How many of you out there are like me?

Work in the day, study at night, hanging out friends and taking care of family in-between and you feel like an immense need to breathe?? Well, my friend, you need to take a break!!!

Say what? no time to plan a holiday?? Tell me about it.

Being needed in many different ways (at work, at school, at home) is good, but it can be stressful, REALLY stressful. Luckily, we Singaporeans are creative enough to come up with the concept of staycations (short for stay-vacations!)

While I needed a space to breathe, I also needed a slacking buddy so we can slack together and watch the day go by. And it happens a long-time friend of mine, W, also needed a break from her stressful work, so I got her to come along with me. It was definitely a win-win situation.

Main entrance of Quincy Hotel

We chose one weekend (You have to agree with me, there is no time better than the weekends!!) and checked into Quincy Hotel for a slacking weekend get-together.

I first heard of Quincy through a friend, and then later on from online blogs of other lifestyle bloggers. Photos of the hip and trendy hotel and the glass pool perched on a high floor of the building got me very interested to go have a staycation in Quincy.

Snapshot of Orchard Road

Location of Quincy: Why so far in???

From the google maps, I see that Quincy is just right behind Far East Plaza and Goodwood Park hotel, so natural instincts was to shortcut from the said shopping mall and hotel to get to Quincy. Boy I was so wrong.

12 noon, the sun perch straight up high in the sun, not a gust of wind. My skin was scorched and my feet burned because I had to drag my lil white luggage in an uphill climb. To make things worse, W and I had to detour through another hotel lobby to get to a side gate which gave access to the main road that separates us and the hotel. It was a workout, I tell you!

We discovered later on a more easier path was between behind Paragon shopping centre. Just follow the vehicle road and you get to Quincy in no time.

If you are travelling by train or bus like me, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND to take the road behind Paragon. Longer route, but easier climb. Plus, when you have a friend chatting with you, time and distance becomes much shorter.

Main Lobby, check-in plus dining area further inside

Impression of the lobby: Long and simple

I’m very sure when you enter the lobby, your brain will tell you, “wow, quite small!”.

Unlike mainstream hotels, Quincy is a boutique hotel. Boutique hotels are much more smaller in size, and can be comparative to Inns and some business hotels in the USA, but their service is still as good as the major chain hotels.

Our room

Checking in was a breeze, soon we were up in our room. Quincy has kindly upgraded us to a Deluxe Studio King room, but since I have not seen the smaller one, I cannot tell you if there is any difference.

Our room

I discovered that boutique hotel rooms tend to be smaller than the mainstream luxury hotels. However, I think that the room is still pretty comfortable!

Here’s another look of it from the other side of the room:

Our room

The bathroom is pretty spacious, to my surprise. There is a bathtub along with my favourite rainfall shower!!

The bathroom

I had wanted to soak in the bathtub, but I had later on decided not to; just to save some water in the semi-drought Singapore.

One improvement the hotel can look to is the hot and cold indication on the shower. They have no indication on the shower tap; so if that happens to you too, remember hot water is usually to the left and cold water to the right.

Le bathtub

I have seen other bloggers raving about these Molton Brown toiletries.

You’ll probably be wondering, like I did previously. So what exactly is the fuss about Molton Brown??

I discovered later that Molton Brown is an upmarket luxury cosmetic brand in London that also supplies some of the world’s leading five star hotels with high-quality skin and beauty products.  

I personally love the Ginger Lily shower gel from the toiletries provided!

Toiletries

To save space and make the room appear bigger, the hotel has opted for this glass open closet. All the closet amenities are clear to view.

Although I am not a fan of such closet, but many of you out there will agree that an open closet makes reaching for things much easier. I had literally laid out my little items like perfume bottle to necklace and ear studs on the glass shelf, and it’s really quite easy to see all my things at once.

Open Closet

Oh, not to forget there is also an electrical point embedded in the bedside table to charge your phone conveniently.

Charge your phone by the bedside

Well, there’s even more to expect than just the room. Hot drinks, snacks and drinks in the mini bar fridge are all included in your room booking! So drink to your heart’s fill!

All inclusive! — Mini Bar

Hot drinks and snacks

W was pretty excited with the Nespresso machine.

Haha, I guess if you are an avid Nespresso coffee drinker like her, you’ll be as excited to have a cuppa in the room whenever you want~

Nespresso machine

One small tip from W:

Always run a clear water flush on the Nespresso first before using. An avid staycation-er, she said some hotels don’t wash the machine after the previous guest checked-out, so the inside is rather disgusting.

And so we did:

1st flush test on the in-room Nespresso – All clear water

As you can see, this machine passed the test. All-clear!! Then you can start your cuppa:

Nespresso Coffee

Honestly, I don’t know how to appreciate Nespresso coffee, cause no matter how I taste it, it is just bitter.

However, what got me excited is this fella below:

iPod Dock

An iPod dock!!!

I always enjoy the iPod docks in hotels. I don’t have one at home, so whenever I see this in hotels, I always feel like a kid in a candy store! I quickly whipped out my iPod Classic and stuck it on and start blasting the room with the latest korean drama soundtrack… (My latest favourite is “My love is from another star” soundtrack!! What’s yours??)

Then I almost gone bonkers when I saw this:

Inputs to TV

WHY DIDN’T I BROUGHT MY COMPUTER CABLES WITH ME?!?!?! I could have watched Korean drama streamed from my computer to the huge TV!!

