The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore — Hotel in Singapore

The Ritz Carlton Millenia is still rightly considered one of the top hotels in Singapore.|| ||Everything is sparkling clean, the food is excellent, and the staff is very friendly and helpful. However, the ravages of time have taken their toll on the technical infrastructure, which is showing its age in some particular places and will – at some stage - reach its end-of-life. Let’s have a look at the spa are which is still nice and clean, but nowadays it would be designed in a much more elegant way. It's the details that stick out like a sore thumb: when the control buttons in the whirlpool are so difficult to press because they are rusted or calcified, surely someone should notice... The pool area, decorated in shades of gray, has always been sad to look at and, whether intentional or not, does not really invite you to take a dip… The same goes for the gym: the strength and endurance equipment there is two or three generations old, completely outdated, and should have been replaced by more modern equipment long ago.|| ||The spacious room has a breathtaking view of Marina Bay, but here too, details such as a crooked, rickety cabinet door accomodating the room safe show that the infrastructure has seen better days. The hinges are worn out and the door is almost falling off. Another detail: although there is a small, practical Nespresso machine in the room, there are no matching espresso cups (i.e., there are only normal coffee or tea cups).|| ||The “do not disturb” wall switch actually worked after three attempts at repair, so I was finally able to use it. This was annoying, especially since I was here on business and had better things to do than call the front desk three times or send an email asking for the defect to be fixed. They could have brought me a cardboard “Do not disturb” or “Please make my room” sign as a temporary solution, which I could have hung on the door when I wanted to work in my room, but no one thought of that. Instead, the fuse for the switch was simply not replaced and the fault was clearly not repaired (you can see this when you press the switch and no red light comes on outside. It's very simple). As a nice gesture, I was offered a late check-out, but I couldn't take advantage of it, especially since I had to check out very early because my flight back to Europe was at 1:25 a.m. The communication however was always very friendly and professional, which I really appreciated.|| ||In Room dining: It would have been nice if the QR code on the screen in the room could actually have been scanned for “in-room dining.” A script error in the programming prevented the QR code from appearing in the first place. So there was nothing to scan and I called room service. They told me that there was also a black booklet with the room service menu in the room. Unfortunately, my room did not have such a booklet. It was not in the desk drawers, on the desk, on the round sofa side table, in the bedside table drawer, or in the linen drawers. Nothing of the sort. They could have thought to leave such a booklet in the room the next day, but unfortunately, no one thought of that either. I simply asked around and finally got my food, which tasted delicious. Thank you very much for that!|| ||What else do I have to report? Oh yes, at breakfast, it would be nice if, when you are asked what you would like to drink, you actually get something afterwards. I like to start my breakfast with a double espresso. When I'm asked, I think I can expect someone to get me one. On the second day, I had to get up after 15 minutes without coffee and ask someone to bring me a double espresso. It finally arrived. When I pointed this out to the nice lady in a somewhat grumpy manner (I apologize, but I just need my coffee first thing in the morning), she was very sorry and apologized profusely. I pointed out to her that you get the bill to sign faster than you get your coffee, and the nice lady was visibly flustered by my comment and apologized repeatedly. She even brought me a delicious pineapple cake to make up for it, so that I was appeased and almost felt sorry for my previous reaction and was ashamed of having snapped at her, that you apparently get the bill first and only then your coffee (but that's how it was, after all)... But all good. But maybe they can make sure that they don’t ask if they don’t bring…|| ||Oh yes, what else is there to report: The hotel recognized that I had stayed with them before when I checked in and greeted me with a “Welcome back,” which I thought was very friendly. I was also able to check in at 11 a.m. instead of 3 p.m., which was extremely convenient for me, especially since I had just had a 13-hour flight from Switzerland to Singapore and was pretty knackered. Although I didn't get a room on the 18th floor, which is what I had booked, I was apparently given a larger room with a wonderful view of Marina Bay (upgrade), for which I was of course very grateful. The internet in the room was also lightning fast, and I was really productive and able to work well. Then I was really looking forward to the signature massage at the spa: there are hotels where the masseurs have no idea how to massage and just spread a little oil on your body and count the minutes until the whole thing is over... But here, I have to say, I was completely speechless about the absolutely fantastic treatment. I had a lot of tension in my back from the trip. The masseuse, Ms. Mia, is a true heroine. One can tell she has decades of experience. She has a great feel and a very effective massage technique. At this point, I would like to express my sincere thanks to Ms. Mia! I will be delighted to return for another spa treatment next time. Finally, another trip to S’pore is over and I am already looking forward to my next stay at the Ritz Carlton Millenia Hotel. Thank you so much guys. You still deserve the 5-Star * rating. So keep it up and work on the pain points...

We had booked a Club Deluxe Kallang Room with The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore from 25 – 26 June 2022, and it was a major disappointment.

1. When we did our check-in at Level 3, our reservation details were not captured accurately in the system. The front desk associate informed us that our reservation was Grand Kallang Room, but the reservation which we paid for was for Club Deluxe Kallang Room. At the same time, the front desk associate checked if we would like a smoking room or non-smoking room, and we requested for a non-smoking room. After that, we were being ushered to the club lounge to complete our check-in.

2. Our room was located on level 24, room 2425. To our astonishment, the moment we stepped out of the lift at level 24, what welcomed us was a reek of cigarette smell. The smell was so strong that we could smell it perfectly well even with our mask on. At that point, we could only pray hard that our room wouldn’t reek of cigarette smell.

