The Hotel Life: Sheraton Towers Singapore Executive Suite Review

Welcome back to Seeing The World In Steps! After going all out on the Hilton Singapore last week, I am right back on my plans to check out as many Marriott Bonvoy properties in Singapore this year! Given the lack of travelling opportunities, staycations are really the only remaining fun that I have left. So here it is, another adventure of Pasir Ris to Orchard on the train! Or a little limo ride if I am feeling a little boujee! Surprisingly, all of my staycations to date have been in the orchard area! Nothing that I have purposely plan for! I have decided to tie in this stay with a very important date in my life, where I will receive some life altering news! I guess, it will probably be nicer to cry in my suite or popping open a bottle of Champagne to celebrate rather than being home. Hotels in Singapore are slowly being approved for local staycation stays and Sheraton Towers Singapore is one of the latest addition to the list last month. Probably low on everyone’s list for a local staycation, I am keen to explore this and show how worthwhile it might be at a low price point. It’s nice to try out something new as well. Sheraton Towers Singapore is located in Scotts Road, on the fringe of the Orchard Shopping District, right next to the MRT Station and within steps of the famous Newton Food Market. 

Booking Process

Upon hearing news of the Sheraton being open for local staycations, I immediately pounce on the opportunity to book a stays, as I was afraid that the price might jump after the news, which is a norm nowadays. I got the Wanderlust Escape deal with cost 235 SGD Nett a night and this comes with parking as well as a 50 SGD Nett F&B Credit. Furthermore the F&B credit will tie in very well with the 30% dining discount from Marriott Bonvoy. This is about as good as it gets. This actually might just be my first ever stay at a Sheraton brand hotel, one of the legacy SPG mid luxury property, it is currently one of the numerous brand under Marriott. Being one of the more affordable ones out there this is a great alternative. It will also be nice to enjoy my Platinum Elite Status privileges that will get me breakfast as well as lounge access. With the current Marriott Bonvoy promotion going on, I earn a total of 5849 Marriott points from this stay including the 2500 points promotion that they are having now! In airlines terms, that is almost 1950 Miles earned. This deal is still available for booking so do check it out if you are keen! 235 Nett for a suite that will cost me 582 SGD HMU! 

Towering 21 stories high, Sheraton Towers Singapore comes with a total of 402 Rooms and 18 Suites. All rooms comes with a Bathtub if it matters to you. With Towers Executive Lounge access extended to Platinum members and above as well as guests who booked a Sheraton Club room and above. Breakdown as follows.

Rooms	Towers Executive Lounge Access	Bathtub	Size
Deluxe	No	Yes	30 Sqm
Executive Business	No	Yes	30 Sqm
Sheraton Club	Yes	Yes	30 Sqm
Terrace King	Yes	Yes	50 Sqm
Pool King	Yes	Yes	38 Sqm
Cabana King	Yes	Yes	38 Sqm
Executive Suite	Yes	Yes	60 Sqm
Deluxe Suite	Yes	Yes	90 Sqm
Royal Suite	Yes	Yes	120 Sqm

Pre Arrival & Checking In

A couple of days prior to my arrival I received an email from the front office laying out details as well as the service changes. I also saw that I have been pre upgraded to a Executive Suite that measures 60 Sqm from a base level room that I originally book. This is the valuable part about having Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite membership and above. The current occupancy sure helps with the upgrades as well. I was also informed that facilities usage such as the Pool, Gym and Sauna are on appointment basis given current safe distancing measures. Sadly the Towers Executive Lounge will be closed till further notice although it is nice that they have shifted the breakfast and evening cocktails to the hotel restaurant. I will be sharing more on this later on!

I arrive at around 11am and was welcomed by the bellboy, who advised the check in procedures due to COVID and help with my baggage. On the first sight, the lobby was rather gloomy and quiet. They could really use some natural light or remove those yellow lights that cause more harm than help. I was welcomed as a Platinum Elite Member and accord the relevant privileges. The check in agent was rather nonchalant and didn’t went thru all the details with me. He even miss out mentioning the breakfast and lounge access to me. He also did not mention anything about the welcome gift choice. And once prompt, he state that the only option is the 1000 Points due to the COVID situation. I waited for a bit for the room to be ready and late check out was accord till 4pm as an elite member, further extended till 6pm the next day. It was lovely to have a 30 hours stay! 

