Hey everyone!

Last Thursday marked the fifth year since my boyfriend and I got together and to celebrate that special day, boyfriend booked a room at a boutique hotel among the many quaint shophouses at Kampong Glam (Bugis) so that we could hang out ’til late that night without having to worry about our transport back home. He also wanted to take a break after his five-week practicum and since school is reopening the following week, he thought it’d be great to have a staycation this week before both of us get busy again!

We have stayed at numerous starred hotels (local and overseas) and we really enjoyed the experience because of the nice deco, room service and the comfort of the beds. We have even taken pointers from how the rooms are designed for our future home and the best inspirations have got to be from boutique hotel which rooms are about the same size as the bedrooms of HDB flats today. I swear, if we are financially fit to stay in hotels every week, we would!

Boyfriend stumbled upon Hotel Clover 769 while browsing Agoda and was attracted by the relatively low rates ($150/night after discount) for a four-star hotel near the city. He booked it immediately without seeking my consent -_-

The hotel is located about 10 minutes away from Bugis MRT station. To get there, you have to go by exit B of the MRT station (towards Golden Landmark) and walk straight ahead until you see Santa Grand Hotel. Turn right into the small road and you’ll see the two-storey Hotel Clover sitting on the other end.

You can be rest assured about the cleanliness of the hotel (not literally.. you know, some hotels are meant for quick rendezvous, right?) because all occupants are required to check-in and register for the room. I didn’t know about this policy so I went without my identity card. But they were pretty flexible and accepted my student EZ-Link card because it also indicates my IC number.

Hotel Clover offers four types of room: Clover Single, Clover Select, Clover Plush and Clover Lavish. The first two are the smallest rooms in the hotel (but still rather spacious for two occupants) without window while the last two are more roomy with windows. The best is, no doubt, the Clover Lavish which has an outdoor Jacuzzi. We opted for Clover Select and was pleasantly surprised by the room layout:

Now let’s check out the gorgeous toilet!

Oh by the way, the toilet door has no lock. So be sure to only sleep in the same room with someone you trust 😉

I went to bed at 4am as I was immersed with tuition lesson preparation (yes, still had to work the next day) and got up at about 9am for breakfast! I expected breakfast buffet like any other hotels but when we went to the dining area, we were told to choose between “Western” or “Asian” breakfast. Puzzled, we took a quick glance at the buffet table and saw only bread, condiments, cereal, beverages and utensils there. So yes, the young chef was definitely going to make us breakfast! We chose the Western one.

We were excited because even at the cheapest hotel we had been to, breakfast was self-service. But when the food came, disappointment took over. The portion was miserably small for any adult, especially my boyfriend who is a pretty big eater.

This does not justify the long waiting time of 10-15 minute, honestly. Furthermore, the potato wedges were served cold and the others were not steaming hot. They were in fact lukewarm which could suggest that they were already prepared beforehand. So what was taking them so long? Moreover, the kitchen was just right beside us

The breakfast didn’t leave boyfriend’s tummy satisfied so he asked if he could get another serving of sausage and eggs (he hated the wedges and gave some to me) but was told that each patron was only entitled to one breakfast plate. Feeling famished, he offered to pay for it but the hotel staff quoted him S$20++ just for ONE sausage and some scrambled eggs. Are you kidding me?! That’s tantamount to daylight robbery! Of course, we weren’t out of our mind so we politely declined the purchase. In the end, we had to fill out stomach with Honey Stars and orange juice (plus some pasta from Pastamania afterwards).

Anyway, the breakfast they served were of mediocre standard because they were served near-cold. They weren’t generous with the portions especially with that four sad-looking wedges over there, but that’s okay because they were so cold stiff and dry I wouldn’t want anymore of them. Most of the patrons left the dining area with only half of their portions eaten. I also caught a glimpse of the Asian breakfast on someone else’s table. It’s a rice dish which I’m sure is more filling than the Western one, but the taste could be equally bad because many people didn’t finish it as well.

I wouldn’t call that dining area a restaurant too because they don’t serve lunch and dinner. In other words, the dining place would be closed after they are done with breakfast at 10.30am. They had very limited tables and chairs as well so I’m not sure if it would fit everyone if the hotel is fully booked?

I’m certainly very satisfied with our room but I wouldn’t say the same for breakfast. 😦

UPDATE: They have improved their breakfast! Scroll all the way down for pictures! 🙂

All in all, it was a great staycation if not for the awful breakfast. I wouldn’t mind going back again but I will definitely prepare my own breakfast next time! I’d give this hotel a 3.5/5.

Hotel Clover was also recently featured on Groupon. Damn, we would have saved so much more if we had seen it! 😦

**UPDATE**

We decided to give Hotel Clover another chance (at our own expense)! We went back again in November and this time, it was for a birthday staycation.

And I’m glad they’ve improved their breakfast drastically since our feedback. Food came way faster than before too!

Let’s take a look at their buffet table.

Also worth mentioning is the excellent hotel service (which has been commendable since our first stay there). Our initial room had very weak Wi-Fi coverage so I requested for another room, which the concierge gladly complied! Everything was settled within 10 minutes. And we love our new room – it’s so bright and convenient (it’s the very first room near the entrance) and of course, the Wi-Fi signal was superb!

It’s always encouraging to know that business owners are listening and are constantly improving based on customers’ suggestions. With that, I will definitely be going back again!

Alright, that’s all for this post! Thanks for reading 🙂

Hotel Clover 769
769 North Bridge Road
Singapore 198737
Main: (+65) 6340 1860
Fax: (+65) 6340 1869
Email: sales@hotelclover.com.sg /
enquiries@hotelclover.com.sg
Website: http://hotelclover.com/