Tuesday 21 December 2021

Hotel Review: LYF One-north Singapore By Ascott

 Hi Readers, 


I like to wish all of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy 2022 New Year! This has not been an easy time for all of us, the virus has caused a huge impact especially on countries that greatly affected by the virus. Instead of point fingers at each other, maybe its time we should come together to work towards reducing the spread and hopefully finding the cure to end this evil virus, once and for all! I hope to get myself track in doing more interesting blog posts for next year and hope you all enjoy it as much as I do. 


Photo: LYF One-north Singapore (Below)


Welcome to my latest blog post! I like to share with you my recent experience with this hotel as I decided book this place for several reasons. One of them is having a feel of staying in the western part of Singapore for a week, secondly, I can travel around the western area as much as I can and lastly, I don't have to travel far to my working location. At the time of checking out the hotels to stay, it was about a week before this day and most decent hotels were filled up, leaving mainly the expensive and top class hotels charging exorbitant prices even in this Covid period. Fortunately, I came cross this hotel which is very ideal for its location. The price per night is on the high end side for my budget but comparing with similar offerings, this was the best value for me. 

A week long staycation at this newly opened hotel apartment with positive reviews has comfirmed it as my top choice. Once that was decided, I did my booking. As this hotel requires you to download this application as it uses the advance technology to use it for check-in/out and features such as request service, reporting defects in the room or issues, using the app as a mobile key to unlock the lift access and to enter the room. It was a new experience for me. 

LYF has another branch at Funan (Central part of Singapore) and offers similar products to the hotel I have chosen. So without further ado, let's begin this review.

The location at this hotel is at Nepal Road which is adjacent to Portsdown road. It is a minute away from One-North station or you can take bus 191 from Buona Vista to get here. Here is the map of the location. 


Do note: The hotel doesn't have a dedicated carpark so if you drive here, you need to park somewhere else, best is to use the train transport (One-North Circle line station).


The hotel apartment is coveniently suituated in the heart of the western business district, just beside Fusionpolis and one-north MRT station. 




The walk from this hotel to Buona Vista MRT station/Star Vista) takes around 15-20 minutes and with the bus stop not far away located from here, you can travel to places like Jurong East, Jurong Point, Orchard and as far as Bedok and Hougang Central. 

When I first stepped in the hotel, I was greeted by the cheerful and helpful staff. For the first time, I can use my mobile phone (ASR app) to use it as a key to activate the lift and enter the room. 


You can even earn points to go green. 

Looking at the arrangement of the lobby, there are lots of seating area for social gathering or one can do his/her work with power sockets and free wifi available for all. 


For now, there are 2 types of rooms. (One of a kind studio)or (Level up loft). 
Since, I was living alone and I didn't exactly like climbing up the stairs (level up loft), I chose the (One of a kind studio). 

The hotel also features the scale map of the room.


Photo by discoverasr.com 

Here are some photos of the room 

One of a Kind Studio 





From the photos of the website, the room looks small but for my room, its big enough for a couple. 

Toiletries are provided in the toilet 



The water hose is fabulous, has plenty of hot water and more importantly easy to use. A nice bathtub would be great but I guess this will do. 


Level Up (Loft) room
 
The Interior looks similar, the only thing is it has 2 levels. No photos of the interior, unfortunately. 

This is how the scale map of the room looks like


What does this hotel offer? 

Barbeque area, a small gym, residents' programmes, swimming pool. As I had to work during this period, I had no time to make use of the amenities. The only thing I used is the washing machine located near the lobby. For washing and drying, you have to buy a token either from the machine or from the lobby staff at the concierge. It cost $4 for washing and $6 for using the dryer in additional to washing. 

                                                                      The laundry room 

   

A water cooler is provided. 



As this hotel is still undergoing abit renovation, the noise isn't as bad as I thought. There are 7 levels to this hotel, but only level 1-4 are accessible. More rooms are available from level 5 to 7 but I guess is they are not ready for occupation. As this hotel is new, it will take a while for everything to be running smoothly. This covid period has certainly make it challenging for tourism, aviation and hotels. 

  What I really enjoy is the comfortable room, with a double aircon system that makes you shiver (good thing), good showering system, TV system with a good number of shows (I didn't explore this a lot) and most importantly, a comfortable bed. The location is very near to Fusionopolis and One-north station, so to get to anywhere is convenient. 

What can be improved? 

The mobile reception at the lift lobby is quite patchy and there were times I had to walk out to the reception area to get the network working to activate the mobile keycard so that I can use it to activate the lift to my floor. On the 3rd day, the staff gave me the access card after I encountered the same issue after the first 2 days of stay. There should be signs at the lift lobby to help direct the guests. After then that. everything is great.   

 As this hotel is managed by the Ascott group, you are able to sign up as a member to earn points with other hotels managed by them. For more information, you can check out the link over here.

My rating:

Location: 7/10
Hotel Staff: 8/10
Hotel room ambiance: 8/10
Cleanliness: 9/10
Bed comfort: 9/10
Shower: 10/10
Value for $$: 7.5/10
Overall rating: 59.5/70

Do I recommend the hotel? Yes, great place to stay for staycation (locals), a quick getaway for a few nights is nice, to explore the surrounding and visit places like Star Vista, Timbre, Fusionopolis, Rochester Mall and some nice eating places not far away, recommended for those looking for a quiet area to stay in. 

Do note: This is not sponsored by anyone, I decided to do this report mainly because of not able to fly at the moment. For my flying trip reports, do stay tuned as plans to fly would take place in May 2022 and that depends on the Covid situation. Meanwhile, please stay safe and I will update my blog in the near future. 

Hope you enjoy this short review! 

Take care
Charles 

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