Raffles - Singapore - BAD!

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cwliew

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Feb 7, 2009
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Recent stay at the Raffles in Singapore.

After paying 1300 for a night there, we had the WORST service I have ever had in a 5 star hotel. It was a saturday night. Here is a summary.
- Greeting. As we arrived at different times, there was no airport transfer organised for me. I accepted this was going to happen as my plane was delayed 1 hour, so this was no an issue.
- Bags: On arrival, the taxi dropped me to the rear entrance of the hotel, and there was no-one to greet me or take my bags. This was not acceptable. Furthermore, there was no direction on how to find the lobby for check-in and as such, I was left to wander around the hotel with my bags, looking for the lobby. As you can imagine, having never been to the hotel before, finding the lobby from the back entrance can be a hassle, especially after a long, delayed flight.
- On arrival to the lobby, there was no attempt to help me with my bags, nor with taking them to the room. In the end, I had to call my friend to take me to the room after I checked in.
- Breakfast: We arrived for breakfast just before 10am. There was no staff at the desk. When we were seated, our menu orders were taken 20 minutes later. The buffet was mostly empty, and there was no juice available. Finally, when coffee arrived, we requested some milk. We had to request milk 3 times to finally receive it. When the front desk waitress finally attended, she was very rude, and demanded to know our room number again (Already provided when we arrived) so she could “check our room booking again”. Food arrived all together so there was no room on the table, and the lack of waiting staff was apparent the entire morning. We both felt that this would be sub par for even much lesser hotels or restaurants. Food was average.
- Bar: We had drinks at both the ground level open air bar, and the Long bar. In the open air bar, we were disgusted to witness one of the waiters blow their nose, and then proceed to make drinks and handle glassware without washing his hand. Within 5 minutes, another member of the waiting staff entered the bar, and proceeded to “wash” his hair in the drinks basin. None of the staff in the bar were professional, and neither tended to us for the majority of the evening until we moved to another seat and requested another drink. In the Long bar, the waiter was unable to understand that we required 2 drinks, and only brought 1, after a 10 minute wait.
- Concierge staff: it is disconcerting to see that the staff do not portray the image of the Raffles hotel. On walking through the lobby, it is disappointing to see concierge staff giggling and acting like teenagers behind the desk. I do not want to feel like I have interrupted some personal jokes when I approach the concierge.
- Spa: We waited 20 minutes at the front of the spa area waiting for a member of staff. I even approached the bar outside by the pool, where I was spotted by a member of the bar staff, but he did not appear to take any interest in me being there, or wish to help. After he did not return from his private conversation with another guest at a table, I decided to move back to the spa desk.

Overall, a very unpleasant experience. I wrote these same things to the hotel management but got not real reply. Just a "Thankyou for writing to us". I will never stay at Raffles Singapore again.

It seems like they are just riding on the coat tails of their previously good reputation rather than trying to match it up to current standards.

Just writing to hope no-one will make the same mistake...
 
wow. for that kind of money you could stay at the new Emirates eco resort in the blue mountains and get all your meals and most drinks included too.

I'm very surprised to hear that any 5 star hotel would have that kind of service in Singapore. I've been lucky enough to stay at a few 4 star hotels and always been very happy with the service.

I hope you get a decent reply from Raffles management.
 
Sorry to hear you had a bad experience.

I'd have to say though in all fairness that given the fairly consistent Tripadvisor reviews and that fact that the hotel has for many years remained a Virtuoso preferred hotel (as part of their 'best of the best' range which includes less than 1000 properties worldwide and which has some of the strictest inspections and conditions in the industry), it may just have been bad timing or some other unfortunate occurrence that resulted in your below average experience .

I'd have to say in all honestly, I've never had a complaint from a guest returning from the property.

If you want the details of the director of sales and marketing or the resident manager, happy to pass them to you in a PM.

TG
 
That was particularly the reason why we chose to stay at the Raffles. I guess the situation was marred by the fact that it appeared that ALL facets of the SERVICE were affected. Now, I have not included what WAS nice. The room was large, clean and amenities good. The grounds were lovely. The atmosphere great.

