Grand Hyatt Nusa Dua, Bali

I was looking for that perfect get-away amidst this economic gloom and doom, as well as against the backdrop of the H1N1 Flu pandemic sweeping across Asia. 

 

So it came as little surprise that I ended up in a small island in the South of the South China Seas.  Actually, I’ve been told that Bali sits on a nexus between the South China Sea, Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean and Bali Sea on the Straits of Lombok.  Well, whatever, right?

 

Luckily, this blog isn’t about geographical interests because I think I didn’t get top grades during Geography classes in school.

 

Taking the morning flight from Singapore to Denpasar (Bali), I arrived in Bali around noon.  One thing you have to know is that there are special immigration counters for tourist from ASEAN.  There I was standing in line for 15 mins till it was my turn when I was told to go to the other 4 counters in a corner of the arrival hall.  Not a pleasant start to the holidays.  Upon clearing immigration and getting my luggage, I had to queue in line for another 15 mins to get a taxi ticket, standing behind an Aussie surfer girl who seem like way past her ‘best before’ date and appears to have been surfing since Elvis was a teen.  What is it with these people and smoking?  Why bother to take up a sport if you’re going kill yourself (and others) with lung cancer?

 

By the time I got the cab to send me to my hotel, it was around 1.30pm.  Nusa Dua is situated some 10-20 mins away from the airport and Kuta.  It is a self-contained resort area that should be safe and secure.  With it’s artifically manicured lawns and wide roads and boulevards, it feels a nice but somewhat overly made-up.

 

Upon arrival, the porters eagerly took my luggage away and sounded the gong at the main entrance.  One first sight, you see a long walkway seperated at the end by the view of lotus ponds and the ocean.  Check in was pretty smooth but took about 10 mins.  Perhaps they could do the check-in next time in the air-conditioned comfort of my room?

 

After check-in, we were taken on a tour of the entire hotel grounds.  The Grand Hyatt at Nusa Dua is split into 4 main Villages.  I got the West Village, which was nearest to the tennis courts, Spa and main entrance but yonks away from the lobby and pool.  Again, for the weary toursit, perhaps the hotel could have offered us a ride on their buggy and conducted the tour as well, instead of walking.  I only pity those American tourists who have taken trans-Atlantic and flew across a few continents before being given the grand tour by legs.

 

For US$180+ a night, my room was the standard package, a king sized bed with a day bed for reading and lazing around, a en-suite toilet and walk-in wardrobe.  The toilet had seperately both a bath and a shower, and the wooden window panels opens up so that I could take a long bath while looking into the bedroom.  Unfortunately, the direction of the bath was away from the TV, so it kinda defeats its purpose, unless I lie in the other (wrong) direction in the bathtub. 

 

After settling down, it’s time to check out any action by the pool side.  This is, afterall, a resort vacation.  One thing I must commend the hotel for, the food in the Grand Hyatt is magnificent!  The wood burnt pizza I had by the pool (from Salsa Verde, the pool side Italian restaurant) is one of the better ones I had in a long time.

 

Some smoozing with the pool babes later, I took a walk by the hotel’s private beach.  The fine off-white sandy beach is the perfect place to spend a lazy afternoon reading a book under the many Balinese gazebos, or rolling around in with that special lady friend.  At around 5pm, the beach stretches for yonks as it was low tide.  But becareful!  I’ve spotted quite a few sea urchins and black, mean-looking sea-stars with it’s long spikes in wade pools.  It was then that I notice the white, modern structure on the head of the beach next to Grand Hyatt.  It was one of 2 heads, actually.  Dua means 2.  So I took a walk to the temple and up through the small pathway that led to a park in between the 2 heads.  Contrasted to the private beach, the beach between the heads is less manicured.  The sands coarse and darkish.  Many locals living near the area flock to this beach to pick clams and what nots.  This is an inkling of the real people who live in this beautiful isle.

 

Back to the hotel.  At night, near the lobby and Pasar (Market, as it is called in Indoensian lingo) Senggol, they emulate a night market scene with many of the hotel staff acting as vendors selling Balinese masks, wood carvings, frangipani hairclips and what nots.  Pasar Senggol also provide a good nightly show with the various Balinese dances.  And they have a rather good spread of the local dishes like satay, ice kachang, roast seafood and keuhs (cakes and bakes).

