So staycations are the current in thing now that overseas travel is still not quite possible. 

I did want to go for one back before CB even started, having watched maybe one too many of those luxury travel on a budget videos which got me all inspired to get into miles collection (though I would say I didn’t put in too much effort beyond what I have been doing). Now that hotels are reopening and there are deals left right center plus a major need to have something other than work to look forward to, it’s more of a question of where and when, and not if. 

Where - have my sights set on Andaz a long time ago. New, looks classy and modern and pretty affordable too - there’s a pretty good deal on Klook so snapped it up when it reopened for staycations (for some reason they were like a month behind most other hotels). Did it solo because no family around to do with me and no significant other either oh well. Did have some reservations on the awkwardness of it all but as usual it wasn’t really that big of an issue for me. And the unwillingness to take leave - amazingly I don’t have any that I need to clear - means I booked a weekend night on a higher price.

The day arrived and for a start, you really do get a feel that you are going away for a holiday (I reflected later on and it felt maybe more like preparing for a weekend trip to JB or something) - packing essentials, securing house etc. Official check in time is at 3pm but given the situation, they do stagger check in timings but I think you have to ask in advance - and if you are lucky like me, you will get it - I ended up with a 11am check in timing which is more than what I bargained for so I didn’t request for late check out, too. Arrived on the dot and there’s very few people around so within 10 minutes I am up in my room ooh-ing and aah-ing.

View from room, didn’t pay extra for the city view rooms. Low key annoyed by the dots tho.

Pantry area with nespresso machine

And the complimentary mini bar which of course I brought home everything lol

Lazed around in the room till gym time. It’s on a first come first serve basis, no more than 5 people per one hour slot. What’s slightly irritating is that you have to go down all the way to the lobby to collect a key card and towel for the gym, then go back up to level 38 where the gym is. Guess 2pm wasn’t an extremely popular slot for gym lol so no issues there, and throughout the hour I only had the company of a couple so it’s nice and peaceful. Only that I didn’t try out anything other than my usual treadmill and cycle because I didn’t want to embarrass myself in front of the seemingly seasoned couple heh.

Pool slot was at 4pm. Story is, each guest is entitled to an hour slot only, with 20 people per slot - and bookings open 72hours prior. Booked 4pm because I didn’t know my check in timing yet when the pool booking slots open, so figured that in a worst case scenario where I couldn’t get a early check in, 4pm should be quite safe. By the time I got my check in timing all the slots are full anyway. But this time Lady Luck or rather the rain gods are not by my side as it drizzled the entire afternoon sigh so pool plans are out of the window. 

With a bit of time to kill before my next scheduled activity at 630pm - decided to order room service for a pre-dinner snack hahah. One of the things included in the package is a $100 F&B credit which I thought I might have issues finishing since I am alone, so room service it is.

Headed down to the Sunroom for refreshments while waiting for my pre-dinner reservation. This is where I experienced I guess the only blip in service of the stay - service was almost non-existent here. Judging by reviews this is an anomaly, so guess I was just unlucky. Maybe they had their hands full because of the rainy weather and the guests from the rooftop bar were channeled indoors, I don’t know. But there was no host at the door, nobody bothered coming over to ask for orders, and if waiters appear they are always so busy that they miss your wild hands trying to catch their attention so I actually had to walk over to catch one that was heading away, to place an order. Well it could have been worse like my order didn’t arrive or something, but it did even though there’s nothing to shout about. 

Off to my pre-dinner activity - Mr Stork! Another venue to book in advance especially popular time slots like mine which is when you can catch great sunset views, on a rainless day sigh. I guess I should be thankful that the rain had stopped by now and it didn’t come back so they were able to sit guests in their usual outdoors venue - a staff called a couple of hours earlier to inform me that they may have to move us indoors (the indoor bar at level 25) if the rain continued and asked if I wanted to give up my reservation, which I declined of course. Turns out to be the right call. 1.5 hours per reservation because of current conditions and maybe because of its popularity, but that’s all right. A bit pricey though, but thank you F&B credits. 

Off to dinner! Initially wanted to dine at 665degreeF, but place is way too popular (think you have to reserve a month in advance) so couldn’t quite get a seat by the time I checked (only managed to get Mr Stork). The only other alternative is Alley on 25, which was surprisingly quite empty by the time I got there. 

Still quite early by the time I finished dinner, so even though I paid for the room I decided to just hop on a quick train ride to my favorite spot in the city to hang out for a bit, before calling it a day.

Morning after - breakfast! Another activity I have been looking forward to. Self service buffets are out of the question these days and they are now replaced with alacarte buffets. Package includes breakfast for two and so I decided not to put the second portion to waste and invited a friend over for breakfast.

Here’s where maybe there’s another blip in service even though it’s maybe more understandable - orders get mixed up and in some cases, completely forgotten. Maybe due to the scale of it all - the number of guests and the fact that most items are unlimited servings. But I guess I stuffed myself enough (it doesn’t take much these days) to not worry about those forgotten ones.

About 11am by the time we finished breakfast and not much time to do anything else, so headed up to room to chat, and pack up. And that’s the staycation! Pretty enjoyable and I filled it with enough activities to keep myself occupied and not coped up in the room all the time. It may be strange to even do one considering that I am living alone to begin with and everyday is almost like a solo staycation haha but like I said maybe it’s the process leading up to it and the looking forward to it that makes it different. And maybe we all really do miss the old normal so this is something that somewhat resembles it.

Will I do it again? Maybe...there’s a $100 voucher coming up next :) and I do still have a couple of hotels on my bucket list.

Labels: around singapore, holidays