A Review of Conrad Marina Bay (formerly Conrad Centennial), Singapore
It’s Mr Travelling Han (MTH) here, back for another year’s guest post. I’ve been all over the place again this year with work but as always the place I’ve spent the most time in is Singapore. I have to say it’s now my favourite country in the world, and it now feels like a home away from home.
During my last 2 trips to Singapore, I’ve stayed at the same hotel – Conrad Marina Bay. This time, Hannah came to join me during my stay, but she instructed me to write the hotel review given how many nights I’d stayed there. Who am I to refuse the wife, so I hope you enjoy my review.
Location
The hotel is situated (quite intuitively given the name), in Marina Bay. This is the first reason I love this hotel… because it’s so easy to walk to some of the main attractions, like Gardens by the Bay, Marina Bay Sands and the Merlion.
I don’t know why I do it to myself given the heat, but each morning I walk to work. It takes about 45 minutes around the Bay and here are the views for me as I walk.
Walking in the other direction from the hotel also brings you to the Civic District in around 5 minutes. I love this because it offers some incredible food options, the main reason for my love affair with Singapore. Here are some of them, all walkable in 15 minutes:
- Raffles for a drink in the long bar (it has to be a Singapore Sling).
- Chijmes which is my absolute favourite dinner spot in an old convent. It has loads of eating options, but I personally recommend Anglo Indian and their Railway Mutton Curry. Delicious.
- Raffles City Mall, home to a huge food court. I recommend Lucia Brownie Bar if you want a tasty sweet treat. Hannah doesn’t like brownies (!?), but I arrived back one day from work with a Blueberry Streusel for her and her verdict was “as good as in Germany” so you can’t get better than that.
- Suntec Mall, my daily stop for a Shake Shack Milkshake after a long day at work!
- South Beach, a newly opened dining area. I had a really great Vietnamese Pho at Saigon King.
Rooms
As a Hilton Gold Member, I’m able to stay on the Executive Floor and use the Executive Lounge. It means the room I’m allocated is normally an Executive King Suite. I know that makes me sound posh and snobby, but when you’re away from home a lot, it’s a nice bonus.
The rooms are modern, clean, simple and the bed is really comfortable. It’s also pretty spacious, with a large double wardrobe and plenty of surface space (that is until Hannah arrives with books galore, snacks, enough shoes to stock a shop, and 10 bottles of sun-cream).
My only complaint would be the desk and chair. It’s not really great for working at and the chair is enough to do your back in. That said, the hotel does have proper office rooms you can work in, which is what I do if I needed to work overnight to match UK time.
The bathrooms are nice and swish, and come with a huge walk in shower and big bath. There’s also a double sink. As I type I realise it’s quite hard to write a review of a bathroom, but perhaps it’s a good sign as there’s nothing negative to write.
Talking of the negatives, the room cleaning was a little haphazard. The room was cleaned every day, but on multiple days the bin wasn’t emptied or water wasn’t topped up. I also ran out of shampoo on two occasions and they forgot to give me any towels one day (thankfully for everyone I realised before I got in the shower)!
That said, the hotel had some lovely little touches. For example, I was given personalised bookmarks based on the books I was reading (don’t judge me for the trash I read… Hannah reads historical tomes and I read dross). I also had a nice view of a fountain light show each night from my window which was a win.
Food & Drink
The hotel offers a number of options for dining. I tend to use the Executive Lounge, which serves a really good breakfast and is a calm and relaxing space for drinks during the day and evening. I even watched the news of the new Pope being elected here… a surreal experience as I ate a plate of ice gems on the sofa.
Downstairs, there are a couple of restaurants. One is called Oscar’s which is basically an all day buffet. It serves a huge spread at breakfast, lunch and dinner. I’ve eaten there a couple of times during my stay, and the variety is nice but the quality isn’t the best in Singapore given all the other options on the doorstep. It’s also quite expensive, when compared to Hawker Markets or other food spots in the city.
There’s also a posh restaurant called Golden Peony, which I’ve never eaten in. Finally, there is a lobby bar which serves afternoon tea and drinks until late. I like sitting here and unwinding at the end of a busy work day.
Amenities
The highlight is a big outdoor pool on the 4th floor, which has some comfortable loungers and serves bar snacks and drinks. I confess to spending quite a few Saturdays lounging here eating spicy chicken wings and beef sliders. What’s a man to do when he’s away from home?
The hotel also offers a gym, which neither Hannah nor I have ever stepped foot in, and a spa, which I absolutely have set foot in but of which I forgot to take photos. There is an extensive spa menu, including massages and treatments… my massage was good but not excellent for the price.
Overall I enjoy staying at the Conrad Marina Bay, and I like it even more when Hannah’s there waiting for me after a busy day at work. My favourite thing about Singapore is when we get to spend warm nights wandering the Civic District to see which restaurants take our fancy, before popping in to Raffles or the Lobby Bar for a drink afterwards. The happiest of memories.
So what did you think of the Conrad Marina Bay? I think it’s a really good option for a hotel whether you’re visiting for business or pleasure, or both in my case. Singapore is a wonderful country, and this hotel is a great base from which to explore it.
Stay safe and happy travelling!
