Novotel Singapore On Stevens

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Married 13 years now in 2019, though the date for this year’s anniversary staycation was slightly off — the actual date of our anniversary was on a workday and involved a meeting that I couldn’t miss. Our selected property this year was the Novotel Singapore On Stevens. Our comments after a one-night stay:

This is a pretty new property that opened just last year, and actually comprises two hotels that share some facilities: a sister property, the Mercure, and the Novotel. I’m not quite sure what the difference is between the two, though the room rates for the Novotel seem to be higher than those of the Mercure. Whether the Novotel offers a better class of accommodations or amenities I also couldn’t say, since we haven’t stayed at the Mercure yet.

The property is located beside a main road — Stevens Road — and is surrounded by landed properties and also freehold condo apartments; i.e. it’s an area for the relatively more affluent residents on the island. The distance from the property to the start of the Orchard Road stretch — i.e. Scotts Road — is actually walkable at just under a km, but the two hotels are serviced by a hotel shuttle that brings guests to and fro T Galleria along Scotts Road. The bus runs every 30 minutes or so, and wasn’t crowded in either direction when we availed ourselves of the service.

I saw some guests remarking on forums that the car parking, while complimentary, isn’t without limit. That’s pretty much true: guests are accorded one complimentary parking coupon per day, so we got two coupons over the 2D1N stay. The basement car park is pretty big and we had no problems finding free lots.

We had a Superior Room, located at the far end of the block and on level 7. The 25 m² room is average-sized, equipped with a double bed, a 1.5-seater sofa, a standing shower with electronically controlled blinds, ironing facilities, a security box, and a mini-bar. The room didn’t feel cramped, and — in part because of the floor we were on — we had a great view of the Orange Grove Road area and also a good amount of sunlight. The wife found the bed ideal: neither hard nor soft, and the linen felt very high quality too. So, all good on that score. The rate we paid was around SGD170 before taxes: a very good price given the general quality of the stay. The in-room WIFI was easy to connect to, and fast enough for FHD streaming on Netflix and YouTube. The room had a wall-mounted 50″ (best guess) flat-screen that also had several dozen cable channels, including an option to connect to your Android device if you’d like material streamed from it.

Morning breakfast — included in our rate — was at the level two restaurant called Food Exchange, and starts at 6:30AM. The quality of items was a hit and miss — e.g. Nasi Lemak was great, otah was mediocre, Mee Rebus gravy was too watery. What was particularly good, however, was the restaurant itself: its design permitted a great and uninterrupted view of the area, and the morning sunlight streaming in provided some really nice pictures. We breakfasted at 7:15AM and stayed for an hour, and the restaurant didn’t feel crowded at all, with less than a quarter of tables occupied.

The property exterior does feel quite new: e.g. the flora and fauna aren’t mature or overgrown, and the lobby and dining areas still have a bit of that fresh sheen. The rooms, though, and the common corridors seem to be a different matter: they’re clean, yes, but also show signs of wear and tear, e.g. stains that don’t seem to have come off with regular maintenance.

The property is marked as a sort of mixed-use development, and there are a couple of restaurants in the block, including Pappa Rich and Curry Garden, with a 7-11 convenience store also just around the corner. Pretty convenient if you’re looking for a meal and don’t want it from room service or to make the trip down to Orchard Road for it.

Our room was located at the extreme end of the floor, and the corridor end was full-height glass — providing a magnificent view of the intersection between Balmoral and Stevens Roads.
The double bed, with plenty of pillows and cushions. Note: this isn’t a king-sized bed.
A small writing table at the corner of the room, and the large flat-screen LCD TV.
The standing shower stall that was also equipped with a rain shower head.
Fairly small beverage area, but it had the essentials.
Most breakfasts at hotels we’ve stayed in are pretty drab affairs after the first day, but the Food Exchange restaurant is very nicely stylized and pretty.
The morning sun streaming into the restaurant, providing a bright and chirpy setting to have breakfast.
Most tables were unoccupied at 7:20AM.
Fresh fruit that was tastefully laid out.
A range of hot beverage types.

In all, an enjoyable and quiet stay. The rates tend to swing quite a bit depending on season, so you’ll want to be on the lookout for bargains if you’re eyeing this property.