 

The next morning, I was greeted by a sumptious breakfast buffet.  Guests could have their breakfast either  at the Garden Cafe or at Salsa Verda by the beach!  The range of breakfast was very good and most won’t be disappointed, albeit the range is always the same everyday.  You have to try the local fruits available.  The local passionfruit differs from those found in Malaysia, is less acidic but just as juicy. 

 

Also, that night, I tried the Japanese restaurant.  Normally, Japanese food in hotels are sadly butchered but the Nampu (Southern Wind) restaurant did the food very well with it’s own flavour.  You have to try the Pandan (a longish leaf used for its sweet flavours) Iced Tea.

 

Another good thing about the Grand Hyatt Bali is that it is right next to the Bali Collection.  A mixed and matched hotpot of many small stores that could be comfortably located in Australia or any other major city.  In the heart of the Bali Collection is a Japanese departmental store Sogo.  Housing inside it, Starbucks melts into the facade.  Within the compound, there are stores like Just Jeans, Surfer Girl and Baskin Robbins mixed with many food restaurants serving anything from tapas to sushi to fish & chips to fusion cooking.  The single place I spent most time in was Coco Supermarket, buying local memotoes and drinking water.  It’s relatively cheap (compared to the hotel drug store) and within walking distance.  The handicraft shops also provided me a fond memory of shopping in Bali.  One thing to note, sometimes, the cashier does not return the exact change (seeing how small in value 50 rupiahs are) but gives you a candy or chocolate instead.

 

Having gone to Ubud and Kuta on a day trip, I must say that unless I want to see the real earthy Balinese, I am perfectly happy just chilling inside Nusa Dua with it’s manicured lawns and controlled environment. 

 

And as a special favour to my buddy, Mr Soma, you can call Bali Growing Tour for a most satisfying, flexible and customised tour of Bali.  Their numbers are (62) 081 8056 70015 [mobile] or (62) 361 772769 [office].

 

Inside the southern side of Nusa Dua, Grand Hyatt sits there as my resort of choice in Bali!

 

  

My ratings (10 being world class): 

 

Location: 8 (this is quite far removed from the town but it’s redeeming grace is that it is near Bali Collection)

 

Ambience: 9.9 (immaculately manicured gardens and lotus ponds with similarly perfect private beach with hot pool babes, what else could one ask for?)

 

Room: 8.5 (The room is nice but the bed was just a bit too hard and springy for me, I actually can feel the spring on 1 or 2 occasions in the night when I slept right in the middle of the bed, which was 2 super single joined to form a king sized bed)

 

Value for money: 9 (The Awaken package during June saw me forking out US$150+++, which came up to just a tad over US$180 per night)

 

Service: 9.9 (friendly service staff willing to oblige as the air con fuse went off once and the light bulb needed changing on another occasion)

 

Value added services/amenities: 2 swimming pools  (another 1 was in another more exclusive section and yet another inside the gym), spa, tennis courts, private beach, gym (but children below 14 years are not allowed inside – I wonder why), meeting rooms, business office, drug store, car parking, many restaurants and the even more numerous lotus ponds serve as a good place to meditate and do yoga.  But the management could look into an electric people mover (buggy) as the compound is simply too large to walk after a long swim or dance with the pool babes.

 

Return to stay: Definitely as long as prices are right.

Novotel Brisbane

Going overseas with the family is never easy.  For one, the logistics of getting everyone on time and in the right place is a major ordeal.  For another, the long flights to Australia is fraught with dangers – recently Qantas seems to be having more than it’s fair share of technical and natural problems, from clean air turbulence to sloppy security checks and faulty technical maintenance.

 

So, it was a no brainer that I decided to fly another airline.  Singapore Airlines was too expensive (charging some 40% more) so I chose Etihad Airways.  And they gave me S$40 airport vouchers per person!  That is sweet!  Paid for my wife’s shopping at the airport.  Now that’s a good deal – 40% off SQ airfares, $40 per person in vouchers and even air miles.  If only Etihad flies to more destinations I like.

