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| Facade of Marina Mandarin |
Location
Marina Mandarin Singapore is located in Marina Centre, right in the centre of Singapore. The hotel is connected to the Marina Square Shopping Mall and is also well connected to other nearby shopping malls such as Suntec City and Raffles City. Marina Mandarin is situated right in front of Marina Bay area, next to the Esplanade Theatre. The hotel is accessible to 2 MRT stations, making it convenient to access anywhere else in Singapore.
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| Interior of Marina Mandarin Hotel |
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| Marina Mandarin Singapore is located above Marina Square Shopping Mall |
The Suite
I checked into the Marina Bay Suite, which is facing the Marina Bay area. The expansive 66㎡ suite is the 2nd most luxurious suite in Marina Mandarin, just one category below the President Suite. The suite make up of a living room, a bedroom and a bathroom.
Living Room
Guests would find themselves in a large living room upon entering the Marina Bay Suite in Marina Mandarin Singapore. Immediate to the left side of the spacious living room is the dinning area. Designed by the wall is the mini bar, where guests would be able to enjoy complementary drinks and snacks, topped up daily. There are no lack of storage space for guests who prefer to bring their own snacks. However there is only one power socket at the mini bar area which is to be shared between the Nespresso Coffee Machine and the electric kettle. The glasses and mugs are found in the right most cabinet in the mini bar area. The fridge is found inside the left most frosted glass cabinet in the mini bar area. There is a small glass round table with 3 chairs, serving as the dinning table by the mini bar area.
Balcony
The Marina Bay Suite in Marina Mandarin Hotel has 2 balconies, one of which is located in the living room and the other is located in the bedroom. Despite being next to each other, these balconies are separated by a solid wall, which means there are no access from the balcony in the living room to that in the bedroom. The balcony in the living room faces Marina Square Shopping Mall and one will be treated to views of Marina Bay from the balcony. The balcony in the living room is decked with 2 chairs and a table, whilst the balcony in the bedroom has no furniture placed in it.
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| Balcony at the living room with chairs and table |
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| View of Marina Bay area from the balcony |
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| Balcony in the bedroom, which is bare and has no furnitures |
Bedroom
The double panel large wooden door opposite the 3 seater couch separates the living room from the bedroom. Entering the bedroom, guests will be greeted by a large King-size bed with a bedside table on both sides of the bed. The king bed is very comfortable to sleep on and I fell asleep shortly after lying on the bed and felt very refreshed the next day. The sleep quality is excellent and the pillow is of the right firmness. There is a armchair placed next to the king bed, in front of the floor to ceiling glass panel that separates the bedroom from the balcony. Diagonally opposite the bed is another TV console with large flat screen TV on top. Left from the entrance to the bedroom is where one will find the bathroom and a dressing area. A 2 panel wardrobe is placed opposite the entrance to the bathroom. The wardrobe is a tad small for travellers who prefer to hang their clothing and will be staying here for more than 1 week, as the capacity is rather small. There is a cabinets with 3 glass drawers on the left panel of the wardrobe, capable of storing more clothing folded up. An in-room safe is placed on top of the 3 drawer cabinets. Further into the suite, next to the wardrobe is a small power area. Here is where one can find a huge ledge for one to place a large luggage on. There are 4 large drawers beneath the ledge. In the corner is where one can find the dressing cum power table.
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| King bed in the bedroom |
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| TV console in the bedroom |
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| Armchair in the bedroom by the balcony |
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| Phone and clock by the bedside in the bedroom of Marina Bay Suite |
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| Wardrobe and powder area in the bedroom |
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| The right closet is for hanging of cloths. The space is rather limited |
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| The right closet has more storage and an in-room safe |
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| Powder area in the bedroom |
Bathroom
The spacious white marble laden bathroom is enclosed with frosted glass, giving it a very clean and bright feel. Entering the bathroom, the walk-in shower separated by glass is the first thing that greets guests in the Marina Bay Suite. There is only a regular shower head in the walk-in shower. Next to the entrance of the bathroom is a single sink with loads of storage area for additional toiletries that guests might bring with them. A bathtub sits next to the sink, in the furthest end of the bathroom. The bathtub seem rather low, however when soaked in it, one would find it rather spacious. The toilet bowl is located next to the bathtub and opposite the sink. Even the toilet bowl seem a tad low.
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| Entrance to the bathroom |
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| Walk-in Shower |
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| Sink area |
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| Bathtub and toilet bowl |
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| Marina Mandarin provides quality bathing amenities for their suite guests |
Meritus Club
Guests staying in Marina Bay Suites in Marina Mandarin Hotel are entitled to visit the Meritus Club lounge located on 21 floor of the hotel. The dark wooden themed lounge is a rather comfortable place to hang out. The lounge maximises the use of window to allow guests to sit by and relax. There is a substantial amount of dinning and sitting area in the lounge. Guests get to enjoy breakfast, afternoon tea and evening cocktails in the Meritus Club. As the lounge has a no children policy, the lounge is exceptionally quiet and a great place to chill. The food served during breakfast is a scaled down version of what is being served in the breakfast restaurant, however guests get to enjoy the breakfast without crazy queue and at a peaceful environment. The hotel serves sandwiches and pastries during their afternoon tea time and a selection of local food as well as some finger food together with wine and beer are available for guests during the evening cocktail at the lounge.
