Pan Pacific Singapore has been around for the longest time, but we have never stayed in this property before. I remember the days when I was a young boy, where my father would bring me to the hotel and take the elevator up to the 38th floor, just so we could take a look at the city views. This was of course the time before Singapore Flyer and Marina Bay Sands came into existence. It was one of my earlier experiences with Pan Pacific Singapore, and one that I enjoyed. Thus, we decided to set the record straight, by booking a night’s stay at the Pacific Skyline Suite with Pan Pacific Singapore.
Before we go further, we would just like to state that this is going to be a long review. And this is only because we absolutely loved it, and want to share our experience with you. We hope you find it useful for your next stay with Pan Pacific Singapore!
When you book a Pacific Skyline Suite with Pan Pacific Singapore, it comes with complimentary ground transfers to and from the hotel. We did not realise this beforehand and were pleasantly surprised when Pan Pacific Singapore emailed me before our visit to arrange the timing for the pick-up. As we were heading in from Kuala Lumpur the morning of our stay, we arranged for the pick-up to be at Changi Airport. It was a pleasant ride, courtesy of a Mercedes Benz E-class. This was definitely a good start to our stay!
Check out our Facebook page here for more pictures taken during our stay at this hotel!
Service:
The service standards at Pan Pacific Singapore are high, with the hotel representative having made arrangements to ensure we would have the room ready by the time we reached, which was about 12.30 pm. This was before the official check-in time of 3 pm, but she made sure to keep the room for us once they knew about our arrival time.
This was not it. When the hotel representative found out we were intending to enjoy afternoon tea at Atrium, its lobby lounge, the next day, she went ahead to secure a late check-out until 6 pm for us, located us at the Pacific Club Lounge the next morning while we were having breakfast and told us this piece of good news. This really set the benchmark on what high service standards mean. We were once again pleasantly surprised, and this indeed made our day that much better.
Hotel facilities:
Pan Pacific Singapore provides the usual facilities one might expect from a five-star hotel, including a fully functioning gym and swimming pool. It also has a tennis court, which says something about the size of this property, and a children’s playground that can be found just by the tennis court.
A cool thing about the swimming pool is the fact that it is heated. Now, we know Singapore has a tropical climate with corresponding temperatures throughout the year. However, try heading down to the swimming pool at 7 am, fresh from the comfort of your air-conditioned room, and you know what we mean. This is a nice touch by the hotel, which we presume does not come cheap. However, it provides a much higher level of comfort, and one that we are sure guests appreciate. It also has a functioning poolside bar, so guests can order some finger food, lay by one of the many lounge chairs, and sip some margaritas while you are at it.
We did not require this feature, but Pan Pacific Singapore also has a Pacific Hospitality Lounge, which is meant for guests who have early arrivals or late departures. This is especially useful if guests are not able to secure an early check-in or late check-out. Complimentary Wi-Fi, coffee, tea, a workstation, and even an OSIM massage chair, are available for guests’ use. Once again, the amount of thought that goes into understanding their guests’ needs is tremendous and deserves much credit.
There is also a spa at the premises, just by the swimming pool near the poolside bar. St. Gregory Spa is open for business between 10 am and 10 pm daily, and we believe it is Pan Pacific’s go-to spa in Southeast Asia. We note they operate in quite a few hotels run by Pan Pacific Group in the region, such as in Malaysia, Vietnam, and Myanmar. Unfortunately, we were not able to enjoy these spa facilities, although the Alicante Hot and Cold Stone Therapy, exclusively available at Pan Pacific Singapore, sounds really good.
Breakfast Buffet:
As it was only one night’s stay at Pan Pacific Singapore, we did not manage to have our buffet breakfast at the main restaurant, Edge, which is located on level 3. However, we managed to head down after our breakfast at the Pacific Club Lounge to snap the all-important pictures. Plus, we figure the quality of the food should not differ much, since it is under the same hotel, serving generally the same type of food.
The first thing we noticed about breakfast at Edge, is the variety of food options available. There are freshly-cut fruits, cold cuts, cheese, salads, and yoghurts. Pancakes, waffles, different types of bread, pastries, bacon, sausages, eggs, vegetables, and mushrooms are also there for your picking. And that’s not it!
Those preferring an Asian selection will be pleased. Besides the usual dim sum selection, there is a live station that cooks you your favourite char siew noodles. There are also udon, sushi, tamago chirashi (yum!), Malay fried rice, otah, nasi lemak, masala, and vegetable curry.
