Previously, I have just shared about my recent experience at St Regis, by far the best staycation I ever had and experienced during this period. It was that good that I immediately went back for another stay! This time around, I would like to share about the Caroline Astor Suite. The higher category suite that I, very thankfully, got to try just last week. This is a suite that have rates of 750 SGD! I would not do a full review anymore since the last post was rather extensive, so you are able to refer to that if you want to know more about the property and amenities in general. A little change is made to the use of the pool this time around and it require prior reservation although it is not really enforced on weekdays when the occupancy is low. St Regis Singapore are already known for their spacious rooms, with their base level rooms, Executive Deluxe already coming in at 52 Sqm! The Caroline Astor Suite which is a very special upgrade for Platinum and above Bonvoy members comes at an imposing 90 Sqm! Usually the lower St Regis Junior Suite are given for upgrades. I will share more on the suite following on.
Booking Process, Pre Arrival & Checking In
Using the same UOB promotion, my room rate comes in at 350 SGD after tax for the base level room. The rate comes includes breakfast for 2 at Brasserie Les Saveurs, a 100 SGD daily hotel credit for use on dining and spa as well as late check out till 4pm, subjected to availability. I will also be able to stack on my elite benefits. In house guests enjoy free parking as well. A pretty decent promotion! A week out from my stay I saw that I have been upgraded to the St Regis Suite and the night before, it was further upgraded to a higher Caroline Astor Suite. You should probably heard my squeal after opening the app. My room was ready at 10am in the morning and late check out was guaranteed to 4pm as part of my elite benefits, further extended till 5pm on the day of departure. 30 hours in this suite is as awesome as it gets! Once again, St Regis Singapore have 262 rooms and 37 suites over 20 floors. There are in total, 9 categories of rooms and suites as follows. You can’t beat a 5 Category Upgrade! Funny enough! There are actually more Caroline Astor Suites in the hotel than the St Regis Junior Suites!
| Rooms | Daily Aperitivo Hour | Bathtub | Size | No. of Rooms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Executive Deluxe | No | Yes | 52 Sqm | 93 |
| Grand Deluxe | No | Yes | 52 Sqm | 122 |
| Lady Astor | No | Yes | 56 Sqm | 34 |
| Penthouse | No | Yes | 52 Sqm | 13 |
| St Regis Suite | Yes | Yes | 80 Sqm | 10 |
| Caroline Astor Suite | Yes | Yes | 90 Sqm | 21 |
| Specialty Suite | Yes | Yes | 90 Sqm | 3 |
| Premier Specialty Suite | Yes | Yes | 135 Sqm | 2 |
| Presidential Suite | Yes | Yes | 335 Sqm | 1 |
I arrive at around 10.30 am and my room was already ready! Similar to the previous experience, the arrival process was smooth and professional! With a charm, the bellboy assisted me with my baggage, introduced his name and then escorted me all the way to the sit down check in desk area and hand me over to the receptionist! Which then politely went thru all the details with me and escorted me all the way to the lift as well! Breakfast was included in the rate and even extended for a 3rd pax, by combining the Platinum Welcome Gift and the rate included breakfast since I had a friend joining me tomorrow. With the early check in and late check out extended till 4pm, further extended till 5pm the day of check out. This is again why platinum status is so worthwhile. Paying 350 SGD for a suite that would cost 750 SGD and enjoying 30 hours in it! Astonishing!
Caroline Astor Suite
The St Regis Suite are lower level suites located from level 3 to level 7, while the Caroline Astor Suite are located from level 8 to level 17. Despite the similarity in both the decoration and layout of the two suites, the Caroline Astor clearly differ in terms of the size and the view, given that they are located much higher. I was back after my previous stay a couple weeks ago given how lovely the previous stay was and how badly I missed it! My room is located on the 14th floor at the corner as well similar to the St Regis Suites. Caroline Astor Suites can be connected with a Grand Deluxe Room to make up a two bedroom suite! I got 1410 this time around, which looks almost exactly similar to the smaller St Regis Suites. Immediately after entering, the walkway consists of a full length mirror and the mini bar set up before separating into the Living Room and the Bedroom.
On the side you can also find an entrance connecting to the main bathroom! This act as the half bath for the suite. It does comes at a surprise that there is no separate half bath for a standard size suite. Although I appreciate it given that the space might be use better for other purpose. A separate half bath is only useful if you are hosting guests.
The room was bright and spacious! I love the decor. Coming in a 90 Sqm, it is apparent that the extra space is in the living room which are almost twice bigger than the St Regis Suites! The extra space makes the whole place even more spacious and wider. There is also much more walking space between the TV and Desk Set up from the couch.
The living room is very grand with chandeliers above it! As mentioned, the decor is exactly the same and even the furnitures in the suite! However another highlight of the Caroline Astor is the view! By being on a higher level, the space really opens up and you can see the lush greenery of the nearby Botanic Gardens! A fruit plate and cake was also left on the table as a welcome amenity.
