Our first hotel stay of the year was a two-night stay at InterContinental Singapore in January 2022. The hotel is one of the two InterContinental hotels in Singapore, the other being InterContinental Robertson Quay.
InterContinental Singapore Stay Details
Table of Contents
Hotel Background and Information
InterContinental Singapore opened in 1995 as part of a mixed development that includes a mall named Bugis Junction and an office tower. The hotel has two wings; the main tower which is where the majority of the rooms are located, and a heritage wing, which has rooms in shophouses that were rebuilt when the area was redeveloped and incorporated into the hotel.
The property underwent a SGD 26 million renovation which was completed in 2016 and the result was a revamp of the lobby, dining establishments, guestrooms and suites in the main tower. Guestrooms and suites in the heritage wing were last refurbished in 2011.
The hotel has 403 rooms, with the breakdown of the room types as follows:
InterContinental Singapore is located in the Bugis area, which is part of the civic and cultural district of Singapore. The hotel is within close proximity to many major attractions in Singapore, with Marina Bay, Orchard Road, the historical districts of Kampong Glam and Arab Street all within easy reach. Numerous dining and shopping options can be round around the hotel as well.
Metro stations that are near the hotel:
- Bugis (3 mins) – East West line (EW12) / Downtown line (DT14)
- Bencoolen (9 mins) – Downtown line (DT21)
- City Hall (9 mins) – North South line (NS25) / East West line (EW13)
- Esplanade (9 mins) – Circle line (CC3)
For non-locals, tourist attractions that are near the hotel:
- Malay Heritage Centre (12 mins walk)
- Merlion (12 mins by Bus 100)
- National Gallery Singapore (14 mins walk)
- Esplanade Theatres on the Bay (14 mins walk)
- National Museum of Singapore (14 mins walk)
Nearby Malls:
- Bugis Junction (attached to the hotel) – Mall featuring Singapore’s first glass covered, air-conditioned shopping streets. A supermarket, numerous restaurants and retail outlets can be found here.
- Bugis+ (3 mins walk) – Typical mall. Connected to Bugis Junction via an air-conditioned walkway.
- Bugis Street (6 mins walk) – Street shopping where cheap souvenirs, accessories and clothes can be found.
- Raffles City Shopping Centre (6 mins walk) – Typical mall. A supermarket can be found.
- Suntec City Shopping Centre (9 mins walk) – Huge mall with convention centre. Supermarket can be found.
- Marina Square (15 mins walk) – Typical mall
- Millenia Walk (15 mins walk) – Good range of cafes and Japanese food. Has a Japanese supermarket.
- Esplanade Mall (15 mins walk) – Mall attached to a performing arts theatre
Nearby food options (in addition to food options found in malls):
- Liang Seah Street (2 mins walk) – Row of shophouses with many hotpot restaurants.
- Chijmes (6 mins walk) – Numerous restaurants and bars housed in a former heritage building
- Waterloo Street Food Centre (6 mins walk) – Typical hawker centre offering local food
- South Beach Avenue (9 mins walk) – Numerous restaurants of various cuisines
- Arab Street/ Haji Lane (10 mins walk) – Cafes, bars, and restaurants offering Middle Eastern cuisines can be found.
Booking Process and Pricing
We were eyeing the royal suite for this stay and since there weren’t any promotions going on during that time, the rack rates were much higher than what we were willing to pay for. To soften the blow, we decided to sign up for the InterContinental Ambassador membership at the cost of USD 200 per annum which came with a complimentary weekend night certificate.
Using the complimentary weekend night certificate, we were able to secure the booking at around 36% off (after accounting for the membership costs), resulting in some significant savings.
In addition to the complimentary weekend night certificate that came with signing up for the membership, we obtained platinum elite status in IHG rewards and the following perks during our stay:
- Guaranteed 4 pm late check out
- SGD 27 dining credit per stay
- Welcome gift of 600 IHG rewards points (sad)
- 10,000 IHG rewards points or a further SGD 70 dining credit (in lieu of one category upgrade)
With the savings and perks that we received through the InterContinental Ambassador program, we do believe that the program is worth considering if you are intending to stay at an InterContinental hotel when rates are high. We have previously written a post on the InterContinental Ambassador program which you can check out to find out more.
Check-In & Lobby
We arrived at the hotel five minutes past one on a Friday afternoon to an almost empty lobby. There was just one other guest checking in and we were attended to immediately.
After the check-in formalities were completed, as InterContinental Ambassador members, we were given a choice of 10,000 IHG rewards points or SGD 70 dining credit in lieu of being upgraded (upgrade was not possible as we were already staying in a premium suite).
Since 10,000 IHG rewards points are worth roughly SGD 70 at a valuation of USD 0.005 per point, we decided to take the credit instead as we had plans to dine in during our stay.