 

The long flight took its toil on me.  Being a late night flight, I thought I could catch 40 winks before we got to Brisbane at 9am in the morning.  While the food was OK (not bad but not good either), being in the front row (as we needed a baby bassinet) was a real bummer.  They had individual consoles for watching movies but they also have a 21” screen mounted on the wall.  Throughout the entire flight, the mounted screen was not switched off (even after I’ve requested for it to be off) and in the dark cabin, the light really hits you in the eye, resulting in insomnia.  Funnily enough, the flight back had the mounted screen switched off after take off.  So I’m putting this one down to bad crew service.

 

Back to the main task at hand (and the reason for this blog).  http://www.novotelbrisbane.com/  I cannot even start to say how sweet this hotel is!  What a gem in Brisbane!

 

 

 

Centrally located (it’s got a train station in the basement), 5 minutes walk down a hill and you’re at the heart of Brisbane’s shopping district, free car parking, nice soft plush beds, swimming pool, gym, great restaurant (named Cilantro) at lobby and pro-family attitude!  My boy even made a few new Chinese girl friends (in the form of Cathay Pacific air stewardesses) while we were checking in.

 

The toilet was clean and very modern, complete with Grohe taps.  The lobby even has a family corner where my family spent time playing with the wooden blocks (none of that Playstation stuff but good old family fun).  

 

All this for A$165 a night (Internet booking special). 

 

The hotel also seems to be oriented at the businessmen, during the course of my stay there, I bumped into more than a couple of chatty managers who are there at the gym/swimming pool floor having seminars.

 

The one thing (if I had to really nitpick) is that wi-fi or Internet access is not free.  Then again, I was on holiday with the family.  So that didn’t matter to me then.

 

My ratings (10 being world class): 

 

Location: 9.5 (for shopping and CBD)

 

Ambience: 9.5 (just out of the hustle and bustle of the city centre)

 

Room: 9.5 (modern, comfortable and very liveable, except they gave us a view of a construction site, we kept the day curtains closed most of the time anyways)

 

Value for money: 9.5 (I paid A$165 per room on Internet special)

 

Service: 9.5 (friend service, great staff/stuff – pun intended)

 

Value added services/amenities: Swimming pool (not heated), gym, meeting rooms, business office, subway station, car parking, restaurant, laundry and the works.

 

Return to stay: Sure, when this Internet special rate is available again. 

Batam Spa Villa / KTM Resort

Thinking of the troubles at work makes me tired.  So, I made a snap decision to visit Batam, having never been there before. 

 

http://www.batamspavilla.com/packages.html

http://www.ktmresort.com/

 

The actual purpose was not to spend the night but a day trip to experience a relaxing day being kneaded, prod and massaged.  A package is really good for the uninitiated as it provides the ferry tickets, pick-up, lunch and the massage.

 

Firstly, the ferry and pick-up was alright.  It’s not the red carpet treatment but it’ll do. 

 

The resort, while not really part of the massage package, served very good food.  The seafood fried rice, coconut juice, sweet and sour fish and vegetable/mushroom stir fry was very tasty and went down well.  After a terrible food poisoning experience in Phuket 2 years back, I’ve come to be cautious of ‘sea food’ by the jetty. 

 

The food was good and we even had our dinner there (own pay) and a medium plate of seafood fried rice, a plate of stir fried kang kong belachan (spicy shrimp paste) and soft drinks cost S$9.40.  Cheap and tasty.

 

The resort itself was built and owned by a Singapore construction company.  Beyond the cheesy, ‘80s Malaysian seaside open-air resort feel, the staff are friendly.  The chalets are OK, wooden Indonesian lacquered stilt houses facing the sea facing Singapore (which is 20 nautical miles away and very visible even on an overcast day). 

 

But they really should do something about the swimming pool which looked suspiciously infested with bacteria.  The water was yellow.  And they charge Rp 20,000 for an adult and Rp 10,000 for a child to swim in.  Eh, no thanks.  I prefer my skin uninfected, thanks.

