Located just off the main shopping streets of Orchard Road, Four Seasons is a hotel of understated elegance and charm. Not exactly a widely publicized or highly promoted hotel locally, it only began piquing my interest when I saw a few reviews depicting its fine, exquisite rooms. Coupled with stackable discount codes on an already enticing price on Traveloka, we unwittingly got a lot more than we bargained for on this stay!
- Inclusions:
- 1-night stay in Deluxe Room
- Breakfast
- 3-course dinner at One-Ninety Bar
- Early check-in 12pm
- Late check-out 6pm
- Complimentary parking
- Spent: SGD$202.01
Check-in
We were greeted by a glistening Christmas tree the moment we walked through the doors, before making our way to the empty reception area. I was under the impression that our stay only included complimentary breakfast but when Syairah, the staff checking us in, went through our package (apparently called “Surprise Staycation”), she shared that we had all these other inclusions that I wasn’t even aware of! She had such an approachable and welcoming demeanour as well, what a fantastic start to our stay.
Room
Seeing how the lobby and reception area appeared rather dated, I had some slight reservations on how the rooms would be in real life despite having seen previous review photos. Much to my relief, our assigned Deluxe Room on the 18th floor (out of 19 guest room floors) was sophisticatedly modern and clean. There was plenty of space and everything was really well-maintained. My favourite part of the room was the lounge chair by the window ❤ In the bathroom, there is ample room for a tub, a separate rainshower, a European bidet and double vanities too.
This was the first time ever that my firm pillow was already in the room before we even got there! Granted, I was walking around the lobby taking some photos and making a restaurant booking, but within that short span of time, the housekeeping team managed to arrange for the pillows to be sent up? That’s incredibly efficient. Also, I requested for turndown service and we came back after dinner to a tidied room with replenished items and floor towels beside the bed. Superb!
Facilities
The hotel has two swimming pools – a lap pool (with an adjacent jacuzzi) on level 3 and a smaller family pool on level 20. A sizeable gym is also located on level 3. I spotted an area here that was hoarded up as renovations were still ongoing for the new restaurant, Pool House.
On level 4, you will find the spa and its facilities like the sauna and steam room, to which all in-house guests have complimentary access. Here is also where the stairway to the two tennis courts is located.
After some down time in the room, we made our way to One-Ninety Bar for our 3-course dinner. It was only there that we found out that our dinner came with a bottle of Prosecco (yet another surprise inclusion we didn’t expect!) and we had the option to bring it back to the room. Given that we don’t really drink alcohol, we asked if they could change it to something non-alcoholic.
YY, one of the lovely wait staff, offered us some sparkling tea options but alas, the sweeter option was unavailable when she double-checked, so we settled for the floral one which was relatively more bitter. She observed that we barely touched our drinks all night and rightly assumed we didn’t fancy them. Very thoughtfully, she arranged for the bartender to bring us two glasses of amaretto sour at the end of our meal, a sweeter drink that we enjoyed! I asked the bartender more about this interesting concoction and she cheerfully took time out to share her knowledge with us (:
As for the food, practically every dish was excellent! We started with an avocado salad with baby cresses and a mushroom soup with truffle oil. I loved how the creamy avocado balanced the fresh, slightly bitter baby cresses and the salty miso dressing. The most interesting element on the plate was the toasted wild rice, adding a hint of charred crunchiness to the dish! The mushroom soup, while yummy and flavourful, was a little watery and could’ve used a tad more truffle oil in it.
For our mains, we ordered the slow-cooked beef short ribs and the roasted sea bass in yuzu soy broth. Wow, the beef was totally the melt-in-your-mouth kind of goodness and was suitably portioned as it was quite rich. The sauce it came with was intense, like it had been reduced to the very essence of its ingredients. Similarly, the sea bass was moist and succulent (: I liked the texture of the kale mixed with the tanginess of the yuzu broth.
