hotel review

[Hotel Review] Parkroyal on Beach Road Singapore
ON OCTOBER 21, 2019 BY SATU KOSONGIN EXECUTIVE CLUB LOUNGE, GHA DISCOVERY, ORCHID CLUB, PARKROYAL HOTELS, SINGAPORE, STAYCATIONS
parkroyal beach road
Grabbed from Parkroyal Beach Road’s official site
My previous experience in this property was back in 2011. With the recently completed refurbishment and glowing pictures and reviews online, I decided to take advantage of the Amex Plat offer for getting $100 back with every $300 spent at Pan Pacific Group of Hotels, which includes Parkroyal properties. And being able to stack my GHA Black benefits was a bonus for sure!
Address – 7500 Beach Road Singapore 199591. Website.

Contact – Tel: +65 6296 3600. Email: enquiry.prsin@parkroyalhotels.com.

Location – the property is located along Beach Road, right opposite Haji Lane and its neighbouring alleys. Concourse is right next door which gives you access to a comparatively sad handful of F&B. Then you get The Plaza which is the smallish block of F&B located to the behind of the hotel. But all these places are un-sheltered access which means rain will cause plenty inconvenience. Nearest major mall will be Suntec City which is about10mins unsheltered way away.

Price – SGD183.60++ = SGD$210nett for 2 pax under the Member’s 14 Days Advanced Purchase rate. One of the cheaper staycation rates in Singapore.

Prior to Arrival – with this rate in mind, I emailed the hotel to confirm the possibilities of the double upgrade so I know which room to book. The reservations team responded to confirm that GHA Blacks’ highest upgrade possibility is the Club Premier: the next higher (and highest category for the property) is the Executive Suite which is excluded for upgrades. So I picked the Deluxe room, hoping to snag a double upgrade to the Club Premier. What I wish they could have told me is that GHA Black upgrade does not include access to Orchid Club – which I’ll talk about below.

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Check In – Arrived at 1:30pm on a Saturday afternoon to a bright and colorful lobby and was attended to immediately. The staff confirmed that I had received a double upgrade to Orchid Club Premier and also confirmed my late check out at 6pm. At the end of the process, I confirmed that club access is for 2pax – only to be told that the upgrade does not include access to Orchid Club and that I’d have to top up for it. I was quoted $56++ for 2pax which I thought was very reasonable since it includes breakfast and evening cocktails amongst others. I paid the extra but was not given letter stating the club benefits and timings.

Now, let me be clear that I do know that lounge access is not a guaranteed benefit for GHA Blacks. I just wish the property could be a little more transparent about the upgrade being only in terms of hardware but not club access. If I were to be honest, I don’t really agree with the principle since there is no such category of “club rooms without club access”. But sure, the hotel can decide to tweak at discretion. But stating this info upfront would have been a much better experience for guests – the reservations team or the front desk could have been pro-active in relaying this crucial piece of information rather than wait until I ask. I’m sure I’m not the only person who would have assumed all club rooms come with club access and it would have a terrible embarrassment if I had attempted to access the club with this assumption.

Room – I was assigned room 754 which is on the highest floor of the property. I was already impressed by the corridor when the lifts opened – the bright color scheme and orchids made the entire space really elegant (I found out thereafter that the corridors for other floors were more muted and mundane).