 

The spa villa seems to be owned by another operator.  Firstly, the rooms and equipment seems to be recently acquired and it sits on a breakwater side of the resort.  Either way, it’s a newer addition to the resort.  Each villa accommodates up to 2 guests and 2 masseurs, the first 3 villa having a Jacuzzi while the next 3 villa does not.  The last villa is a foot reflexology villa accommodating 4 guests.  The last villa is the office and resting room for the masseurs.

 

 

Ms Lusi, the spa manager, was very helpful.  When we got there by 11am Singapore time (10am Batam time), there was already people inside the spa treatment so we had to wait 1.5 hours for our session to start.  Not a problem.  We had an early lunch and there’s even free wi-fi on site.  Too bad I didn’t bring my laptop and had to contend with the wi-fi mobile browser (which is hard to use and see).

 

11.30 am and it’s my turn.  180 mins of spa starts with a nice hot foot bath.  This is followed by almost 1 hour of body rub down with natural sea salt and moisturizing with body cream.  Then it’s 30 mins in the Jacuzzi.  The place is quite quaint and idyllic.  Doing my spa, reading a book by the sea, I can see many fishing boats and tankers go past.  Some small boats come close enough to say hello while I lay by the Jacuzzi.

 

Then it’s back to a full body, neck and head rub down for the next 1 hour or so.  Very nice!

 

And given it’s a weekday, they even threw in a free 60 mins of foot massage.

 

The masseurs are friendly (like all Batamese) and very firm in their touch.  For a small lady, my masseur has very strong hands and her touch can vary from wood hard to butter soft.  You have to tell them what you really like otherwise you get a clamp down on your knee caps (which aren’t that bad on hindsight).  She rubbed me good and after 240 mins I felt like a ball of human play dough.  No a knot in my muscles anywhere.

 

Naturally, I gave the masseur a big tip, about 10-15% of the package cost.  A thoroughly nice rub down.

 

My ratings (10 being world class): 

 

Location: 6 (quite a stone’s throw away from the bustle and hustle of Nagoya and Singapore)

 

Ambience: 8.5 (idyllic 1980’s seaside feel)

 

Room: 7.5 (nice lacquered wooden hut with all the modern amenities except air conditioning, which is not needed)

 

Value for money: 7.5 (I paid S$138 per person for the package, not including S$27 tax at the harbours)

 

Service: 9

 

Value added services/amenities: Swimming pool (swim at own risk) and restaurant (yummy simple cheap food served here), nothing else worthy of mention

 

 

 

Return to stay:  Just for the spa package again, yes.

 

HONG KONG PLAZA SERVICE APARTMENT

www.hk-plaza.com.cn

 

Now, I normally stay in hotels when on business trips and serviced apartments only when I’m on an extended holiday, largely because the latter is cheaper on a longer term basis.

 

But this business trip to Shanghai has been a mix of surprise and disappointment. 

 

Shanghai, despite it’s already built up area in Puxi, still has much room for development.  Pudong is a hotbed for new building and township developments.  Somehow, most people living in Pudong seems to have been residents of Puxi that have their houses redeveloped and sitting on loads of cash from the sale of their houses.

 

It has been 4 years since my last visit to Shanghai.  After arriving at Pudong airport, we took almost 40 minutes to get from Pudong to the service apartment.  Mind you, this was at 3pm in the afternoon.  I dread to think if it was during rush hour.  I was told the Maglev took only 8 minutes but it didn’t go to Puxi. 

 

The reception of the hotel was on the 8^th floor and there was a small lobby (filled with Chinese smokers, as any good establishment in China worth its salt) on the ground floor.  Finishing of the hotel and rooms were good, even of superior standards when compared to the likes of similar 4 star accommodations in HCMC.

 

My deluxe room had a small kitchenette, an even smaller bathroom (the only smaller bathroom I ever had the misfortune of encountering was at the Hong Kong Mandarin) but a nice bed cum living room.

 

 

 

View from the room was good, overlooking Huaihai Park.  The morning walk which I took the next morning in this park was refreshing, seeing how the air temperature was around 22 degrees Celsius that morning with slight drizzle and me in an absurdly foreign Diesel T-shirt, Addidas shoes and jogging shorts.

