Paw-fect Staycation with Gypsie at InterContinental Singapore

InterContinental Singapore is the only hotel in town that can accommodate pets of all weights, sizes and breeds. Oh Yes! Even if you have a Saint Bernard, you can check yourselves into their Heritage Room or Suite with the Paw-fect Staycation package which includes a welcome pet amenity basket, gourmet treats and pet-friendly menu. Pawrents are not forgotten as well! The package treats us to S$50 in-room dining credits to dine in the comfort of our room with our Furkins and 20% savings on ala-carte menu items at Ash & Elm, The Lobby Lounge and Fu Man Yuan if your Furkin is cool to left alone in the room. 

The hotel used to put a cap on the size and weight of pets in their property but have since lifted the limit, welcoming Furkins and their families with open arms. We were stoked to have Gypsie invited to experience their Paw-fect Staycation package and it gives me great delight to share our experiences [hard truths; no disguise] of our four day three night stay at InterContinental Singapore!

Oh man. Loving a lobby that welcomes my 17kg FurChild. 

*Face masks are required to be put on at all times. We pulled them off for photographs when the space around us was clear from guests.

THE FACADE AND LOBBY

The facade and lobby is what I'd call, Classy. We walked in without a fuss and was zipped through the crowd on a busy Saturday afternoon to the Club InterContinental for a quieter check-in. After all, we were booked into the Heritage Suite which had Lounge access. It was non-intrusive, swift and pleasant. 

A visit to the lobby with Gypsie had us meeting other doggos which was fun sometimes [when they get along] or stressful at other times when Gypsie barked excitedly, echoeing the lobby with only her voice. When the lobby is quiet in the mornings, we get to enjoy the space with a good run with the kids [leashed]. I enjoyed the sight and the space. It was a sight of bliss for me seeing my children as happy as larks.

While pets are allowed everywhere in the hotel, they are not permitted in all F&B outlets.

HERITAGE SUITE

We extended our stay. Basically, I am just buying time. Prolonging the need to return to the reality of house work and cooking. It can be really nice to be served after serving our families day in day out isn't it? 

Preserving the style of shophouses from the 1920s as an integral feature of the hotel’s architecture, the Heritage Rooms and Suites are a series of spaces inspired by the homes of the Straits Chinese population of Singapore. The timber flooring in the Heritage Wing is the reason why pets are allowed - think pee and poo. Oh how I love the duck egg blue panelling right at our entrance as well as the louvered windows and wooden shutters I wanted to install in our home. They evoke the lifestyle of a bygone era.

With a square area of 55m, Gypsie had ample space to play catch with us.

Our Heritage Suite, No. 354, is a corner suite. We all know corner suites are slightly larger than the others and boast more daylight streaming in. I was really excited to see a small balcony in our living area! Perfect spot for Gypsie to do her business! She is outdoor trained and has been performing excretion in our patio at home. Alas. That balcony door is a permanently sealed door to protect the safety of their guests. 

Thank goodness there is corridor next to our suite which is carpet-free! It will be such a mess to pick up poop on carpet on-route to ground floor for our outdoor potty time. Ceramic-tiled floorings are easy and we can even wet-wipe the area down after Gypsie does her business if they accidentally do drop on the floor [we usually catch them before they do]. 

PET AMENITIES BASKET

What have we in the basket? 

- travel size shampoo and conditioner

- bottled water

- poo bag

- pee pads

- chew toy from Furball Collective

- treats by Feed My Paws

Gypsie also received a plush pet bed [which my kids found rather fun to play in] and water bowl for the duration of her stay. I personally think InterContinental Singapore has got us Pawrents covered! We brought our own brush and slick comb, shampoo and conditioner for dry wash, water bottle for our walks and that's about all we need to pack for Gyps! Because man! Repeat -  they provided a squeaky chew toy for her and it was a Siew Mai! 

What about doggy meals you might ask? Well, she's still on kibbles and we brought them along too. But we found an exclusive pet-friendly menu which includes in-room dining options, healthy treat options and even chewy toys!

We ordered the Beef and Pumpkin Stew [Ground beef, diced pumpkin, green peas and brow rice stew] for Gypsie on our last night. This marked her first experience with cooked food and I was so proud to see her finish her food. I regretted not spooning out a small portion for myself actually because it smelt so good! If you have a little one for your Furkin, it's probably way too much. Share it with him/her! These are human food curated by the hotel's Executive Chef and cooked healthily for our Furbabies.  

For my 17kg Old English Sheepdog, this portion is also slightly much but still, she had the plate cleaned up.

SWIMMING POOL

The children cannot live without a pool! This mommy here cannot accept a pool shared by many people over COVID-19. So we went real early at 0700 hours to enjoy the pool to ourselves. Each pool slot is an hour and they have to be booked in advanced online. 

Sorry. No pets allowed here. 

 

CLUB INTERCONTINENTAL

The Club InterContinental is a private enclave for business and leisure travellers. Where many Club Lounges restrict children, they are welcomed here. 