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| Meritus Club is located on 21st floor of Marina Mandarin Hotel |
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| Plenty of seating in Meritus Club |
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| More dinning area in Meritus Club |
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| Snacks are available all day |
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| More snacks for guests in Meritus Club |
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| Afternoon tea |
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| Evening cocktail |
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| Evening cocktail |
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| Evening cocktail |
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| Buffet area in Meritus Club |
Swimming Pool
The swimming pool in Marina Mandarin is located on the 5th floor of the hotel. The hotel has a mineral pool, which means the chlorine content in the pool is rather low. This is a great place to swim, with the amount of sunlight one can get at the pool and the pool side area. There are a large number of suntan deck chairs around for guests to enjoy themselves at the pool. There are several gazebos by the side of the pool for guests to enjoy at no extra charges. The pool itself is rather big and has a depth of 2.5m at the deepest end of the pool.
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| Entrance to the swimming pool on 5th floor |
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| Mineral swimming pool |
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| A small pool for children |
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| Great place for suntan at the pool area |
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| Hotel facade at the swimming pool |
Gym
Gym in Marina Mandarin is located on the 5th floor of the hotel. The smallish gym has a few treadmills, stationary bicycles and an area for weights. One can still get a decent workout at the gym despite its size. Throughout my stay at the hotel, the gym usage is rather low as it is empty most of the time (including no staff manning the gym).
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| Entrance to the gym on 5th floor |
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| Gym in Marina Mandarin hotel |
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| Some gym equipment |
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| Weight area in the gym on level 5 |
Breakfast
Guests in Marina Bay Suite has the option of having breakfast at Aquamarine Restaurant. The restaurant is large with heaps of sitting to cater for the guests in the hotel. There is a huge selection of food from local dishes to the more international dishes available for breakfast in the restaurant. As the restaurant is halal certified, no pork is served in this restaurant. The quality of the food served is good and flavourful, however dinning here for breakfast can be a nightmare due to the amount of guests coming her for breakfast.
Service
The service in Marina Mandarin is impeccable. The staffs make me feel welcome and are eager to do their best to satisfy my requests. I requested for baby cot and baby bath amenities before my checking into the hotel, these items were already placed in the suite when I enter. When I requested for extra towels from the housekeeping department, the items were brought to my suite without me having to wait for too long. The staff who delivered the items to my suite were always smiling.
The great experience in Marina Mandarin started with the moment I stepped into the hotel for checking in. The staff at the concierge processed my check-in without me having to wait unnecessarily, after which I was escorted by another staff - Vivy to my suite. Vivy was very friendly and introduced me to the various facilities in the hotel. She even recommended me to try out the Meritus Club lounge during evening cocktail time for the food that will be served. At the suite, Vivy introduced the facilities inside the suite.
Whilst at the lounge, I met with one of the staff Maria, whom was as welcoming as anyone else I have met. She kept on checking if I need more food or drinks during afternoon tea. Maria cleared the empty plate on my table as soon as I left my table. Maria was attentive and friendly. She shared with me her experiences working with the hotel and recommended me to return for evening cocktail. Chatting with Maria is like chatting with a friend.
I am surprised by another staff at the lounge, Richie, whom seem to have a photographic memory. My interactions with Richie was minimal and he only asked for my room number. I was surprised the next day, Richie recognised me and even welcomed me back to the lounge despite the short interaction time. This showed that Richie is very observant to all the guests whom come into the Meritus Club lounge.
Nurjarnah the housekeeping staff who made up my suite during my stay is a gem in the hotel. She kept the suite clean and tidy, ensuring that I have a clean and comfortable suite to return back every morning. Nurjarnah also smiled and greeted me whenever I saw her at the corridor. There was a few occasions I went up to her to request for additional bath amenities, despite her being busy cleaning up another room, she always smiled and fulfil my requests. When I apologised for disturbing her work, Nurjarnah assured me that I wasn't disturbing her at all.
The star of the hotel during my stay got to be Vignes, the Duty Manager. Vignes was very welcoming and went all out to ensure that my stay was comfortable and without incident. Vignes will always come up to me and chat whenever he saw me around in the hotel. Chatting with Vignes is like chatting with an old friend. Vignes shared with me his experiences working in the hospitable industry and running a hotel from his perspective. I learnt a lot chatting with Vignes. Vignes never fail to check if everything is okay during my stay in the hotel and would get things sorted out whenever I made requests to him. Vignes even took the trouble to find me in the lounge to check if he can do anything to make my stay at Marina Mandarin more comfortable before he knocks off during my stay in the hotel. On the day of my checking out, Vignes came to my suite and bide me farewell. He personally processed my check out swiftly.
Overall
My stay at Marina Bay Suite in Marina Mandarin Hotel is a great experience. Despite showing signs of aging in the suite, the suite is very comfortable and well maintained by the staffs in the hotel. The view from the balcony in the suite is superb, great even when sitting in the balcony relaxing. The suite is very spacious and the sleep quality is excellent on the king bed in the bedroom. The staffs are very friendly and welcoming and they are not stingy with their smiles. My guests and I had a great time in Marina Mandarin and I highly recommend one to check out Marina Mandarin.
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| Atrium in Marina Mandarin Hotel at night from the floor I was staying |
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