However, I would have been disappointed to pay for ANY 5 star hotel with the kind of service I received. When I stay at a hotel, I don't want to feel like I have to ASK for everything, nor that it is a big favour for something to be done (ie to get me a taxi). Nor do I want to have to lug my bags around trying to find the lobby. I feel that these things could be perhaps incorporated into the price that you pay to stay there. For example, I could have paid for a suite at W hotel, Hong kong, and then paid someone to follow me around for the entire night getting me drinks etc etc and still paid less than Raffles for 1 night...that is a comparison only, and certainly not something I would normally require.

I received this from the hotel management:

First and foremost, we thank you for residing at Raffles Hotel recently. It is with deep regrets for failing to meet your expectations. We have acknowledged the issues as highlighted in your email.

Regarding the transfer service, it was stated as one for arrival and another for departure. As *** had made use of the arrival transfer, there was no further arrangement for arrival transfer requested. Therefore, upon your arrival, there was no transfer service compromised.

We would like to share that Raffles Hotel has three driveways because of the extensive layout. However, our porters and doormen are stationed only at the lobby. Nonetheless, we are truly sorry for the lapse in service provided.

Above all, we are more than apologetic for the non-service rendered and the inconvenience caused. Kindly be assured that we will address your feedback with the team for immediate improvement.

Thank you for taking the time to explain the issues that have occurred during your stay. We understand that this experience may have marred your impression of Raffles Hotel, however, we hope you will give us an opportunity to be of service to you again. In this regard, please do not hesitate to contact me if I may be of any assistance.

We seek your kind understanding and look forward to welcoming you back in the near future.

---------------------------
I have discussed this with people in my travelling circle, and they have mentioned that they have heard a few similar reports. In essence, none of us will ever stay there again.

Why I am so disappointed is that this appeared to be a "culture" within the staff rather than an aberration. This concerns me greatly, as I do not see improvement. No member of staff made it feel like we were guests of something grand, but rather just guests at the local motel.

I guess is potentiated by the fact that you can stay at the Peninsula in Hong Kong for less, and get so much more...
 
Correct me if I'm wrong... but it is the taxi driver's fault for dropping you at the wrong entrance, not the hotel ... :confused:
 
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Not really...he dropped me off at the taxi drop and pick up, which is at the rear of the hotel. One would think that the taxi drop off and pick up entrance would also have someone standing there when taxi's drop you off from the airport? Just a guess really...
 
Correct me if I'm wrong... but it is the taxi driver's fault for dropping you at the wrong entrance, not the hotel ... :confused:

I think the point here should be that if there is multiple entrances, each should be manned.

From the quality of the atheistic services not received, I wouldn't bother with SIN RAF hotel and rather stick with the Novotel or swiss at Clarke quay (hey, its also closer to PUMP)....

For the $$$ spent, I would be expecting nothing less than gold plated service...

Mr!
 
Exactly my point. If they have 3 identified entrances as per their reponse, then there should be a minimum of 3 employees at each point, with porters to take bags at request (perhaps from a central pool). Either way, for such a hotel, I feel that this should be commonplace, not on the wishlist...

Afterall, you can get a 5 star hotel for 200-300 aussy bucks.

And after staying at the W hotel in Hong kong, and knowing about the peninsula, this was ridiculous service.
 
Not really...he dropped me off at the taxi drop and pick up, which is at the rear of the hotel. One would think that the taxi drop off and pick up entrance would also have someone standing there when taxi's drop you off from the airport? Just a guess really...

He dropped you off at the taxi rank for the SHOPPING Centre in North Bridge Road by the sounds of it, not the hotel side of the block, I have never seen anyone expecting their bags to be collected waiting there in 30 trips, as the lobby is the Beach Rd Entrance.

Raffles only has one entrance, and its very clear, with a circular driveway, to blame them for a taxi driver wanting to minimise the travel between drop off and the next pick up is laughable. Poor service from the hotel in regards the other areas is not laughable, especially at $1300 a night.
 
