[Hotel Review] - Moevenpick Heritage Hotel (Heritage Suite), Sentosa, Singapore (23 - 24 Mar 13)

Location

The hotel is located in central Sentosa. It is within reach to most of the attractions on the island. The nearest Subway station on the island is a mere 5 mins walk. Despite the central location, guests would have to walk for at least 10 mins to the eateries and other attractions. There are bus service plying the island, however the nearest bus stop is also a good 5 mins walk away. To get to elsewhere in Singapore, one would have to take the subway out of the island to mainland Singapore and venture from there. The location of the hotel is only good for those who wanted to just stay on Sentosa.

Hardware

As I entered the room, I was welcomed by the living room. The living room has a minimalist concept with a 2 seater couch, a cushion stool and a small side table facing the TV. The lighting at the living room was rather cozy. The deco in the living room is simple yet functional and cozy. The living room has an access to the bathroom, which can be accessed via the bedroom as well. 

Main door and the living area of the suite

2 seater couch in the living area of the suite

TV in the living area

The bath room is rather huge. 3 main compartments in the bathroom, namely a walk in rain shower cubicle, a toilet cubicle and a large bathtub with oversized sink, big enough for 2 to use at the same time (there are 2 taps at the sink). The tap in this room is rather unusual. The whole bathroom is compartmentalised by glass, which makes the bathroom look big. It has all the essential stuffs where one would find in any 5 star hotel. however we found only one small handkerchief for 2 to share, there is no face towel given other then 2 bath towels. I checked with the reception at the heritage wing and was told they have ran out of face towels. I found that to be ridiculous. There isn't any place to hang our bath towels in the bath room or in the entire suite as well. No fixtures in the bathroom to hang the small handkerchief, unlike the deluxe room, where one can find rings to hang the small towels. The quality of the toiletries seemed to be degraded. As my previous stay, they were giving out Ferragamo toiletries to suite guests, this time round they were giving out standard toiletries regardless of the type of room one stays in. Even the standard room toiletries in my previous stay with the hotel is better then the toiletries I had gotten this time round.

Walk-in rain shower

Sink area

Huge Bathtub

Entrance to the bedroom from the bathroom

Love the bathtub

Between the bathroom and the bedroom is a walkthrough wardrobe. The fixtures are simple yet functional. There are 2 types (in total 4) bathrobes in the room. The thinner more japanese style ones and the thicker and more comfortable bath robes. There are also sufficient space to stow away luggages in the wardrobe.

Walk-in wardrobe between the bathroom and the bedroom

The bedroom was large. In this part of the room, the king-sized bed is placed by the entrance to the bathroom, and the TV cum refreshment area is at the other end of the room, by the door to the living room. The bedroom can be accessed via the bathroom or the living room. The size of the room is rather spacious and again the theme in the room is minimalistic in nature, where the entire bedroom does not look of feel too clattered. The king bed is large and very comfortable to sleep in. There are 2 side tables by the bed where one can find the controls for the lightings and the blinds and curtains. The refreshment table has a nesspresso machine and a kettle for guests to boil water for the TWG teas that was provided in the suite. The mini bar fridge is hidden, yet accessible on the shelf where the nesspresso machine is stowed. beside this shelf is the working desk. Like most 5 star hotels, there are various connection ports for one to plug in their computer to the TV in the bedroom. When we checked in , we found some ants crawling on the work desk. not too sure if the hotel has upkept the room properly, however we were lucky that there wasn't a massive ant invasion in the room.

King-size bed in the bedroom

Complementary minibar in the bedroom

Nespresso Machine in the bedroom

Complementary Minibar

I headed for the Crystal lounge to chill out abit before hitting the pool. The lounge itself is small. There is only 1 staff at any time in the lounge multitasking, taking care of guests, making and serving drinks, cleaning up. Unlike some of the hotel lounges we have been to, this one is very small and feels unwelcoming by the decor. I was there for the evening cocktail, and the selection of food is pathetic. Maybe it is constrained by the space that does not allow the hotel to put more in the lounge. Perhaps the hotel can consider either allocating a bigger space for the lounge, or remove the lounge totally. There is also a small 24 hour gym just by the lounge. The gym has the standard weights, weight machines and treadmills. This under untilized gym feels like a waste of space, as we have not seen anyone using the gym during our stay there. The pool is a great hang out place for one to soak up in the sun. The infinite pool is not too large nor too small. the size is just right for one to tan and take a dip. The unique thing about the pool is the see through glass at one end of the pool. 

Decor of Crystal Lounge

Hotel Swimming pool

Heartware

This is the second time I have been here, both times I am not impressed with the service with the hotel. I read upon checking in, Moevenpick Ice-cream will be served to guests to welcome them. However both times I was at the hotel, there were no ice-cream served. This time round I thought that they do not do that anymore. However when I checked out, I noticed that ice-cream was served to the guests checking in. Such inconsistent treatment for guests is seriously frowned upon. How can this happen to a 5-star hotel? 

The check in experience was equally bad. I had to wait for the staff to answer the phone while she was checking us in. I thought that is rather disrespectful to the guests in front of her when checking us in. I had requested for a pool facing corner room, and was told that the room assigned was a pool facing corner room. To my horror, I was assigned a room right opposite the lift and was in the middle of the corridor. I wonder did the staff who checked us in understood what I meant by corner room. What a huge disappointment. The view of the room that I was assigned did not face the pool, rather it was facing the check in lobby. 

This is not the only time I had rather shocking service. I asked the housekeeping staff for some more shower gels, as the gels they gave is rather small quantity, he gave us a shock look and passed some to us, looking irritated after arguing that there are already some in the suite. After settling my stuffs in the room, I headed to the Crystal lounge to check things out. Upon entering, the staff there gave me a rude look and told us to wait by the door while she checked with the lobby staff I saw her talking  over the phone, guessing she might be checking if I am eligible for access to the lounge. This is rather rude of her to treat guests this way and she do not seemed to know the rules of the hotel well, as I understand all heritage suite guests do have access to the lounge. The hotel should wake up and see how they can improve their service. 

Other then these bunch of somewhat rude staffs, the rest of the staffs are rather welcoming and warm in their service. From the desk at the heritage wing to the other staff in the lounge, to those at the tablescale restaurant. 

Breakfast was served at the Tablescale restaurant. the selection in the restaurant is rather limited, with the usual egg station, cold cuts, salad bar, fruits, bread and hot sections. I saw 2 guests asking about the price of the breakfast and they were told costs $40++. I thought at this rate vis-a-vis the amount and the quality of the food being offered, the breakfast is severely overpriced.

Overall

Overall the stay in the room was good but not great, due the various negative encounters with the staffs. The hotel ought to really relook into their customer service and offer a more consistent service. sleep quality is excellent and the sound proofing in the room was good. The other flaw is the view of the room, which is rather depressing to look at and privacy inside the room is only achieved with the curtain closed.