Location

Fairmont Singapore is situated in the heart of Singapore. It is very well connected to other parts of the city-state by public transport. For a starter, the City Hall MRT station, one of the main interchanges of the subway system, allows guests at the hotel to explore other parts of Singapore via the subway system. Being in the heart of the country, Fairmont Singapore is also very well connected via the bus system in Singapore. Fairmont sits right on top of Raffles City Shopping Mall, where we had no trouble finding food options on top of shopping options. For those of us who wanted to explore other shopping malls, there are shopping malls within 15 mins walking distance from the hotel. In terms of attractions, Fairmont Singapore is located within a minute walk from the Civic District of Singapore, one of the places with historical significance in the country.

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The Signature King Suite

This is the second time I have stayed at Fairmont Singapore this year. I stayed at their Signature King Salon Suite back on Apr 21 (read about it here). As there is a long weekend in Singapore, I took the chance to check out the other suite configuration in the hotel open for guests. Fairmont Singapore has five types of suites, ranging from Junior Suites to President Suite. Most of these suites are situated in the South Tower designated for COVID-19 quarantine purposes. As of this review, the only two types of suites in North Tower open for stays are the Signature King Suite and the Signature King Salon Suite. Both these suites are of the Junior Suite category and have the same floor area of 56m². The critical difference between the two suites is in the decor where the Signature King Salon Suite has been renovated.

Being the Junior Suite, the Signature King Suite adopts an open concept. The lounge area is integrated into the suite. The Signature King Suite is very well appointed. However, the decor looks a little dated. It can be segregated into three main areas: Lounge Area, Sleeping Area and the Bathroom. This review will be done in the order of places in the suite as I walk through from its entrance.

Entryway

The entryway in Fairmont Singapore’s Signature King Suite extends from the entrance to the central part of the suite. I like the way Fairmont Singapore maximises the utility of this part of the suite. Other than serving as a walkway into the suite, the hotel fitted a couple of cabinets next to the suite’s entrance. One of these cabinets functions as the minibar. A Nespresso coffee machine, kettles, tea bags and mini-fridge is located in the suite. The other cabinet provides additional storage space where I put the snacks we brought for this staycation. Unlike the Signature King Salon Suite’s entryway, which is decorated with artworks, the entryway in Signature King Suite feels plain and empty. I also thought the zigzag entryway in the Signature King Suite has the additional function of providing its guests with some degree of privacy as people outside the suite cannot see directly into the suite. The bathroom and wardrobe of the Signature King Suite are located along the entryway corridor.

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Bathroom

The entrance to the bathroom in the Signature King Suite at Fairmont Singapore is found along the entryway corridor. There is a stark difference in ambience comparing the entryway to the bathroom in terms of lighting. While the entryway uses warm lighting, the lighting in the bathroom is brighter. I thought the bright lighting is one contributing factor in making the bathroom feels more extensive than it is.

The bathroom in the Signature King Suite is clad in white and black marble, giving it a luxurious feel. Although the bathroom in the suite is on the small side compared to the Junior Suites in some other hotels, it seems like the hotel devotes more space to other parts of the suite. The bright tiles and lighting, coupled with the large mirror that extends to the entire wall space by the sink, makes the bathroom feel spacious. The bathroom in the Signature King Suite is equipped with one sink. However, I appreciate the additional space at the sink countertop where I brought the toiletries.

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I very much dislike how the shower area is organised in the bathroom of the Signature King Suite. Instead of having a separate walk-in shower area, a shower/tub combination arrangement for the shower area is furnished in the bathroom. The bathtub is quite sizeable and is relatively deep, which makes soaking in it very much relaxing. However, this is problematic when getting in and out of the bathtub when showering. The deep bathtub can potentially cause its user to slip. To top the problem with the shower area, while a semi-open glass panel is installed to keep the bathroom dry while one shower, this glass panel also make turning on the tap to fill the tub difficult. I had to step into the tub to turn the water to fill the tub. Equipping a rain shower and a regular shower head for showering is the only saving grace for the shower/bathtub area. The water pressure from both shower heads is quite good. Despite the flaws in the design of the shower/tub area, I find the placement of the porcelain throne in the bathroom to be perfect.

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Wardrobe

The wardrobe in the Signature King Suite is situated next to the bathroom entrance, making it very convenient for us to grab our clothing before heading for a shower. However, the size of the wardrobe is a bit on the small side. There is only one wardrobe in the Signature King Suite where Fairmont Singapore also cramp the in-room safe, a two-tiered drawer, and the ironing equipment. Although the addition of the drawers created additional space, it also takes up half of the available space in the wardrobe. The area in the closet is sufficient for us to put away the amount of clothing that we brought for this two-night staycation.

Lounge Area

The end of the corridor from the entryway opens up to the spacious L-shape layout suite. At the end of the “tunnel” from the main entrance sits a reasonably large work desk. Besides using it to work, which has sufficient space to put our laptop and some working files onto, we also use the work desk as a dining table. Unlike the Signature King Salon Suite, the work desk in the Signature King Suite is furnished with two chairs. I like the power outlet placement next to the work desk, making it convenient to charge our laptops. However, despite having an HDMI socket next to the power outlet here, we did have problems connecting our laptop to project on the TV in the suite (we had to connect directly to the TV).

