Capitol Kempinski Hotel lobby

How do I love The Capitol Kempinski Hotel? Let me count the ways.

We booked the deluxe room at $399nett for a Friday. (Edit: We were upgraded to the grand deluxe room. We didn’t know this until a reader of this blog pointed out. Our staycations are always anonymous and we pay on our own so this is a pleasant surprise.)

At the entrance of the hotel, the front desk agent was standing to receive guests. Her name is Lenten. From the door, she led us to her office desk, we sat comfortably as we checked in. We and Lenten were separated by a plastic panel, like at a bank teller, and, with her mask on, it was difficult to hear her speak. Wearing masks and having plastic panel were COVID precautions, so it were a small thing that I didn’t mind. Besides, Lenten was very friendly and, even behind the mask, you can hear her smile. (“hear” because you can’t see her smile behind a mask.) Amazing service. She helped us book timings for gym and pool.

Then she offered to carry my trolley luggage – twice! Her colleague offered once. Lenten walked us up to our room and introduced the functions of the room to us. Woah. Even at Ritz and St Regis, nobody walked us. (Capella did.)

GRAND DELUXE ROOM

View from the entrance of the room. To the right are the bathtub and shower. To the left are sinks and toilet. Yes, the facilities are bifurcated.

From the entrance, on the right is the big bathtub with a tv and a beautiful wall feature. I love the little hooks by the tub. My partner said, “You take the tv in the tub, I’ll watch in the room.”

Left photo: Beside the bathtub is the very tall rainshower, it really feels like rain. Right: If you don’t want to wet your hair, there are also the normal wall shower and a handheld shower.

They use Ferragamo toiletries and it smells zesty and refreshing.

From the entrance, to the left is the basin.

Further in from the basin is a Japanese toilet with warm seat.

We like so many things about the room:

-complimentary soft drinks and juices in the bar fridge

-room is bigger than usual hotel room.

-they use Ferragamo toiletries, which smell incredibly zesty and refreshing

-there is a tv in front of the bathtub.

-the bathtub is bigger than other hotels’ bathtubs

-the rainshower is really high, really like rain.

-there is a stool in the shower. You can use it to prop up your feet to wash.

-two sinks!

-they place bottles of water where you most need them: by the sinks, by the coffee machine, and by the bed. So considerate! And NOT stingy! I hate hotels that only place two bottles of water.

-Japanese toiletbowl

-Modern tv: you can screen your devices on the tv. We watched Alice in Borderland from my netflix, screened on the tv.

-the tv’s system is arranged in such as way that it is very accessible and clear to use.

-nice chaise longue

-The desk functions as a dressing table with hairdryer

-wireless mobile charging beside the bed

-what I really like is how considerate they are. They put glasses (for water) on the night stand beside the bed. But they put the glass furthest away from you so that you don’t accidentally knock over the glass. Even the placement of glass shows how considerate they are.

-You don’t have to insert the card for electricity to work. Electricity is 24/7. They treat you as responsible adults and you should behave like one. Switch off everything when you leave the room!

-there is a partition/door to separate the room from the toilet/bathroom area.

-high quality bed. Soft on top, and hard below–the best type of mattress. I slept well.

As you walk into the room, wardrobes flank you. On the left photo, the cupboard stores bathroom slippers and robes. In the wardrobe on the right side of the room, you have the safe and a luggage storage area.

LOVE the tv. The channels are organised properly so you can choose easily. In addition, the tv can screen both Apple and Android devices. Do you know what Netflix post-apocalyptic series we were watching? (Hint: It’s Japanese and is a hit.)

The work desk transforms into a dressing table complete with lighted mirror and a hairdryer. Fancy.

At the corner of the work desk near the wardrobe, you have complimentary coffee and tea.

At the other end of the desk is the bar fridge where non-alcoholic drinks are free. Even if it has 0.000000000001% alcohol, you have to pay for it.

What we don’t like about the room:

-no view

-adjoining room. I’m scared that when I sleep at night, someone from the adjoining room would come in.

-the temperature of the rainshower is hard to control. Turn a little, it’s too hot or too cold. It requires a delicate hand.

Top quality mattress. Notice how the glasses are placed on the night stands. Far away so that you won’t accidentally knock them over. So considerate!

