Hong Kong and Singapore hotels

[Ravenscroft]

I'm asking here rather than on the Asia ports board because fellow SB guests surely have a better idea of our expectations than asking a general board.

 

We're almost certainly going to book the Four Seasons in Hong Kong. We've been to HKG previously, we're happy with the location of the FS.

We are struggling with a Singapore selection. It seems that Singapore has fallen behind somewhat in the luxury hotel market, certainly from where it was 20 years ago.

We're currently considering Mandarin Oriental, Four Seasons, The Fullerton and Ritz Carlton.

 

Location isn't so important to us in Singapore as we're happy to walk and use taxis/mass transit when necessary. We simply want a hotel with excellent service, comfortable rooms, and for this trip, we would like a good outdoor pool area. I'm a light sleeper so for a city hotel I prefer one with good soundproofing or in a relatively quiet area of the city.

 

So, any recent feedback about any of these hotels would be appreciated. Or alternate suggestions.

(Marina Bay Sands is absolutely not an option :D)

Edited February 6, 2014 by Ravenscroft

[lincslady]

We liked the Shangri La - just beyond the top end of Orchard Road. The ground floor Chinese restaurant was super (this is a few years ago) and patronised by many locals. I believe it has a good swimming pool, but you need to check this.

[rols]

I'm asking here rather than on the Asia ports board because fellow SB guests surely have a better idea of our expectations than asking a general board.

 

We're almost certainly going to book the Four Seasons in Hong Kong. We've been to HKG previously, we're happy with the location of the FS.

We are struggling with a Singapore selection. It seems that Singapore has fallen behind somewhat in the luxury hotel market, certainly from where it was 20 years ago.

We're currently considering Mandarin Oriental, Four Seasons, The Fullerton and Ritz Carlton.

 

Location isn't so important to us in Singapore as we're happy to walk and use taxis/mass transit when necessary. We simply want a hotel with excellent service, comfortable rooms, and for this trip, we would like a good outdoor pool area. I'm a light sleeper so for a city hotel I prefer one with good soundproofing or in a relatively quiet area of the city.

 

So, any recent feedback about any of these hotels would be appreciated. Or alternate suggestions.

(Marina Bay Sands is absolutely not an option :D)

 

Singapore fallen behind in the luxury hotel market!!! Perish the thought, the 5 star hotels here are wonderful. They're different from HK, that's true, HK has an opulent edge about it I always found cold, the great Singapore hotels are great and yet still human. My humble and biased opinion.

 

I see the recommendation for Shangri-la, I do love that hotel to dine in, I don't like it to stay in, personal choice.

 

My favourite of the hotels in your list is Ritz Carlton, I like the rooms, I like the staff, the hotel really works. I don't dine there, I take a cab to Shangri-la to eat :). I have not tried their pool.

 

Second is Four Seasons. It's a sharp hotel with great service. Every one of their restaurants is good and the bar .. ah the bar .. Pool is off the gym, very nice, it's a pool on a rooftop but the pool is fine.

 

Which Fullerton do you mean? The Fullerton hotel, the converted post office, I don't like. The rooms are small and .. it's cute and all but .. not for me. The Fullerton Bay, built on the old customs house across the road is quite special. It has a rooftop pool I've only seen from the bar but the view was good. I have not stayed there yet.

 

Mandarin O, fine too, but if you're considering the others, I'd drop that one.

 

You could always stay at Raffles. Beyond the resident-only gates of that bustling tourist trap is the most tranquil, peaceful hotel and the service is, at least the last I stayed there, impeccable.

 

I'd pick the Ritz C myself.

[ct-andy]

If you dont mind the location, I would prefer Ritz Carlton HK.

 

Really enjoyed on last stay.

 

 

 

 

[wripro]

Since the Ritz Carlton renovated recently it has once again become a top contender, In the Orchard Road area I like the St. Regis. As for the Shangri-La remember that it is actually comprised of three separate hotels and only the Valley Wing is worth considering imo.

[MrsWaldo]

Having stayed at all of the above on various visits to Singapore I am now a four season convertee.

 

 

I love the valley wing at the Shangri La but unless things have change recently you still have the pool area (outside) with the entire hotel and it suffers from lounge hogs and noisy kids.

 

Last four seasons stay(March) I was on the couples floor which was wonderfully quiet and the pool on the middle floor is adults only. Nice cabanas and lounge areasbut you can do laps etc easily. Doorman greeted me by name (on arrival). But it was 1am! Door staff continued to use my name for the 3 nights.

 

Service was impeccable, except for an issue I had in the bar. ( Single female)

 

I'm not fussed on the the Clarke quay area ( but each to his own). And I hated dodging the hoards at raffles whenever I left the "enclosure".

[adoctor]

Raffles is in a class of its own, but if you want a more contemporary feel its the Mandarin Oriental. I would avoid the Shangri-La due to its "off paste" location and scale. Standards had dropped last time I visited.

Not stayed in the Four Seasons but have heard very good things about the Fullerton. After a bad experience in Fort Lauderdale I always avoid Ritz Carlton but that's just a personal gripe.

[Ravenscroft]

Thank you to everyone for your very helpful suggestions and advice.

There are 5 of us travelling together this time, and finding a hotel we can agree on is proving difficult.

We still haven't decided, but we've agreed that we need to have something booked by Monday evening. The couples floor at Four Seasons is already fully booked for our dates so we need to get moving.

I suspect it will come down to picking a hotel from names from a hat!

