Alex L.
Yelp
Opened just 2 months ago in Singapore. Hyatt's newest boutique hotel in the Bugis area got my attention so I decided to book my stay here.
First off, I'm not an AirBnB kinda guy. I enjoy the hotel experience bc i like the convenience of restaurants, gyms, and enjoy the services. This is why I love extravagant hotels. When I heard there was a new Andaz in Singapore, I jumped at the chance to be one of the first to enjoy the smell of the new carpets, feel the soft towels, and get that "new car" sensation.
The taxi driver had a hard time finding the front lobby. It was a bit misleading because the ramp said "residence" something instead of something direct like "Andaz Entrance" and it's quite a journey to go back around bc of the way Singapore streets are. When I was finally dropped off and entered the building, I was a bit perplexed because there was no sight of a lobby. Luckily Andaz staged a person at the door to explain that the registration area is actually on the 25th floor.
To get to the rooms, you have to take a different set of elevators and scan your room card in for access. This is a bit time consuming when you're rushing out to get to work because you have to wait for another set of elevators on the 25th floor before decending to the bottom floor. When I got to my room, it surprised me that my room was actually a lot smaller than what I expected and layout is quite weird. Rather than a desk to work at, there is a small round table and the TV is neither directly facing the table nor the bed. The great view of the city I have is obscured by a black mesh in the glass. When I went to take a shower, I was surprised to see that you have to choose between the handheld showerhead OR the overhead rain head but the worst thing was the fact that there was so little water pressure! It was so bad that you have to be right next to the showerhead and if you choose the rainhead, it barely trickles out of each nozzle. This was the most disappointing thing to experience after a 20+hr flight and not something I expect out of a premium new hotel. Since all the restaurants were already closed by the time I checked in, I was also disappointed in the fact that the room didn't have any snacks so I went to bed hungry, exhausted, and sad that I got a trickle shower :(
If you take the elevator to the rooftop (39th floor), you'll see the rooftop bar, Mr Stork. How cool is it that there's a rooftop bar with teepees? This not only provides a sense of intimacy for your date, but I guess it can shield you from those torrential rains Singapore gets on occasion. And the view...well it's hard to capture thru a lens. The hotel also features 5 small restaurants on the 25th floor: The Green Oven, Icehaus, Smoke & Pepper, Planch Lah, and Auntie's. Each restaurant is based on it's own unique cooking style. The Green Oven has baked goods, Icehaus is cold foods such as salads, Smoke & Pepper has wood grilled entrees, Planch Lah feature hot plate items like teppanyaki, and Auntie's are steamed goods. There is a bar on the 25th floor also but it's quite small.
The fitness center is on the 38th floor and it has quite a nice setup with Matrix equipment. It's nice to touch equipment that has minimum amounts of sweat drippings, plush towels, cold bottled water, and disposable headsets.
Andaz is too boutique for my liking. Everything feels a bit crammed in without that grandeur sensation I expect from a hotel of this caliber. The super tall building really only has a few useful floors and none of them have that open concept with high ceilings and grand chandeliers. What did they do with floors 2-24 if the lobby is on the 25th floor?