Guests who require a sweet boost in the morning can rely on this restaurant for their needs. Their pastry selection includes doughnuts, muffins, as well as a wide variety of local treats. Traditional biscuits are there for your taking, while local delicacies including grass jelly, chilled soya beancurd, pandan chiffon cake, kueh tutu, and red bean soup are available. The list goes on.
By now, you should have realised that we were really trying our best to list down all the different food choices. We trust in the consistency in the food quality at Pan Pacific Singapore, judging from what we tasted at Pacific Club Lounge. Hence, this is a breakfast not to be missed!
Room:
The Pacific Skyline Suite is a 2-room suite, consisting of a bedroom and living area. It offers 79 square metres of pure luxury.
When you first step into the suite, you are met with the living area, which has a large dining table and full-size sofa, suitable for parties (and perhaps management meetings?). It is really comfortable, and we can see ourselves relaxing by the living room during evenings, as the sun sets over the horizon, which we can see clearly from our suite.
The dining table is also large enough to fit a family of four, and only four because the chairs are all so big and comfy. You will also be pleased to know that a variety of Nespresso coffee capsules and TWG tea bags are available in your suite, so those management meetings can continue through the night. We were also very happy to find out that all the snacks and non-alcoholic beverages in the minibar are complimentary, and we definitely enjoyed the snickers bar on the way to the swimming pool.
Before our stay, we informed Pan Pacific Singapore that we were celebrating our anniversary, and they provided us with a bottle of red wine and some sweet treats to commemorate the occasion. Note that rose petals were also used to decorate the dining table, with a shape of a heart in the middle. It was really sweet and we were thrilled with this nice gesture. We figured they knew we were not going to use the table for a management meeting. There was also a personal letter by the team wishing us a great anniversary, which we really appreciated. Rather than just another letter simply signed off by the manager, it was artfully designed and decorated with cute pictures. We loved it.
A fruit basket was kindly provided during our stay, and we are delighted to say we enjoyed the fresh fruits. A bonus was the famed Pan Pacific pineapple tarts, given as part of the fruit basket. It was delicious, although we were sorry we could not buy more to bring home (We could not find out where to buy them).
In the bedroom, there is a nice king-size bed, along with a bolster. Now, few hotels provide this, and boy were we happy to see one. And, they managed to find a cover that states “Happy Anniversary”. You can see the amount of effort put in by the entire team to ensure their guests remain satisfied.
The walk-in wardrobe is pretty big, and can actually be considered as a room on its own when the sliding doors to the bedroom are shut. So, no concerns about hanging those evening gowns and suits to keep them crease-free.
The bathroom is next to the wardrobe, and is also quite large, with enough space for both a standing shower and bathtub. Although the bathtub seemed a little too small to fit me, it is quite perfect for families, with the children having fun playing with water and their rubber duckies.
In case you are too tired, there is a chair in the bathroom, perhaps so that you might be able to sit while you brush your teeth. Toiletries are mainly provided by The White Company, with em.brace mouthwash and bath salts.
Finally, we have come to the view the Pacific Skyline Suite offers. Facing Raffles Hotel, War Memorial Park, and the towering Swissôtel The Stamford, it is simply beautiful. While some might prefer a harbour view, which we understand perfectly, our take is that this offers guests a unique view not seen by many, simply because of the way hotels in the vicinity are designed. Most of the time, you are either facing the harbour and central business district, or Kallang, which may not be the most enticing of views. Hence, the skyline view this suite offers is in fact unique and different, and we appreciate it. Moreover, the view offers guests a perfect sunset view, and it would be good to look towards the National Gallery, as it is there that the sun will set over the horizon. On a clear day, photographers will also be happy to snap all the pictures they want from the suite. We know we did, and we are not even photographers!
Pacific Club Lounge:
At Pan Pacific Singapore, lounge access comes in the form of the Pacific Club Lounge, and the suite we booked gave us access to it. It is open from 6.30 am to 11.30 pm, and is located right at the top, on the 38th floor.
The lounge is designed in a very beautiful manner, with large sofas and chairs set up across the lounge, catering to groups of different sizes. In fact, you can even book a private room for a meal with your family, if you so wish.
We also have to talk about the fantastic views the lounge provides. Designed in a circular shape, it provides guests with a 360-degree view of the city, which includes breathtaking views of the Central Business District, Marina Bay Sands, Singapore Flyer, Marina Barrage, and Kallang, where the gigantic Singapore Sports Hub is located. If you get what we are trying to say, it is that the lounge simply has some killer views! While in the mornings you get to see the beautiful sunrise from Kallang, you also get to see an amazing sunset from the National Gallery. We know we stayed at the lounge for some time capturing both the sunrise and sunset!
