Hotel Review: Hotel Grand Mercure Singapore Roxy at Marine Parade | A surprisingly good Staycation in the East

Posted on April 13, 2016 by theRantingPanda in Hotel Review

The Hotel Nestled in the Marina Parade vicinity, you wouldn’t have expected an Accor hotel to be set up here. And truth be told, we had very low expectations of the staycation at Hotel Grand Mercure Singapore Roxy, except that it would be a very peaceful weekend. It turned out better, and I mean, way way better.

The Room First up, their rooms have recently been refurnished, and while ain’t posh, we always do love anything new, clean and sleek. Done with grey walls and brown finishings, it carries a relaxing vibe and one that ought to withstand the test of time. Free wifi for all guests, with extensive TV channels to keep you companied while you chill the weekends away.

The Facilities It has to be one of the nicest, Hotel Grand Mercure Roxy’s gym spots an updated look, with a good size to handle at least a dozen gym enthusiasts at any given time. Just right outside the gym is the hotel’s swimming pool, and while the pool may not encourage any lap swims, you can definitely enjoy the sun (or not). Unfortunately for now the ongoing construction around the area will be giving you a less than enjoyable time here, we are hoping once the new buildings are up, we can count on enjoying our time here chilling again.

Since we were in the area, we decided there’s no better time than now – taking a leisure jog from the hotel to East Coast Park. Only minutes away (if you jog), you will be greeted by this coastal park and trust us, the staycation has just been made perfect.

If this is something you may need, you can even hop on the complimentary shuttle buses to Changi Airport, Paya Lebar MRT Station and even to downtown, with stops at Marina Bay, Esplanade and Ion Orchard!

The Restaurants Breakfast is served at their third floor restaurant, Feast@East Buffet Restaurant. With more than 500 rooms, the relatively small restaurant will be filled with reluctant breakfast-goers and kiasu buffet enthusiasts, so be prepared to embrace the crowd. Having said that, the breakfast spread was average, with the standard egg live stations available. The service was exceptional during our visit though, with chatty chefs, polite service staff and near perfect crowd control – we are not kidding about the crowd.

If you are feeling lazy to step out for dinner like us, Breez Bistro Bar is a pretty decent restaurant in the hotel. We had the Executive Set Dinner, relatively value for money at $36 for three-course (appetiser, main and soup or dessert) or $42 for four-course (appetiser, main, soup and dessert).

I had low expectations of the food here, but it turned out to be surprisingly good for the price. Some memorable highlights are the mains like the Chargrilled Rib-Eye Steak, Pan-Seared Salmon Fillet and even the pita bread served with compliments before our course started.

In any case, whenever you are feeling the need for some bites, you will just be steps away from both the Marine Parade Hawker Centre and the Katong enclave food haven! We took the opportunity to head out and dig into the famous 328 Katong Laksa, and if you are in the mood for some brunch food, you can check out the nearby Holqa Cafe too.

Overall Experience: Frankly, Hotel Grand Mercure Singapore Roxy exceeded my expectations in many ways. While it may not be the posh hotels we wished to be housed in, nor a boutique hotel for the perfect instagram shot, it is here where I find myself most at ease. And is that not why we all seek for the perfect weekend staycation?