Background:
I stayed at the Westin Plaza Singapore in November 2001, just one month before the switchover to Raffles International management. The hotel is now known as Raffles The Plaza Singapore. Was booked in a premier deluxe room in the South Tower, which was renovated towards end 2000 - the result: a modern, somewhat minimalist, cool abode in the heart of the city centre.

Check-in and check-out:
Check-in was a pleasant experience. At the front desk, sought the receptionist's confirmation that I would be entitled free entry to the gym at Amrita Spa (within the hotel complex). She also confirmed that no voucher was required. This was not the case as I found out later, as I was billed S$10 for use of the gym.

Check-out was not as pleasant. The receptionist on duty was very sour faced. When I handed her my credit card and it slipped into the narrow gap between her computer screen and the screen protector, she expressed her frustration openly, as if it was my fault. No nice gestures of "thank you for staying with us", no smile, no eye contact. Not a very impressive last impression.

Room:
I was assigned a room on level 21, which afforded a nice view of the war memorial park and the Suntec City Convention Centre, as well as glimpses of the water body at Marina Bay. The room was recently renovated - very clean lines and light colour scheme. Taking centrestage is the Westin's signature Heavenly Bed, described in their brochure as layers upon layers of sheer bliss. The bed was indeed nice to look at: five pillows of various sizes, nice crisp linen sheets - very sumptuous indeed.

Another highlight of the room that I liked a lot was the bathroom. There's a glass and steel vanity counter with glass bowl sink, a standard bathtub with adjacent "heavenly shower" (a very large ceiling mounted shower rose that gives the effect of a tropical rain shower. There's also a separate handheld shower attachment which can point both ways - into the bathtub or on the shower area. A clear glass panel ensures that the vanity area stays dry, but does not block any of the streamlined. open effect. The toilet is set in an alcove, and has a very thoughtful "please wait" button in case someone was at the door and you wanted to acknowledge your presence but were still doing your business. Amenities provided were generally quite good.

The room also had a bose wave radio on the bedside, with a speaker connected to the bathroom. I found the sound quality in the bathroom better than that in the bedroom.

The writing desk is generously sized, and all the relevant switches and laptop jacks were at desktop level. No need to climb under tables to hook up the computers or recharge handphones.

What I disliked about the room:
1) The luggage stand, though practical, spoiled the design and look of the room. The stand was also built too high, and the fabric used was rather mismatched.

2) The Heavenly Bed was not so heavenly afterall. The down pillows had a very unpleasant smell (due to the humid conditions of Singapore). The sheets also bore the smell of not having dried properly, a smell of dampness. Did not have a peaceful sleep as promised by the fancy collateral.

3) The couch was set at the foot of the bed, in the middle of nowhere. Not very well positioned.

Service:
Very professional and prompt. Turndown was accorded very efficiently and discreetly, even though I was relaxing in the room. They even left a very nice platter of chocolate coated strawberries. When I once requested for extra amenities but left the DND indication on, I received a very discreet phonecall requesting to switch off the sign so that the doorbell can be rung.


Recommended: Yes