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My favourite part of the Signature King Suite is the lounge area, wedged between the King bed by the corner and the word desk area. I find the L-shaped sofa very comfortable to laze on while watching the numerous cable channels on the 55″ TV. I spend most of my staycation with Fairmont Singapore, lounging on this very comfortable sofa binge-watching the TV. The sofa is so comfortable that we took the extra pillows from the bed and requested an additional blanket from the hotel to laze on the couch. The TV perched on a classic wooden TV console can be swivelled to face the work desk we did while having dinner in the suite or facing the bed. I like how the lounge area placement feels very spacious, thanks to the balconies in the suite when the curtains are opened up. A small coffee table between the TV console and the sofa is perfect for us to put our snacks while being entertained by the options on the TV.

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Sleeping Area

I like how Fairmont Singapore managed to find a conducive and private spot in the open Signature King Suite to snag the King bed. The King bed, marking the sleeping area, is tucked in one corner of the suite, providing us with privacy in an otherwise open concept suite. The King bed is very comfortable to sleep in, but I find the pillows a tad too soft for my liking. Despite the hotel’s best efforts in finding the firmest pillow they have, I still have trouble sleeping with the pillow. That said, the firmness of the mattress on the bed is superb. The use of down lighting in the sleeping area, lightly decorated with a Peranakan motive hanging above the headboard that gives a Singaporean touch to the suite, is very comfortable and not glaring to the eyes. The bedside table provided us with generous storage space to put away our lifestyle devices, while the power outlet by the bedside allows us to charge our devices.

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Balconies

Like the Signature King Salon Suite, the Signature King Suite also comes with two sizeable balconies to look into the City and get some fresh air. The suite we were assigned to has views of both the Bugis area and the Marina Centre area. The addition of the balconies allows some form of indoor-outdoor space and makes the suite look larger.

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Service

I was impressed with the service at Fairmont back on Apr 21 when I stayed with them. This time around, it was no exception. The hotel recognises the Accor programme, and we were granted check-in as early as 9 am and late check-out of 5 pm (due to our platinum status with Accor). The staff are very welcoming the moment we were at the reception during check-in. During check-in, we were thoroughly briefed by the reception staff on the measures that the hotel took due to the recent government measures resulting from the spiking COVID cases in Singapore. In addition, we were brief on the facilities that were open and how to order breakfast. The staff at check-in also helped us book the swimming pools slots and checked with his housekeeping colleagues to ensure the suites are ready before passing us the keycards to the suite. The service we received at the reception during check-out was equally pleasant. The staff efficiently managed the check-out process, and the staff thanked us for staying with Fairmont Singapore.

Despite the best efforts of the hotel to provide outstanding service to their guests, there are some minor hiccups that we faced during our stay. Most of the time, especially in the evening and at night, we would have to wait more than 15 mins when dialling the one-stop service hotline on the hotel’s phone. At times I would give up waiting and resort to dialling the spa hotline to get someone to attend to our requests.

There was also the issue of breakfast delivery. Due to the government restrictions prohibiting dine-in, Fairmont Singapore arranged breakfast to be delivered to the rooms. Unfortunately, our breakfast on the first day was delayed by 45 mins without anyone calling to inform us that the breakfast would be late. To make matters worst, the breakfast had turned cold by the time we received it. I highlighted the issue to the hotel, and to my surprise, the supervisor of F&B called to explain the situation (which I did not expect them to address our feedback) and assured us that the breakfast would be delivered the next day time (which they did). Furthermore, after receiving the breakfast, the supervisor checked with us to ensure that we have received our breakfast. I thought the F&B supervisor very well handled the issue of the breakfast. Instead of being defensive, she took responsibility for the situation and followed up with a call after our initial complaint and personally see to it that our breakfast was delivered on time the next day.

I can feel the efforts of the staff at Fairmont Singapore in providing service at Fairmont Singapore, despite minimal contact with the staff and the hiccups we experienced. Staffs at Fairmont are always very welcoming whenever we walk past them in the lobby.

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Hotel Facilities

Due to the recent government restrictions, the spa facilities and the gym at Fairmont Singapore were closed. As a result, only the swimming pool remains open during our stay.

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Swimming Pools

The swimming pool at Fairmont is accessible from the spa entrance at level 6 of the hotel. Fairmont Singapore has excellent control over the number of guests at the swimming pool as part of the restriction by the government. The staff at the spa reception will diligently verify the booking for our time slot before allowing us to enter the pool area. The swimming pool is shared with their sister hotel, Swissotel, next door. Despite the shared services, the number of guests at the pool is kept very well controlled. The swimming pools at Fairmont caters to both adult guests and young guests. My nephew enjoyed himself at the wading pool, where we took a swim at the adult pool, which has lanes demarcated for guests who wanted to do their laps. I like the plentiful deck chairs for us to choose from at the poolside, where we can choose the spot where we get maximum sunshine for our tanning sessions.

In-Room Breakfast

Due to the government restriction on dine-in, Fairmont Singapore adapted to the situation by serving our breakfast in-room. We were given a QR code during check-in for our orders for breakfast. However, due to the hiccup on the first day, the F&B supervisor recommended calling and place our order. We were given a choice of mains from American, Lifestyle, Singapore, Malaysian and South Indian Breakfast. Fairmont also serves up a bread basket and fruit together with a choice of mains for breakfast. We opted for the American Breakfast for both days, and I find the food served was sufficient to get us going for the day, not exactly that impressionable.

Overall

We had a pleasant staycation with Fairmont Singapore. I like the lounge and sleeping area of the Signature King Suite over their recently renovated Signature King Salon Suite. However, I thought the bathroom was disappointing with the shower/bath combination set-up. Despite the reduced interaction with the staff, we received great service at every touchpoint we had with the staff. Our comments on the Breakfast at the hotel was addressed efficiently by the F&B Supervisor. I can’t wait for the hotel to be fully open to experience the other suites in the South Tower.