 

The location is perfect for those shopaholics.  Attached to the serviced apartment via a linkway on the 3^rd floor was an IT mall in the next building.  The 2 building and the linkway forms an ‘H’ (as in Hong Kong), which is *surprise* the logo for the serviced apartment.

 

A short walk away is 2 large malls, one dominated by Pacific Departmental Store and another is XinTianDi.  XinTianDi www.xintiandi.com/is a redeveloped village that houses middle income brands, spiffy western cafes and eateries and luxury brands such as Shanghai Tang (which by the way is owned by a South African conglomerate) and Chopard.   

 

It is not difficult to get to other malls by either taxi or the subway.  There is a subway station just 100m from the serviced apartment which would get you to other parts of Shanghailike Putuo, Zhabei and even to Pudong.  For sightseeing, your best bet would be The Bund, Peace Hotel, YuYuan (City Temple) which is walking distance from the serviced apartment and when you’re there, try the dumplings at Nanxiang, and JingAn Temple.

 

One thing about this serviced apartment is that they don’t provide a fruit platter, something which I do enjoy as travelers tend to undereat fruits. 

 

On the last day of my stay, I had bought quite a bit of stuff.  So I asked the reception to get me some sticky tape but they couldn’t understand.  When I translated it to Chinese, the seem to understood and asked me if I wanted a thick tape or a skinny tape.  I told them it was for taping up parcels so I needed the thick tape.  The male receptionist then informed me as a matter of fact that they don’t have thick tape.  Then why did he bother asking me if I wanted a thick tape in the first place?  Anyways, the tape never arrived, even after 3 hours.

 

At the checkout, the receptionist allowed a queue cutter to jump queue before my turn and it took a good 20 minutes before I could complete checkout.

 

Sadly, the service standard is clearly lacking at the serviced apartment.  The only 2 things they have going for them is the location and quality of room.

 

My ratings (10 being world class): 

 

Location 9 (Not Nanjing Roador the Bund but its also in the heart of Puxi along Huaihai Middle Road)

 

Ambience: 9

 

Room: 9

 

Value for money: 6 (I paid US$145 per night)

 

Service: 4

 

Value added services/amenities: Gym, swimming pool, self-service laundry (which had an attendant in the room, funny way these Chinese label things that aren’t always what they seem), IT shopping mall.

 

Return to stay: Maybe not, there should be other accommodations in the vicinity. 

Continental Hotel

I had to make a last minute trip to HCMC in December and as luck would have it, I was lucky enough to finally get a room at the Continental Hotel. 

This is a 4 star hotel in a 5 star location.  Immediately next to Parkson (which took over the building from Saigon Tourist, which owns all the hotels in HCMC in the past, such as the Caravelle, Rex and Royal Kimdo), the main entrance faces the Opera, Opera View (a new up market shopping centre, and the Caravelle Hotel. 

The décor is basically aged and dated.  Very much like the Rex and Kimdo but this hotel has a nice courtyard that doubles as the breakfast venue.  Breakfast fare was not lavish but the beef noodle soup (not similar in texture to the usual Pho Bo I am used to) was tasty.  Bacon was a bit underdone while the choice of cold cuts was limited.   

Reception was very friendly and obliging.  Like the Rex, the corridors to the rooms are open air and the rooms’ air conditioning is not central.   

When I got to my room, I felt like a war time journalist.  There was a small balcony that overlooks Dong Khoi.  The balconies of the neighbouring rooms are connected but seperated by a flimsy looking metal barrier.   As all local hotels, first time guests are given a fruit bowl.   

Old Worlde Charm is the term to describe Continental Hotel.  From the scalloped shaped wash basin to the carved wooden beds, furniture and décor.

     

My ratings (10 being world calss): 

Location 10 (you’re in the heart of Dong Khoi, what more could anyone for)

 Ambience: 7

Room: 8

Value for money: 9 (I paid US$125 during the peak season excluding tax)

Service: 8

Value added services/amenities: Didn’t really have time to look for them

Return to stay: Yes, for the location. 

Royal KimDo Hotel

November and December are not the best months to travel to HCMC.  The roads are jammed and the hotels are full.

