We recently had occasion for a quick trip to Singapore. This was a short trip, and we were on a budget, so we elected to stay at The Quincy Hotel. While on the whole it was a good experience, we'd have to say they have it only about 80% right.

The hotel's premise is fairly direct: A standard accommodation package offered for an all-in price. As we absolutely loathe being gouged by hotels for basics like Internet connections and laundry (ask us some time about being charged $75 for a pressing job at The Gallery Hotel in Singapore!), we found the premise of the Quincy attractive. The all-in arrangement is rather comprehensive: Internet, laundry, mini-bar, three meals a day and happy hour! A bit out of the ordinary. We were naturally suspicious about the quality issues for the food and beverage but were pleasantly surprised. They do cut some corners -- the mini-bar, for example, would be better described as a micro-bar (beer, fruit juice, sodas, water -- only). However in important areas the quality was acceptable. Indeed, some areas they exceed expectations -- the toiletries, for example, are all Molton-Brown.

They also cut corners in others areas, like room service (there isn't any) and housekeeping (it closes very early). The lobby, too, may be an issue for some people; it is not what most would consider to be ideal. The photo on the left shows the lobby -- all of it. It is minimalist in the extreme, combining a check-in desk, cafe and waiting area into one small space. All meals and the afternoon happy hour are served here. Though there's not much reason to hang out in the lobby, if you are like us, that's not particularly an issue. If you plan to take business meetings, however, you had best find another spot.

The Rooms

The rooms are all based on a similar model; the only options seem to be your choice of either a king sized bed or two twins. The rooms are minimalist, modern, and very economical in terms of space. In addition to the bed, our room had window box seating and a desk with one chair. Not exactly posh, but I've had worse at much higher prices. Rooms include a large flat screen TV and satellite with a moderate package of channels. They did make an effort to be technologically up to date -- you can plug your computer into the TV or use a USB drive to watch movies. Nice for the tech-friendly members of the populace.

Also for the tech-friendly in the crowd, the rooms include a decent broadband connection (cable) and the lobby has WiFi. We also found WiFi hotspots in our room, so our iPhones were able to connect -- a nice bonus. Unfortunately, the system they employ for authentication runs out every 24 hours, forcing the re-issuance of credentials. As we had 2 computers and 2 iPhones, we had to get 4 new ID numbers every bloody day! (you cannot use more than one device per login). Certainly they can be smarter than this (?).

Hotel linens were nice and the bed very comfortable. The bathroom included both shower and a reasonable tub, but there is not a lot of privacy in this room layout. Couples will be fine here, but friends sharing a room had best be close friends!

Location

The Quincy is located near Mount Elizabeth Hospital, just off Orchard Road (just up the hill from The Paragon). This is a good location. Cabs are easy to get and the walk to Orchard Road is short (and all down hill!).  

Service

The staff at The Quincy tries hard to please and does well. While we had bad experiences with their reservations team, the staff on site was very good. We took happy hour one day and had lunch another. On both occasions the food service staff was attentive and quite pleasant. Our only complaint -- and it is a fairly serious one -- was with the reservations team. It's hard to hold this one against The Quincy staff themselves as they outsource their reservations (but the owners need to take note!). Here's the story: We visited The Quincy website to make a reservation only to find the site does not support online reservations (what year is this again?). Rather, we were given an email address for a third party -- feels dodgy already. We sent our request. 36 hours later we get an email back that feels like a form letter, asking us to email them credit card details -- feels even more dodgy! As their reply was not responsive to our query, we emailed them again -- and then nothing. We finally gave up and called the hotel. The staff apologized, but then instead of taking our booking, they gave us another email address! Bottom line, it took us 2 phone calls and 4 emails to book a room! What a ridiculous process (I won't even bother to go into the absurd credit card process!). Had we not been motivated to stay there we would have bailed out after the first email. I don't know what they are thinking, but clearly they are not thinking about customer service. I can't imagine a worse way to make a first impression. 

The only other thing that marred our stay was our first room -- they put us (a married couple) into a room where they had pushed together two twin beds to make a (faux) king-sized bed. I can't tell you how much we hate that one -- dear hoteliers worldwide: two twins pushed together does NOT make a king sized bed! The staff redeemed themselves when we asked for a new room -- they complied immediately without question or complaint.

On the whole, we want to like The Quincy. At SGD 288 a night, it strikes us as fair value for money, but they need to do something about their reservations system. (It would be nice also if the minibar was not a complete budget operation! I mean, would it kill you to at least include beer in bottles rather than cans?) 

If you would like to learn more, visit their website: http://www.quincy.com.sg