After a long drought of vacation, M and I recently went for our first ever Singapore staycation. We had the staycation over the long new year weekend to celebrate the start of the new year. And also, to have one final break before starting the grind and hustle again.
Due to the unfortunate events that happened last year, all of our planned trips had to be cancelled. To make up for that, we started looking for activities to do in our tiny island home.
Some of our more exciting memories the past year include visiting a public Onsen in Singapore and learning how to be a coffee barista.
Conrad Centennial Singapore was previously used as an SHN (Stay Home Notice) quarantine facility until its recent re-opening on 16th December. As a Hilton Gold member, I’ve always wanted to visit the hotel and check out its facilities.
Check-in
Prior to check-in, we received an email from one of their staff to notify of our check-in time. We were given a check-in time of 12:30pm – 1:00pm. In my books, that’s a very early check-in!
During this period, guests are supposed to strictly follow their allocated times. This is to spread out the crowd and prevent over congesting at the counters.
We highly recommend that if you did not receive your email the day before, call their hotline to get your check-in timings.
When we arrived, we were promptly ushered to the check-in counters. We arrived slightly after our allocated slot (around 1:05pm).
There were only about 4 groups in front of us. The entire process was quick as we did not spend more than 10 minutes in the queue.
Premium King Room
We’ve initially booked the Deluxe King Room. However, upon check-in, we found that we were pre-upgraded to the Premium King Room (Bay View).
As we really wanted to enjoy the executive lounge of the hotel, we were offered the chance to upgrade our stay for an additional S$129 (including taxes and charges). We decided to take it so that we don’t have to spend time looking for alternative dinner options.
In Conrad Singapore, the difference between the room types is minimal. A different room type will only result in a slightly higher floor or a better view. All rooms have the same 40sqm size, relatively large for a hotel room.
Our room came with this long daybed. It’s really great to lounge on it, looking out to the Marina Bay skyline.
Directly in front of our room, we face ParkRoyal Collection and the Pan Pacific hotel. Funnily, my phone kept trying to connect to Pan Pacific’s wifi connection instead of Hilton’s!
We directly face Suntec City’s iconic roof. It’s surreal to see it from such a high angle.
All Conrad guests will be given the iconic Conrad bear as a souvenir! On top of that, the kind staff also gave us a box of chocolate! How thoughtful.
There was this really nice yet awkward set of cutleries provided in the room. We used it to eat the chocolate given.
There is a Nespresso machine in every room, together with some packets of Ronnefedlt Tea.
Bathroom
Every room in Conrad comes with a large bathtub. This can comfortably let a person lie down completely without feeling too cramped.
It would have been perfect if it was free standing, but otherwise it looks like any other bath tub.
We were provided with Shanghai Tang’s bath amenities. They were gentle to the skin and smells good after use.
If you’re more of a shower type of person, rest assure that the shower at Conrad does not disappoint. You can choose between the standing rain shower or the standard showerhead.
Temperature can be very finely controlled and water pressure is great. Just note that the controls for toggling between the showerhead and rain shower can be very confusing. I got shocked a couple of times.
Some basic bathroom amenities such as hairdryer, tooth kit and cotton buds are also provided.
Safety & Hygiene
As a member of the Hilton group, Conrad Centennial Singapore participates in the Hilton CleanStay program.
Every room will be thoroughly cleaned according to a set of protocols as highlighted on their site. Once that’s done, the room is certified and “sealed” at the door with a sticker.
When in the room, we felt that the room was very clean and did not notice any hygiene-related issues.
Guests are also given this “care kit” which consists of 2 masks, hand sanitiser and antiseptic wipes.
Executive Lounge
Executive Lounge access is available to all guests with booked into Executive rooms or Suites as well as Hilton Diamond members.
If lounge access is what you’re after, try to be upgrade to an executive room! Spoiler alert: We think it’s really worth it!
The lounge in Conrad Centennial Singapore is located at the 31st floor.
If you’re visiting during this period, prior bookings would have to be made during check-in. You can reserve your slots for both the Afternoon Tea and Evening Cocktail session.
Each session were limited to just an hour. The staff were strict at enforcing this to ensure that all guests with lounge access will be able to enjoy it.
Instead of the usual buffet, food is now served high tea style by the staff.
The menu differs every day, depending on whether its an odd or even day. For more information on the menu, you can check out their site over here.
There were 2 slots available for the evening cocktail. 6-7pm and 7-8pm. We went for the latter as we were really full from the afternoon tea. Also, as the final session for the day, we were not hurried off after 8 as they did not have to sit in another group of guests.
Alcoholic drinks are also available free-flow. However, as M and I do not drink alcohol, we went for a mocktail instead.
Food for the evening cocktail was very filling. As they are refillable, we think that this can actually substitute your dinner.
Breakfast
Breakfast is served at the Oscar’s Restaurant, located just beside the check-in lobby.
Complimentary breakfast is available for all Hilton Gold and Diamond for free regardless of the room rate booked as part of the Hilton Elite program. Some room rates may also include complimentary breakfast as part of the package.
Following the directive given the current climate, buffet breakfast was no longer served at the hotel. Guests were instead provided with unlimited ala-carte orders.
Right before entering the restaurant, we had to do the usual temperature checks and safe-entry check-ins. After the ritual, we were given a little sticker to paste on our shirts.
This was the menu available when we visited.
Immediately after being seated, we were asked our preference for drink. This was a really nice touch by the service crew.
My favourite dish of the day! The century egg and fish congee. It’s really delicious and I would gladly order more.
The Seafood Nasi Lemak was one of the recommended dishes to order from the internet. However, I personally did not really enjoy it as the fried fish didn’t feel very crispy when it was served.
We ended our meal with some fresh fruits (New year new me isn’t it?). Although ice-cream was available, we didn’t think that having ice-cream in the morning was a very good idea.
Summary
Our weekend stay at Conrad Centennial Singapore was really enjoyable.
The incredible service by the service staff made our stay extra special. At every point in time, we felt that our needs were taken care of.
One pity of our stay was that we did not get to check out facilities such as the swimming pool and gym. Our stay was over the rainy new year weekend. We did not get a chance to see the sun at all and did not want to dip into the icy cold water.
Due to the lounge access, we did not have to leave the hotel premise at all. We’d highly recommend anyone who’s planning their stay there to get the executive lounge access.
We hope that our review of the Conrad Centennial Singapore can help you in planning your staycation experience!
Looking for more things to do in Singapore because you can’t travel right now? How about taking a dip in a public onsen at Yunomori! Just because you can’t visit Japan right now doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy what Japan has got to offer.
