The Protagonist

In the final chapter of our southeast Asia journey, our middle aged couple lands in Singapore to spend a final few days before heading back home. They sought out a great hotel located in the heart of the city for a couple of more adventures and the JW Marriott Singapore South Beach was the perfect choice.

The Antagonist

The nemesis in this story was cost. We stayed primarily at Marriott properties during our stay in SE Asia and this was by far the most expensive hotel. Incidentally, I made a note that the best experience we had was in the country with the lowest cost of labor. Inversely, the least amount of options in a hotel were in the most expensive country. The cost of this hotel was about 500 Singapore ($380 USD) per night.

Singapore is one of the highest cost of living countries in the world. Our hotel in Kuala Lumpur was 1/3 of what this hotel cost.

The Hero

Our hero in our South Beach Marriott story was the staff. The friendly and attentive staff took care of our every needs. We did arrive an hour early before check in and our room wasn’t ready but we were taken to the Executive Lounge to have a few snacks while we wait. The only miss here is our Executive Lounge host never told us our room was ready. Once we were past 3 p.m. I had to go and ask if our room was ready and it was but they seemingly forgot to tell us.

Anti-Hero

The main anti-here during our stay was size. While our corner suite was huge, everything else outside our room seemed small in comparison to our experiences in Kuala Lumpur, Phuket, and Bangkok. The Executive Lounge had great food but a limited selection. The pool on 18 was fairly small and too cold since it’s in shade most (or all?) of the time. There is nowhere on 18 as far as we could see to lounge on a chair and sun bath. The restaurant attached to the hotel is fairly small in comparison to other hotels we stayed in SE Asia.

We also were told that breakfast would only be available for platinum members in the Executive Lounge and not the restaurant as in other hotels. We assume it was like this because the hotel restaurant was too small to accommodate all the guest in the hotel but found it strange since this wasn’t the issue in other Marriotts.

Supporting Characters

Pool

Amazing view but comes at a cost of cold water temperature so beware or bring a wet suit!

Gym – We didn’t use so can’t comment but is available.

Room – Upgraded Suite

Image below – toilet on left, tub and shower on right. Dual and separate sinks.

Executive Lounge

The Denouement (& Recommendation?)

Our story has a happy ending, while we got became spoiled on larger buffets, larger pools and broader dining options, the hotel was perfect for our stay. It was situated close to the train station, large shopping areas, restaurants, and entertainment that we would definitely recommend this hotel with the caveats that Platinum member perks will be different/smaller than other hotels in SE Asia.

The hotel is about 20 minutes via car from Changi airport but heavy traffic may extend that time frame.

Categories: Singapore
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