Capri by Fraser’s is a studio situated at the convention cluster, on the eastern end of Singapore. That being said, its focus is on the business travellers who are here in Singapore to attend seminars and conferences.
Service
I was 1 hour early for my check-in, so I was at the reception twice. On both occasions, I was serviced by a different person.
The first receptionist was a shocker: I saw that she had a Service Excellence Star (2014) badge, but she was far from that. Despite the scorching 35-Deg-C weather outside, she made me feel like I was in wintry Scandinavia. There was no smile, she slurred at the word ‘credit card’ and she did not really bother to explain to me what was happening. Basically, I just stood there blankly for 10 minutes, waiting for her to finish whatever paperwork she was doing.
The 2nd personnel was much better. She wore a smile and she used service language.
Another unhappy occasion was when I stepped into my room and found myself greeted with a twin bed, rather than the King-size bed I indicated at the point of reservation. Of course, when I called to enquire, I was given the standard answer that the hotel was fully booked that day.
That being said, I would appreciate if they pre-empted me of the change before I stepped into the room. There was also no attempt at service recovery. Nil at all, even though I repeated that I would appreciate a pre-empted notice.
The only saving grace was the service staff at Caprilicious, the cafe beside the hotel lobby. The staff when I was there for dinner were warm, tried to strike a conversation, and maintained staff presence (even though there weren’t much customers around).
The same could not be said for the staff serving breakfast. There was a lack of ‘please’ and ‘May I’.
Overall, the service quality of this hotel stands at the lower end of 2nd-tier.
Room
This being a studio, the room comes with cooking facilities on top of the usual fare. There was stove, microwave and utensils to go with the hardware.
The room itself was spacious, so was the toilet. It was separated into dry and wet area, both also having lots of space for stretching. In the dry area of the toilet (where the sink was), one can find the wardrobe, which was also 50% bigger than the typical 5-star hotels in Singapore.
The room was also very clean.
The only weird thing about the room was a result of the architecture. With a full-glass facade, the windows / wall creaked and boomed throughout the day, expanding under the heat of the sun. It was so severe that at one point, I was wondering if the windows would collapse under the pressure. When night falls, the booming stopped, with the noise being replaced by the bars in the mall opposite my room.
Location
The hotel’s existence was due to its location.
Being one MRT stop away from the nation’s airport, and right beside a large convention centre and Changi Business Park, the hotel, with only 1 competitor as its neighbour, has not reason to fail (this might be why its service standard was so lacking).
The hotel was also built atop a shopping centre, which makes it even more convenient for one to find food and shopping, no matter how limited the time allowance was.
Amenities
The hotel also did well when it comes to the typical hotel facilities. There was a well-equipped gym that had several treadmills and weight machines. The pool, though not olympic-sized, was also a good place to hang out. In fact, there was plenty of space to lounge around the pool (that comes with a pool bar).
Sunbathers have to take note, though. By 3pm, the hotel building would have blocked off the sun, one must be early for a suntan. There was also no view to speak when at the pool.
Overall, if you are not picky about staff who had no service finesse at all, Capri by Fraser’s is a good place to stay for business and for staycation.
Directions
If you are travelling my MRT (perhaps from Singapore Changi Airport), enter Changi City Point and make your way towards Challenger (an IT store). Opposite Challenger, there’s an exit and go through it and turn left, following the perimeter of the building. You will reach the main entrance of the hotel in a minute or two.
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