I arrived at the Singapore Marriott well after midnight one morning in early June. I was dog-tired and a little cranky, but the bellman and check-in clerk changed my feelings 180 degrees. They greeted me like I was long-lost family coming home. Singaporans are famous for their friendly nature, but over four days, the Marriott staff exceeded my expectations with their attentiveness, courtesy, and a willingness to go the extra mile to make sure I had what I needed during my stay. It didn't matter that I was using a Marriott Rewards certificate for my room. They treated me first-class the whole way. About 20-25 minutes from the airport (SGD30-40 taxi fare), this hotel is well located on Orchard Road with plenty of shopping opportunities within a few steps. The Orchard Road MRT (subway) station is down any one of several escalators on the property, too, so the entire cosmopolitan city is wthin easy reach. Whether you long for exploring Little India, a stroll along the Esplanade, or a quick bite in Newton, you can get there in just a few minutes from the Singapore Marriott. The cuisine is excellent, and Crossroads outside is a wonderful place to people-watch and sip a cool drink. The Executive Lounge is very comfortable and large, but it is also very popular in the evenings. Two out of three nights I was unable to find a seat during evening cocktails. Breakfast times were also very crowded. While the lobby, Executive Lounge, and other areas were fine, it was apparent the hotel is in need of some refurbishment. Stains on the carpet, worn paint in the hallways, and dated decorations in my guest room suggest it was top-notch, but time has taken its toll. Indeed, Marriott rates it as a Category 6 hotel, just as the JW Marriott in Hong Kong is, but there is simply no comparison. I don't mean to suggest the Singapore Marriott is a poor property. It really is quite good, but some TLC and a bit of money for updates and minor repairs would bring the facilities up to snuff. I can recommend the Singapore Marriott for both tourists and business travelers. Before you book, though, check to see if there are rate specials.

We stayed here from May 31, 2008 to June 2, 2008 and i'd really say that the experience was wonderful. The best thing I loved about this hotel was that it had a very wonderful and convenient location! Beside this hotel is Tang Plaza and if you just cross the street you can already go to Wisma Atria and Takashimaya. Right now, there's still a new mall that's being built, its name is 'ion' so a stay in this hotel will be promising. The rooms were Ok, the room was just right and four average sized people can fit in it. The bathroom was the part i liked the best about the room. There was a separate shower to the bathtub and there was space for our things and for the clothes we're going to change into. The TV is already flat screen, but the channels mostly consist of foreign (language) channels instead of the local channels. In front of the elevators there were a lot of apples for the guests during our stay, we enjoyed the complimentary apples for the guests. Overall, this hotel is a great place to stay- wonderful rooms in a wonderful location.

We stayed at this hotel as a family of four from April 27 to May 3. We chose Marriot simply because I am a member of their reward program. The hotel is at a superb location, right in the center of the Orchard Road commercial area. It is convenient. The subway, MRT, is within walking distance through the basement of the hotel. The rooms are smaller than many other Marriot hotels because of the polygon shape of the building. Generally speaking, the hotel staff was friendly and well trained as they are seen elsewhere in the world. Only a few problems occured: First, during our stay, for two nights in a row at about the same time around 10:30pm, a fire alarm went off and an in-room loudspeaker started talking announcing that the hotel was checking the cause of the alarm. A few minutes later, the loudspeaker declared that it was a false alarm. Second, from the third day of our stay, I noticed a wet spot in the corner of the room near the bed. I first thought probably the kids dripped some water on the carpet and didn't pay much attention. However, the spot became larger and wetter. Then I figured some pipe must be leaking underneath the carpet. I called the front desk and they changed my room immediately. On the night we moved to the new room, we opened the roll-away sofabed but the kids said it was uncomfortable to sleep in it. I checked and found the mattress was upside down. I turned the mattress over and guess what I found? A big spot of stain. Other than these, those men in black (security? customer service?) in the lobby seem to be very unfamiliar with the local area. I once asked them the location of Orchard Shopping Center which was three blocks away from the hotel, but they gave me the totally opposite directions. Besides, while wireless internet access is available from the first to fifth floor, they charge an obscenely unreasonable price for internet access in guest rooms for both wired and wireless connections. The wireless connection charge per day was almost USD100! For the price I paid, this hotel clearly missed my expectations.

I've travelled widely for business, mostly staying in high-end hotels. This is my fifth visit to Singapore, each lasting a week or more. Mostly I've stayed at the Shangri La just down the street, where the experience has always been outstanding. This time I stayed at the Marriott to match the plans of co-workers; I definately will not stay there again. The location is central, right in the heart of the Orchard Road shopping district. Enter the lobby past the black suited bouncer (as compared to the flamboyantly dressed doormen at the ShangriLa). The lobby can best be described as akin to Grand Central Station - very noisy, and full of people coming and going. Hard to hear the folks at reception. The whole tower is serviced by four lifts, so the porter and I wait a while. We reach the room, which is L-shaped. The light in the entrance leaves half the room in darkness - yet the lights are all controlled by a bedside switch in the dark end of the room. The porter immediately switches on the TV (of which I'm not a fan); I try to turn it off with the remote but the batteries are dead. The room, when relieved of darkness is at best mediocre. Not at all like my room at JW Marriot in Beijing the previous week, nor Sofitel in Xi'an the week before. Cheap motel-style furniture. The bed however was comfy, and the linens good and clean. While sitting on the toilet that evening I count ten long black hairs on the bathroom floor. I don't have black hair. Most remained for the following three days, a couple made it almost a full week. I was suprised that the room had a single small bottle of shower gel and hair shampoo - not sufficient in a country that requires three showers a day! No hair conditioner, no mouthwash, no full-length mirror,... Not at all what one expects in a high end hotel - more typical of penny pinching low-end motels. Breakfast was expensive at $37 (sing), but about in line with top-end Asian hotels. The selection looks impressive to those who haven't travelled much in Asia (where the breakfast buffets are notoriously extravegant), but falls down in the detail: e.g. five very similar cheeses, most hot dishes are at best lukewarm... The waitress seems to think that attentive service is measured by the number of laps she makes of my table. The plate is removed before I've had chance to chew the last mouthful. The pool area is ok, but the photos on the website are taken from a very flatterng angle. It's not at all like the tropical garden setting at the Shangri-La, much more compact, with (during my visit) a backdrop of a high-rise construction site. Dinner at the poolside restaurant was good. Service was attentive, and the mojito was good. Overall I'm left with the impression of a hotel that may have four stars on the wall, but has penny-pinching at its heart. To add insult to injury, after I'd added in $27/day for internet access, this hotel turned out to be just under $50/day more than the Shangri-La (based on my corporate rate). I definately won't go back, and will encourage our corporate booking service to remove this hotels "preferred" status.