Showing posts with label Orchard. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Orchard. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 9, 2023

One Night in Pan Pacific Orchard @ 10 Claymore Road

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Had been working hard and having no day off for a while now, decided on a whim to take a short staycation. Had wanted to try Pan Pacific Orchard since it opened its door in Jun 2023, and judging from its early reviews, decided that it is prudent to wait a bit. The beautiful photos from the hotel website had me intrigued of its view.

Booked the Premier King Discovery National Day Package for a Saturday stay. Checked-in early and the lobby was not busy. Got my room keycards after waiting for a short while and proceeded to Level 9. The experience at the front desk was perfunctory at best and while the end outcome of getting the room key was achieved, it didn't give off a warm welcome to the guest.

room

balcony, yay!

let's enjoy balcony view

hello Orchard

From the looks of it, the room was upgraded to Deluxe Balcony King. Room size between the two are the same, with the balcony being the differentiator. And I was happy with the balcony! But do note that one can see our neighbour when we are at the balcony. Also be careful when you're out at the balcony as the ledge only comes up to my waist level and I am not that tall. The balcony ottoman was rather nice to lounge at.


night view

morning view


Let's explore the other parts of the room.

bathrobes

bedroom slippers in here

Nespresso machine, filtered water tap and mini-bar

Take note that everything in the mini-bar is chargeable but unfortunately, the QR code scan on the TV for the mini-bar didn't reveal the prices of the items. It was just an empty page. Teething problem?

Singapore Orchard Gin @$68++


cups, plates and glasses

looking for Nespresso pods

looks like all the same flavour except one

super simple sleek looking Samsung remote

comfy bed

bathroom

soap and lotion

shower

shower gel, conditioner and shampoo

toilet

The shower strength was indeed not that strong as per other reviewers' comments but it was still alright. It did take about 30 seconds or so, for the water to get hot from its initial state, and there was once when the water temperature fluctuated on its own from hot to lukewarm. Other than that, I did like the flooring of the shower room as it is the non-slip type.

Made a call to One-Service to enquire about the Discovery member in-room amenities. It was answered within 3 minutes. Staff checked for a bit and informed that it was a plate of pralines and asked if I would like to have that. Hmm, yes? Thought it was a rather odd question.

Received another call from the same staff about half hour later to inform that they could only send the pralines later in the evening. No problem, I said. Went out for lunch with a friend and came back for coffee. And just nice, the doorbell rang and voila, the pralines had arrived with a welcome note from General Manager. Good timing!


in-room Welcome Amenity

coffee in a pretty cup

The chocolates were actually very good. The green one was minty and the yellow one had hints of lemon. Sweetness level, just nice. Thank you GHA Discovery and Pan Pacific Orchard for the lovely welcome amenity.

As it was a National Day Package, I was able to redeem a complimentary Singapore Sling from Pacific Breeze.

Pacific Breeze, next to hotel lobby

Singapore Sling at Pacific Breeze

served with cherry and pineapple garnish

There was only one staff manning the bar at Pacific Breeze, so had to wait for a while for the drinks to be made. It's been a long while since I had a Singapore Sling (I think the last one was during an SQ flight to somewhere before Covid!) and wow, the version here is strong. Keke. The thing about Singapore Sling is, sometimes it could taste a tad too syrupy. The concoction here was rather likeable and refreshing.

sundown at Pacific Breeze

Hmm, I wonder if Pacific Breeze serves any finger food, snacks or any other drinks. And if Pacific Breeze is not ready for that, then why not let the guest be having the drink in Mosella/Florette instead.

Level 11

sunset from Level 11



Pan Pacific Orchard

Address: 10 Claymore Road 229540 Singapore

Websitehttps://www.panpacific.com/en/hotels-and-resorts/pp-orchard-sg.html

Contact: +65 6991 6888


Sunday, July 17, 2022

So France Claymore @ 1 Claymore Drive

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We had a hard time finding this outlet. Pretty hidden and you probably won't notice it from the main roads. Staff was pretty nice and tried their best to guide us to the place over the phone when we called up to ask for more detailed directions.

So France Claymore

entrance


One could also stock up on imported goodies such as cheeses, wines, condiments within the shop when dining here. As we had a reservation, we were led to our table pretty quickly.

lovely interior

table setting

let's have brunch!

drinks menu


Decided to do a light brunch as perhaps only two of us were super hungry while the other half were okay. Decided on baked camembert cheese, a savoury crepe and another sweet crepe to complete the meal.

The manager is a humorous guy and he was advising us on the sequence that we should be enjoying our orders. We learnt that we shouldn't be eating the camembert with a savoury/sweet crepe or something along the line. Hahaa, okay we will enjoy it one after the other then!

bread basket and butter (complimentary)


After our orders were taken, the bread basket was served. The butter serving was not enough for the four of us and thus, we shyly asked if we could have some more. The staff had no qualms on such request and immediately brought out 2 more portions of the butter. Thank you for your generosity!


yummy

How about a glass of wine for a mid-day tipple? Why not?

Bordeaux M de Monsegur 2016 @$14

Baked Camembert @$20 (half)


We were actually surprised when we dig into the baked camembert. Was it supposed to be that watery? Hmm. More liquid than what we used to have in other places where it was only lightly baked till soft and with a drizzle of honey. Here, it is just the pure taste of a liquid camembert (savoury, creamy) after the top layer was broken off.


liquid gold

Served with crispy toast but I preferred it with the baguette as the bread could soak up more of the cheese!