 

That said, I found myself at a fairly old establishment called the Royal KimDo hotel along Nguyen Hue St.  On first impression, it scores very low on the likeability factor but when I got into my corner room, it was a gem of a hotel.  The wooden carvings, poster bed and interior decor of the place exudes a ambience of a long gone era where travellers and not tourist must have flocked to Saigon.

The corner rooms are large and comes with a sleeping area, living and reading area and washroom area.  It felt like a junior suite with all the ornamental fittings of a bygone era.  I got free ADSL internet access with my room and a huge bowl of fruits. 

Modern is definitely not the word to describe KimDo.  Careful when alighting or getting a cab, there is no drive way and the cab comes up the curb and onto the pavement just outside the doors of KimDo.

Nguyen Hue is parallel to Dong Khoi so it’s not far from where the retail action is.  The hotel also has a pool and a massage/health centre on the top floor.  Breakfast is on the 4^th floor.

Breakfast was not up to my standard but the cold cuts were nice.  Avoid the sushi or dim sum, I’ve had better.

 

Here’s what I did not like about the place:

Air condition was by individual unit, so you would get a warm room upon your arrival.  Also it felt underpowered during the night.

 

My ratings (10 being world calss):

 

Location 8.5 (next to a departmental store and a stone’s throw away from Dong Khoi)

Ambience: 6

Room: 8 (pity the non-central air con)

 

 

Value for money: 8 (I paid US$160 during the peak season including tax)

Service: 7

Value added services/amenities: 7.5 (free internet and fruit platter)

Return to stay: Why not.

The Duxton Saigon Hotel

There for a 2 day working trip, I found myself at the Duxton, a mid-priced hotel near the offices side of town.  www.duxton.com

 First impression was that its clean and value for money.  The pool (or what there is of it) is somewhat of a letdown.  Its more like a large (dated) spa pool than a proper swimming pool.  Nonetheless, its clean and quiet.

  Befitting of its 4 star status, the rooms were neat and clean, although they are going through some renovations.

   

  The view from the window is nothing to shout about but then again, this is Saigon.

Here’s what I did not like about the place:

On my first visit, they had given me a fruit paltter, nice.  But on the second visit, nothing.  Hmm…..oversight there.  

My ratings (10 being world class):

Location: 8 (Nothing really near the hotel excep Pho 24 where you get beef noodles for US$3-4)

Ambience: 7

Room: 7 (to turn on the TV, you must use the button on the bedside table and not the remote, how silly)

Value for Money: 7 (prices have increased lately, across the board in most Saigon hotels)

Service: 7 (Thao at the reception was especially nice, be sure to say hello to her when you’re there)

Value added services/amenities:  5 (but there is a VIP casino on level 2)

Return to stay: Only if on a budget and if you want to be near the office side of town

Saigon Sheraton

I love Saigon.  Its a city that is very much happening.

When in Saigon, I stayed once at the Sheraton. http://www.starwoodhotels.com

Here’s the things I liked about the place: 

It is centrally located just off Dong Khoi.  That is similar to the Orchard Road of Singapore or Colombo Street of Christchurch. 

 

There are other hotels in this area such as the venerable old Rex hotel and the swanky Caravelle hotel.  But here’s what’s really nice about the Sheraton.

   

For US$150 – 200, you get a very comfortable queen sized bed and enough leg room to do yoga and have your kids do tumble tots.  There is even enough space for a proper study table for my laptop.

But this is the best – a shower with 3 shower heads!  You can be sure you’re squeeky clean all round.

Just outside the hotel entrance is a restaurant serving good French cuisine.  And if you don’t like French, there’s Maxim’s Seafood Restaurant nearby or if you feel peckish in the morning, there’s plenty of pho bo sold by road hawkers round every street. 

If you want some dance floor action after that hard day in the board room, there’s Queen Bee just a junction or two away opposite the Rex hotel.

Here’s what I did not liked about the place:

Apart from the price, I was quite happy with the place. 

My ratings (10 being world class):

Location: 10 (You’re in the heart of HCMC, in Saigon)

Ambience: 9

Room: 9

Value for Money: 7.5

Service: 8

Value added services/amenities:  7 (pool is nice)

Return to stay: Why not, if the budget allows

You can try the Rex hotel (http://www.rexhotelvietnam.com) if you like to feel what its like to be a foreign correspondant in the bygone days of the Vietnam War.  But for my money, I would splurge on the creature comfort of Sheraton Saigon.  Top class rooms, location and ambience.