Beijing Executive Suite

You know that you are in for a treat when your suite is a named one! It is my first time getting a named suite too. Each suite is designed and named after a heritage city such as Beijing, Cambridge etc etc! Whoa! Perhaps this is the next destination for me when international travel pick up? I got the Beijing Suite, which is located on the 15th floor. I was told that there are 13 Executive Suite in total and they are actually very good with giving them as upgrades to Platinum members and above. Coming in at 60 Sqm, the suite was super spacious and grand, well, grand in a previous era. This hotel and their rooms definitely shows the age. Their suites are actually double the size of the standards rooms since they are retrofitted from combining 2 of them. Immediately after entering, it opens up towards the living room, which is very 1990s Park Hyatt feel to me! 

Near the entrance, the half bath is located towards the right! Having a half bath is a detriment for a full suite and it can be very convenient if you are having a gathering or friends over. 

Then towards the left you can find the a stand which act like the mini bar area. Plenty of different glasses are provided alongside complimentary bottles of water as well as a kettle. Immediately, I noticed the lack of a coffee machine. Recent stays have makes me found the usefulness of having one and good teas in hotel rooms. It is really disappointing that only instant coffee and unbranded teas are offered. That is a no no for a suite! Something that you are selling at 600 Bucks? Come on, with only about around 20 suites in total, Nespresso machines aren’t that expensive to invest in. There is also a fridge, which is left empty, probably due to the current COVID situation. Especially when the Executive Lounge is closed all day long. That hurts a little more! 

The living room then opens up to you which is classy and grand, although old. I love that there is a chandelier which is lovely. The living space is also nicely placed. With a flat screen Smart TV on a wooden stand. The large coffee table. This seems to be kept in places with the Beijing theme of the room. It comes with a greyish sofa and 2 arms chairs. Plenty of seating area in this suite. The suite is really nice for gathering. The suite faces the Newton area which is nothing impressive but at least it opens up and you could see pretty far out for a quaint view. 

The bed room is separated from the living room area. You can find a lush and comfy king size bed located along the wall surrounding by two night stands. I had a great night sleep and the bed felt fresh! The bed were comfy and firm to my loving. Overused bed with bad support are often found in hotels of these age. Pillows were also not paper thin so that’s really nice and commendable. However I really hate the lack of outlets near the bed, which makes it super inconvenient. Something that hotels miss out all the time. The bed faces another Smart TV which was of an appropriate size. 

Along the side of the wall to the side, you can also find a working desk that is very China theme keeping in view of the name of the suite! Outlets can be easily found by the desk! Wifi connection in the room is also strong and I have no trouble streaming videos at all. There is also a little arm chair by the window for lazing! The bedroom have exactly the same Newton view as the living room. 

On the left of the bedroom you can find the bathroom. There is a large wardrobe where you can find the hairdryer and safe located inside. Some bath slippers were also left here.

Just outside the entrance to the bathroom, there is a little vanity desk. Lovely thoughts for the ladies dressing up. 

Although I find the bathroom is a little small! Partly due to the fact that the suite is a revamp from the normal rooms. There is also only a single sink which is disappointing for a suite. Well at least it comes with a shower cum bathtub set! Bathroom fixtures are by Grohe and I am very glad to see that there is a rainforest shower! Temperature control and water pressure are good! So I guess that works for me! The bathtub was also spacious enough! Toiletries were by Cenizaro which is my first time using it, which is definitely not my preferred choice. They also had this tub of cotton pads in a jar placed in the bathroom that looks a little disgusting especially given hygiene concern nowadays!

Pool

The pool is located on level 5 and open from 9am to 7pm daily. Pool usage is currently on a reservation basis due to social distancing measures, limited to a max of 10 guests at once. Pool is pretty nice actually! It seems like a private enclave with views of the surrounding hotel and condos. There is also this nice soothing water sound from the man made fountain/waterfall too. The pool ranges from 1.2 to 1.4m and it is pretty nice to chill in but yet big for swimming some laps as well. What I really didn’t like was the flooring that they use at the side of the pool, which even dry was already rather slippery. On my visits, the pool stayed empty and I had the whole place to myself. The pool had plenty of sunbeds, by the pool you can also find some of the Pool King and Cabana King rooms, these comes with direct pool access, but it definitely would not be my first choice given the lack of privacy. 

Gym

The gym is also located on the same level facing the pool! It was of a good size and comes with all the usual equipments. Gym usage was also on a reservations basis, limited to a max of 5 guests at all times.