 

btw, adoctor, we also had a very unpleasant stay at the RC in Fort Lauderdale before a cruise in December 2011. I think I've written about it here previously. This came after a previous stay at the RC Battery Park NYC which was also not great. We were disappointed because our prior experiences at RC properties were always positive. It's a pity when one or two properties can let a generally excellent group down.

[Mr Luxury]

Thank you to everyone for your very helpful suggestions and advice.

There are 5 of us travelling together this time, and finding a hotel we can agree on is proving difficult.

We still haven't decided, but we've agreed that we need to have something booked by Monday evening. The couples floor at Four Seasons is already fully booked for our dates so we need to get moving.

I suspect it will come down to picking a hotel from names from a hat!

 

btw, adoctor, we also had a very unpleasant stay at the RC in Fort Lauderdale before a cruise in December 2011. I think I've written about it here previously. This came after a previous stay at the RC Battery Park NYC which was also not great. We were disappointed because our prior experiences at RC properties were always positive. It's a pity when one or two properties can let a generally excellent group down.

 

I too had a bad stay at the RC Ft Lauderdale in Dec 2011

I also had a poor experience in Dec 2013 at the RC Key Biscayne

 

I will be staying away from this chain from now on.

[Ravenscroft]

I too had a bad stay at the RC Ft Lauderdale in Dec 2011

I also had a poor experience in Dec 2013 at the RC Key Biscayne

 

I will be staying away from this chain from now on.

 

Mr L were you going on a Seabourn Christmas cruise? It departed the same day as ours, we were on SS that year. As we were checking out we saw all the SB guests checking out too to go over to Port Everglades. As you know, we were on Quest for Christmas 2012. Our paths have probably crossed twice, in the RC and on the Quest !

As for the hotel, I thought it was dreadful.

[rols]

Thank you to everyone for your very helpful suggestions and advice.

There are 5 of us travelling together this time, and finding a hotel we can agree on is proving difficult.

We still haven't decided, but we've agreed that we need to have something booked by Monday evening. The couples floor at Four Seasons is already fully booked for our dates so we need to get moving.

I suspect it will come down to picking a hotel from names from a hat!

 

btw, adoctor, we also had a very unpleasant stay at the RC in Fort Lauderdale before a cruise in December 2011. I think I've written about it here previously. This came after a previous stay at the RC Battery Park NYC which was also not great. We were disappointed because our prior experiences at RC properties were always positive. It's a pity when one or two properties can let a generally excellent group down.

 

RC in Singapore has never yet let me down. I find that the US chains outside the US are either way better, or far worse. RC tends to be way better.

 

RC, Mandarin O, you're not going to go wrong. I love Pan Pacific too if you want more confusion and Four Seasons here, couples floor or not, is a very, very nice hotel.

 

If you pick RC, Four Seasons, Pan Pacific and hate them, send me a message, I'll buy you all a drink in the bar.

[wripro]

Personally,I do not think it is fair to judge one hotel by the chain with which it is affiliated. Yes, there are many RCs which are below par but some are excellent and the Singapore property is one of them. If I judged the whole Four Seasons chain by the Vancouver or Sydney properties I'd be denying myself their hotels in Paris, Florence, Istanbul and Budapest which are among the best in the world.

[Poppy1966]

we would like a good outdoor pool area................the Mandarin Oriental has a fabulous pool area, we loved it. Rooms are fine, not as good as other MO. Restaurants are very expensive and just ok so I wouldn't recommend eating in the hotel. Breakfasts however at Melt (the world cafe) if you get a deal incl breakfast are fabulous. I would stay here again simply because of the outdoor pool area. It was a great place after sight seeing all day to come back to and relax and have a few drinks. I'm sure you've already googled the hotel pool area pics online and it's actually much nicer once you're there than the online pics.

[Ravenscroft]

Just to be clear about RC, I've had bad experiences in two of their properties, unfortunately they were back to back which certainly didn't help my perception. However, I certainly haven't ruled out staying in an RC property again, sorry if I didn't make that clear.

 

The five of us are meeting for lunch today and hope to reach a decision, it's only just a bit more than four weeks until our cruise.

(I'm waiting for Mr L to make further comments about ginger beer and Enid Blyton! :D)

 

At the moment, even though the couples floor is fully booked, the adults only pool at the FS is swaying it for me, especially as we're in Singapore over a weekend and I suspect the hotels will all be like a zoo. However, this time it's not my decision to make.

[Ravenscroft]

we would like a good outdoor pool area................the Mandarin Oriental has a fabulous pool area, we loved it. Rooms are fine, not as good as other MO. Restaurants are very expensive and just ok so I wouldn't recommend eating in the hotel. Breakfasts however at Melt (the world cafe) if you get a deal incl breakfast are fabulous. I would stay here again simply because of the outdoor pool area. It was a great place after sight seeing all day to come back to and relax and have a few drinks. I'm sure you've already googled the hotel pool area pics online and it's actually much nicer once you're there than the online pics.

 

Thanks Poppy, the pool area does look very nice at the MO and wherever we stay we all know we will want to get as much relaxation time as we can.

[Emperor Norton]

...(I'm waiting for Mr L to make further comments about ginger beer ...

 

 

What's there to say about ginger beer - Cock 'n Bull is all you need to know;)

[Mr Luxury]

What's there to say about ginger beer - Cock 'n Bull is all you need to know;)

 

It's a reference to the Famous Five stories.

 

Five go cruising was what I posted earlier

 

Ravenscroft picked up on my subtle hint,not a titter from anyone else:rolleyes:

 

Ooh missus,calm down,don't titter.

[secoma4]

We stay at The Langham in HK for short stays and will be there before joining the Sojourn in HK in March. Convenient to the Terminal.