With only one option for dessert, we each had a seasonal fruit tart with crème chantilly, which tasted fresh and light. It was the most wonderful end to our dinner and we gleefully devoured it all. The sole downside to the experience for me was sustaining three mosquito bites while my husband came out unscathed.
Breakfast was served in an unlimited a la carte cum assisted buffet fashion at One-Ninety Restaurant the next morning. Everything was really good in both taste and quality. I especially liked the pastries such as the muffins and banana bread as they were soft and fluffy (ie. not dense). The pain au chocolat and croissant we had was also scrumptiously crispy and flaky.
The manager very kindly took our orders for some off-menu items like hot chocolate and laksa (I only expected a plain order but this actually came with seafood, yet another pleasant surprise!). The laksa broth was thick and fragrant, with a generous serving of well-cooked seafood.
I enquired about the brand they used for the hot chocolate as it was very tasty and the staff shared that it was either from Cadbury or made with chocolate from the kitchen. This response was actually sufficient for me but she went the extra mile saying that she would double-check to make sure I was getting the right information. She noted down my room number and contact so she could get back to me on this. I was completely blown away by her commitment to excellence! If you’re keen to know, it was made with Cadbury chocolate powder and the hotel’s homemade chocolate sauce, along with steamed milk.
Huge shout-out to Tina and Yuki for taking care of us during breakfast service! Four Seasons, you’ve so many gems here ❤
I was highly enticed by the afternoon tea menu at One-Ninety Bar and made a reservation on a whim right after checking in on the first day. We had a choice of sitting indoors in air-conditioned comfort or outdoors in a gorgeous sunlit garden setting. I chose the former just in case the weather took a turn.
Foretelling that we’d be full from breakfast, I placed an order for just one pax so that my husband and I could share (plus the set came with two drinks anyway). YY, the same staff who attended to us during yesterday’s dinner, remembered our preference for sweeter wines and offered us a small glass of mulled wine created in-house. She didn’t have to but she chose to elevate our experience with this heartwarming gesture (: Plus the wine was smooth, delicious and went down easy – perfectly suited to our palates. Amazing service and attention to detail!
From a selection of coffee, tea and Valrhona hot chocolate, we both went for the hot chocolate option since it was Chef Audrey’s signature. Topped with marshmallows and a reindeer macaron, our drinks were thick and velvety, though it got a little too rich and “heaty” after a while. I did like the balance of bitterness and sweetness though.
Most of the items were really yummy while the remaining few, through no fault of the chef, were just unfortunate victims of my picky taste buds as I generally don’t like raisins, fruit cakes and cinnamon. Our favourites were the savoury items as well as the Korean strawberry tart and the passionfruit cheesecake. My husband found the sweet items too saccharine for his liking but I thought most of them were okay.
But the best was yet to come. The scones were deliberately served later so that they would be fresh and piping hot. I could actually smell them before they arrived. For context, I usually don’t touch the scones in my afternoon tea at all as they tend to be dense and floury, textures I don’t particularly enjoy. However, these were from a completely different scone world altogether! They were light and airy on the inside and awesomely crisp on the outside, so good that I finished one on my own (that’s a first!). As with last night, I was bitten by a mosquito here yet again while my husband escaped unharmed.
My overall rating of the experience: 5 out of 5 stars. Everyone, and I mean everyone, was so incredibly nice (even the phone operators!). Ever willing to extend a helping hand, creating memorable moments for guests and achieving impeccable coordination between teams, the dedicated staff here fully deserve the utmost commendation. In addition, from their gloriously spacious and comfortable rooms to the delectable, well-executed dishes, everything was flawless during our stay. I think it also helped that many additional inclusions came as an unexpected surprise, truly living up to the name of the staycation package indeed (: Although we didn’t personally experience it, the hotel does seem quite kid-friendly as they provide specific amenities, services and even pool toys for this age group. All in all, we had an absolutely amazing time here and we’d definitely be back in a heartbeat! ❤
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