Towers Executive Lounge

Given that the lounge is currently closed, all guest are ushered to the hotel restaurant, The Dining Room which is located on the lobby floor. Breakfast is served from 7.30am to 10.30am and evening cocktails will be from 5.30pm to 7.30pm for all guests with lounge access. This is the worst aspect of the whole staycation and experience. They were so stingy and miserable that they might as well go without it! The hotel was really quiet on a Tuesday night also! Each guests get a Bento set that included some sort of cheese platter which were awful, even the crackers were not fresh at all. In the Bento set you also have 2 little mini cakes and a hot dish which was some kind of fish. The fish was really good though, but upon asking for more, I was told that each guests is only limited to one. What the heck, this is not even good enough for lounge in the States! They might as well do without evening cocktails. Just look at how your counterpart, Marriott Tangs does it. Now that is a proper offering! I do have to say that the waiters here are very good and friendly. 

Drink wise, there is a menu that you can order off and it was unlimited for 2 hours. The selection was alright, typical for a hotel lounge. You can find the menu below. I did have a couple glasses of Gin Tonic and they were alright, a very strong pour I would say! 

We even got some fries from the a la carte menu to accompany the Bento cause that was ridiculous. 

Breakfast

Located at The Dining Room. Breakfast is served a la carte from 7.30am to 10.30am. Given current regulations, breakfast is on a set menu basis. There are 4 different sets that you can choose from, ranging from American Breakfast to Asian Selections. Although you are definitely free to mix and match any choices and you can order as many as you want. Given that this is a weekday and the occupancy rate, it is rather quiet and quaint in the morning. Less than 3 tables were taken up while I’m here!

Drinks order are taken after being shown to the table. Coffee, tea or juices are available I got a cappuccino and double espresso which was alright, but they are made from one of those instant machine that we all hated! It would be really nice if they offered drinks made from an actual espresso machine. There’s an assortment of pastries and carbs available and I tried one of their croissant which was lovely and flaky! Breakfast seems to be the only highlight at this hotel. My scrambled eggs were done perfectly and buttery as are the accompanied sides like hash brown and sausages! The hash brown is perfectly fried and I love it. You can also tell that the food are freshly cooked as you do need to wait a while for it to arrive and they were hot. They are definitely not some “I will plate the buffet for you” kinda a la carte menu. 

I also tried their congee which is pretty good as well and the portion is huge. Overall I’m quite pleased with the breakfast part of the stay. Only wish they could serve coffee drinks out of an actual espresso machine. 

The Dining Room

I also got lunch the next day at the dining room since I had some credits to burn. The restaurant was actually rather welcoming and bright in the afternoon, facing the manmade waterfall with faint sounds of the water heard in the background. It is actually quite a nice space to relax and work. Prices here are definitely on the high side although the credits and Marriott bonvoy 30% discount did help. I got a Lychee Mojito to go with my meal which cost 18 SGD pretty good, refreshing and a strong pour. 

I order the Cod Fish and Chips which came with a side salad and fries. You could also opt for sweet potato fries if you were like to be healthier. The dish cost 36 SGD. The food takes pretty long to arrive. At least it is worth the wait since it was really good and hot. The batter is flavourful and retains its crisp, the Cod was flaky. Portion seems to be a little small for the price. It is not something that I will specifically come back for but the food was edible and lovely! If you got some credits to burn sure, if not I am sure you can get better bang for your bucks elsewhere.  

Conclusion

Sheraton Towers Singapore would be a solid 4 star hotel to me. But my experience here really didn’t live up to its expectations. I would not be back again. I was not properly welcomed even on a weekday. For that price, I could book somewhere else. Yea, I did get a nice suite upgrade and had almost 30 hours in that room, breakfast was great and the staff was polite. But other than that, nothing is worth mentioning and the lounge offering is ridiculous while keeping my words kindly. While the suite was nice and spacious, it definitely seems to be from the previous era. But again. With a rate of 235 with 50 credit and a nice upgrade to this suite with a size of 60 Sqm. It might be nice to book for gathering given how great they are with upgrades. Continuing on my temporary Marriott Bonvoy adventures, I have St Regis, Four Points by Sheraton Singapore Riverview coming right up after this. I am looking forward to try out both the W and JW Marriott if I could. So, follow on Seeing The World In Steps Staycations Adventures if you are still keen!