If strong first impressions matter, The Westin Singapore by Marriott International will bedazzle you. Nestled by the bay and Singapor’s Central Business District is a hotel located 32 storeys from the ground of the integrated office building Asia Square Tower 2. If you are not a mile-chaser or an influencer, and perhaps if you are an ordinary person like me, this review is for you.
A brushed aluminium-looking signage at ground level which read “The Westin Singapore” ordains an otherwise unassuming office tower. Once entranced by the signboard—and the fact that you are indeed at the hotel’s entrance—, hotel staff Hodor appears and veritably holds the door. Past the mandatory TraceTogether (contact-tracing) and temperature check-in, another staff member manifests himself from nowhere and guides you to the elevator. Impressive theatrics (hospitality) so far.
Board the lift for the 32nd level, equalize the pressure in your ears a few times, step out within the minute and—behold… the coastline of Singapore right in front of you. But save that for later; administrative matters come first.
Check-in was quick—after waiting in the empty queue for a bit. There was only one receptionist manning one of the three check-in counters. Perhaps the occupancy rate was low, or maybe the Marriott Bonvoy members have already checked in on their mobile phones. Or perhaps the other two had donned their invisibility cloaks. No matter. After putting down the S$500 incidental deposit and getting the room key cards, there was a little brief: the first three elevators closer to the front desk go up to the hotel rooms and facilities, and the farther three to where it all began.
When I was there, The Lobby Lounge and the Seasonal Tastes restaurants on level 32 were closed due to the ridiculously named lockdown enacted by the Singapore government. The lack of diners and guests, coupled with the absurdly beauteous panoramic view of the Singapore Strait, made checking in a tranquil and delightful experience. Now to savour the serenity of the hotel lobby before heading to room 3727.
Grey and black marbled walls accented with wooden decorative panels and soft multi-coloured carpet adorned the winding hallways of The Westin Singapore. The strips of warm and dim lights atop floor’s false ceiling is oddly reminiscent of the lighting onboard the Boeing 787 Dreamliner cabin. Delightfully earthy tones and almost overly classy for a supposed business hotel.
Room 27 was about a minute’s walk away from the elevator—not necessarily a bad thing because the farther you are away from the lobby, the quieter it gets. And I appreciate that. But here comes the room lottery. The Deluxe King Room comes in varying sizes and views. You either get a big room, or a smaller one—either the sea view or one that faces the city. And like I mentioned in my introduction, this hotel review is for you because I drew the latter of both.
Usually, a hotel room has a vestibule. You know—that short stretch of the entryway where you get to put your luggage and shoes. Room 27’s vestibule got swallowed up by the ensuite bathroom. Yes, the bathroom is gratuitously huge in that it spans the entire length of the room and takes up almost half of the total room area. But back to the vestibule—a tiny square was all that isolated the bed from guests who could be dancing through the hallway.
But you have to admire a view from the skies. Given that rooms in The Westin Singapore start from the 36th storey, no matter which floor you end up at, be rest assured that you will get a view higher than a rooster’s flying altitude. View-wise, like what Forrest Gump’s mother famously said, “Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.” You will be wandering in the windowless corridors until you reach your room.
The city view doesn’t suck. There are skyscrapers and condominiums (one in gold) in the foreground, a zoned or conserved area (shophouses in orange) which is The Historic District of Chinatown in the middle, and the Bukit Timah “mountain” (hill) behind. The ceiling-to-floor windows broadcast an impeccable view of urban planning in Singapore to illustrate how Singapore is one of the most densely populated cities in the world. For photographers with telephoto lenses, the city view The Westin Singapore offers is a ticket for indispensable social media validation.
The bedroom was gorgeous, and the Wi-Fi speed was fast. The marble tabletops and wooden accents and a swirly curvy contemporary art replica in the room exuded some sense of sophistication. The armchair at the corner of the room was cushiony and comfortable. And in the middle of it all, Marriott’s famed king-size Heavenly Bed and plump pillows. Room 27 doesn’t have a proper mini-fridge or a Nespresso Coffee Machine, but the pantry served a pittance of TWG tea and Nescafé. So far so good, right?
The bedroom bench (at the front of the bed), an armchair leg rest and a cushion that I’ve seen in the photos on Marriott’s website and other blog reviews were missing. But I’m not certain whether the hotel management has decided to remove them (due to the pandemic) to reduce the number of touchpoints.
Then I stepped on a small spherical object (about 5mm in diameter) camouflaged in the carpet by the windows. I discovered two or three more of them under the work desk, and they must have been left behind (callously dropped) by the previous occupants. These unidentified gubbins didn’t bother me, so I disposed of them. But considering that The Westin Singapore is a premium luxury five-star hotel bearing the SG Clean accreditation, to miss out vacuuming a couple of spots… I hope that they have thoroughly disinfected the room. Again, ’tis but a minor hiccup.
Enter the bathroom. Minimal, marbly, and amazingly spacious for creating TikTok videos—as though this was the sole determinant in the bathroom design process. But colour me impressed with how the vestibule, the shower cubicle, and the potty room were stacked to create an architectural leaning tower of kueh lapis. Across this layered pastry is where a freestanding bathtub sits. After digesting this piece of marvel, you can take a bath or egest in peace in front of the whole of Singapore. Just make sure that you are fully clothed.
