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.
Definitely not as bright as depicted in the picture but yes, that’s how it looks like. The hotel looks a little run-down from the outside but it’s really not the case! 🙂
Hotel entrance
You will be greeted by a range of vintage memorabilia
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.
Found at the entrance of the corridor towards all the rooms
Another piece of vintage ornament
This place is filled with inspirational quotes (on walls) lol. I love the typeface, so artsy fartsy!
The brightly-lit corridor
Our room! It’s the first room along the corridor
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:
The mini bar. It has the usual essentials such as a safe box, hangers, good quality teabags, a kettle and plenty of cups with teaspoons. Hair dryer is also provided in the first drawer below – something I really appreciate because I hate requesting for it from the concierge coz I’d be obliged to give tips. #miser
A TV big enough to watch from the bed
There is a foldable table top at the bottom of the TV. Great if you’re planning to do some work on your laptop!
Our double bed, crumpled because boyfriend decided to lie on it before this photo was taken.
Right beside the bed hung two (vanity) mirrors on the wall! Now you know who slept on the left side of the bed! 🙂
Simple yet elegant ornament on the wall to remind you where you are!
Now let’s check out the gorgeous toilet!
There are two water sources for showering, one of which is ceiling-mounted! Can you see it in the picture? Boyfriend loves this kind of shower head coz he likes to imagine himself “singing in the rain” rofl. But I don’t unfortunately. I prefer to have full control of the water direction, so detachable shower heads (also in the picture) for me any time!
The sink!
Oh by the way, the toilet door has no lock. So be sure to only sleep in the same room with someone you trust 😉
Bedroom slippers made of THICK, QUALITY, STRUCTURED fabric (can’t tell what exactly that is) that won’t spoil so easily. I’m so impressed. It’s probably the best bedroom slippers I’ve gotten so far. (Psst, took one pair home)
The only decent picture of us.. and boyfriend’s signature pose lol
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.
Cereals and beverages
Branded teabags which can also be found in the room’s mini bar
Bread and a small toaster. There are also three kinds of cheese (far left) to go with your toast.
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.
Western breakfast consists of a sausage, four potato wedges and a decent scrambled egg
Trying to make the food look good coz the taste is a letdown
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?
Indeed, my hungry belly was telling me to be displeased
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! 🙂
Saw this on our way back to the room. I have no idea what “The Powder Room” is but it must be somewhere cool to have its name listed on the wall. And that Er Hu is real! (Coz itchy-hand Boyfriend went to strum it)
There is this relaxation corner beside our room! The roof isn’t covered (I think) so it’s open air.
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!
Western breakfast! They added baked beans, ham, an extra sausage and more greens!
This is so much better!
I got myself Asian breakfast this time and looking at the Western one, I kinda regret my choice hahaha.
Likewise, they added more greens and I think the sausage is new too! LOVE the runny egg! However I wish they told me it was going to be Bee Hoon (I thought it was gonna be rice) because I don’t really like Bee Hoon 😦 Still, overall taste was great!
Let’s take a look at their buffet table.
This has no change. Not that I complained anything about it the first time haha.
They added fruits to the buffet table! Whoopee!
Open concept kitchen! Just right next to us.
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!
The TV strategically covering the window because our room was on the ground floor and anyone walking past would be able to look in haha.
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/
fionaseah.com 