Sunday, 5 June 2022

Sofitel Singapore City Centre - Luxury Club Room King Bed


Sofitel Singapore City Centre ★★★★★(5 Stars Hotel)
9 Wallich Street
Singapore 078885

T: +65 6428 5000

Room Type: Luxury Club Room, 1 King Size Bed
Room Size: 38sqm
Stayed: March & April 2022
Booking: Accor Plus Member

Sofitel Singapore City Centre
Sofitel Singapore City Centre is nestled in the integrated mixed-use development, Tanjong Pagar Centre. This 223-room luxury hotel is surrounded by heritage shophouses and skyscrapers.

Day View towards Chinatown
At Sofitel Singapore City Centre, you can expect a design that blends Singapore’s rich heritage culture with undeniable French flair. It is vibrant and luxurious yet subtle at the same time.

Location (9/10)
Situated above Tanjong Pagar MRT station, Exit A, the hotel is at a strategic and convenient location to move around. It is 1 MRT stop away from Raffles Place and within walking distance to Shenton Way. It will take about 20 minutes car ride to and from Changi Airport.

Sofitel Singapore City Centre - Night 
While the Guoco Tower mixed development offers a great spread of culinary delights, plus you will also be within walking distance to restaurants at Peck Seah Street, Tras Street, Tanjong Pagar Road and Duxton. If you prefer the famous Singapore Hawker food, Tanjong Pagar Plaza Market & Food Centre, Maxwell Market or even Amoy Street Food Centre are within your reach.

Night View from Room
With a quick stroll along the Tanjong Pagar area, you will be treated to heritage shophouses, temples and daily happenings of Singapore’s heartland as Tanjong Pagar residents going about their days. You can also expand your cultural treat by visiting the Kreta Ayer Heritage Gallery, Buddha Tooth Relic Temple, Sri Mariamman Temple or Chinatown Heritage Centre and the surrounding precinct.

Skyscrapers View from The Swimming Pool

Room (9.17/10)
Cleanliness (10/10). Space (9/10). Room Amenities (9/10). Ambience (9/10), Bed & Pillow (9/10), WiFi (9/10).

The room is modern and spacious. The first thing that I notice when I enter the bedroom is the bathtub. Though it is not in your direct line of sight, you just can’t miss it from the corner of your eyes.

The Eyecatching Bathtub
The layout of the room is more of a business hotel. There is King size bed, bedroom bench, desk, huge flatscreen TV, mini bar / beverage station and armchair with ottoman. Though the layout is very standard, it comes down to the small details where Sofitel touch just stands out. This includes the leather business chair, leather finishing on the mini bar and also bedside drawers and the floral artwork behind the armchair.

Luxury Club Room - King Size Bed
Luxury Club Room - King Size Bed
Armchair & Ottoman with The Sofitel Touch
The room is filled with natural lights due to floor to ceiling windows. In the evening, the LED lights lit up the room.

Working Desk
I later found out that the beds use Sofitel’s luxurious MyBed, which was firm yet soft at the same time. The pillow is a bit on the softer side, yet it still provides sufficient support for our heads. LD and I have a great sleep during our stay here.

Luxury Club Room With Natural Light
The bathroom is very spacious. You have a bathtub and basin area is in one section, while the shower and toilet have a separate cubicle, although they share the same glass door. We both totally love the bathtub.

The Bathroom
Shower & Toilet with Shared Door
The Shower Cubicle 
Shower Amenities
Toilet
Due to the Covid situation, the mini bar is empty. The hot beverage station is stocked up with instant coffee, TWG Tea and also Nespresso Coffee. Near the working table, you will also find a tea set, to cater to your drinking tea experience.

Mini Bar / Beverage Station - With Leather Finishing
Hot Beverages Selections
Tea Set
Room entertainment consists of 55” flat-screen TV, Bose sound system and a good WiFi connection. We were able to stream things on our mobile without any connection error.

Bose Entertainment System
Light & Climate Control System
Other amenities provided bottled drinking water, bathrobes, bedroom slippers, an extra pillow, an iron & ironing board, a foldable luggage stand, in-room safe and hairdryer. Not forgetting Sophie, your personal digital 24/7 concierge.

Wardrobe
Hairdryer, In-room safe & Slippers
Sophie
Dining (8/10)
High Tea at 1864 (8.5/10)
Having heard so much about the High Tea at Sofitel Singapore City Centre, we decided to give it a try. It is priced at $128++ for 2 pax. Served in a customise 2-layer box, it comes with selections of 7 sweets and 4 savouries for each person. Each diner has 2 choices beverages of coffee and tea. We find the high tea is very good, especially the scones and their sweet and savoury macarons.

1864 (Photo From July 2021, no bear)
1864 (Photo From July 2021, no bear)
High Tea 
High Tea
Club Millésime (8/10)
All day refreshment 7.30am to 9.30pm, Apéro Chic 5.30pm to 7.30pm.

Club Millésime
Club Millésime - Part of the Dining Area
Our Club room booking entitled us to Club Millésime, located in the 6th floor of the hotel. The Apéro Chic cocktail hour comes with a selection of canapes, cold cuts, cheeses and hot food together with cocktails, alcoholic beverages, and non-alcoholic hot and cold beverages.

Canapes and Cold Cuts during Apéro Chic
Racines (7.5/10)
Breakfast is served at Racine, in a semi-buffet format. The set menu is limited to 1 set per person, while the beverages and side dishes are free flow. The food is pretty good, especially the egg selections and hash browns. The service can be improved, as it can be very difficult to get the service staff’s attention.

