$$$ KPO and CZM $$$: Andaz Residence King Bed Suite Staycation

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Wednesday, November 4, 2020

Andaz Residence King Bed Suite Staycation

Yay, Donald and Piglet got to "travel" again this year! We still have a couple of RTW articles still in draft. Shall update and post them one day.

Anyway, we booked a staycation at Andaz Singapore as a celebration for CZM's birthday/wedding anniversary. There were so many options initially but by the time we finally decided to settle for one (CZM didn't want to waste the money but a staycation is the next best alternative right now), the best/better deals were already gone (e.g. Raffles Hotel Singapore – The Suite Life staycation (2 nights for $795+) and Andaz Studio Suite at an even lower rate than what we got ($245 nett with Amex promotion)). 

We wanted to book the Andaz Studio King Bed Suite ($370 nett) but it was already fully booked and we ended up paying an additional $20 more for the Andaz Residence King Bed Suite ($390 nett) which is of the same size (76 sq m/818 sq ft) but different layout. Fortunately, there was an Amex credit card promotion which allowed us to pay just $315 nett!

We received an email about 5 days before our stay providing more information including a link to book the swimming pool through their FB chatbot, Andy as shown above. Each booking is about an hour from 8am to 9pm and one can make multiple bookings (we book one in the evening 6-7pm and another one from 11am-12pm the next day). 


During our stay, the pool was never full (15 pax) and the staff was quite flexible in managing the access to the pool. We were not able to get a late check-out and went to the pool at 10am without any booking. The staff let us in after performing safe entry and informed us that we will have to leave once the majority of the guests with reservation arrived which was pretty reasonable.

The default/usual check-in time is 3pm. We tried our luck by calling Andaz in the morning (10am) to ask for early check-in on the basis that we would like to have it because CZM is pregnant and we would like to avoid the general crowd and longer waiting time. To be honest, we would have done it even if CZM wasn't pregnant. lol. Unfortunately, they could not confirm and we were told that they would call us once the option is available.

We went down to Bugis Junction for lunch and received a call around 1:30pm informing us that the room is ready. We walked over to the hotel, checked-in smoothly at level 1, and was assigned a room at level 28. From there, we had to first take a lift to level 25 before switching to another lift for hotel guests.

We were very excited because this was the nicest hotel room we will be staying at. We usually looked for cheap accommodation (3 stars hotel or Airbnb preferably less than $100 a night) when travelling overseas although we flew in First/Business Class.

Our room - 2814 (4D anyone?)

The room is huge and simply gorgeous! When we opened the door, the curtains automatically open up to let the natural light in which was pretty cool. 

The living room with freebies/souvenirs 


The same living from another angle

The king-size bed and the TV that was never switched on

CZM on the rocking chair with the gorgeous pool view/scenary

Bathroom with rain shower and bathtub

Double sink vanities in the bathroom

There is also a walk-in wardrobe between the bedroom and the bathroom which didn't look too fanciful, hence no photo. Other things worth mentioning:

Complimentary minibar with snacks

"Stolen from Andaz" slippers - To steal or not to steal. lol

Dyson hairdryer

Once we were done exploring the room and taking photos/videos, we headed down to Alley on 25 (at level 25) for high tea. There is an ongoing 1 for 1 promotion at $48++  using HSBC credit card and do remember to make a reservation! We did not make one and it was full, waited for about 15-20 mins before the staff gave us a seat.

Just for show/photo


You can look at the high tea menu here. There are a total of 10 items - a mixture of savory and sweet pastries in 5 tingkat + free flow beverages. Shortly after we finished the high tea, CZM's parents and brother arrived. Yes, you are allowed to have visitors in the day (2 registered guests + 3 visitors in your room during your stay. Visitors would be required to leave the room by 10PM). We showed them the Suite, the facilities, and went to Bugis to shop/walk walk. 

Guess where we went for dinner? Alley on 25! There was a 25% off as part of the staycation deal so we treated our family to a nice meal. You can find the dinner menu here.

Pizza Salmon - 28++

Linguine Gamberetti - $25++

Braised Lamb Shank - $35++

The Pizza Salmon was pretty normal, could not really taste the caviar as it was covered by the salmon. Our favorite pizza is still the Garlic Snowing Pizza from Mad for Garlic. The Braised Lamb Shank was not as good as what we had in New Zealand Pedro's House Of Lamb and the serving is slightly small for the price. Can't comment on the Linguine Gamberetti as I did not get to try it. 


After dinner, we went back to our room and everyone was trying to capture the night view of the city. lol. At one point in time, we even switched off all the lights in the room. They left before 10 pm and paid just $3.75 per entry (on weekends) for the parking at the DUO Tower.

Guess where we went for breakfast? Alley on 25! You can find the menu here

Egg Benedict, Guacamole Toast and Omelette with sides

Auntie's Laksa

Kaya Toast Set

Steamed Dim Sum

Vanilla Waffles

Egg Benedict and Guacamole Toast are probably our favorites. Auntie's Laksa isn't too bad but Queensway laksa is better. Will recommend skipping the Steamed Dim Sum and Kaya Toast Set (Yakun kaya toast is the best). Generally, we loved their breakfast menu (maybe because it was free and buffet-style). 

After breakfast, we tried to ask for a late check-out but was rejected. The usual check-out time is 12pm which wasn't ideal because our pool booking was from 11am to 12pm. So we went down to the pool at 10am without a booking and fortunately, was allowed to swim as mentioned above.

This is our first time doing a staycation and honestly, the experience was not too bad. It was pretty relaxing and there is no need to do any household chores! Having said that, I am pretty sure we will not be spending money on a staycation if we were allowed to travel. Oh well, part of the new normal.

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5 comments:

  1. Hi KPO,

    Looks good! Andaz is on my staycation wish list.

    Didn't go try out the teepee huts/Stork bar?

    When did you go for the staycation? I recently came back from one that is close in proximity to Andaz.

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    Replies
    1. Hi UN,

      Milelion just published an article not recommending Andaz - https://milelion.com/2020/11/04/why-i-can-no-longer-recommend-the-andaz-singapore/. It seems that Andaz has removed the buffet style breakfast!

      We went up to see see in the day but didn't hang/drink there because CZM cannot take any alcohol now.

      We were there on the 18th-19th Oct. We might have cross path without knowing! Hahaha

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    2. Whoa, we missed each other just by a few days' difference. Went to Parkroyal Beach Road instead.

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    3. Haha. How was your stay there? What staycation deal did you get?

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    4. Yeah, it was good. Went for the Orchid Club suites so there's both breakfast and evening cocktail (that could double up as dinner for light eaters)

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