Ascott Raffles Place Singapore

I booked this for my parents, and they really enjoyed staying there. The room was huge, especially for Singapore, and the location is great, very close to Raffles MRT station. I asked for two beds, and they arranged that ahead of time. The price was reasonable too. I'll definitely recommend it to my friends.

Most of the staff were really nice, and the pool was pleasant, though small. But the room felt dated and overdue for even a basic renovation, with an odd apartment layout and a window looking straight at the neighboring wall. The sink plug was stuck, so I couldn't shave, and although the tea was lovely, there wasn't a kettle to boil water easily. There was an early false fire alarm one morning that went on for about 15 minutes. Pest treatment was done another day, and my room smelled unpleasant afterward. Breakfast was extremely basic. This felt more like an overpriced four-star serviced apartment than a five-star hotel, a missed opportunity.

The room service was the worst I've experienced in any hotel. On our second day, we asked concierge at 11:30am to make up the room before we went to breakfast. It still hadn't been done when we got back at 1pm, or by 4pm after we called again at 1:30. We spoke to the front desk before going to dinner at 5pm, then came back at 10pm to find a badly made bed, an uncleaned tub, slippers scattered on the floor, and only the towels changed. The Collyer Suite had a musty smell, and many fixtures and appliances badly needed replacing. Three sockets didn't work: the one by the sink for the water dispenser and the two beside the bed. The bedroom TV was surprisingly small, and its remote didn't work, though the Smart TV features, including YouTube and Netflix, were good. In the small living room, the old BOSE sound system appeared to be radio-only. Its cables were dangling and disconnected, and there was a lot of dust. We spent an hour trying to sort it out before asking concierge to send someone up, only to learn it could apparently only play radio. Odd for a hotel of this calibre. The bathtub taps were loose and hard to operate, and the stopper button popped out when pushed. The steam iron leaked water onto our clothes and the floor. The right bedside table didn't fit its niche and looked awkward. They supplied kitchen knives but no chopping board. Check-in was smooth. We were ultimately given a 12:30pm late checkout, although it depended on availability regardless of Ascott membership tier, and the standard checkout was noon. The staff we dealt with were professional, if not especially warm. I've stayed at Ascott hotels for a long time, and this was the worst one, possibly my worst hotel experience in Singapore. I'd probably not return.

As a Singaporean, I found the staff here friendly and professional. They were happy to help us with every issue we faced. This is definitely the best hotel I've stayed at in Singapore, and I'd gladly plan another stay here.