Singapore accommodation: Grand Park City Hall

The garden feature inside Changi Airport. Yes, inside their airport.

Last weekend, I was in Singapore for work and leisure. Being a Filipino and a freelancer, with no office connections, can be quite hard especially if you want to go to other countries because they have this presumption that you're going to be a TNT (which is quite discriminating). However, my mom and sister were with me so the immigration officers did not question me and I was able to get thru without any trouble. My co-worker, however, was actually interviewed for a while and was put on the "watch list" to see if he'll truly come back. They questioned him because someone else paid for his ticket (our client/boss that we will meet in Singapore) and no itinerary. For the record, we both came back of course.



Beautiful chandelier in the lobby!

But anyway, that's not the whole point of my story. We arrived in Singapore on Friday morning, and after an hour, we were finally on our way to our hotel, Grand Park City Hall in Coleman Street. We rode the taxi and paid about S$15. I didn't compute the conversion in my head anymore - one of my promises when shopping abroad for things I cannot find in the Philippines.

Grand Park City Hall is stated to be a five-star hotel but it honestly felt like four stars to me. I stayed in M Hotel (in the Business district) last year and I was more satisfied with their rooms. I did not eat in Grand Park City Hall as well because the food was too expensive.



View of the courtyard from my mom and sister's room.

I think I would have been more satisfied with the room if I didn't have another hotel to compare it to. However, as it stands, I did, and I preferred M Hotel better. However, Grand Park City Hall does have its merits such as its nearness to the Parliament building, if you want to visit, Funan Digital Mall (where digital products are sold cheaper than in the Philippines), and the Philatelic Museum. The hotel is also near the City Hall train stop so getting around the city by train was easy. Lugging around a five-pound shopping bag from the train to a hotel is not an easy feat so I really appreciated its location.

I got their cheapest package, with a superior room on the 7th floor, with internet access but  breakfast was not included. The bed was quite lumpy and felt old, there was no thick duvet like with other hotels, but it was oh so glorious to sink into those plump pillows at night with no one to share them with. The room and package was actually good for two but I was alone in the room and I loved how spacious it was.

The bed could fit two adults, and three (although a bit tight) if you're saving money.

The minibar stock, which I also didn't delve into.

Now, we go to my next favorite part of the room: the bathroom. It was quite roomy for hotel standards. There is space to change without banging your limbs around the place. The bathroom was clean although the colors are quite outdated. The amenities were restocked daily, although the soap I was already using was not replaced.



My biggest surprise was the bathtub! Since I only got the superior room, and the room's description in the website didn't include a bathtub, I wasn't sure I'll have one. The other rooms in the hotel included a bathtub in their description, so I really thought I'll just get a glass stall with a shower. A bathtub is one I really look forward to when travelling abroad because I want to take a dip after a long day (and we don't have one at home). It was huge enough for me, and the tub was easily filled and drained. It was also easy enough to manage the hot and cold faucets. They also supplied me with a rubber mat so as to avoid slipping while taking a shower.


Sadly, it wasn't thoroughly cleaned. There were stray hair strands on the first day; thankfully, they were long enough so I assume they didn't come from "down there". There was also a soap and shampoo and bath gel beside the tub.

The room at night. See how spacious it is?