Grand Hyatt, Singapore

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The Grand Hyatt is situated on Scotts Road. For those of you unfamiliar to SIngapore, this is in the prime zone for shopping. The main shopping street is called Orchard Road and Scotts Road intersects it. Both streets are bustling with people night and day and definitely the busiest place in Singapore.

Taxis are usually available outside and the concierge will call one for you if there is a shortage. If ...
...in the area but the Grand Hyatt seemed to fulfil our criteria really well. It was within budget and offered a suite at a decent price. We needed two rooms as we have two babies. Neighbouring hotels seem to charge exorbitant amounts for suites whereas the Grand Hyatt at $490+++ per night was much more reasonable. (160 GBp)

**The Hotel**
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Your first view will be a huge entrance hall which although very ... more

**Background**
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The Grand Hyatt is situated on Scotts Road. For those of you unfamiliar to SIngapore, this is in the prime zone for shopping. The main shopping street is called Orchard Road and Scotts Road intersects it. Both streets are bustling with people night and day and definitely the busiest place in Singapore.

Taxis are usually available outside and the concierge will call one for you if there is a shortage. If you want to get out and about via public transport there are bus stops within 200 yds and an MRT station within a 7 minute walk. It is one of the most convenient places to stay if you want to get out and about.

If you like shopping this is an ideal location for you. Maybe 300 yds away are Tangs and Isetan two fabulous department stores. A five minute walk away are The Paragon Shopping Centre which houses stores such as Guess, Ralph Lauren, Marks and Spencers, Armani Exchange and a great kids section with a ToysRUs. Opposite The Paragon is Ngee Ann City which houses the famous Takashiymaya department store which is definitely worth a visit.

There are restaurants and bars galore within the immediate vicinity ranging from highly exclusive (Les Amis) to burger joints (Burger King) to food courts. There is something for everyone - all tastes and all budgets.

Location wise this is fabulous as a city break. It is a very busy road although once we were inside our room there was a noticable silence only. My only complaint about the location is that once you have reached the intersection with Scotts Road, there is no crossing for buggys. Thus if you have kids you have to walk quite a distance to cross the road. If you are minus kids you can take the subway which is quick and clean.

Our reason for staying here - we have lived in Singapore for the last two years and we are now moving to the US. We wanted to stay somewhere fairly close to all amenities and somewhere that we meet up with friends to say our goodbyes.

I researched several hotels in the area but the Grand Hyatt seemed to fulfil our criteria really well. It was within budget and offered a suite at a decent price. We needed two rooms as we have two babies. Neighbouring hotels seem to charge exorbitant amounts for suites whereas the Grand Hyatt at $490+++ per night was much more reasonable. (160 GBp)

**The Hotel**
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Your first view will be a huge entrance hall which although very impressive seemed to be a waste of space. There was nothing in it and I personally thought it was a bit grandiose.

You then walk through this and behind it is the check in desks. Following the huge entrance hall, the check in desk seemed tiny. There was no proper queueing system and I was queue-jumped several times before a lovely man helped me to check me in. He suggested we upgraded our suite to a family room for an extra $50 a night which we did. For that we got 2 bedrooms and a sitting room instead of 1 bed and a sitting room. They were amazingly accommodating and he walked us to our room.

**Grand Club**
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The hotel has a Grand Club which folks on special packages/suites can access. This is on the 12th floor. They offer a continental breakfast and a nibbles/cocktails sessions. It is really nice in there. Very clean and comfortable. A trendy and modern decor. The food is excellent. Although there is not a huge selection, the food provided is gourmet and really tasty.

The breakfast session there has a selection of cereals, fruits, cold meats/salmon, fruit juices, bread to toast, every type of soft drink. The nibbles/cocktails consist of small gourmet rolls, a selection of cheeses and posh aperitifs. If you are a big eater, this will not suffice as your evening meal but for lighter eaters it is ok.

My only complaint about the Grand Club restaurant is that the waiting staff seem rather stiff and cold. I smiled constantly at them but I only received one smile in 9 meals there. Not a great record really.

**Restaurants**
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There are several restaurants within the hotel, all of which have enviable reputations.
Mezza9 is a contemporary restaurant that has Western, Thai, Chinese and Japanese foods. It's a popular restaurant and bookings are usually necessary.
Pete's Place is an Italian restaurant which is great. I had a super meal there and I can highly recommend it.
Straits Kitchen - another really popular restaurant amongst expats and locals. It has an authentic selection of halal Chinese, Indian and Malay food. Lush and very popular.

**Room Service**
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Room service is available 24/7. I was really impressed with the room service. I had spaghetti bolognase for my lunch and it was really nice. I am not a big pasta fan but it was really tasty. They also delivered it in record time. Other orders we made like tea and milk came equally speedily. Room service is expensive but then it is expensive in all hotels - I paid about 10 pounds for two pots of tea and a glass of milk. My spag bol was about 10 pounds too. You could get sandwiches and burgers as well as more gourmet food.

**Facilities**
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There is a lovely outdoor swimming pool but unfortunately we didn't get to use it as it was raining every day. Although Singapore has a lovely warm climate, it does rain quite alot and so it's sensible to always have an umbrella. The pool is surrounded by loungers which is great when the weather is good. Although you are in the heart of the shopping centre, it was strangely quiet.

There is a hairdressers on the 5th floor which looked very popular. I tried to make an apt on a Saturday but they were fully booked.It was quite small but the staff on the reception were attentive and pleasant.

There is also a Health Club which was equally as popular. It had a good gym with lots of machines, jacuzzi, steam rooms, squash court, tennis court, driving net and beauty salon. I looked around this on a Sat and Tues and it was definitely quieter in the week.

**The Rooms**
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Immaculately clean. The cleaning staff are truly lovely and made a real effort to tidy up all of my kids clutter. They also turndown your room at night which is a lovely touch.

The decor is modern and comfortable. In our sitting room we had a settee, an easy chair and footstool, a desk, set of drawers and small table and lamp. There was a gorgeous Bang & Olufson television in the sitting room and also in our bedroom. Very posh - although it wasn't plasma!

The bedroom had an absolutely huge bed. It was really luxurious with gorgeous linens and I slept really well in it.

The bathroom was very modern in design. It had a single sink and shower which were clean and well maintained. I loved the overhead jet in the shower and it also had a hand held spray too.

There was a separate guest toilet too which was useful.

The kids bedroom had two comfortable single beds although no tv. I think if your children were older and were used to watching tv in their room, you might get some moans. For us, our kids are young so it was no problem.

The hotel were great about providing a cot for our baby and this was also made up with fresh sheets daily.

**Overall**
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I think this is a fabulous hotel in a fantastic location. It is a busy street so if you want a more rural retreat do not stay here. If you want shopping and nightlife then it is really incredible. Generally all of the staff are amiable and great - the only exception being in the Grand Club.

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to others!

 

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