Hotel Review: Duxton Reserve Singapore (Duxton Duplex Suite)
Keywords: Hotel - Room review - Marriott Bonvoy - Shophouse hotel - Duplex - Loft
Month of visit: June 2021
Youtube video review:Duxton Duplex Suite (Duxton Reserve Singapore) | Hotel Review
Situated on Duxton Road, about seven minutes from Tanjong Pagar MRT station, Duxton Reserve Singapore is a luxury boutique hotel housed in a restored nineteenth century shophouse. This hotel is an Autograph Collection hotel and so participates in the Marriott Bonvoy loyalty programme. Duxton Reserve Singapore was designed by acclaimed British designer Anouska Hampel with a facade that echoes elegance back in the days and chic interiors with a grand black and gold theme. This hotel has one in-house Chinese restaurant and a bar.
Hotel facade.
In this review, we will be looking at their Duxton Duplex Suite, which is one of the largest rooms available at this property. This suite comes in either a King or Queen bed configuration, with the former rooms measuring slightly larger at about 46 sqm. This room category can cost upwards of $500 but fortunately, we received an upgrade having earlier booked the entry level "Shophouse" room.
Lobby of the hotel.
Our suite was located on the third floor of the hotel and only one vintage style lift serviced all the floors. The corridors that led to our room were dim and had touches of black and gold with unusual wallpapers. The corridors can get confusing if it's your first time here.
Corridors and stairs on the way to our suite.
Duxton Duplex Suite
Do check out this unique Duxton Duplex Suite in our immersive 360-degree room tour below.
360-degree room tour of the room.
The suite was remarkably elegant with timeless decors and furnishings. The general colour theme was a monochrome black-white but some elements of gold were observed especially in the living space on the lower floor. The upper floor where the bedroom and bathroom were located was connected by a spiral staircase.
Overview of the Duplex Suite.
We were greeted by two standing lamps on either side of the entrance door. This suite has a number of free standing lamps as light source. The light switches and air-conditioning panel can be found on the right.
Entrance to the suite.
Immediately to the left of the entrance was a small wooden dining table together with two chairs. On the wall beside this area was a flat screen television which served the entire lower floor of the suite. From the dining table, the distance to the television was too close so we opted to have our meals at the long sofa instead.
A small dining area with a television.
At the side of the room, a long wooden table which supported two standing lamps was pushed to the wall. There was also a full length mirror here for guests to utilise.
A Wooden table with a full length mirror.
Directly opposite the entrance and dining area was the main living area where a very long sofa and low table were found. We felt that it was unnecessarily long as only one side had a good angle to the television. Nonetheless, we loved the black and gold colour cushion cases which gave the room some warmth.
A long wooden table and sofa.
Behind this sitting area was a narrow space for guests to squeeze into if they want to see the views from the room or close the sliding doors. There were no curtains in this room and guests will need to manually close moderately heavy wooden sliding doors if they wish to have some privacy. The views aren't great and only neighbouring shophouses can be seen.
Views (or lack of it) from the suite.
The bar area was rather interesting. A large selection of wines and spirits were available for purchase. The bar was complete with a cocktail shaker as well as a cutting board and knife. A wide array of glasses were also provided.
An impressive bar area in the suite.
For your coffee and tea fixes, the minibar area comes equipped with a Nespresso machine and teabags by TWG. A small fridge was found below this area and it was full with beverages available for purchase..
Minibar and mini-fridge. .
An elegant black spiral staircase with gold handrails connected the lower floor to the upper floor. The staircase was fairly narrow and can be slippery if guests wear socks, so care will need to be taken when navigating up and down this stairway. One additional point is that the steps were sharp and parts of it were low enough to be a hazard when we were at the bar area. Extreme caution will need to be taken when navigating this area for your safety.
Spiral staircase connecting the lower and upper floors.
We found the view from the upper floor looking down at the living space really nice. The furnishings of the room can be fully appreciated from this spot.
View of the living space from the upper floor.
The wardrobe was found near the staircase and this was where the bedroom amenities were placed. Clothes hangers, laundry bags and a built-in safe were found here.
A wardrobe with bedroom amenities provided.
The bedroom was relatively small, with a king sized bed occupying most of the area. The overall colour theme of this room was monochrome black and white.
Bedroom area on the upper floor.
A bedside table on either side of the bed also matched the colour theme of the room. On one side, a reading lamp, an antique telephone, writing materials, one powerpoint and light control switches were found. On the other, another reading lamp, a speaker and a remote control were present. It's worth noting that some lamps on the lower floor will need to be manually switched off so the light switches by the bed will not be able to switch on/off those lamps.
Bedside tables by the bed.
Directly opposite the bed was a flat screen television which was of decent size. However, it was tucked in the corner and was off-centre with respect to the bed. As such, the viewing angle wasn't good.
A flat screened television opposite the bed.
The reason why the television was off-centre was due to the entrance to the bathroom which was central. The bathroom had a monochrome tone as well, with light panels to illuminate the area. In truth, the bathroom wasn't large and its design may not be well liked by everyone. Standard bathroom amenities were provided and bath gels were provided by Etro.
Vanity area of the bathroom.
The WC and shower areas were separated, on either side of the vanity area. Both a rain shower and hand-held shower were available. As the area isn't large, water may overflow into the vanity area.
Dry and wet areas of the bathroom.
All guests will be presented with a welcome tea ceremony which is a specially brewed oolong tea served in a ceramic tea set. Two welcome cocktails were brought to our room as we had selected it as our Marriott Bonvoy welcome amenity. A small slice of carrot cake was also brought to our room at the same time.
Welcome amenities.
Dining Highlights
Our room package did not come with breakfast and we were informed that our Marriott Bonvoy Platinum breakfast did not include hot food items. We had opted to have our breakfast in-room.
Breakfast in-room
The Marriott Bonvoy Platinum breakfast was a continental breakfast set. We indicated our choice of beverages and preferred delivery time during check in.
A continental breakfast set served to our room.
In truth we were disappointed with our restricted choices and it was the first time we had experienced this (lack of) offering for Elite guests. One positive from this was that the food items were colourful, vibrant and pleasing to the eyes. One cold beverage which included a variety of fresh juices and smoothies as well as one hot beverage can be selected per guest. For the food items, a fruit platter, coconut chia porridge, nuts and seeds granola (with greek yoghurt) and a bread basket were included. While the breakfast was filling, it didn't feel complete.
Breakfast items from the continental set.
Concluding remarks: Our staycation here was overall pleasant and modestly exotic as we normally stay at big chain business hotels. We enjoyed the unique interior design of this boutique hotel and its location. However, a number of aspects were disappointing such as the Marriott Bonvoy Platinum breakfast benefit which was lacking, safety concerns in-room and lack of facilities. Spending a significant sum of money for a staycation here is understandably disappointing for some but then again, how many other hotels offer such a unique experience of staying in a restored shophouse?
Location:
Duxton Reserve Singapore, Autograph Collection
Website:
https://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/sinad-duxton-reserve-singapore-autograph-collection/
