Welcome to the 19th hotel that I have stayed in Singapore, this time around I will be at Sofitel Singapore City Centre. Seeing The World In Steps hotel adventures continues! A rather new business hotel in the Tanjong Pagar enclave, Sofitel Singapore City Centre opened in late 2017. The hotel is part of Singapore tallest building development, Guoco tower. Just next to the historic Chinatown, Tanjong Pagar and Singapore central business district, Sofitel is fantastic for both leisure and business travellers. The hotel is connected to the Tanjong Pagar MRT which makes it easy to commute around the city. It is a hotel with everything you might need in reach! Fancy stores and restaurants, checked. Hawker and supermarket at Tanjong Pagar, checked.
Booking Process & Pre Arrival
With my recent stay at Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort & Spa, I was keen to be back and check out their sister property in town. It would be cool to do a side by side comparison and contrast the experience between a city hotel and one with a resort vibe. Seeing The World In Steps stayed as a guest of Sofitel Singapore City Centre. My media stay booked me into their Luxury Club Room. Prices are depressed these days given the current climate. The Base level Luxury Rooms starts from 325 SGD for a weekday stay but I would rather recommend you to book the packages they have on offer. The Family Staycation package caught my eye where at 355 SGD you will be able to enjoy breakfast and dinner for 2 adults & 1 child. They even included a teepee tent for the little ones.
The same package is available on Klook as well which might be better if you do not hold any status with Accor and have some remaining SingapoRediscover Vouchers to use. I could easily get rates with no blackout dates for the rest of the year. Staying on the weekends cost an extra 70 bucks.
If you just require a room, Accor is currently running a flash sale in partnership with Mastercard. You will be able to enjoy 33% of the flexible rate. Accor Plus members enjoy an extra 10% off. The offer is valid until 31 July 2021 for stays until 30 December 2021. I can see rates for the base level room starting at 218 SGD for a weekday stay!
My early check-in was guaranteed at 12pm. While the location of the hotel is ideal and right smack in town with plenty of F&B options nearby. The hotel does not provide any complimentary parking for guests. This is due to the fact that they do not own the parking facility themself and instead shares the Guoco Tower one. Parking rates are hefty here on weekdays and do remember to park at carpark B which is the cheaper out of the 2. You can refer here for the parking rates. On the bright side, the hotel is easily accessible via MRT with the exit located just right of the hotel. This makes it perfect for tourists. Weighing out the cost between a grab and driving, I spend around a total of 35 SGD for parking by using a combination of street parking and the Guoco Tower parking. For those who are parking at Guoco Tower, you can access the hotel directly from the carpark. Sofitel Singapore City Centre features 223 guest rooms and suites. Guests staying in a club room and above gets access to the club lounge. I will rate Sofitel Singapore City Centre as a luxury business hotel. Their rooms are spread across 5 categories. All room types here comes with a bathtub and starting at 38 Sqm, they are one of the more spacious one in town.
| Rooms | Club Millesime | Bathtub | Size | No. of Rooms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luxury | No | Yes | 38 Sqm | 128 |
| Luxury Family | No | Yes | 38 Sqm | 45 |
| Luxury Club | Yes | Yes | 38 Sqm | 36 |
| Prestige Suite | Yes | Yes | 76 Sqm | 13 |
| Joaquim Suite | Yes | Yes | 114 Sqm | 1 |
Checking In
The hotel’s interiors are elegant and luxurious. On the outside, it is pretty quiet and discreet given that it is in an office building. I arrive at 12pm. The ground floor is just a reception and waiting area with the main lobby located on level 5. With the new service changes currently, no bellboy service are provided. I was welcome in and helped thru the safe entry process by the concierge. The waiting area was pretty chic and nicely decorated. I love the seatings and the decor here.
A set of lifts connects the ground floor to the main lobby area on level 5 while there is another one that brings you to the guestrooms. The hotel was quiet at this hour, much more given that this is a weekday. I was immediately assisted by Jared and given a polite welcome. Check-in was a breeze and late check-out was extended till 4pm. I was then escorted to my room and given a brief introduction of the hotel.
The main lobby area is expansive and felt classy. I love the high ceilings and the abundance of natural light. It sort of gave me a vibe of being in a fancy manhattan condo apartment. Just by the lobby you are able to find the F&B outlets which include 1864 Bar, Coffea Cafe and Racines restaurant.
