I went back to The Capitol Kempinski Hotel last month and would like to review my experience this time around. I have already shared extensively about my previous stay which includes my thoughts on the property and facilities. You can refer to my previous post here for an extensive review of the Stamford Suite and here for the Grand Deluxe Room if you would like to know more. I went back for another stay in end October once again with the awesome HSBC deal and got a room at a good rate which includes both dining credits and breakfast. This time around I will only review the differences in the Heritage room which was the one that I am staying in.
Booking Process & Pre Arrival
A couple of months ago there was a very good deal for HSBC cardmembers. For the first 50 bookings, you are able to get the Classic Room at 228 SGD. This rate includes daily free-flow a la carte breakfast at 15 Stamford, $88 nett dining credit, guaranteed 11 am early check-in and 3 pm late checkout. Furthermore, with it being a direct booking I will also be able to stack on my GHA Black benefits. I received the pre-arrival email one week before my stay and I also did email in advance to make reservations for the pool. A tip would be to customize your stay with the huge selection of pillows here. I am a huge fan of their Imprima pillow or bolster.
The day before my stay I received an email from Stella who is an absolute gem! She reconfirms my early check-in at 10am and late check-out at 6pm. I was also accorded a double upgrade to the Heritage room category. I have constantly enjoy my stays at this hotel and always relish the full benefits of being a GHA Black member here. Let’s hope that these benefits remains after the upcoming devaluation. Getting a 32 hour stay for a one night staycation is the best thing ever! I can’t go back to those usual hotels for a staycation where you literally check-in at 3pm and check out by 11 or 12pm? How do you fully enjoy a staycation with that short amount of time. Let me recap on the rooms here, The Capitol Kempinski Hotel Singapore have a total of 155 rooms and suites spread across 9 categories.
| Rooms | Evening Cocktails | Bathtub | Size | No. of Rooms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Classic | No | Selected | 32 Sqm | 23 |
| Deluxe | No | Selected | 45 Sqm | 38 |
| Heritage | No | Yes | 45 Sqm | 24 |
| Grand Deluxe | No | Selected | 50 Sqm | 33 |
| Terrace | No | Yes | 45 Sqm | 14 |
| Executive Suite | Yes | Yes | 55 Sqm | 4 |
| Stamford Suite | Yes | Yes | 58 – 61 Sqm | 16 |
| Bidwell Suite | Yes | Yes | 71 Sqm | 2 |
| Heritage Suite | Yes | Yes | 137 Sqm | 1 |
Checking In
I arrive shortly after 10am and was given a friendly welcome by Stella who proceeds to help me with the registration. Check-in at Capitol Kempinski was a sit down affair. The hotel lobby here have a residential feel that it never felt too crowded. Stella was engaging and welcoming, certainly glad to engage her in some small talk. I was also informed that I have a 88 SGD Nett dining credit that I can enjoy. The lobby was quaint and quiet at this hour. Similarly to my previous experience, I was shown to the lift by Stella who then apologised for not being able to usher me all the way to the room since a sudden influx of guests just arrived.
Heritage Room
This will be the third room type that I have tried here after the Grand Deluxe Room and the Stamford Suite. My room is located in the Capitol Wing on the 3rd floor which is a short walk away from the lobby. I am glad to be trying out a new room type here at the hotel. Immediately upon entering the majority of the room can be seen in one look. I do have to admit that I was rather disappointed when I entered the room. Despite it being 45 sqm in size, it appears much smaller than it is. This is probably due to precious property space being taken up by the toilet and patio area. The latter was much of a waste. I rarely used the patio area and would rather it be configured to open up the area with the main room area. The room doesn’t have an entranceway. After entering you have the luggage storage chest on your left which is pretty spacious. The concept allows you to open up your suitcase fully.
Then you have the wardrobe on the right. The wardrobe is exactly the same as the ones in other rooms and the suite. All sorts of amenities are provided including bathrobes and bath slippers. Inside you can also find an additional foldable luggage rack in case you have a bigger suitcase.
The main area of the room is roughly in a squarish configuration with the plush king size bed in the middle. The setup was both luxurious and chic. As usual, Capitol Kempinski has one of the comfiest bed in town and plush pillows. I have always had a good night rest over here. You can also customise your sleeping experience with the pillow menu. One of my favourite additions is their Imprima Bolster. You can find nightstands on both sides of the bed which provide plenty of countertop space and outlets are easily available here as well. Electronic switches for the blinds and lights can all be controlled here on both sides. There is even an alarm clock with a built-in wifi charger on one side of the bed.
The high-quality Smart TV is mounted on the wall to the left and this aspect is pretty lacking in comparison to the other room types. Due to the room design and the bathroom entrance being in the middle of the wall, the TV is mounted on the side. Thankfully they did mount it on a swivel wall bracket which allows you to angle the TV towards the bed for a perfect movie night. As usual, they have attentively installed HDMI ports and power sockets near the TV just in case you wanted to connect your laptop. Chromecast was a blessing as well and we can easily stream shows using both Apple and Android platform devices. Capitol Kempinski also boosts one of the largest collections of Cable TV channels.
On the other side of the bed, there is a little couch alongside the wall which is good enough for 2. The space is rather tight here. In my opinion, it doesn’t blend in well with the configuration and could do well without it instead. But I guess it is good to have some additional seating area in the room.