The entire check-in process took only 5 minutes and we were off to our suite.
Room: Royal Suite
The suite that was assigned to us was on level 16, the top floor of the hotel and it measures 85 sqm (915 sqft) with separate living and bedroom areas.
Behind the entrance of the suite is a rectangular-shaped foyer that leads to the living room at the opposite end, and the rest of the suite can be accessed via a walkway to the left.
The living room of the suite consists of two parts, the actual living area that is combined with a small study space and a dining area at the other end. The floor to ceiling windows and high ceiling made the area feel spacious.
There is a three-seater sofa with an ottoman and a round coffee table in the living area.
Our welcome amenity was placed on the coffee table and consisted of a bowl of fruits, a bottle of Acqua Panna and a bottle of red wine. This was the first time we got a bottle of Acqua Panna as a welcome amenity which was unexpected.
Right beside the sofa is a small study area which had a long wooden desk and a desk chair.
There are two 230V power outlets and two USB-A outlets at the study area, providing ample sources of power for your electronics should you need them.
Guests enjoy complimentary WIFI and we did a test on the WIFI speed as follows:
The living room looks out to the roof of the attached Bugis Junction shopping centre and the surrounding areas and the view was not particularly scenic.
There is a wall-mounted Samsung 48-inch smart television in the middle of the living area with a large single-seater sofa (which can fit two with a squeeze) opposite of it. You can swivel the television if you would like to catch some TV from either the living or dining area. The television can support both Airplay and Chromecast so feel free to stream from your own devices.
At the other end of the living room is the dining area which had a round table with four seats. The minibar is placed in this area as well.
On the minibar, there is a Nespresso machine with six Nespresso coffee capsules, two complimentary 1.5 litres bottles of water, eight TWG teabags, various glasses, tableware, and a kettle.
It is unusual for hotels to give 1.5 litres bottles of water. We guess the hotel probably had staffing issues and wanted to cut down on the number of service requests.
The minibar fridge was empty due to the pandemic though it might be a good thing since it frees up space to store your items.
The powder room is located between the living room and the bedroom and is equipped with a single vanity and a Kohler toilet. The powder room does not seem to be refreshed during the 2016 renovation as it had a different and dated design as compared to the rest of the suite.
Next to the powder room is the bedroom entrance, and you will find yourself in a small luggage storage area upon entering.
The main bathroom is located across the bedroom entrance. Like the powder room, it does not seem to be renovated and the fixtures are dated.
There is a single vanity with limited countertop space in the bathroom, separate toilet and shower areas and comes equipped with a bathtub.
The hygiene kit was placed in the bathroom and it had two surgical masks and one bottle of hand sanitizer.
The toiletries are from Agraria and they come in bigger sized 100 ml bottles. A shaving kit, shower cap, vanity kit, and toothbrush with Colgate toothpaste was also provided.
Like the living room, the bedroom has floor to ceiling windows and a high ceiling which made it look more spacious. There is a comfortable King-sized Sealy bed in the middle, as well as a sitting area with two single-seater sofas, an ottoman, and a small side table in between.
A 50-inch Samsung smart television is mounted to the wall and can be swivelled if required. Like the television in the living room, it can support both Airplay and Chromecast as well.
There is a bedside table on both sides of the bed, where the lighting controls can be found. There is a phone, a 230V AC power outlet, and a Sony alarm clock on one bedside table while the other has one 230V AC power outlet and 2 USB-A outlets.
The bedroom has a small built-in wardrobe and in here, you can find two bathrobes, an ironing board with an iron, an electronic safe, a JVD hairdryer, and bedroom slippers.
Facilities
InterContinental Singapore is equipped with the following facilities:
The hotel has an outdoor swimming pool, which is open to guests with a booking only. Guests can either make the booking by phone or scan a QR code on the welcome letter to make the booking through the hotel’s in-house booking portal.
There are fifteen available time slots to choose from with each lasting an hour. Each timeslot can accommodate a maximum of 10 guests.
We first visited the pool after breakfast on Saturday and found the pool to be quite full. We then returned during mid-afternoon the next day to a relatively empty pool. Only one person was using the pool at that time which could be due to the heat.
The hotel has two pools in total; the main pool which despite its slightly odd shape, is long enough for laps, and a small children’s pool. Both pools are located at level 4 of the hotel.
In addition to the pools, there is a Jacuzzi that is sheltered on the pool deck.
You can find several loungers and two cabanas around the pool. Since there are capacity controls you should not have issues with finding one that is not taken.
There is a pool bar as well but it’s currently closed due to the pandemic.
The fitness centre is located on level 4, a short walk away from the pool. Like the pool, bookings are required for the fitness centre as well via the hotel’s in-house booking portal.
The fitness centre is sizeable and is fairly well equipped. There are a couple of treadmills, bench press, weights, and exercise bikes for a workout.