Room 27 has a rain shower, and that is all that matters in life, even if the water heats up slowly. And it does. The floor gently slopes down from the shower door to the drain and has some form of anti-slip or water-repellent coating. Westin’s White Tea Aloe bath and body shower line smelled pleasant and rejuvenated my humidity-tormented body. The conditioner worked my hair. Most hotels’ hair products leave my hair dry like a stack of hay abandoned outside a farm waiting to combust under the summer sun. But I have some gripes—the shower door strip shrieks whenever you move the door, and there was no space to place a foot towel. The shower door opened right up to the sliding bathroom door.
Also, consider buying a bath bomb or bubble bar, so you could marinate yourself with alkaline after visiting the hotel’s infinity pool.
The 35th storey of The Westin Singapore houses the Westin Club Lounge, Heavenly Spa by Westin (indoor jacuzzi’s here), the WestinWORKOUT Fitness Studio (fancy jargon for a gymnasium) and an outdoor infinity pool. Everything was closed (due to the pandemic) except for the pool.
After making a same-day reservation for the last evening pool slot, I spent half the time swimming laps and the other half enjoying the sea breeze. At the edge of the pool, you could see the Singapore Sports Hub, an upsized London Eye (Singapore Flyer), and one of Asia’s biggest cruise terminals—the Marina Bay Cruise Centre. The pool gets cold quickly after the sun sets, so if you have an evening slot booked, consider using one of the many submerged sunbeds at the poolside.
My booking came with breakfast and dining credits which can be used on any item on the hotel’s e-dining menu. The Westin’s Singapore digital menu is hosted on a poorly designed Wix website, and the navigation button will only appear on mobile phones. What?
You can place in-room dining orders through “Service Express” (Westin Singapore’s way of saying “call the front desk for room service”). I had requested a bucket of ice and antiseptic wipes on separate occasions, and they were patient, polite, and more than delighted to deliver. Fantastic service.
For dinner, I had ordered the Thai Grilled Pork Neck with nam jim jaew sauce (S$15++) and Canton Wok Seafood Fried Rice with scallops, squid, shrimps and fried egg (S$18++). The fried rice tasted ordinary. It felt like something you could get from a tze char stall at your nearest coffee shop. However… when I added the sambal chilli that came with the fried rice, this main turned into an entirely palatable dish. And I was raking for the remaining grains at the end of my meal. The pork neck was meh.
Under normal circumstances, breakfast (buffet) is served at Seasonal Tastes. But for this stay, guests have to call the front desk to indicate their breakfast set and timing preference. There were only three breakfast sets to choose from: American (S$32++) served with orange juice, Local (S$28++) with soya milk or ginger and red date tea, or Eat Well (S$31++) with watermelon juice. Breakfast was served on time, and it came with a pastry basket (complimentary, I believe) and a choice of coffee or tea.
The fruit juices were watered-down, and the coffee was over-roasted and bad. But fortunately, Five Oars Coffee Roasters is in the next building. Without turning this hotel write-up into a food review, allow me to feed you this: the complimentary pastries tasted better than the breakfast sets.
And finally, I ordered the Australian Angus Beef Tenderloin with sautéed onions, green beans, black olives, potato purée, jus (S$38++), the Thai Tom-yum River Prawn Soup with mushrooms, tomatoes, kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass (S$18++) and a Yuzu Ginger Spirulina Soda (Westin Fresh by The Juicery) (S$15++) for lunch. This meal came with two buns. The tenderloin was incredibly delectable. What more can I say? The yuzu soda quenched my thirst—but Don Don Donki’s yuzu beverages taste better and only costs a fifth of what you have to pay here.
Non-Bonvoy members like me aren’t expecting a personalised welcome note upon arrival. But the least the hotel could do was to have a system in place to manage in-room dining more efficiently. If you wind up getting a smaller room like 27, you have to shift the nightstand to the middle of the room, or you’ll have to eat your meals in bed or side-by-side with your family or friend on the work desk affixed to the wall. That was what I did—I moved the bedside table and the office chair to where the armchair was. Cumbersome.
Twice, I walked past an empty tray of food left outside someone’s room. The hotel does offer you the option to leave your finished meal outside your room or call the front desk to have someone pick it up. But no one cleared the food in the span of about one hour (off-peak hour, around 5-6 p.m.). That was rather unsightly and unhygienic.
At the end of the day, while the bathrobe felt coarser than sandpaper and the allegedly legendary pillows were too stiff for my neck, I melted into the bed—it was undoubtedly one of the best I’ve slept in. However, the heavenly part of this staycation wasn’t the bed or the numerous minor inconveniences. It was the incredible soundproofing of the room. Never have I (so far) come across such a quiet environment for sleeping or recharging away from the pains of being enclosed in a country with travel restrictions.
Five-star hotel? Not really. Not without paying attention to minute details of a stay during a lockdown. But would I revisit this hotel when there are many other options available? When the current lockdown restrictions get lifted, definitely. The highlights—beef tenderloin and luxurious bed—were a welcomed respite from ordinary living, and my stay was incredibly peaceful. The overall hospitality I’ve received here was refreshing. Once the hotel’s housekeeping improves, The Westin Singapore will become a force to be reckoned with.
A sound luxury hotel in the skies for light-sleepers—even if you aren’t a businessperson or an influenza.
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12 Marina View, Asia Square Tower 2, Singapore 018961
+65 6922 6888
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