The bed room is almost exactly the same and I will not go much into detail again! My thoughts of it remains the same! They should really do with some power plugs by the bed. It’s really so inconvenient! I will let the pictures do more of the talking!
Of course, no stay at St Regis is perfect without that iconic freestanding bathtub! For the worth, the bathroom is exactly the same as the St Regis Suite and it is already spacious enough. Everything was the same! You have the awesome Remede Toiletries, the Spa Shower fittings! Water pressure is again amazing in both the bathtub as well as the standing shower fixture! Again, I had the best shower I ever experience in a hotel room!
Daily Evening Aperitivo
In the evening the butler brought up the daily evening aperitivo! This time around, I opt for a White Wine as well as the Negroni which I fell in love with previously! I love how strong their pours are. Today selection of bites includes some Otah on a Stick, Cakes/puffs, crab tarts as well as cold cut ham. The food was very good and delicious and in fact a little too stingy on the portions. This is one part of the stay that I hope it could go back to pre covid times!
Breakfast
Breakfast was once again an highlight! It just doesn’t disappoint over here at St Regis! The manager was also nice to extend breakfast for a 3rd pax by combining my welcome gift and the breakfast included rate. Breakfast was a galore, a feast! I managed to try out even more food items this time round. However the laksa and salmon this time was disappointing. As usual their bakes and the epicurean omelette is the best!
That Pound Cake, Danish, croissant and Pain Au Chocolat! It is as good as it is from famous cafes outside and from Paris. I especially love that Pound Cake!
Yan Ting
This time around, I went to check out Yan Ting since I had tried Brasserie Les Saveurs previously! It is the other popular restaurant over here. Yan Ting is also a Michelin recommended restaurant! The name literally means Imperial Court. Prices are definitely expensive although thankfully I’m able to enjoy 30% off as well as using the 100 SGD credit. Despite it being a weekday, the restaurant was absolutely packed. Reservations are definitely recommended even for weekdays. I love the decor of the restaurant although would love for it to be brighter with much more natural light, especially for the lunch service. Service was excellent as you might expect!
To start the meal, we got the half Peking Duck which cost 48 SGD, served two ways. The duck skin will be served with pancake as well as garnishes and sauce. Then the remaining will be stirred fried with scallions and spicy sauce. The duck was first presented and then taken to be sliced and wrapped for us. I love how easy they prep it for you in individual pancakes wrap. There were 10 each. Although it does take out some of the fun, in some places you wrap it yourself. This is one dish that you would want to eat it fast before the skin soften under the pancake!
The stir fried meat was served later and it was good and well flavoured. I love the scallions in it. However I do find it slightly overcooked and some of the meat were rough.
The other dish that caught my eye was the Claypot Chicken with Abalone and Mushroom, costing 38 SGD. It seems like a very lovely dish to go with white rice and it does live up to the reputation. Came in a little claypot, the dish was super fragrant with all the lovely essence of abalone and chinese wine infused into the chicken and mushroom. The little bits and pieces of char from the claypot was lovely as well. It was generous with the abalone as well with 6 mini ones. Perfect dish to go with rice! This is definitely my favourite dish of the day! It does gave me a little inspiration, get one of those canned mini abalone and stewed it with chicken meat at home!
Speaking about rice. Here is another pro tip! Get some of the XO Chilli Sauce from the staff, There is an additional charge of 5 SGD. But it is so lovely and pairing it with rice, yummy tummy!
To finish up the meal, we ordered a couple of dimsum as well. Yan Ting sure does have a lot of unique offerings other than the standard Siew Mai and Har Gow! Some of the standout items and special ones that I really like includes the Deep-fried Prawn Rolls with Avocado and the Barbecued Pork “Snow Pear” Dumpling! The avocado was a nice twist on the usual mango pairing. It is my first time seeing Avocado being used in a Dim Sum dish. Dim Sum dishes range between 8.80 SGD to 10.80 SGD. Besides, the classic favourite like chicken feet were well executed too!
The Steamed Goose Liver Dumplings with Black Garlic was a disappointing dish! The bill came to a total of 123 SGD after the 30% Marriott Bonvoy Discount. Nicely covered by the credit, 23 SGD for this meal was a bargain! The food at Yan Ting was good, after all for this quality and price, but not wonderful! In fact, I prefer the dishes at Wan Hao restaurant in Marriott Tangs much more!
Conclusion
To sum up! The Caroline Astor Suite was a very nice treat, especially given that it is available as an upgrade for elite members over here! Getting a 750 dollars suite from booking a base level room, early check in and late check out! Same thoughts on the little polishing as mentioned, power plugs by the bed and more generous aperitivo offering! I have almost nothing to fault from this experience! St Regis Singapore will always be a nice treat with their impeccable service and offering! Undoubtedly, I am sure on the weekends the service might be a little diluted with huge crowd! I am happy and hopeful to be back once again! Next up, I will be doing a head to head comparison of Hilton Diamond vs Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite! So stay tuned!
Seeing The World In Steps 
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