Other than the fitness equipment, there is a small yoga room that can be used to conduct classes for guests.
Dining & Breakfast
There are a total of four restaurants in InterContinental Singapore.
Ash & Elm is the hotel’s all-day dining restaurant and specializes in European cuisine outside breakfast hours. The restaurant is currently closed outside breakfast hours though it is used as a lounge for club members as the hotel’s club lounge is closed.
Yan Ting serves Cantonese cuisine and is open for lunch and dinner. This was the place we used our dining credits and we will touch on our dining experience in a later part of the review.
Chikuyotei is a Japanese restaurant chain that specializes in Unagi and seasonal Omakase.
The lobby lounge doubles up as a bar and it is the place where evening cocktails for club guests are currently held. The venue also hosts the hotel’s afternoon tea (chargeable) for non-club guests.
The Royal Suite which we had booked comes with Club InterContinental access which includes the following culinary offerings:
- Breakfast from 0700 hrs to 1100 hrs
- Afternoon Tea from 1400 hrs to 1600 hrs
- Evening Cocktails from 1830 hrs to 2030 hrs
Unfortunately, the actual club lounge was closed during our stay (we asked the front desk when would the lounge reopen and was told that it will reopen in April 2022) and thus breakfast and afternoon tea were held at Ash & Elm while evening cocktails were held at The Lobby Lounge instead.
Except for breakfast, there is no need to book a slot for both the afternoon tea and evening cocktails and guests can just walk in without reservations.
As mentioned earlier, afternoon tea was at Ash & Elm which is located on level one of the hotel.
Over the course of our stay, we had afternoon tea on three occasions, including on the day of checkout as we were granted late checkout at 4 pm (further extended to 6 pm upon request). On all three days, the restaurant was half full at the most and there’s never a crowd at any time.
The menu for afternoon tea changes each day and based on the numbering on the menu, we reckon there are 4 different menus in total. All food and drinks served during the afternoon tea are free flow and you can order as much as you like.
The afternoon tea is presented in a three-tier stand, with the scones being served separately. There was a mixture of sweet and savoury items with the savoury items mostly consisting of local snacks while sweet items were cakes. As for drinks, you get a choice of various coffees, teas, chocolate, and milk.
Of the items we have tried, we liked the scones, chicken karaage wasabi mayo, and ngoh hiang. The rest of the items were unmemorable.
The service staff were proactive in asking if we needed refills and cleared our plates quickly which we appreciated.
We had evening cocktail twice during our stay and on both occasions, The Lobby Lounge was almost full when we were there. We had to wait in a short line on both days before we were seated.
You get a selection of cocktails, spirits, wines, and beers for evening cocktails along with some canapés to go with. The drinks menu does not change though the canapés differ each day. Like the afternoon tea, the food and drinks during the evening cocktail are free flow too and you can order as much as you like.
The canapés are served in a three-tier stand and come with a mini cup of soup. In general, we found the food to be decent and the soup served was good.
Reservations for breakfast can be done through the hotel’s booking portal just like all other bookings.
The restaurant was about three-quarters full when we arrived and we were quickly seated.
There is a separate seating area for Club InterContinental guests but it offers no additional benefits such as an enhancement menu so it does not matter where you are seated.
Buffet breakfast (assisted) has resumed for InterContinental Singapore and it was the first buffet breakfast we had in a while.
There was a limited variety of items on offer which consists of the usual continental breakfast items, several local options such as dim sum and fried noodles, pastries, and American breakfast items such as hashbrowns, eggs, and bacon.
The breakfast offerings were mostly the same from day to day with only a select number of items that were different.
Overall, none of the items on offer stood out and we felt that breakfast was just passable. We understand that the hotel had offered an enhanced breakfast menu previously for Club InterContinental guests which was highly rated and it would be good if they can offer that to Club InterContinental guests again.
We had some dining credits to spend as part of our InterContinental Ambassador benefits and decided to try out the hotel’s Cantonese restaurant, Man Fu Yuan. We made a reservation via the hotel beforehand but had to wait for about 10 mins upon arrival as the restaurant staff was busy when we arrived.
Once we were seated, our drinks order was taken and tea and peanuts were quickly served.
As we were not very hungry because we had evening cocktail an hour ago, we ordered only a few items just to try out the food.
We had jellyfish (appetizer), Beijing duck with Foie Gras, asparagus with scallop as well as two different soups. The food certainly didn’t disappoint and we would recommend dining at this restaurant.
Overall Impression
We had a pleasant stay at InterContinental Singapore and did not encounter any major issues during our stay.
To sum things up:
InterContinental Singapore is a value for money luxury option with updated sizable rooms and a great location. We would recommend the hotel to anyone who is looking to stay in the Bugis area.