Luxury Club Room
I was assigned a Luxury Club king room on level 19, Room 1916. Club rooms are located on the higher levels from level 18 to 20. This guarantees you the best view. To get to the room, you will have to take another set of lifts from level 5 which connects the guest’s rooms. A norm in hotels that do not have their lobby on the ground floor. I was escorted by the staff to my room which is just a short walk away from the elevators. I appreciated that the staff were very natural in engaging with small talks. I was also given a brief introduction of the room and the hotel. The walkways were really nice and chic. The warm tones felt very comfortable and welcoming.
I love the room upon entering, the light wood finishes felt classy and the room was bright. I love the decor and luxurious finishes. Despite measuring only 38 Sqm, the room felt much spacious than it is. This might be due to the fact of it being in a regular squarish shape as well as the high ceilings. I really love the Sofitel brand and the designer fittings that come in their rooms.
Immediately after entering, you can find a luggage rack to the left and a very full-length mirror. This would be perfect for checking yourself out before leaving the room. The room comes with a mixture of carpet and marble flooring. The spacious luggage rack can also act as a little sitting area for wearing footwear. In the rack drawers, you can also find a hairdryer, bath slippers and a safe. The hairdryer provided was disappointing though, for a hotel of this calibre and the branding of Sofitel, I will never expect to see a “Press and Hold to on” kind.
You can also find a Virgin Active fitness kit provided in the room. It consists of a gym bag and a yoga mat. Usually, the hotel does have a partnership with them and guests can access the facility for workout classes. Due to COVID, the partnership is currently suspended. You can still use the mat to exercise or do some yoga in your room or by the lawn on level 5.
The wardrobe is located next to the rack. All the usual amenities can be found here including an additional foldable luggage rack for bigger suitcases, ironing set as well as bathrobes.
The bathroom is located to the right of the walkway and it’s a spacious one. I love the classy set-up and with the room decked out in warm marble, it looks extremely welcoming. While I understand the vibes they are going for, I will prefer for it to be a little brighter. The bathroom comes with a separate bathtub and standing shower. While the bathroom only has space for a single basin that does mean more counter space! Full bath amenities are provided and is left in a gorgeous leather chest. Very classy, very French.
The tub was comfy and spacious. Check out the little touches here. A book, a wine glass and a bath bar. This is made for relaxing.
Bath Amenities are from Lanvin, a fantastic French luxury brand. It’s my first time using them and it immediately became one of my newfound favourites. I love the citrus scent of them. It is nice to see them keeping in line with Sofitel and French heritage.
The standing shower is separated from the toilet bowl and both of them share a sliding door concept. Standing shower space is spacious! It comes with both a handheld shower head as well as a rainforest showerhead! Fittings are from Hansgrohe and high quality. Water pressure can be much better but the temperature control is good and I had an amazing shower.
Entering into the main space of the room itself, which is in a regular rectangular layout. The minibar area is located to a side and in a cabinet top. I appreciate that a Nespresso machine is provided with 4 capsules, they are complemented with actual Nespresso branded coffee and even espresso cups too. You can also find wine and champagne glassware. A kettle and fridge are left inside the cabinet. For club and suites guests the minibar are complimentary, you have a selection of canned drinks in the fridge. The packaged nuts and snacks are included as well.
Weirdly, the tea offerings are not located together with the main minibar but rather near the working desk. An amazing selection of TWG packaged tea are provided in a gorgeous chest and comes with a proper tea set. Kudos to the hotels for the selection, including my favourite French Earl Grey! They even had more uniques ones like Vanilla Bourbon and even Paris Singapore tea! What a fitting one for a Sofitel hotel in Singapore. They even provide the packages with higher quality cotton sewed teabags. There is an extra stool on the side here which would be useful if you are dining in the room.
Toward the side of the windows, you can find a proper working desk in the room. The desk was lovely and organised. Outlets can be found easily by the desk and they even had HDMI outlets installed by the side.
This makes it easy for you to connect your laptop to the TV and stream shows. It is the little touches that count. The wifi was fast and easy to connect in the room. While a proper office chair isn’t provided, the chair still provides sufficient back support for a brief period of working. I also love the writing materials provided which was housed in a classy chest. All sorts of stationaries are provided.
A very lovely welcome amenity consisting of a fresh fruit platter, some sweets and a bottle of French white wine was left in the room from the team. It is a great bottle of Gayda T’Air D’Oc Sauvignon Blanc 2018 rated 3.4 on Vivino.com.