The highlight of the room definitely has to be the patio area which is a unique identifier of the Heritage Room type. I do find it a little underused and would prefer it to be open towards the entire area as well. The place kinda acts as the office or relaxation area. The high ceilings and the fan are a nice touch and give a rustic flair to the area. There isn’t much of a view to speak here as it faces the side street.
On one end of the patio area, you can find a work desk which is more of the same in line with the other room types. You have a flip-up vanity mirror and you can find the hairdryer here.
On the other side, you can find the minibar area, which is in a drawer concept. Including inside are the amenities which include an espresso machine, TWG tea and a fridge. As usual, minibar is complimentary here. I also realised that the amenities provided are diluted in comparison to the Grand Deluxe Room and Stamford Suite. Fewer teas and bottled water are provided.
You can find another chair left in the Terrace area just alongside the wall. It looks extremely out of place and I have no idea what is this chair for? To sit down and face the blinds or the empty street? Furthemore, the chair kinda prevent the minibar drawer to open fully. This is a pure hindrance!
The bathroom entrance is in the middle of the room and it is a pretty spacious one. Decor is kept in line and in stark contrast with the other rooms only one sink is installed here. Amenities are from Tuscan Soul which is one of my favourites as usual. Some surgical masks and a bottle of hand sanitiser are left here too.
The room also feature the iconic deep soaking tubs and a little bathroom TV can be found here too. If Netflix and Chill is too mainstream in the room, you can try out doing so in the tub. Together with a glass of bubbles by the side and some lush bath bombs, you are in for a treat!
The toilet and standing shower are located in separate rooms and as usual, you can find the Japanese Bidet Style toilet and a spacious standing shower room where the rainforrest shower head cascade down on you. Water pressure and temperature control are excellent.
Later on, the staff brought over a welcome amenity consisting of a fruit bowl as well as some kueh lapis. I felt that the amenity was pretty disappointing especially after comparing it with my previous stays. It does seem like they are providing the amenities based on the room type rather than your status.
Lunch at 15 Stamford by Alvin Leung
I would also like to share the lunch I had at 15 Stamford by Alvin Leung. Given that I had some credits to spend I decided to come here for lunch. I have always been looking forward to dining here and the previous time around it was the heightened alert and we could only get room service.
The restaurant was gorgeous and was pretty quiet in the afternoon. We were immediately help to and offered water to start. You can find the menu here. They do have a rather worthwhile set lunch from Mon to Sat. The 2-course meal comes in at 34 SGD and 3-course at 42 SGD. Seeing that we do not have a liking for the starters we decide to just go for the 2-course meal and add on another main course from the a la carte menu. We shared 3 main dishes between us. First up was the Barramundi with Brocollini and Sesame Ginger Verde. I am a huge fan of Kuhlbarra Barramundi. I love how moist and flaky the fish is. The fish was perfectly cooked and goes well with the sesame ginger sauce. It felt like the Sanshui Chicken ginger sauce that we have from a local restaurant chain in Singapore.
Next up was the Pork Prime Rib Bak Kut Teh which was served with a compressed watermelon and angelica barbeque sauce. It was supposed to be an innovative take and twist on the classic bak kut teh dish that we have here in Singapore. But to be honest I didn’t get the flavour of BKT or the peppery vibe. It felt more like just sticky ribs. I do have to say that it’s extremely well seasoned and cooked. The meat falls off the bone easily and simply melts in your mouth. I love the accompanied grilled watermelon which goes well with the pork and cuts out some of the greasiness.
Additionally, we ordered the Wagyu Beef Rump Cap MB6 from the a la carte menu. We got the ladies cut which comes at 35 SGD, one of the cheaper cuts from the menu. It was excellent and well grilled. The steak was flavorful and very tender. It goes so well with the sawarak pepper sauce or simply on its own. The steak comes with a side of broccolini.
We then got an additional Hand Cut Russet Potato Fries. This was the bomb and I love the Tamarind Vinegar dipping sauce. I could just munch on a basket of this all day long. Although coming at 12 SGD, I would expect the portion to be a lot bigger. By the count of things, there were less than 12 fries! Even for a restaurant of this calibre, that is a little too pricey.
We end off the meal with one dessert each from the set lunch. The show here got to be the Mango Sago a classic dessert but elevated by the 15 Stamford team. Rather than coconut cream, they made it into nitrogen frozen coconut “snow” and serve it tableside. Full marks for presentation.
The other dessert was the Baked Valrhona Chocolate Soup. I love the combination of the Hae Bee Hiam cookies which paired up so nicely with the ice cream and the thick chocolate lava cake. It is kind of like a sweet and salty combination. Awesome! I will opt for the chocolate dessert if I can only have 1 out of 2. The set lunch is pretty worth it! The meal conclude with some petit fours brought over by the staff!
After the dining discount for GHA Black members and the credits, I paid 45.42 SGD extra for the meal. It was a fair price to pay for a meal of this quality. The only complaint I had was how overpriced the fries was. I will definitely recommend everyone to dine at 15 Stamford.
Conclusion
Another great stay at The Capitol Kempinski! I am glad to be able to try out another room type at the hotel. I do have to say that it is the least favourite out of the 3 that I have tried and will try to avoid choosing it if I have a chance to do so. Everything was excellent and 228 is an awesome price to pay for a hotel of this calibre. This should probably be my last stay here for the year and depending on future deals and the revamped GHA Discovery program, that will influence my decision if I ever decide to be back for another one. Without huge changes you will be glad to know that my next post will involve me sharing something out of Singapore! Stay excited!
Seeing The World In Steps 
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