It is always fun to check out the latest hotel in town especially the newly-built hotels by AccorHotels which often has state-of-the-art facilities. All eyes are set on Novotel Singapore and Mercure Singapore on Stevens Hotel which follows a dual-branded hotel concept that might be in trend in the years to come. With two hotels operating under the same roof, facilities shared across both hotels, and back-of-house operations like housekeeping could be consolidated.
This mid-scale 4-star business hotel along Stevens Road proves to be one of the more affordable hotels near the Singapore’s famous entertainment spot and shopping belt of Orchard Road. Heading over to Orchard Road is made more accessible as the hotel provides complimentary shuttle buses. There is also a bus-stop in front of the hotel where you can hop on to the several public buses which stop along Orchard road.
This urban paradise houses two swimming pools (infinity pool and lap pool), tennis court, 24-hour gym, nine meeting spaces, ballrooms and 14 dining outlets. Before exploring the use of all these wonderful hotel amenities, allow me to admire the constellation-inspired reception area.
I have to say that this hotel is truly designed for the like-minded entrepreneurs and people in business suits who are staying here in Singapore to close a deal or to build relations. L’Apéritif Tapas Bar makes a great space for casual business meetings and appointments to be held. Sip on some Parisian-inspired cocktails and dig into some Asian-style tapas as you hold important conversations with your client. It’s a great place to unwind and chill after a long day of business meetings.
Be dazzled with the sparkling gold stairway. I wonder where it leads to. Perhaps to Food Exchange restaurant?
Whether it is a business hotel or not, this swanky hotel is worth checking out as it features a 35-metre lap pool and a tennis court. Fitness enthusiasts might be attracted to the hotel offerings here.
I was offered the opportunity to do a one-night staycation here at Novotel Singapore on Stevens Hotel during the media event launch. My Deluxe room was located on the eighth floor where I had the view of the hotel front porch and the apartments right in front of the hotel.
The room smelt of fresh pine as I flung open the heavy door to find myself this classy room of clean, contemporary lines. The room has a wealth of amenities which includes a comfy sofa, a functional working desk, rain shower, wardrobe, minibar and ironing board. With a room size of 23m2 (247 sq ft), I am not complaining as some hotels in Singapore has much smaller rooms than here.
As part of the Planet 21 initiative by AccorHotels, the room has got a few eco-friendly features. Your bed linens would only be washed when you placed this card (as shown below) on your bed so that bedsheets wouldn’t need to be changed that often and water could be saved in especially in our country which lacked natural water resources.
The bathroom has a separated shower area, and see-through glass showers are pretty standard in modern hotels these days as it creates that impression of a larger space within the room. Nonetheless, if you aren’t too comfortable with it, you can pull down the blinds.
Eco-friendly bath amenities which features fair-trade ingredients are provided for. They are not entirely organic or natural per se, but they do consist of ingredients which are obtained from sustainable sources.
The ergonomic desk has a sliding drawer where you can find magazines or information about the hotel offerings. There’s a USB port as well as powerpoints at the desk.
Most of the other hotel facilities can be found at level 2 where the main hotel restaurant, Food Exchange is found alongside with the infinity pool. Business centres and the ballroom is found on level 1 of the hotel.
Food Exchange
Jacuzzi
Garden event space between Novotel Singapore and Mercure Singapore on Stevens Hotels.
Infinity Pool
The infinity pool is right next to the Food Exchange. It opens from 6 AM to 10 PM. Blue swim towels are provided.
Lap pool
The lap pool is located right in the middle of the linkway between Novotel and Mercure. From Novotel, you will need to exit from the door opposite Food Exchange. Then, follow the pathway which leads to the lap pool that is adjacent to the tennis court. Further down, you will see the gym as well.
Inbalance Gym
This 24-hour gym is shared across both hotels. Towels and mineral water are provided at the gym. There are also toilets located within the gym. It’s a pretty neat gym which has got most of the gym equipment. It doesn’t lose out to those proper commercial gyms out there in Singapore.
Dinner buffet at Food Exchange
I checked in around 3 pm, so I had some time to take a refreshing dip in the infinity pool which was lovely. There are deck chairs which are partially submerged in the pool so that you would jump right into the pool after some suntanning. In the evening, I attended their media launch event which has demonstrated the creative and fun-loving energy of the team at Novotel. After the media tour and cooking class where we cooked Paella, we were treated to a dinner buffet at Food Exchange. To me, it was quite a spread, and the food selection was excellent for a 4-star hotel. There were some local dishes like Hokkien Mee and Satay which are comfort food for the locals and must-try Singaporean food for the tourists or foreigners.
Besides checking out the dinner buffet here, you could also dine at the various restaurants close to the hotel. I highly recommend FiSK if you’re into seafood as they offer fantastic sustainable Norwegian seafood dishes.
The next morning I woke up slightly earlier to head to the gym for a short workout before heading to Food Exchange for breakfast. The food standard there is not too bad, and I like the local Asian dishes which is featured in the buffet line. There are vegetarian dishes as well.
Breakfast Buffet at Food Exchange
Overall, I am pleased with my staycation at Novotel Singapore on Stevens Hotel. The rooms rates are surprisingly very affordable, and if you are for contemporary staycations, this would be it.
Special thanks to the team at Novotel Singapore on Stevens making this stay a pleasant one!
Novotel Singapore on Stevens Hotel
Orchard District
28 Stevens Road, #01-01
257878
257878 SINGAPORE – SINGAPORE
Tel (+65)64916100 – Fax (+65)64916085
Email H9543@accor.com
