I have always been fascinated with heritage hotels — especially if the hotel has the old-meets-new charm. While modern hotels look fancy and posh, it’s amazing how heritage hotels can say so much about history while being glamorous and elegant (it doesn’t just make you feel like you’re having staycation, but also traveling back in time).

While the five-star Goodwood Park Hotel is quite famous for its durian delights, I came to know about this hotel a few years ago when my colleagues and I indulged for an afternoon tea here. Since then, the contemporary-style swimming pool has already piqued my interest and I’ve always wanted to try for a staycation here.

Room Rates

We booked a Deluxe Mayfair Room via DBS Marketplace for S$259 (inclusive of breakfast for 2) but, like before, we didn’t pay the full amount since I used the DBS points. Eventually, we were upgraded to Poolside Suite and all I can say is, I was beyond ecstatic (it was my first suite experience and having it at poolside was very exciting and new to me). The hotel’s room and F&B promotions can be seen here.

Room Types

Deluxe Mayfair Room: 31-44 sqm

Deluxe Premier Room: 39 sqm

Deluxe Poolside Room: 31 sqm

Heritage Room: 36-48 sqm

Junior Suite: 50-65 sqm

Poolside Suite: 48-55 sqm

Deluxe Poolside Suite: 65 sqm

Old Meets New

Built in 1900, the hotel’s facade speaks of history and a century gone by. Surprisingly, entering the room gives you a very different and modern perspective — yes, Goodwood has just completed its renovation early this year. The hotel room shows a fusion of minimalism and elegance, with its chic white walls and natural wood flooring.

What a Suite Life!

The fact that this suite gives a strategic access to the pool was the main highlight for me. The poolside door made it convenient for us to chill and explore their amenities and since we stayed Sunday-Monday, we had the pool all to ourselves 🙂

As you step inside the room, you’ll first see the toilet area in marbled walls and flooring. Next to this is the bedroom — the suite is strategically built to have that spacious setting by having partitions for different areas as if walking into a large home which impressively ends with a pool view.

The hotel has generously provided two TVs at the poolside suite — one at the bedroom and another at the work desk/coffee table area. What I loved about this suite is that is has a good space to welcome guests without feeling awkward about privacy since there is a divider for the bedroom.

Ideal Place to Celebrate Important Occasions

Pandemic era means staycation birthday since border is not fully opened yet. My birthday celebration at Goodwood Park Hotel‘s Poolside Suite has exceeded my expectations — it was an incredibly unique and refreshing staycation experience.

Location

One of the best things about this hotel is its location, which is just walking distance from Orchard MRT. This means you conveniently have access to everything — shopping malls, restaurants, convenience stores. The ultimate advantage for us was when we had a spur-of-the-moment bonding with friends at the suite because it’s at the city proper — it’s quite easy to invite around (Kindly take note of the current COVID-19 restrictions in terms of number of guests allowed at the time you are booking your stay, you may find this info here).

Breakfast

Daily breakfast is held at Coffee Lounge and is available from 6am to 11am. We were asked to choose from their A La Carte Breakfast Menu and I had the American Breakfast which consists of apple juice, sliced fruits, cereal, omelette, sausages, grilled tomato and hashbrown while hubby ordered the Asian Breakfast (congee with prawn or chicken). Food was ok — I guess this is something that they can improve on. If breakfast is excluded from your booking, it would cost about $30-35/person.

Amenities

Goodwood Park Hotel boasts two swimming pools – main swimming pool and Mayfair swimming pool which both open from 7am to 10pm. The main pool has a simple contemporary style that has a shallower section for kids (nevertheless, it gives an awesome view as it’s being surrounded by fancy suites). Mayfair swimming pool, on the other hand, gives you that Balinese-vibe — sadly, I was too drawn to the main pool (spent the whole morning here – from spending coffee time to swimming) that we actually forgot to visit the smaller pool. The hotel also has a Fitness Centre, which as of writing, only allows up to 2 fully vaccinated guests at a time.

Service

The hotel’s service certainly lived up to the 5-start hotel expectations — the staff are all friendly, accommodating and warm. They made my day extra special by sending this super yummy chocolate cake when they found out that it’s my birthday. Also, when we were at the main pool, the staff was attentive enough to provide us towels even when we weren’t asking for those.

Steep in History

I love a hotel that has something very unique to offer (Goodwood has given us the beautiful museum feel), especially this pandemic period when it provides an alternative for travel. It is quite remarkable how this hotel stood the test of time — from starting as Teutonia Club (for German expatriates in Singapore) in 1900 to being renamed as Goodwood Hall (after Goodwood Racecourse in England) in 1918. Finally, in 1929, this Hall has been converted to Goodwood Park Hotel.

Verdict:

Overall Hotel Experience: 9.1/10 (Definitely worth adding to your hotel bucketlist)

Service: 10/10

Breakfast: 7.5/10

Room: 10/10

Amenities: 9/10

What it boasts: heritage, history and architecture

Each hotel gives you a distinct memory to remember it by. For me, Goodwood felt like home — a familiar place where you can freely relax. It may not be as catchy as the other overrated 5-star hotels but it gives me a distinctive vibe that makes me write this blog so fondly and vividly 🙂