You can find the plush king size bed located in the middle of the room. In addition, a very classy ottoman can be found left in front of the bed. I realised that this is a norm in Sofitel hotels. Often underappreciated, I love the extra space offered by the ottoman where you can sit down or leave some clothes on it. It also elevates the look of the entire room. The sheets are super high quality and one of the comfiest and smoothest that I had experienced in a hotel. The mattress was top-notch, a little softer than what I am used to but still provide amazing back support and I got a good sleep. Sadly, the pillows were paper thin and despite having firmer ones from the pillow menu, they were equally mush.
On both sides of the bed, you can find nightstands and outlets are easily found here. Kudos to them for installing USB outlets on one side of the bed. Controls for the air conditioning as well as the lights are located here too. The blinds can only be controlled manually.
The high-quality Smart TV is mounted on the wall! It’s a decent size for the room and comes with a huge selection of cable tv channels. The selection here is second only to Capitol Kempinski. For the sports fans, you will be delighted to know what Fox Sports, Hub Sports and Bein Sports are all available.
Just by the window, you can find a gorgeous lazing couch for one. This is perfect for gazing at the view of the surrounding Tanjong Pagar area over a cup of tea or coffee. Sofitel Singapore City Centre also very cutely provide a drawing book and some colour pencils for those who might want to do some colouring.
The room has an awesome and expansive view of the surrounding Tanjong Pagar area! It’s pretty amazing both in the day or at night. No turndown services is offered now in lieu of the current situation.
Club Millésime
The club lounge at Sofitel Singapore City Centre is known as Club Millésime. What a classy name. Perhaps they are serving some Millésime Champagne? Guests who are staying in a Luxury Club room or suite get access to the lounge. In addition, ALL Platinum members are invited to the lounge as well. Club Millésime is located on level 6 is currently open from 7am to 9pm. Due to the rules set by the local authorities during my stay, the maximum dining group size will be capped at two persons. Guests from the same household will be seated in multiple tables of two. I appreciate that Club Millésime is strictly for guests aged 12 and above.
Club Millésime executive lounge offers club guests complimentary breakfast, all-day refreshments and evening cocktails. Due to the current situation, breakfast is served at Racines instead. Evening Cocktail takes place between 5 to 6pm. An additional slot of 6.15pm to 7.15pm might be offered during periods of high occupancy. I do feel that the evening cocktails are a little short. Club Millésime here used to be known for their self-dispensing wine machine offering a huge selection of wines at the lounge that should provide guests with more than enough grape juice packed with vitamins and nutrients. Although right now, all beverages and food will be served by the staff. The lounge is a lovely space and was extremely inviting. I love the decor and everything was well maintained. Club staff are attentive and I was always addressed by name there. Some outdoor tables are facing the pool and the surrounding office buildings. It’s pretty chill and I’m sure these will be popular for winding down in the evenings. Here are some pictures of the lounge.
All-day drinks are served during other hours and you can find a selection of coffee, teas, juices and soft drinks during the day. I really love their juice! Even though, there were not freshly squeezed, the not from concentrate juice blends from Le Fruit was really good. Over my stay, I tried the Guava, Beetroot and Dragon Fruit Juice, Carrot, Orange and Pineapple Juice as well as the Passion Fruit Juice. Drinks were served with some packaged snacks and cookies. I was back in the lounge for some drinks just before check-out as well. The club lounge staff here makes amazing cups of coffee. Iced Coffee, lattes, all you might want! I had a mean cup of iced mocha! It’s as good as what you get from a cafe outside, if not better! Perfect for escaping the heat!
Evening cocktails start from 5pm to 6pm, alcoholic drinks, as well as, hot food were served. Due to the current situation, all items will be brought over by the staff. It certainly does gets a little more crowded in the evening. Drinks were offered immediately and the staff will come by with a set of the food items. You are allowed to have refills. Here is the menu of the evening cocktails during my stay. The menu changes day to day.
Upon entering the lounge, I was immediately offered a glass of champagne. Kudos to Sofitel Singapore City Centre for still serving champagne! There isn’t much lounge in Singapore still doing so and many have chosen to downgrade themself to prosecco/sparkling wine. It’s worth mentioning that they are even serving Duval-Leroy champagne! A perfect respectable one for a club lounge!
Besides that, you have a choice of a red, white and even port wine.
I really love the selection of craft beers on offer in addition to the Tiger Crystal on offer. Upon the waitress recommendation, I tried one of the Tropicana Botanical Pilsner and really love how refreshing it is. Kudos to the hotel for offering craft beers when usually hotel will go for the usual typical brands. Typical spirits like gin, rum and whisky are available as well.