When it comes to food and beverage options, the lounge provides the standard breakfast between 6.30 am and 10.30 am, afternoon tea session between 3 pm and 5 pm, as well as evening cocktails and canapes from 6 pm to 8 pm. Outside of those hours, however, you can still access the lounge for different reasons, whether it is to simply rest and relax, or wait patiently for the evening canape session to begin. That is why it is probably a good thing the hotel offers some light snacks and beverages to tight guests over. You get to enjoy some fresh fruits, chips, snickers bars, and M&Ms, along with some freshly-brewed coffee or TWG tea. What’s not to like?
Among the food options available during the afternoon tea session, are scones (obviously!?), 4 types of salads (all of which look amazing by the way), and sandwiches. Those preferring sweet stuff will be happy, with a variety of cakes, choux, and tarts available. As the chief testers, we are proud to say we tried them all and they were delicious.
Those with an inclination towards Eastern products need not worry. Pan Pacific obviously knows its clientele and has ensured such needs are catered for. Some of the Asian options include dim sum and chicken curry. We tried it for ourselves and we absolutely loved the chicken curry. In fact, we went for thirds. It was that good! For your choice of beverage, choose from a selection of coffee choices or TWG tea. Or if you prefer, some freshly squeezed juice or fruit-infused water.
Come evening time is when the lounge comes alive. As the crowd settles in around 6 pm, the servers start getting busy serving guests. The food options also seem to be of a larger variety. There is a greater selection of Asian choices, including dumplings, seafood stew, and fried chicken, while the bread and butter pudding looked really inviting. Evenings at Pacific Club Lounge seems to be a sinful time! Having said that, there are also healthier choices such as caesar and root vegetable salads.
Moving on, the unique Szechuan smoked salmon is a must-try! Apprehensive initially, we went for it nevertheless. A wise choice. The rich flavours worked perfectly with the smoked salmon, and we went for seconds. Mix that with some cheese (4 types available), and you are getting there. It is “happy hour” after all, so make sure you lay your hands on some champagne (Taittinger Brut Reserve or Laurent Perrier Rose) and be happy!
For breakfast, it is held daily between 6.30 am and 10.30 am. If you read what I wrote earlier, you would have noticed the wide selection of food available in the main restaurant at level 3. However, that is not to say the lounge’s options pale in comparison. Rather, the smaller selection of food is still of top quality, with a wide selection of pastries, cheese, sausages, and vegetables available. It also has fried noodles, steamed buns, and congee for those preferring an Asian selection. Cold cuts, cereals, and fresh fruits are also good, while a unique dish of corned beef, potatoes, and herbs is there for the taking.
So really, why bother having breakfast at the Pacific Club Lounge, even with such top quality food available? Let us attempt to answer your questions.
First of all, it is a champagne breakfast. That’s right. You get to enjoy some champagne while eating your toast. Secondly, it is much quieter and offers a large amount of privacy. While Edge is more suitable for families and generally has a lively atmosphere, the Pacific Club Lounge is really quiet and peaceful. This can be really enjoyable if all you want is to have some breakfast in peace. Thirdly, the views. As mentioned earlier, the views are to die for. We will let the pictures speak for themselves.
That’s not it. Over at Pacific Club Lounge, they do things differently. For instance, there are no egg stations at the Pacific Club Lounge. Instead, the staff will ask the type of egg dish you would like, which could be Eggs Benedict or some scrambled eggs. Let them know, and relax while the chefs whip up the dishes in the kitchen. Before long, you get a beautifully plated dish at your table.
Obviously, we are not done. One simply cannot stop at savoury dishes. Order some french toast and pancakes, and wait. In no time, they will arrive at your table again. The best part of it all? They taste great!
Now, picture this. As you are enjoying your breakfast consisting of some Eggs Benedict (the first course only, of course), you sip some champagne, while looking at the sunrise (Probably squinting. It is the sunrise after all.) shine beyond the Singapore Sports Hub. This is the Pacific Club Lounge. This is why we decided to have breakfast at the Pacific Club Lounge. For sure, different people have different needs. While some enjoy the calmness and some sunshine, others prefer a livelier atmosphere and a larger variety of food options. That is why as guests of the Pacific Skyline Suite, you get to choose where to have your breakfast!
Overall:
We thoroughly enjoyed our time at Pan Pacific Singapore and cannot wait to go back for another night's stay. We will probably book a different room this time and compare the difference between that and the Pacific Skyline Suite. Watch out for this space!
Cost of Pan Pacific Singapore (Pacific Skyline Suite): Approximately S$600 per night - stayed in May 2019.
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