I enjoyed the lower traffic of crowd in here as opposed to the main breakfast room. We get to indulge in culinary indulgences throughout the day from Breakfasts to Afternoon Tea and Evening Cocktails. 

SERVICE

Now here's where the Hard Truths I mentioned above lie. It is really hard to pen this because should I see Service from the point of view of a guest or an ex-hotelier? It is hard to not view it objectively from my past experiences as hotelier because I had been there in the back-end running a full hotel before. This time, it is way different from just running full. The hotel is running full in the midst of COVID-19.

Let me get on with my blabber and top-of-my-head sharings. We all know the reason why you enjoy reading my reviews and that is because I cover all grounds with and without the cherry on top. While the cherries have all been picked and shared above, here are my perspectives of the service delivery glitches I encountered.

ARRIVAL

Before we got whisked swiftly to Club InterContinental for our check-in, I was given a luggage ticket by the porter who opened our door and helped with our bags. 

It was 1300 hours and we were in our suite by 1315 hours. Wonderful!

Two hours later, our 5-piece luggage still did not arrive. Neither did our pet amenity basket. Hmmm I struggled within me, "Where do I draw the line on understanding?" 

It was Saturday and the house was full. Check-ins are at its highest and I did not require anything from our bags at that time. I waited because well, I understood the terrible bottleneck when everyone decides to come and go at the same time. On the other hand, I also understood that they could have totally forgotten about us and so I called. 

We got what we needed immediately. 

So the problem lied with Mr Porter who forgot to tag our bags. Am I to be upset? On regular circumstances, it is unacceptable. It probably still is unacceptable to many even during this time. Yet, I decided to be empathetic because when I was at the lobby at 4pm, I saw Mr Porter. When I walked past the lobby again at 10pm, I saw Mr Porter. The next day at 8am, I still saw him! He had been working full day shifts, opening doors, helping us with our luggage, escorting guests to rooms and most likely covering out a colleague from another department when an urgent need arose. The human in him took one wrong turn which got our bags stuck at the concierge waiting to be called. 

IN-ROOM DINING

We ordered in-room dining on our first night and my jaw dropped when we were promised a 20 minute delivery. Oh no no no. Even on normal days, no in-room dining should over-promise. Tell guests it will take an hour and deliver it at the 45-minute mark! There'd be more compliments than complaints. We got our dinner slightly more than an hour later as I had expected. 

As though to compensate for our wait the night before, our in-room dining breakfast was served 30 minutes earlier. We requested for breakfast to be served at 0900 hours but it came at 0830 hours. It was perfect because the children woke up much earlier than expected and were hungry by 0800 hours! However, if I was a business traveller and had requested for a 0900 hours breakfast delivery as my wake-up call, I would fume being awoken up 30 minutes earlier.  

Are you a stickler to punctuality? I sure am. 

HOUSEKEEPING

Ah housekeeping. They've got one of the heaviest job in the house. Really they do! With 403 guest rooms and suites to clean, this department often needs help from other departments pulling sheets out. Your housekeeper today could be a full-timer from the department but she could also be the Director of Sales donned in a housekeeping uniform. 

It is a different [temporary] situation right now as hotels across Singapore are facing staffing issues. Why might you ask? When hotels were suffering from lack of tourists, our government wonderfully seconded many hoteliers to other jobs to give them a livelihood. Many haven't return as they service other sectors in Singapore which still need them. Our tourism bubble ballooned with the help of staycations from locals and the unforeseen demand had every staff scrambling to keep guests satisfied. 

Even though my request for a roll-away bed came two hours later, even though I have to keep calling them to come make-up my room in the day or sometimes miss a turn-down service because they couldn't reach our suite before we slept, I shoved a S$10 tip to my housekeeper as an encouragement nonetheless. He, who I saw daily during my stay, was clocking a 14-hour shift every single day. Yet, he greets us with a smile at the corridors and asked if we had a good day. 

It was hard for me to get angry at the people who were trying their best but couldn't always keep up. 

IN SUMMARY

Although, I would have loved a flawless experience, I do not think even the best hotels of the World can deliver the same amazing service to every guest. Each of us have different expectations and lifestyle needs. What is acceptable to one may not be acceptable to another. I personally find the service glitches I experienced unacceptable yet I chose to be empathetic of the very human servicing me at that time. Especially during Christmas week. 

CHRISTMAS AT INTERCONTINENTAL 

What a beautiful sight. Baubles, Christmas Lights, Candy Canes and the smell of Fir. We even had a special Christmas Chocolate Tree placed at turn-down for us which we had fun decorating and eating into!

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LOCATION

I love the location. Situated in the heart of a city centre, especially within Bugis Junction shopping mall, we've got aplenty of food options, shopping, entertainment and even historical sites in the vicinity to turn us locals into tourists! 

During our stay, we brought Gypsie for her walks in the mornings. We ended up at this beautiful place called Haji Lane.  

Our little Travel companions 

December 2020 - Ewan at 8 years old, Faye at 6 years old and Gypsie at 6 months old

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