ParkRoyal on Pickering - A Great Hotel in Singapore

Park Royal on Pickering – Singapore

The hotel has now been open about a year.  We visited early in 2013, and again now at Christmas 2013. Both were high quality experiences, but the current visit has been better as staff now are more settled and experienced in the nuances of the hotel and its quirks, and new experienced ones have been added.

The staff of the hotel really DO make the place – no doubt about it.  Effective, pleasant and with a “can do” attitude they are a pleasure to deal with, right down to the bellboy.  The hotel recently won the 2013 Hotel Concierge award in Singapore, among many awards in 2013.  Check in and out was quick ad pleasant.

Rooms are airy and with light colours, plus a lot of wood – with both daytime and night time powered blinds, and nearly full length windows.  Some think it a bit disconcerting, but you get used to the need to use the blinds for privacy when required!  Most rooms look out with excellent views across to the Suntec City area across the Treasury Building, so leaving them up offers excellent views both day and night.

undercroft area near main entrance

Christmas lights outside Lime Retaurant

Rooms are well equipped with plenty of multi pin type [for  different countries] power points as well as audiovisual connections and a 5V DC USB outlet for direct phone charging. The beds are all king size and with a soft top so very good for sleeping.

Some rooms have a bath, most just a shower, which is quite large with both an overhead rain shower and a hand moveable wall fixture.  Toiletries provided are of good quality and some are organically based [they say they are moving that way].

It claims to be a green focussed hotel, and many parts of the hotel infrastructure revolve around that theme.  There is a lot available online if further detail is needed.  I think the attitude of the hotel and staff is to try to meet the expectations for a low energy and green theme.  Certainly one major feature in your face is the external green walls.  They do add to the ambience.

The pool is excellent but end walls are not well suited to lap swimming as can be rounded and with no markings on the bottom swimming a straight line can be tricky if a bit crowded.  The pool can be a bit cool sometimes as it is partially shaded during the day - if the weather is cloudy, be aware of this.  There is a well-equipped gym near the pool.

The undercroft and main entrance area offer good weather protection and a stark visual appearance.  Especially a standout at night with lights on the curved roof.

The hotel functions very well, offering a great visitation experience.  It is well positioned on Upper Pickering Street for both business and holiday visitors, with easily reached public transport options very close by [100m to Chinatown MRT, or buses], and in close walking distance for many business offices.

Breakfast is served on the ground floor, in Lime Restaurant and a good array of western and eastern food is available, including all standard items.  Food quality and the live cooking are very good.  But beware – if staying over the weekend be there early for Sunday breakfast, before 0900hrs, or expect a delay.  Quite common in Singapore as the Sunday breakfast can be very leisurely and cause slow movement through breakfast restaurants in many hotels, including upmarket ones.

The hotel has a very well thought through Club Lounge on the 16^th floor which can be good value for business guests.  I would recommend it.

Plenty more images online under the hotel name - many quite spectacular!
 

Lime Restaurant at Park Royal on Pickering - Festive Season Food

Lime Restaurant

Visited the restaurant for the Buffet that was available for the weekend before Christmas in a party of four, of different ethnic backgrounds.  The festive buffet [weekends and festive days in the pre-Christmas to New Year period] was essentially similar to the Christmas Buffet for Christmas Eve dinner with a wide variety of Christmas fare. 

Lime Restaurant

Plenty of seafood – prawns, oysters, smoked salmon and relevant extras.  The cold seafood was excellent with the products fresh and well presented, with attentive staff such as they provided a lime-water finger bowl for “clean up” after peeling the king prawns.  Prawns were superb, presented on ice – and I am a bit of an afficionado of prawns!  Oysters were fat and tasty too. Main meat dishes included the traditional turkey, baked glazed ham and a wonderful “melt in your mouth” rare to medium rare, sliced baked lamb loin - that was a standout.  Plus a wide range of cold entrees – tabouli, hummus, other leaf salads and more.  Baked vegetables were the accompanying hot side dishes.  This was the western food choices. 

Similar wide choices were available for Indian and Chinese, although not eaten by me some others in the party commented favourable on both Indian and Chinese choices and their quality.  Definitely able to please almost any taste!

Desserts included bread and butter pudding made with an Italian pannetone base, several mousse and cake logs [dressed for Christmas], ice cream in several flavours.  Fresh fruit and marshmallow skewers were available for dipping in the [obviously very green] green tea chocolate fountain.  After all – it is Lime Restaurant!

The meal was a great Christmas festive repast.  And reasonably priced for what was on offer.  Free flow of drinks, both soft and hard, including French champagne, available for an extra charge [normal in Singapore].  Highly recommended for the Festive season – and still a few days left!

The buffet would also be something to consider for other festivities coming, with Chinese New Year soon.  Even consider for Christmas 2014.

