Level 26, Main Tower

Joanne's birthday and our anniversary are less than a week apart, we celebrated these two occasions somewhere in between these two dates with a one-night staycation at Mandarin Orchard Singapore, in conjunction with the September school holiday with Joanne's MOE special staycation promotion. We also added the Meritus Club Lounge access to our booking (it's only $50 for two guests, one of the best decisions we made).

As some areas were undergoing renovations at the time of our visit, Mandarin Orchard Singapore would be accessible only via the main entrance and the driveway of Mandarin Gallery. Also because of this, their reception and concierge were relocated to Level 8 of the Main Tower.

So we had to take the lift at Orchard Wing from the Mandarin Gallery main entrance to Level 5, transfer to the Main Tower lift lobby, then proceed to Level 8 for check-in at their reception and concierge.

Due to school holiday perhaps, there's a crowd at the reception, but managed well by the hotel reception team. Only one person is allowed to queue for check-in, so Joanne queued for it and I was escorted to a holding area, basically a meeting room. The "reception" at the reception was bad, and we hadn't got WiFi access there yet at the time of checking in.

The entire check-in process took an hour and Joanne was a bit disappointed with the hotel check-in systems as the receptionist wasn't even aware that we've added the Meritus Club Lounge access to our booking. But the receptionist was courteous and apologized for that.

Bookings of swimming pool and gym are made upon check-in, for a one-hour duration each. We didn't get to swim in the end because the only available slot is 1-2pm on the next day, which wasn't ideal as we've made other plans after checking out.

Booking Details	Price (SGD)
Premier Room - King Bed Teachers Day - Exclusive offer for MOE Sports Club and Staff (1 Night)	$120.00
Exclusive access to Meritus Club Lounge for Two	$50.00
Taxes and fees	$30.09
Total	$200.09

Room 2633

Our room faces the west so we got a decent view of Ngee Ann City as well as the sunset.

During check-in, Joanne mentioned to the receptionist that we decided on a staycation here to celebrate her birthday as well as our anniversary. In less than an hour after checking into our room, we were delighted to receive a chocolate mousse cake from the hotel staff, a gift from the hotel.

Afternoon Tea @ Meritus Club Lounge

Top of the M

The hotel has 2 tower blocks, our hotel room and the reception (Level 8) are located at the Main Tower while Meritus Club Lounge is located at Orchard Wing. We had to take the lift down to Level 5, transfer to Orchard Wing life lobby and take the lift to Level 38/39: Top of the M.

I foresaw frequent equalization of air pressure within our ears as we'd be travelling up and down approximately 30 storeys very often.

As we arrived at Level 39 by taking the stairs from Level 38, we're free to choose our seats and a waiter came to ask if we'd like to have tea/coffee, and serve us the afternoon tea.

The tranquility at the Meritus Club Lounge is truly unrivalled. The lounge was exceptionally quiet with only a few guests. I genuinely enjoyed the serene experience there with exquisite refreshments and picturesque panorama.

Afternoon Tea

Sandwich
Chicken in Wholemeal Bread
Salmon in White Bread

Hot Item
Seafood Quiche

Dessert
Lapis
Banana Moist Cake
Choux Puff

There's where I lost my hotel room keycard, and our efforts searching through the table we're seated at the lounge were fruitless.

God sent a kind staff there informing us that we can just request for a new one at the Top of the M reception without traveling back to the hotel reception on Level 8 of the Main Tower, and yes, we got our replacement keycards for free! Excellent service!

We're back in our hotel room and it's 5:30pm, which means the sun is setting pretty soon, at a few minutes past 7pm. We wanted to make sure we catch a glimpse of sunset at Meritus Club Lounge during the evening cocktail, after we exercise at the gym and come back for a shower.

Gym

Located on Level 37, the range of gym equipment there is basic for me. They do have a smith machine though. It's also interesting that the treadmills have individual screens in front streaming movies, a good way to distract while you're running.

Joanne was watching Harry Potter while running on the treadmill.

It's time to suit up and dine in at the Meritus Club Lounge again.

Evening Cocktail @ Meritus Club Lounge

For the free-flow drinks, Joanne and I ordered sparking wine and red wine respectively.

Evening Cocktail

Cold Platter
Smoked Salmon
Smoked Mackerel
Pork Salami
Chicken Mushroom

Cheese Platter
Emmenthal
Brie
Cheddar
Camembert

Hot Dishes
Quinoa with Mushroom Spinach Ragout Tomato Sauce
Wok Fried Chili Prawn
Salmon with Capper Cream
Chicken Karaage

Dessert
Cheese Cake
Swiss Roll
Brownie

Good night!

Breakfast @ Meritus Club Lounge

Breakfast

American Breakfast Set
Scrambled Eggs
Pork Sausage
Served with tomato, potato, baked bean, and mushroom

Noodle Set
Herbal Chicken Noodle Soup
Trio of Steamed Dim Sum
Soft-boiled Egg

À La Carte
An assortment of Bread and Danish Pastries
Pancake, served with berry compote, maple syrup, and whipped cream