3. The moment we entered our room, 2425, it was appalling. The room reeks of cigarette smell and the room looks dated. The floorboards were creaking away as we walked through the room, there was dead insects lying on the bathub. For that moment, we thought that we had checked into a budget hotel.

4. At 2.15pm, I chatted with crew via the Marriott Messaging App and informed them of the cigarette smell in the room, and requested for a room change. The operator noted my request and informed me that the front desk will give us a call once they have identified a room for the change. And the long wait began.

5. We were exhausted, and we did not want to mess up the room, thus we only used the toilet and its basin, and lied on the bed for an hour nap. It was definitely a wrong decision. Both my wife and I woke up with a bad headache and stuffy nose. My wife suffered a headache and was required to take medication to alleviate the headache.

6. At around 8pm, I chatted (again) with the operator via the Marriott Messaging App to check in on the status of the change of room. After 6 whole hours of waiting and no response from the crew, the only suggestion offered was to set up a humidifier to ease the smell? This is totally unacceptable. I have informed the operator that my wife is unwell from the smell, but they only offered a humidifier to ease the smell? And from the term “humidifier” – its functions say more of providing moisture for the room rather than removing the smell! And how are we supposed to sleep through the night? Knowing that a mere one-hour nap has created so much discomfort for both of us? By that time, all our clothes and luggage reeked of cigarette smell.

7. It was only at 8.15pm that they finally offered a room change. It was 6 hours after we feedback on the smell of cigarettes in the room and we only managed to entered our new room at 8.30pm .

8. But the nightmare did not stop at 8.30pm. Throughout our stay in room 2101, we realized that the room cleanliness was not up to standard: There were black specks and hair in the bathtub There were mold in the toilet and near the rain showerhead area One of the bath towels is stained The mirror in the toilet is cracked There is a missing teacup and some missing coffee capsules There were left over items from the previous guest – 2 bottles of water in the mini fridge, a stack of receipts & straws in the study desk drawers There were unsealed drinking water bottles mixed with the sealed drinking water – to which, I am not sure if the unseal bottles were opened by the previous guest. With so many items left behind from the previous guests. It makes us wonder – was the room thoroughly cleaned?

We have also emailed the General Manager on 2 occasions (26 and 30 June 2022) to feedback on our stay experience but did not receive any response till date. It seems to us that the management of the property is not interested in addressing...

This was the most expensive hotel of our 16 night, 4 hotel stay in SE Asia and also the most disappointing hotel we stayed in - being a supposed 5 Star and also a huge let down for the price point. Considering Singapore is known for amazing hotels and this is supposed to be one of the best, we have the right to expect high standards and didn't get them. Our room was in excess of £500 for one night. I have seen many other people had a great stay here and while I am pleased for them, this is not what we got.||We had previously been here for dinner at Colony the year before (which was epic!) and the hotel looked amazing, so we splashed out for a night here as a treat. And wish we hadn't bothered.||There are positives of this hotel:||It looks amazing and is well located if you have reason to be in the Marina Bay area, where many of the tourist sites are. ||It is located near to major roads and the Mass Transit system and you can walk easily to several shopping centres.||Staff were all really nice.||Pool was a great size and well screened from the city.||Gym and spa facilities looked really good and largely well maintained. ||Grounds were also beautiful||The views can be really good if you have a higher floor||Wifi worked well throughout the hotel.|||The negatives:||The check in lobby had far too many diffusers on the go to the point it was overbearing and it would definitely affect people with breathing issues / allergies. I don't know if there was a bad smell there that they were trying to mask?||The Colony breakfast was so chaotic and busy. The food is served at various broken up islands / stations and as such. There are no lines or anything. Must buffets are quite linear and everyone (generally) moves in the same direction. People just come at all angles here and make it quite a chaotic (Colony dinner was organised differently because the meal times are staggered). Some food items were put out with no utensils for the self service. |Also, during breakfast, we were largely ignored by staff for table service and drinks, whereas other guests were repeatedly offered refills.||We enjoyed spending time by the pool but were horrified by the poolside prices. As an example, can of Coke was the equivalent of £16! For one can. I work in central London on a regular basis. I have never found a Coke costing more than £5. It is not like it is hard to come by in Singapore. They were sold next door in the mall for less than £2 equivalent. This is just an unnecessary rip off.||Our room:||Rubbish from previous guests was left out on the desk and not removed.||The standard of decorative finish in the bathroom was poor with cracked tiles and poor sealant finishes.||I can't remember ever staying in a hotel with concrete floors that have had wood floors laid on top (badly). The floor was uneven and squeaked as we moved around the room. The wood floor was also damaged in places. I think they were aware of this, so had covered the floor with a large rug that was sadly quite beaten and feeling sorry for itself.||One piece of the furniture had been damaged and had a horrible repair attempt (see photo) by someone I assume cannot see colours. Seriously though, a 5* hotel and over £500 a night and you can't replace damaged furniture?||The reading light built into the bed was faulty and flickered whenever someone moved in the bed and then also when it felt like going off. Not great to have poor electrical wiring built into your headboard. There were other issues but I think I have explained my point. I would be happier if our room was closer to the £150 mark for what we got.||At the time of our stay, we were exhausted and had been told the hotel was basically full with multiple weddings taking place - so we did not bother complaining to staff.||This review was delayed by family sickness for some time, however I felt necessary to advise others that you are not necessarily going to have a great stay here,...