Platinum Green Mark Hotel - ParkRoyal on Pickering in Singapore

“modern and new, with strong green credentials, excellent staff”

 

Good location near Clarke Quay and Chinatown and close to both MRT and buses, easy to reach from airport, by taxi or you could even arrive via the MRT!  [ THAT is being superduper green!] 

This is a Platinum Green Mark hotel -the first in Singapore with lots of greenery on walls and overhanging roof areas, as well as lots behind the scene on energy efficiency.  Another one is expected sometime in 2013 or 2014 but you cannot beat being the first!

Floor to ceiling clear untinted windows might be unnerving to some, but there are a set of shades[electric operated] so both privacy and light control is good. A really top notch bed - one of the best have been in anywhere! Very comfortable!

Good desk and work area, incl light, with plenty of modern power sources incl direct wall plugs for usb charge cords, and multi function power plugs, led lights [ matches the high green mark rating].

Has an extensive well shaded and protected external corridor system, plus some internal corridors. Bathrooms are spacious and many with both shower and rain shower heads and some rooms have baths too. Toilet usually seems to have a separate door, although it is part of bathroom. The rooms are very light and airy - with pale wood wall panelling - a good overall vibe.

Breakfast was very good in Lime restaurant downstairs, with a good range of food style choices [ western, asian etc] and an extensive range of options within each food theme. The coffee was good too! Staff in the restaurant were very good.

A pool and well organised gym are available, and the gym is adjacent to the pool.  The pool area has some snazzy looking day cabins - a bit like a bird cage but somewhat larger.  A bit kitsch if just using the area for exercise, but plenty also wish to lie around a bit.  You tend not to do that when you live in the tropics, but am sure plenty will.  A fantastic view out towards the city. 

Loved the big open high ceiling concourse area outside the main entrance, as allowed a breeze to blow right through but no rain [ might be damp in very strong windy conditions though].

Cannot miss it - look for the grey curved outside [ has been described as similar to armour rail used for road edges].

It is new, trendy and worth it. Especially if keen to be environmentally conscious as well as stay in a top class hotel.

Would we stay again? YES.

 

 

Sunday Brunch - ParkRoyal on Pickering Singapore

Sunday Brunch has started from early May at this newish Hotel in Singapore, now open for about 3 months.  While Sunday brunch is quite an event at some of the other seriously upmarket establishments in Singapore, they have prices to match, although many patrons do rave about them.

At the Park Royal on Pickering in Lime [their signature dining area], while the offering may not be as elaborate as some, it is a very credible competitor on both price and quality.  At the current price of $S 88 ++ [non alcoholic] or $S128++ [with free flow of alcoholic drinks] it is excellent value [May 2013].

There was free flow of French champagne [Piper Heisdeck NV the day we were there], plus a mix of imported both red and white wines of good reputation [which will change a little due to availability].  And there is also the standout signature drink of the establishment – lime Monet [non-alcoholic] and soft drinks for those not drinking alcoholic beverages.

Food was excellent.  In the group we were part of, all commented very favourably on the foie gras, rack of lamb, Norwegian eggs and the seafood range, along with ratatouille, various vegetables, potato gratin, risotto, braised lamb shanks, roast beef, as well as a broad range of Asian dishes.  Eggs Benedict was also available – just in case you missed breakfast!  The actual food on offer will change regularly, so availability may not be the same.

Seafood included a range of both cold and cooked items – with cold Japanese seafood options, whole tiger prawns, imported oysters, half lobster, among the cold on ice delicacies, and whole cooked fish, and an unusual and delicious cod dish in the hot choices.  There was a cooked prawn meuniere, although one person thought the prawns in the dish not as good a flavour as could be expected.

A good range of breads and pastries were also available, although I thought some of the pastries appeared slightly overdone – just slightly so, not burnt.  Included were several types of muffins – they were very good, as had tasted them earlier!

There was a wide range of both European desserts – sliced black forest cake, baked cheesecakes, various tarts and pies, a beautiful bread and butter baked pudding and a few separate individual serve dishes of mousses, plus some Asian speciality desserts and cakes as well as macaroons and racks of sweet jelly type lolly items.  Several varieties of ice cream rounded out the dessert offerings [and it was cold and firm].  There was a good range of both hard and soft cheeses to go with coffee or a range of teas, to finish off the luncheon.

Staff assisting at tables were attentive, but not over bearing, and very helpful and pleasant.  No one at our table made any unfavourable comments on the food quality.  Staff performance overall including cook and table staff was really excellent – friendly, helpful, and broadly doing a very good job – definitely one of the stand out positives.  It does help to have staff who add to the overall impression.

Definitely plenty of choice to eat and overall food was very good; service excellent.  Would I come back? – Yes.  Score 8.5 /10.  It will offer an excellent niche alternative to those Sunday brunch events, costing somewhat more at other hotels. And it is located in a very pleasant setting, on the ground floor, with an  view to the water features and the outdoors – ambience is excellent!