Racines
Breakfast Order Menu (March 2022)
Omelette Set Menu with Viennoiserie Basket, Fruits & Coffee

Vegetarian Set, Waffle, Dim Sum Basket, Fruits, Toast & OJ (April 2022 Menu)
You can click here for the full review of Racines dinner (*will be available soon)

Hotel Facilities (9/10)
The reception is located on the 5th floor, however, the main lobby on the ground floor is not to be missed. You will be welcome by the Singapour Je T’aime, a stunning nine-metre chandelier designed by Lasvit. This stunning art installation of glass leaves that whirl through the lobby, comprises 700 hand-blown glass crystals. Though the crystals are nice, the bears located in the lobby and 1864 are the ones that catch my attention.

Ground Floor Lobby with Singapour Je T’aime
Reception at 5th Floor
The swimming pool and SoFit gym are located on the 6th floor. There is also a complimentary In-Room Fitness Kit and special access to Virgin Active Fitness Club at Guoco tower.

Kids Pool, Sunbathing Area and Lawn
Swimming Pool
Yoga Mat (In the room)
For those who drive, you can park your car at Guoco Tower Carpark B. There is no complimentary parking for hotel guests. However, parking after 5 PM on a weekday, the whole day for Saturday, Sunday and PH are very affordable, capped at $2.50. Updated parking rate, available here.

Services (8.5/10)
The overall service is warm, friendly and at times going above and beyond. Everyone always makes you feel welcomed. We notice that the hotel is short-handed as we see Guest Services Ambassadors and Food & Beverage Ambassadors deployed at different facilities in the hotel and at different times.

Xavier & Sophie
Overall
We have a great time staying at Sofitel Singapore City Centre. We find the accommodation to our liking and we also enjoy the benefits under Accor Plus member. We look forward to our future staycation here. Cheers!!

Wednesday, 1 June 2022

Ospace – Your Own Private Gym [MEDIA INVITE]

Ospace is a revolutionary concept that combines 24-hour gym, fitness, wellness and technology. It is a pay-per-use gym and wellness centre to meet the need of fitness enthusiasts and provide privacy at the same time.

Power Rack Station and Adjustable Pulley
Ospace is built to cater to the regular gym user that needs a great workout; a physiotherapist or a sports masseuse; or a private Yoga/Dance/Zumba/Fitness instructor to conduct one-to-one class or hold an online session.

Drumbels
Heavy Drumbels
Currently, Ospace is present at 4 heartland locations, Ang Mo Kio, Bedok North, Tampines and Tanglin Halt. LD and I visited the Tampines Ospace and give it a try.

Fitness Step Board and Fitness Resistance Band
The booking of Ospace is done through Ospace App, you can download it in App Store and Google Play. Once you install the App, you can start your booking. Choose the location, sign-up, choose the time slot and total pax, put in your payment details and you are reservation is confirmed.

Left: Ospace App in Play Store; Centre: The App; Right: Location & Pricing
Left: Proceed to Fill In Your Details; Centre: Login Page after Registration;
Right: Booking Location, Date & Time.
Once you reach the location that your book and the time, a small box will appear on the app. Click on the box, and the system will buzz you in. Here is a brief walk-through of the Ospace Tampines.

Left: Your Booking Confirmation;
Right: Green Box will Pop Out during the allocated time.Click and Enter

Gym equipment includes a treadmill, power rack station with weights and adjustable pulley, stationary bike, adjustable bench, range of dumbbells, fitness step board, yoga mat, massage bed and fitness resistance bands.

Treadmill
At one end, there is an Android fitted smart mirror to help you control the lights, analyse your body composition, and also a fitness app through Youtube. Some parts of the walls are fitted with full-length mirrors, which is very helpful when you are doing your fitness.

Smart Mirror
Since LD and I are not gym regulars, we only use the equipment that we are familiar with. The treadmill is easy to use. Just adjust the speed, elevation (if needed) and walk on it. To monitor your heart rate, you can attach the clip in front of you or just grab the metal part of the handlebar to allow the machine to read your heart rate.

Stationary Bike
I did a quick exercise on the stationary bike; it seems my flat buttocks can’t get used to the seat. So, I decided to skip it and try out the power rack station. You can easily adjust the weight of the pulley behind, however, I have difficulties getting the right posture. I know you can get everything on YouTube or Google, maybe if you can include a QR code to scan or a positional chart nearby, it is easy for novice users like us to get through it.

Chubby Botak Koala using the Pulley
While using the equipment above, you can also pair your phone with Google Nest Mini to inspire your exercise through your playlist. Ospace also collaborated with Esther to provide a diffuser with medical-grade essential oil. Hand sanitiser, baby wipes and surface sanitiser are provided for your benefit.

Google Nest Mini & Difuser
Hand Sanitiser, Surface Sanitiser and Wet Wipes
We skipped the adjustable bench since we are not doing any weight training. Instead, we spend most of the time toying with the smart mirror. I started with a YouTube exercise video using the fitness step board. LD try to follow the aerobic dance exercise. Finally, we settle on some stretching and cardio workout. Totally love the smart mirror, however, we just wish there is a bigger 42” to 50” TV, making it easy for us to follow the exercise. The space in front of the smart mirror can comfortably fit 2 to 3 pax exercising at the same time.

Smart Mirror & Adjustable Bench
Overall, LD and I find Ospace is spacious to cater for 3 pax at one time. There is a lot of different gym equipment to help you with your exercise and the Google Nest Mini and Smart Mirror are a plus point. Booking is a breeze and the overall area is well air-conditioned. If you are looking for a private gym or mini studio for your exercise and other wellness activities, you should check out Ospace.

The Pricing
Thank you very much Jennifer Yeo Consultancy and Ospace for the invite.

Ospace
Blk 107 Tampines Street 11
#01-347
Singapore 521107

WA: +65 88771998
OH: 24 Hours
Other location Ang Mo Kio, Bedok North & Tanglin Halt.

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