If you love Bangkok, you’d fall in love all over again with Saigon.  But be warned, crossing the road is a culture shock in itself.  And everything here is in US$.

Siloso Beach Resort

My company held a retreat recently at the Siloso Beach Resort, Sentosa, Singapore.  Here’s their website: www.silosobeachresort.com/

Here’s the things I liked about the place:

Upon arriving at the resort, I was quite taken by the glass reception and the greenery it was surrounded in.

   

They had a nice feature pool that looks like it was designed around the terrain. 

    

The restaurant/cafe was on the top of the restaurant!  What a view at night.

Though not having much amenities on its own, the resort is just a stone’s throw to Cafe del Mar, http://www.cafedelmar.com.sg.  Plenty of happening gals were spotted there that night.

Here’s what I did not liked about the place:

My awe quickly turned into scorn. 

For one thing, they gave me the wrong room!  I actually got a key that allowed me to get into a room occupied by 2 gals.  OK, ok, ok - normally, that would be a plus but I was there on business.  So much for bad timing.

When I finally got to my room, it was small.  I have only seen such a small toilet once before and that was at the Oriental in Hong Kong Island.  The toilet at the Siloso Beach Resort was simple and no frills, to say the least.  Then, when I found the cheezy toothbrush and toothpaste, I got really frightened.

 

If budget airlines gave out free toothbrushes, this would be what it would look like.  “OK,” I thought, “Maybe its because they’ve just started business not too long ago”.

So, I took a walk around the place.  No other amenities I can find.  Back at the reception, taxis were trying hard not to do wheelspins while doing 3-point turns to get back out of the place.  The fact that it was built on a slope and the roads were cement covered instead of tarmac covered didn’t help.

“Never mind,” I thought, “Meeting’s about the start anyways”.  So I head down to the ballrooms.  It became quite clear by now that the word “Resort” was used leniently.  Just outside the ballroom is a public road.  OK, sure there’s a security guard cum door opener at the entrance (who might easily moonlights as a bouncer for Cafe del Mar) but the open proximity to public access (there’s a bus stop just outside the entrance, BTW) didn’t inspire an exclusive “resort” feel to the place.

Here’s what I REALLY did not liked about the place:

But what got to me was that the ballroom was swamped by bugs, flies and other creepy crawlies.  I saw the largest forest fly or whatever (or smallest dragonfly, if you think of it as such) in my life.  So, who’s the one on resort?  The humans or the bugs, which no doubt had a good feast on the human blood.  Gives a whole new definition to the word meals on the go.

   

In less than 2 hours, I’ve managed to trap no less than 3 house flies with eyes the size of erasers (the ones you find on the tip of pencils).  That would teach me to stay in a “resort” that was built by the edge of a jungle clearing.

The service quality and attitude was also lacking.  I got locked out of my own room the next day (but these credit card keys are great for scrapping your beard after a hot day by the beach).  When I tried to get the chambermaid to help me open the door, she walked away from me before I could even finish my “Excuse…..me”.  I had to walk up to the reception to get the key reissued.  And not as much as a “Sorry”.   I know that Singaporeans don’t like being subserviant but the quality of service was just plain unacceptable.

My ratings (10 being world class):

Location: 7.5

Ambience: 7 

Landscaping: 8

Room: 6.5

Value for Money: 5.5

Service: 2.5

Value added services/amenities:  0 (because there was none)

Return to stay: Only when Singapore snows.

Needless to say, I was not very impressed.  The word “pretentious” comes to mind.  The place tries too hard to be like those resorts in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia.  But it ends up feeling like those hotels in Patong Beach, Phuket, Thailand where you got to cross a road to get to a public beach.  

I suppose if you’re coming from a country that is permanently frozen or if you live in a glacier and this is the first time out on holiday (or if you happen to get too plastered at Cafe del Mar and cannot drive home), this place would appeal to you.  Otherwise give it a miss unless its really cheap and you don’t mind the creepy crawlies.