Recognized for its significance in Singapore’s built heritage, Goodwood Park Hotel’s iconic Grand Tower was gazetted a national monument back in 1989 (another familiar Singapore national monument is The Fullerton Hotel). Its colonial architecture retains a sort of old-world charm and opulence that distinguishes it from its more contemporary hotel counterparts in Singapore. Spanning six hectares of land, the hotel houses several wings: The Mayfair Wing (with its own Balinese-inspired swimming pool), the Tower Wing (where heritage rooms and the luxurious Rose Marie Suite are situated) and the Lobby Wing (with rooms refurbished just this year from what I understand). Parklane Suites, the hotel’s dual-level serviced apartments, is located in a separate building opposite the main hotel.
HSBC was running a pretty decent promotion during one of its WOW weekend sales, offering a 1-night stay in their newly refurbished Junior Suite with lots of dining inclusions. I was sold!
- Inclusions:
- 1-night stay in Junior Suite
- Breakfast
- 3-course dinner at Gordon Grill
- 15% dining discount
- Turndown gift
- Spent: SGD$388.41
Check-in
My husband and I arrived around 2.40pm at our designated staggered check-in time. There was only a couple in front of us in the queue, but already there were staff stationed nearby to actively help expedite the check-in process. Melanie assisted us wonderfully and gave us thorough directions to all the key venues for our stay (we sure needed it, given how much ground this hotel covered).
We popped by Gordon Grill right after to make a reservation for that evening. Anthony, another staff from the lobby area, then offered to walk us to our room (that was a nice first for us). Along the way, he gave us tips on how to maximize our time here and shared nuggets of trivia about the hotel. The staff really take good care of their guests!
Room
Our assigned Junior Suite was located on level 1 of the Lobby Wing. Its interior and furnishings were comfortably modern, with a partition separating the bedroom and living area. They also had a pillow menu from which to select your desired pillow type. For a room this size, I thought the bathroom was rather small, but the light colours and reflective surfaces helped to make it feel less claustrophobic. Not to mention that it was impeccably clean, a huge plus point. I couldn’t really say the same for the room as I found a strand of white hair on the bed headboard (eew).
If noise is something that bothers you, do note that the walls aren’t very noise-proof. We could hear clear, unmuffled conversations as people walked along the corridor. In addition, as our room was on level 1 next to a utility shed (yea this was part of our room view), sometimes staff would walk past our window. We drew the curtains for the most part just so we could increase our sense of privacy but it still wasn’t very ideal.
As our package came with 15% off a la carte F&B items, I called up the operator to check if this applied to in-room dining. We were considering ordering something small as we were feeling peckish. The operator regretfully informed that it only applied to dine-ins at the listed restaurants and sincerely apologized before hanging up. However, she called back shortly after to highlight that in-room dining came with a (better) 20% discount already, which came as a pleasant surprise. I’m not sure how I missed that since it was printed right at the top of the menu, but I was thankful that she called back to tell me. That solidified our decision to place an order!
Our in-room dining plates were cleared later on during turndown service, though from what I observed, that was pretty much all they did. They did leave us the turndown gift as promised in our package: A slim power bank with the hotel brand and logo on it. I thought it was a really useful and practical gift, until I got home and found out that it didn’t work ):
Facilities
Needless to say, it is quite easy to get lost given the size of this hotel, but if you enjoy exploring such spaces, you’ll find many cosy little nooks with inviting lounge chairs and sofas. There is even a dedicated display area showcasing interesting facts about the hotel’s history. I had a good time just wandering the hallways and admiring the aesthetics of these spaces.
L’Espresso and The Deli are located right next to the reception area. There was a high tea service going on at L’Espresso just as we checked in, so we managed to get a quick look at what was being served. Looked fancy! The Deli, the hotel’s in-house bakery, is super famous for their durian pastries and desserts. Sadly, both my husband and I aren’t into durians so it wasn’t that big of a draw for us.
Min Jiang Restaurant, an award-winning restaurant serving Cantonese and Sichuan cuisine, is located further down from the reception area towards the Tower Wing.
In my quest to find Spa Rael (the hotel spa), I had to ask a staff for directions as I couldn’t find it. Without hesitation, she very kindly escorted me all the way to the other end of the hotel to show me where it was. Apparently it wasn’t within the main hotel but across a small road next to Parklane Suites.
Heading back to the main hotel, I went on to check out the swimming pools and gym. The Main Pool, located right next to L’Espresso, is comparatively larger in size but looks plainer in terms of design. The smaller Mayfair Pool within the Mayfair Wing feels much more exclusive and private, but in actuality, is still accessible by all guests. Anthony shared that it is possible to book a 1-hour slot at one pool and another hour at the other pool, effectively extending your pool time. Thanks for the tip!
At dinner time, we made our way to Gordon Grill for a 3-course set dinner. The wait staff remembered me from when I made a reservation earlier and addressed me by name (so nice that she remembered!). She then brought us to our table and handed us the menu. While browsing the menu, I noticed that the sofa had a dank smell, like the kind that wafts from an old wet rag, which was mildly off-putting. Fortunately, that was the only issue that came up, everything else in terms of ambience and service was classy and impressive.
We were brought a complimentary bread basket and a plate of amuse-bouche that tasted simply delectable. Although there wasn’t much choice for this set dinner (we could only choose our main course), this was easily overlooked because every dish they served us was delicious. The only item I would’ve wanted to tweak was the chocolate truffle mousse cake. It had alcoholic bits of fruit that got in the way of me fully enjoying the cake, but that’s just me being fussy. Overall, dinner and service here were fantastic (:
The next morning, we had breakfast at the Coffee Lounge (or rather, the spillover section next to the Coffee Lounge as the former was full with other guests). Melanie informed us earlier at check-in that just for this weekend, due to high occupancy rates, breakfast would be served buffet style, much to my delight! For some context, they have typically been serving one breakfast set per person all this while in a bid to reduce food wastage. I had already dolefully accepted this lesser option prior to arrival (one of the things I look forward to most on a stay is the unlimited breakfast buffet), so you can only imagine my joy when Melanie broke the news!
In the spillover section, there was a buffet spread (with the same items as the spread in the Coffee Lounge, I assume) but there wasn’t a live egg station. However, the chef graciously acceded to my request for a ham and cheese omelette, my go-to dish for breakfast. Out of all the average-tasting items, I liked the ham and cheese omelette the most, followed by the congee. My husband preferred the starchy fried noodles and crispy bacon. Juices served here weren’t fresh either, along with many other 5-star hotels breakfasts, which is slightly disappointing.
My overall rating of the experience: 4 out of 5 stars. Nicely refurbished rooms, scrumptious dishes from Gordon Grill and outstanding service standards. The readiness of the staff to go beyond the call of duty to render assistance and add that personal touch in their interactions with us is truly commendable, you really don’t feel like you’re just another guest to them. Unfortunately, some aspects were less than stellar. Breakfast was mediocre, the turndown gift wasn’t functioning, plus the tiny lapse in room cleanliness with that strand of hair. Also, there was a slight hiccup during check-out where the front desk staff didn’t accord us the 20% discount on our in-room dining order, stating that there was none. After we explained that both the operator and the printed menu provided this information, she promptly discussed it with her team and eventually applied the said discount. No harm done though, at least she was willing to check and rectify the misunderstanding. Overall, it was a very pleasant stay and we really felt well taken care of (: For future stays, we’ll probably opt for a room that’s not on level 1 to hopefully get a better view and more privacy, as well as aim for packages that come with dining credits!
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