Le Meridien Changi Village
(no longer a Le Meridien)
The Le Meridien Changi is not longer a Le Meridien. It is now branded under Changi Village Hotel.
The hotel is located in Changi and has an hourly shuttle service to Changi Airport. In the neighbourhood of the hotel is not much to see and you probably need a taxi to reach downtown Singapore. The connection to public transportation is only a bus service. Since the room rates of this hotel are sometimes cheaper than for hotel in downtown one should consider this hotel over a downtown hotel if one has an overnight transfer with an late arrival and early departure. Even back in the times branded as a Le Meridien
I only considered this hotel if I spent less than twelve hours in Singapore. Rates for a taxi from the airport to downtown hotels or the Changi Village Hotel are not much different.
The hotel is nicely designed as triangle around a courtyard. During the night, it is nicely illuminated with different coloured lights. The lobby is huge and styled as atrium with the check-in counter on the right side and some lounge chairs on the left side, where also one of the restaurants is located. Another restaurant is located a few steps higher than the lobby opposite the entrance.
The elevators to the floors are open to the lobby in the lower part and the courtyard in the upper part. The gym is located as far as I remember on the third floor. The roof top pool is on the top floor, where also another restaurant could be found.
The two highest floors were labelled as Executive Floor and there is a place which could serve as Executive Lounge. However, this was closed during all of my stay in this hotel.
visited on Pazifikhopping 2006, Pazifikhopping 2007
stays: 25 May 06 - 28 May 06 - 20 May 07 (Far East Hotel)
Arrival Date: 25 May 2006
Departure Date: 26 May 2006
Room type booked: Standard
Rate Plan: Le Meridien Passport Rate
Room Number: 604
Room Rate: 140.00 SGD (excl. taxes)
Status of Guest Program: Gold
I took a taxi from the airport, since the shuttle had left ten minutes before I arrived at the meeting point and I did not want to wait another 50 minutes. The taxi charged me 12 SGD for the drive from the airport. I arrived late in the afternoon round about 20.00 in this hotel and had to queue for check-in a few minutes. Two counters were open, but both agents were busy checking guests in and out.
As it was my turn, they had to search for my reservation. Fortunately, they found it before I had to hand them my print out of the confirmation. I was told I was upgraded to Executive Floor and the way to the room was explained to me.
I took one of the elevators and was on my way to my room.
The room was small, but offered a balcony. The interior was nice; however the quality of the furniture looked somehow cheap. TV, wardrobe, desk with LAN connection for a fee as well as tea and coffee facilities were available.
The bed was comfortable, a bit of the softer side. The bed looked like a foldable bed, but from what I see, it just looked like. Somehow a bit unpractical styled, since you barely could reach your bedside table.
The bathroom features a window to the room. It consists of toilet, sunk and bath with rainforest shower head and an normal shower head. The rainforest shower head was leaking and you could not avoid flooding the bathroom.
Towels were provided for two persons.
The downside, there were quite some noise in the corridors on this floor. And I could hear every voice spoken by guests while passing the door to my room.
Check-out took some time, as they were again some people queuing. This seems to be the usual procedure at this hotel, because the most people take a taxi from the airport but the shuttle to the airport.
Arrival Date: 28 May 2006
Departure Date: 29 May 2006
Room type booked: Standard
Rate Plan: Le Meridien Passport Rate
Room Number: 201
Room Rate: 140.00 SGD (excl. taxes)
Status of Guest Program: Gold
I arrived really late this time around 23.00 at the hotel.
I had the same check-in agent as on my stay three days earlier and as she read my passport she remembered me and changed my assigned room on the sixth floor to a room on the second floor. Beside this, the procedure was this time faster than before and there was only one other guest checking in.
This time I got a corner room / junior suite. The interior was nice, but again I found the quality of the furniture below that you expect in design oriented hotel. The room was round and thus gave them a nice touch. The room had a wardrobe, a desk, TV and a huge bathroom with separate shower and two sunks. The shower head was in better condition than in the room I had on my previous stay.
I do not know, but I had the impression it was quieter on this floor, although this was a lower floor. It probably might be, because I was really tired at this point.
Check-Out was the same procedure as the Friday before – I was just an hour later. Again, a few people were queuing and waiting to be checked out and board the shuttle bus to Changi airport.
Arrival Date: 20 May 2007
Departure Date: 21 May 2007
Room type booked: Standard
Rate Plan: Best Available Rate
Room Number: ???
Room Rate: 145.00 SGD
Status of Guest Program: N/A
This time, we looked for a hotel for one night. As our planed flight arrived late and we were leaving the next morning in the morning, we decided against a hotel in downtown Singapore. In the end, we had an earlier flight and thus would have preferred a hotel in downtown. Anyway, relaxing at the pool was not bad either.
We choose this hotel, because the rates were low and the value for money seems to be not bad, especially since the hotel participates at the boarding pass privileges program of SQ which means an addition 10 percent off the room rate.
This time, we got the Standard room we had booked. This time the hotel no longer member of any of the big chains, no status helped to get a better room.
The design was, though I have not taken any pictures, the same than room # 604, but the room had regular twin bed and the room was a bit smaller facing the courtyard.
Bathroom was the same, also flooding the bathroom if you take a shower and use the rainforest shower.
The pool, I experienced for the first time, was nice, and you could watch planes arriving at SIN.
The behaviour of some guests at the pool however could have been a bit better.
Comparing this stay to my stay in 2006 as this hotel was branded as a Le Meridien I would rate this stay as not that bad. Giving the fact that we had originally planned to arrive around 20.00 and leave around 7.00 this would have been a good choice. I would choose this hotel again, if my chains in downtown Singapore are much more expensive and I have only an overnight transfer. Giving the fact that a ride by taxi to downtown is not that much more expensive and some hotels could be reached by public transportation
quite easily a hotel in Singapore is the better way to go if you arrive earlier than 19.00 and leave later than 10.00.