No, that is not quite right. Raffles has a rear entrance which has its own driveway. The taxi's pull up there, and there is a doorway/pathway directly into the hotel "arena". It is not across the road. It is WITHIN the hotel complex.

Furthermore, the reply letter from hotel management identified that there are in fact THREE driveways which enter the hotel, and they have mentioned that only the one to the lobby has doormen and porter staff there. I think this is unacceptable for this type of hotel. If they only want to man the front lobby, then make the other entrances pedestrian only. Don't open up the driveways for people to drop off and pick up people where they obviously KNOW taxi's will drop people off to. Or else, pay someone to stand there! They wouldl probably have to raise their price per night from 1300 to 1300.50 to accomodate that person. Really, people don't care what they pay for a room in that realm, as long as the service is good.

I wouldn't complain if I were paying 200 bucks a night and there was no-one at the back entrance...
 
Lol, having had a Singapore Sling there earlier this year, I agree their positioning of staff (and signage) is poor. Bar staff were enthusiastic, but still mediocre.

Then again, what are people staying at Raffles for? The reputation?
 
I'm certainly not denying the facts about the three driveways. But I have to agree that the taxi driver is partially to blame. By not taking you to the main entrance, the impressive circular colonial driveway that gets you to the lobby the taxi has done you a disservice. For whatever reason it seems that the driver is being lazy or planning for a quick pick up after dropping you off.

Sorry to hear about the other bad service
 
I am sorry to hear that and I have a story to tell you. We have been attracted to host our wedding in Raffles Hotel for it super reputation. After numerous food tasting, we still feel that something is not right. What surprises me was that we were told that they cannot meet our requirement and cannot accept our business... but we are just 10 days away from our wedding and this was planned more than 6 months agao with them.... What I expect from such high end hotel is that we should come together to find a solution or fine tune each others expectation instead of telling us that they will not be able to meet our expectation and hence cannot do business with us. It is very disappointing experience with Raffles and I hope no one will have to go through this again.
 
I am sorry to hear that and I have a story to tell you. We have been attracted to host our wedding in Raffles Hotel for it super reputation. After numerous food tasting, we still feel that something is not right. What surprises me was that we were told that they cannot meet our requirement and cannot accept our business... but we are just 10 days away from our wedding and this was planned more than 6 months agao with them.... What I expect from such high end hotel is that we should come together to find a solution or fine tune each others expectation instead of telling us that they will not be able to meet our expectation and hence cannot do business with us. It is very disappointing experience with Raffles and I hope no one will have to go through this again.

Welcome to AFF snow96815. What terrible news, and for your sake I hope that an acceptable resolution is found.
 
I am sorry to hear that and I have a story to tell you. We have been attracted to host our wedding in Raffles Hotel for it super reputation. After numerous food tasting, we still feel that something is not right. What surprises me was that we were told that they cannot meet our requirement and cannot accept our business... but we are just 10 days away from our wedding and this was planned more than 6 months agao with them.... What I expect from such high end hotel is that we should come together to find a solution or fine tune each others expectation instead of telling us that they will not be able to meet our expectation and hence cannot do business with us. It is very disappointing experience with Raffles and I hope no one will have to go through this again.

Not good enough for a supposedly high class establishment but ever cloud has a silver lining, judging by reports here and on sites like travelguru they may be doing you a favour.
 
snow96815,

I hope both you and Mrs snow96815 are still holding it together after that disastrous turn of events with the Raffles.

Hopefully there's a hotel in SIN who can accommodate your wedding without significant hassle for you both. If I was going to suggest a venue, try either the Royal Plaza on Scotts or the Swissotel The Stamford in Clarke Quay to see if they can fit you in. I've heard good reports on both these properties from recent guests particularly in the area of food, but can't speak for their event management offerings.

You may also want to give the team at the Australia New Zealand Association of Singapore a call, they frequently host events at major hotels across the island and may have some contacts who might be able to help you out.

Is there anyone here who's been involved with any events hosted in Singapore who may be able to assist?
 
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