Food-wise, they are prepared by chefs in the lounge and served to you by the staff. The items are placed in individual portions. The staff are prompt and happy to provide refills. I love that they took the initiative. The selection changes day to day. The canapés are pretty good and served warm. Some of the stand out items that I really like the Long Bean with Mushroom Oyster Sauce and Truffle Artichoke Soup.
If I have to fault something in the lounge, it is the timing! 1 hour is simply too short to enjoy the extensive selection of drinks. This makes me reminisce of my stays at Shangri-La Valley Wing where you are unhurried given the all day offerings of drinks. At this price point, Sofitel could have offered all day alcohol drinks too!
Gym
While the hotel used to have a partnership with Virgin Active Fitness Club, the partnership will be suspended right now due to COVID. You still have access to the in-house facility in the hotel with the SoFit gym, an infinity pool. You can even do some static exercises like yoga on The Lawn, an open green space by the side of the pool and gym. There is also a partnership with their sister hotel in Sentosa to access the So Spa there with complimentary transport provided. SoFit is open from 7am to 7.45pm. Reservations are recommended but loosely enforced during low occupancy periods. Located at level 6, you have to visit the facility desk outside to exchange for a key card to access the gym.
The gym was a lovely place and I love the environment of the gym. Plenty of natural light, soothing tones and music in the background. The gym has a nice view of the lawn and the pool area. It felt like a fancy gym in the central business district. All sorts of equipment are available and they are well maintained. Bottled waters are available from the staff and side by side machines are blocked out to ensure adequate social distancing between guests.
Pool
The hotel pool will be open between 7am and 8.30pm and reservations are required where guests can book in slots of 1.5 hours. They are however loosely enforced during periods of low occupancy. Similarly to the gym, you have to visit the facility desk by the side to exchange for a keycard to access the pool. Towels and bottled water are readily available. The pool was pretty decent and faces the surrounding CBD buildings, together with the foliage it kinds of gives you a very calming urban oasis vibe.
The pool ranges from 0.05 to 1.2m. There is also a jacuzzi which is currently closed for reasons that I can’t comprehend. You can find plenty of sunbeds and even some cabanas around the pool. I did not enjoy my time at the pool the moment I saw the look on those sunbeds and cabanas. They were not well maintained and some of them were so dirty! They had dirt, leaves and even some weirdly looking green patches. I certainly do not feel comfortable lazing at them. The setup of the pool and the view was lovely though. Besides the pool, there is also a huge green space known as The Lawn. While it can be used as an event space, this place is perfect for those who would like to use the mat provided in the room for some static exercises or like some yoga in the morning.
Breakfast
Breakfast is currently served at Racines which is located on level 5 for all guests including those who have club access. Racines was gorgeous, I love how bright the place is, the high ceilings with the huge amount of natural light makes it very welcoming. On weekdays, breakfast is from 7am to 10.30am while on weekends it is extended till 11am. I was down for breakfast at 9.30am and it is pretty empty given the occupancy on a weekday. Service was prompt and attentive. I was immediately helped and shown to a table. Drinks orders were taken and the coffee was lovely. Kudos to them for offering quality drinks here. Even the TWG teas were of a high quality one and in cotton teabags.
Breakfast is served a la carte now given the recent health situations. You are able to choose from a couple of pre-determined set menu. You can check out the menu here. You can choose one order each person. Extra sides can be ordered as well as drinks refilled. Besides coffee they also offer tea, apple and orange juice.
We got the western set, one with scrambled eggs and another with an omelette. The set also comes with various trimmings and yogurt. A pastry basket was brought over to start the meal. The breakfast was pretty good and check out how huge the portion was. Look at that omelettes. I do love that plenty of items were made in-house such as the baked beans. The set also comes with yogurt and a fresh fruit bowl. The portion is definitely good enough. It was a struggle to finish my food.
Conclusion
I had a fantastic stay at Sofitel Singapore City Centre! The Luxury Club room that I stayed in was lovely and luxurious. It is a perfect location for business travellers. Some of the stand out areas at Sofitel Singapore City Centre are their rooms and Club Millésime. Service was delightful throughout the property. I do feel that some improvement can be done in terms of the parking as well as the poolside which was really badly maintained. It’s always a blessing to do a staycation when the hotel is this quiet. I would love to try out more Sofitels properties around the world and when So Sofitel opens for staycation I will definitely visit to try it out. Looking forward to being back and try out one of their suites. This was a hosted media stay, all views expressed are my own.
Seeing The World In Steps 
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