Where to begin? Well, let’s start at the entrance. It is not accessible and there’s no ramp to bring up your luggage to the lobby. Even though it is only 3 steps, everyone with luggage has to lift it up and down these steps. As someone with a kid and a stroller, we had to lift it up and down every day.
Our room was spacious and had a kitchenette, which helps with a young one. However, the room was filthy and not clean at all. The washroom smelled like sewer and there was no bathroom venting. There’s no racks/shelving in the shower to hold your own stuff so it all has to go on the floor. We noticed that there were no windows in our room. The heating and cooling system was dated, noisy and never turned on when we came back despite the sign above the controls saying it would. We would have to manually turn it back on when we returned from an outing.
Electrical circuits would randomly click loudly throughout the night, and the wifi access point in our room had bright lights at the bottom that kept flashing at night. The walls are thin so you can hear your neighbours. The TV doesn’t have any working channels, just Google TV apps of which several guests never logged out of their personal accounts.
They do have cribs available which was a surprise because the booking sites said they didn’t. However, the crib that we were given is not safe. One side has a huge gap where a child can easily slip through, and the lower bed support kept coming off. Additionally, one of the wheels was not secure and kept coming loose when we moved it around. Our child never slept in it and slept on our bed instead. The bed itself was quite hard and the pillows had zero support and were flat.
Customer service can use some work as well. The staff were very nice and friendly but a simple question of asking about the laundry ended up being a session of 20 questions. To summarize, it’s in the basement, costs $8 for washing and another $8 for drying. It takes $1 coins only, but there is a change machine beside it to change your bills. It includes detergent too. Despite there being two washers and dryers, only one set works and our clothes came out clean. Oh and access to the basement is not by elevators as they only go down to the lobby 1st floor. The basement is accessed via a passage outside to the left of the lobby and around the side to some doors, down the steps and on the right. It looks like a car park if you ask me, but that’s where the self serve laundry is. All of this could have been said in one message from the receptionist instead of it being asked one question at a time. I know you work there and know where the laundry is and how it works but guests don’t and it should just be a standard script that can be spit out when someone asks about laundry.
The area is very convenient with an MRT stop just meters away. There are lots of food in the area and with City Square Mall just minutes away, you’re never short on places to eat for a good price.
This hotel was much cheaper than other options in the area and it was our first time staying in this part of Singapore, so we gave it a shot. But you do only get what you pay for.