They don’t have USB ports by the bed so they put an alarm clock that has wireless charging, an electrical outlet, and USB ports! I want to buy this alarm clock too!

The highlight of the room—the chaise longue. You can’t see it, but the adjoining room door is on the right of this photo. Spooky! Note: the view is a construction site. LOL.

Here’s a video for those spatially-challenged to orientate yourselves:

FACILITIES

They practice good COVID safety measures. Chanel, the receptionist, checked us into the pool and gym. By the way, she’s great. She is the taitai sort, but she’s helpful and friendly. I like her.

• Swimming Pool

Saltwater pool but not heated. Brrrrr.

They only allow 6 guests in their saltwater swimming pool with jacuzzi functions. It’s a tiny pool. So make sure you book your slot. When we were there, there were only 2 of us with another couple. It allowed us to be in a serene environment, surrounded by walls of green. Lovely!

• Gym

Small gym with mostly cardio equipment

If you want weight training, there are only the free weights, no machines.

The treadmill has aircon vents! and it’s powerful. Also: I was watching youtube. Cherry Magic. You’re missing out if you haven’t watched it. Bring your bluetooth earphones.

They should replace this trx stand with a squat rack. You can train almost everything with a squat rack.

The gym was usually empty. It’s a small gym with mostly cardio equipment. Their treadmills have its own air con!!! They have some TRX and yoga equipment. Otherwise, it’s free weights.

• Buffet Breakfast

The breakfast restaurant is swanky! Try not to be a Singaporean and don’t come down in your singlet and shorts and slippers. Or your boyfriend’s army tee. Or bedhair. Unless you look cute in bedhair. PS: only hot people look cute with bedhair, it’s not you.

Like in all hotel breakfasts now, you don’t walk around, you sit down and order. The items are limited but the breakfast buffet on the whole is impressive.

Several hotels have this, but I am like a kid, always excited to see honeycomb.

They push a wagon trolley around that serves honeycomb and assorted housemade chocolate spreads. The 3-tier cold cuts, cheese, smoked fish is awesome.

Order this 3-tier cheese, cold cuts, and smoked salmon. It’s elegant.

Put down the tray! LOL. Just kidding. They asked us which bread we wanted, toasted it for us, and brought it to our table. So awesome! Is this how rich people live?

Order the eggs ben. It’s delicious.

I never order eggs benedict at cafes anymore: cheap ingredients, high cost, low returns. So I ordered at this buffet. They are excellent, the Hollandaise sauce is deliciously piquant.

The prata is nice, but it’s the curry that is awesome.

The best item on the menu: nasi lemak. Everything is perfect.

They also serve Asian food. The curry from the roti prata is especially thick and delicious. The nasi lemak is a must-order: everything on the plate is perfect.

Can skip: breakfast plate.

Can skip: chwee kueh

Definitely skip: prawn noodle soup

The waffles are meh, but the raspberry compote is awesome. Sour, little sugar. I think they make the compote themselves in-house, not store-bought.

The service at the restaurant is amazing. Usually, service staff look down at the floor, avoiding eye contact, hoping you don’t call them. But here, the service is pro-active. They actively come and ask you if you want more food or juices. When we were almost finished with our breakfast, the manager(?) came to us to recommend the nasi lemak to us and the juice lady came to ask if we wanted more juice. Fantastic service.

This is the breakfast menu for your perusal:

In conclusion…

Pros:

-The service is very good! Everyone—from cleaners to gym staff–greeted us. Lenten the front desk agent deserves all sorts of praises.

-good location

-impressive breakfast

-spacious room, designed with great consideration to guests.

-not sure if it’s because we went on a weekday, but the hotel felt wonderfully quiet and peaceful. It may be like in the case of Capella: although it was packed when we went, it still felt serene.

Cons:

-Honestly, can’t think of any. It was an awesome stay. I felt well rested.

You may be interested in…
–Staycation: Andaz Singapore – Studio Suite King Review
–Fullerton Hotel Staycation Review: Wonderful But Need to Work on COVID Measures
–Staycation at Marina Bay Sands Hotel Singapore Review: No, You Can’t Steal the Toiletries Home!
–Staycation at Orchard Hotel Singapore Review: Junior Suite 

Written by Dr. A. Nathanael Ho.