La Montagnarde @$22

bacon, Raclette cheese, caramelised onions

The savoury crepe was good. Love the accompanying salad at the side. Felt like a balanced meal.

Ended the meal with a sweet crepe but my friends were disappointed. The crepe seemed to be undercooked and more doughy in texture. For me, am not sure if it was supposed to be of this texture but I could still eat it. Just felt it was a tad underwhelming as it seemed to be prepared rather simply; banana slices, crepe and lots of chocolate sauce.

La Banane - Choc @$12


All in all, the staff are friendly and efficient here. This place has good relaxing vibes to it. 

Thank you Tiara, Kris and Shermaine for the treat!


So France

Address: 1 Claymore Drive #01-01. Orchard Tower Apartments, Singapore 229594

Websitehttps://www.so-france.sg/

Contact: +65 6980 7768

Business Hours

Daily: 8AM–10PM

Thursday, July 14, 2022

One Night Staycation @ St Regis Singapore

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Ever curious about the service and experience of staying in a luxury hotel, I had decided to book a one-night only staycation at St Regis Singapore.

Check-in was done in a relaxed manner without having to stand in a queue. Just grab a seat at the hotel lobby and wait for the staff to be available.

hotel lobby

nice comfy sofa seats


Requested for a late check-out and staff acceded to the request and extended the stay till 2pm the next day. Once the check-in process was completed, staff offered to escort me to the lift. Lovely gesture.

My room was at Level 14 and noticed that the lift has a seat in it. Don't think I had ever come across such a design in other hotels, thus far.

seat in lift



hallway


Upon entrance to the room, one can't help but to notice a large mirror at the doorway. Hehe, good for that last minute outfit check before heading outside.

area upon entrance to the room


container for the keycard

all in one cabinet (without snacks)


wine opener, but where are the wine glasses?

mini fridge

ice bucket


First impression of the room? Definitely spacious. Its bathroom is like bigger than my current rented space master bedroom. There are 2 sinks at each end of the bathroom, so you and your partner can have your own space to freshen up.

Executive Deluxe (King bed) 52 m²/560 ft²

bathroom

would you like a butler service to get ready the bubble bath?


lovely

separate area for toilet

standing shower

bath things

bag storage area and bedroom slippers in the bathroom

extra pillows here


The room bell rang when I was exploring the room, and I wondered whom it was. Turned out to be the room assigned butler and he was bringing up the complimentary fruits bowl and birthday cake, plus a welcome card from their General Manager.

celebratory cake, fruits bowl and handwritten welcome card


I was like, "Shouldn't this be prepared before the guest arrive?" He acknowledged that and informed that this mix-up was due to the initial room assigned was another one. Hmm, better than late than never, I guess? Not a big deal for me but am sure other guests would like to surprise their partner and hence, this setup would not be ideal when the guest is in the room.

Nevertheless, I must say that the fruits at St Regis were sweet! Good job to the purchasing department for getting such lovely quality fruits.

apples (red and green), kiwi, orange, grapes (red), plum and longan


lovely chocolate cake


lovely spot by the window

view from Level 14

workdesk area


green plants in the room

care package


By the bedside, the side table has a panel that controls the in-room lightings and window drapes. By default, it was setup to be visible. One could also push it in to make it less visible.

controller


I get apprehensive when the room uses french press to make coffee. Like, the cleaning up is kinda messy.

let's drink coffee



yes, I read the instructions...


hot water in


not quite instant, but fast enough


Having said that, the coffee was mild and nice. Not too acidic. Good with that chocolate cake.

Visited the Astor Bar during my stay and tried two of their cocktails. Staff was friendly and welcoming. 

Astor Bar - no entry at this side

complimentary snacks

St. Regis Singapore's "Chilli Padi Mary" @$24


I haven't had Bloody Mary for like ages. Think I only had it once prior to this. St Regis worldwide seemed to have their own version, so ours is the chili padi version. Tasted of savoury tomatoes with a spicy punch. Vodka base, and had aromatics like lemongrass and ginger.




Next one, I opted for Duke of Jazz. Rum and tequila base and tasted of pineapples with a dash of cinnamon/nutmeg powder. This drink I liked for its fruity sweetness. Didn't know it had that dash of spice (which I would've opted out).

Duke of Jazz @$24


Overall, the drinks were pretty strong at Astor Bar. Live Jazz Performance is happening from Thursdays to Saturdays from 6.45pm to 10.45pm. Nice place to unwind. There was a birthday celebration that night too.

Breakfast is served at Brasserie Les Saveurs. There are default items served during breakfast. One will be served the pastry basket and a plate of fruits. Just need to put in the order for one appetiser/side and a main. I chose a salad as the side dish (I forgot that the omelette did come with some greens too...) and the Epicurean Omelette (since that seems to be the thing that guests rave about). 

There are other choices for breakfast such as the usual toasted bread with ham/bacon and eggs, and I spied laksa as well. Observed that regulars here actually don't order the epicurean omelette. Seems like they prefer their own favourite items like regular sunny side up with bacon and toast.

scan QR code for the menu

Viennoiseries

fruits plate

assorted jam for the bread

Epicurean Omelette


Breakfast was served pretty quickly once you are seated and though the place was bustling during the weekend, I got my omelette without having to wait for long.


Overall, the stay at St Regis was comfortable. Room was spacious and quiet. Staff at the lobby was efficient and polite. Check-out was a breeze.


St Regis Singapore

Address: 29 Tanglin Rd, Singapore 247911
Contact: +65 650-66888
 
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