleasantly surprised to find a seat at the entrance to make putting on shoes easier. I am not sure why all hotels don't do this, it's annoying as heck to have to sit on the floor to do up your laces. p.s. please ignore the messy socks and sneakers on the right.

Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay

The Lifestlye King room itself is ... pretty nice? The floor is tiled, not carpeted, which I personally don't like so much, but otherwise I find the decor modern and elegant. As far as I can tell the only difference between the Urban & Lifestyle rooms is that the latter has a sofa / daybed at the end (which is extremely useful if you have a toddler who only naps in dim lighting as you can draw the curtain and get some sun on the daybed while he/she naps in the room).

Speaking of napping, though ... because many of the hotel's rooms are still undergoing refurbishment, there are drilling & hammering noises throughout the day. We're fortunate that our little one is a fairly heavy sleeper, but I can imagine the more easily startled kids having trouble staying asleep for their entire usual nap time.

Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay Lifestyle King Room

In the far corner of the room we find a mini tent for the little one (with adorable dinosaur, toy car, and Le Petit Prince child amenities), and (presumably) a Discovery Black welcome amenity of cakes & macarons.

Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay Lifestyle King Room

Opposite the bed there's a long desk/counter with Nespresso Machine & universal power socket. While the TV did have the usual complement of cable / pay TV channels, we couldn't activate any 'personal' content (e.g. Netflix, Youtube, or streaming from phone via chromecast/etc).

Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay Lifestyle King Room

As is par for the course these days, all lights are controllable from the bedside table. There aren't any USB ports (which I don't care for anyway as most of my devices are now USB-C).

Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay Lifestyle King Room

The cupboards house the kettle, coffee & tea, somewhat utilitarian bathrobes & slippers, ironing board & iron, fridge, and in-room safe.

Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay Lifestyle King Room Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay Lifestyle King Room

Moving on to the bathroom, we see that the Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay has decided to 'go green' by providing a filtered tap water faucet instead of bottled drinking water. As we drink filtered tap water at home we're perfectly fine with this, but if you're used to other types of water you might need bit of time to get used to the taste.

We also noted that the underside of the sink countertop was messy & a little unkempt, which may or may not be an issue for you (you probably won't even notice).

Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay Lifestyle King Room

A reminder that the hotel first opened almost 35 years ago is the separate bidet, which I totally don't dig at all. Of course I understand that this is down to personal preference (or more perhaps to which part of the world you grew up in), but I'd much rather have a hand-spray next to the toilet.

Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay Lifestyle King Room

As we didn't feel like filling up the entire (adult) bathtub, we requested for a baby tub to bathe the little one in. I think it took less than 5 minutes for the tub to arrive - plus points for efficient housekeeping!

Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay Lifestyle King Room

The shower was perhaps a little bit of a minus though. We're not sure if it's because of the hotel's 'go green' goals, or if it's because of its' age, but the shower water pressure was only adequate.

Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay Lifestyle King Room

When we stayed, the Marina Bay view rooms weren't ready yet, so we got a city-facing one (which in our opinions is still quite pretty).

Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay Lifestyle King Room Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay Lifestyle King Room

As the club / executive lounge is still under renovation, Discovery Black members are given snacks & drinks from 6-8pm every day at the Atrium Lounge. We didn't pay a visit as it conflicted with some dinner plans, but were able to get a copy of the drinks menu thanks to a friendly Milelion Telegram member:

Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay GHA Black Cocktails

In this covid age, bookings are of course required for Gym & Swimming Pool access. Bookings can be done via the hotel's chatbot, which is great.

Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay Gym and Swimming Pool

The gym is large and seems fairly well equipped. Treadmills & cycling (spin?) machines face Marina Bay / Marina Bay Sands. The pool is great if you want to swim laps, but not so great if you want to entertain a toddler as there is no shallow pool for him/her to wade in.

Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay Gym and Swimming Pool Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay Gym and Swimming Pool

Breakfast is in the hotel's general-cuisine restaurant, Peppermint, and is semi self-service, semi table-service. For 'small' items like fruits, juices, cereal, salad, and cold cuts, you have to go up to the buffet line and request it from a waiter/waitress, but main courses are ordered at and delivered to your table.

Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay Peppermint Breakfast

The variety of food items on offer is perhaps a little on the low side, but food's decent (not outstanding). Except maybe for the terribly dry turkey bacon that comes with the eggs. Skip that.

Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay Peppermint Breakfast

Our room rate includes 50% discount on all F&B in the hotel, so we also had a festive lunch ala-carte buffet at Peppermint. The cost ended up around $40 nett/person which was amazing value, especially considering that the food was also really good. Yes, there were a few hiccups in the (chatbot-driven) ordering, with some orders going missing, but the wait staff were more than ready to rectify.

Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay Peppermint Festive Lunch

We also visited the Chinese restaurant Peach Blossom for a light dim sum lunch. Peach Blossom does seem to be positioned a little more upmarket than Peppermint - the decor is pretty & elaborate, food's full of atas ingredients (like iberico pork ribs and abalone woo kok). Service is good, food's good, 50% off makes it great value. Without any discount the prices are a tad steep, perhaps, but I think the food's still good enough to plan a return visit for a special occasion.

Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay Peach Blossom Dim Sum Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay Peach Blossom Dim Sum Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay Peach Blossom Dim Sum

In short, we found our stay at the Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay to be really enjoyable. Yes, there's some renovation noise, and yes, the pool isn't particularly toddler friendly if you don't have floats for him/her. Other than that rooms are nice and fairly clean, the hotel restaurants are good, and if you want some variety, Marina Square is just next door. I'd totally come back again if the price is right.