Staying in Hotels

Next to going to spas for relaxation, I have always like staying in hotels too, provided they are luxury hotels of course. It might seem silly to just spend a weekend in a hotel, right here in Singapore when you are not even traveling at all. But somehow it can be quite rejuvenating, making it seem like you are away, in a foreign land.

When I was younger, I recall spending weekends at Mandarin Hotel or at the hotels at the Marina area. It was just fun, going there, staying over, using the pools. Actually I only remember using the pools more than anything else.

When I was in Canada, traveling was a budget affair. We will look for the cheapest accommodation and usually that will be motels (Motel 6, Super 8, etc). The AAA guidebook was my best friend. The hours I spent poring over it and calling the motels to make the booking for when I travel down the West Coast and when in Florida. Yahoo was my next best friend too. These were the days before Google made its appearance and the internet was still fairly new then.

But growing up, I think it is definitely getting harder to rough it out now. One gets used to living in luxury (as in no more sleeping on the floor - I get backache just by lying on the floor, and using dingy washrooms). Now I prefer to have a proper bed and a very nice spacious bathroom. Actually I look at hotels now based on their bathrooms.

In Singapore, the Ritz-Carlton has the most fantastic bathroom ever! I love the wide space there. The bathtub is fairly huge and overlooks the window (I still think no one can peek in, even if they use a telescope). A great place to just relax and eases the sore muscles (if any) in the warm bath. The shower is away from the bathtub, with a separate toilet. Really nice. Watch out for the cold marble floor though. It gets really cold at night, this is one time where you need to wear the slippers provided.

The Grand Hyatt in Singapore is also pretty nifty after its renovation. I have only seen the Grand Deluxe room and Junior Suite though. I like that the mirror next to the bathtub made the bathroom seemed bigger. Also there is a separate shower and toilet area. What is a thoughtful touch is the supply of a brand new loofah wrapped in plastic.

The bathroom at the Raffles the Plaza is dependent on the room you get. I have checked out a few of the Grand Premier room over there and they are all different. Some looked really cramp and tiny. Others are pretty alright. And not all will have the "rainshower" shower. Just what is a rainshower? It is basically a huge round showerhead attached on the ceiling of the shower area. It is to mimic a rainshower effect say when you are caught in a rainstorm. It is quite common to see that in many places now, including the spas.

The Marriott, Hilton, Swissotel and Traders (other hotels I been to/stayed in) are not that fantastic at all.

So far my favorite is still Ritz-Carlton, followed by Hyatt. I love the separate living room and bedroom area over there, and the sliding door which keeps them separate.

Description of the Grand Deluxe Room
Similar to a junior suite, the new Grand Deluxe Room boasts a separate living room and bedroom area with a large en suite bathroom, offering maximum comfort and every modern convenience:
• Hi-tech work station with broadband internet access and cordless dual-line phone
• Spacious bathroom with separate bath and shower
• 25" and 21" Bang & Olufsen flat screen televisions in living area and bedroom
• Top-open drawer safe with universal power outlet for storing and recharging your laptop
• Deluxe duvet and pillows of goose-down and feathers

Raffles the Plaza is quite ok, if you get the nice room with a long hallway before you reached the main living area itself. Otherwise, it is nothing fancy. Highlight is that it has a CD player so you can play your own music, which is piped-in in the bathroom.

Other hotels which I would love to try will be Conrad Centennial (for the rubber duckie and teddy bear :p), Four Seasons, Regent and Fullerton. Somehow the Raffles Hotel doesn't appeal that much to me.