Give me some potato chips let me snuggle in bed and Do Min Jun shii and I’m all satisfied!!! I discovered that new hotels now has this all fitted in the room, which I think, is such a great idea!! You can now view the videos or photos you have captured on that day directly on the huge TV immediately!

Well, since I didn’t bring any cables, and since W and I were at Quincy for their Qool Weekend Package, we got to enjoy all the activities planned, don’t you think?

Currently, included in the Qool Weekend at Quincy Hotel package is a Art Jamming Session where we can do some acrylic/oil painting at the pool deck. If you have been reading my blog, you would have known I’m quite a good painter (lol~) However, one hour to paint something impressive isn’t enough for me. So I opted for something very simple:

Me and my Minion painting

A minion!!!! Okay okay, I admit, I am a little lazy!!!

But don’t you think he’s cute?!?!

My finished artwork

Besides the Art Jamming session, we spent the afternoon catching up with each other.

Like many of you out there and to many of us Singaporeans, W and I lead a pretty hectic life, so it was nice to spend some face-to-face time with each other than just over social networks.

The Dining Area

We chatted over coffee and some simple snacks that the Hotel has provided from Dean and Deluca. Although Dean and Deluca is one of my favourite brands, the pastries provided by the hotel is pretty limited in variety.

Dean and Deluca snacks

I really can’t complain much on these cause it’s quite quiet in the afternoon and you just can’t afford to let food go to waste. However, taste wise, it’s still good!!

Pastries from Dean and Deluca

The coffee station right behind provided me the kind of coffee I wanted. Lattes, espresso and there’s also a selection of teas if you prefer.

However, I think the hotel should consider changing the coffee beans. The roast of the coffee is too strong and bitter. It just flushes out the flavour of the brew completely.

Coffee Machines

They even provided to-go cups for you to take your drinks up to your room or out of the hotel!

Lights up in the evening

If you are going to Quincy with your boyfriend/girlfriend or spouse, I highly recommend to spend some time at the dining area during cocktail hour.

The lights are up and it sets a pretty good mood for those ear-whisperings ‘I-love-you’ and sweet nothings.

Cocktail

I ordered W a cocktail (I don’t drink, unfortunately) or you can enjoy that bottle of red wine that comes with the Qool package.

W relaxing, munching on carrot sticks (lol~)

One interesting highlight that Quincy has is their movie screening by the pool.

Movie by the poolside

Simple chips and drinks are provided at the counter adjacent to the pool. It was showing some period drama movie that night and both of us weren’t interested so we didn’t sit in for the movie.

I wonder if they could screen you specific movies, cause I think it’s a nice place to surprise your other half with a video fit for a proposal! (heheh~ my scriptwriting story brain is working its magic!)

Poolside

In case you are wondering about the size of the pool, it’s about 5-6 strokes for an adult to reach the other end? However, the pool has glass windows below the water level, so it was quite a view to the world below.

Breakfast

Morning breakfast is pretty decent, considering the variety is not as extensive as huge hotels. I also noticed that there are reviews saying the the scrambled eggs being too runny… Guess what? I happen to like runny scrambled eggs!!

Else you can always ask for the perfect sunny side up or omelet from their kitchen staff. They are always happy to make you one.

W enjoying the view

We decided to spend the rest of the morning lazing in the room and W said I need to take this above shot. She said it’s like the “mandatory” shot many have taken on places with a window sill. Is it true? Hmm~

Me relaxing on the sill

The 2014 Qool Weekend package includes:

• One night stay at The Quincy Hotel’s Studio Room (twin-sharing)
• All-day light refreshments by Dean & DeLuca and Modesto’s
• Couple Art Jamming classes (Saturdays and Sundays, 3-4pm)
• Movie Nights by/in the pool (Saturdays, 9pm)
• One bottle of red wine
• Evening cocktails
• Complimentary in-room mini-bar
• Late check-out till 3pm (subject to availability)
• Complimentary WiFi

Wheelchair access:

The hotel although does not seem to have specific wheelchair-friendly rooms, there is lift access on every floor. The corridors may be snugly, so I would suggest to ask for a room nearer to the lift.
(Let me double check with the hotel again and I will update here with the correct information.)

Thank you Quincy!

MY RATINGS FOR QUINCY HOTEL: 4.5/5 

The location is great to begin with, smack in the centre of Orchard Road, a stone throw away the whole chain of shopping malls. If you are done with the noise of shopping, you can throw your legs up and relax in peace and quiet at Quincy. The hotel is great for couples, good friends, shopaholics, and even medical travelers as Mount Elizabeth hospital is just next door. (I have my reserves to put in the word “family” since I find the place a little small and does not have a lot of space for kids to run about.)

It is definitely a good place to hide away from the urban noise, right in the middle of the busy urban setting. You never get bored, that’s for sure.

Thank you Quincy!

*All above facts and figures are accurate as of 30 March 2014.

Quincy Hotel

22 Mount Elizabeth,
Singapore 228517
Tel: 6738 5888
Email: info@quincy.com.sg
website: www.quincy.com.sg
To book the Qool Weekend Package 2014: Click here

More stories soon~

*Above staycation was sponsored by Quincy Hotel and Far East Hospitality. Please note that although the hotel stay is sponsored, quality of my reviews of hotel are not compromised.*