Reply (Email) From Marina Mandarin Hotel

Previously, I have written about my stay at Marina Mandarin both on this blog as well as a Tripadvisor review. My current recommendation is DO NOT STAY HERE.

The hotel subsequently sent me a email detailing the investigations they have done.

I found it interesting as I did not email any complaint to the management, but they took the effort to track me down.

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On 1 Oct, 2013, at 10:56 AM, "Wehinger, Kurt" <kurt.wehinger@meritushotels.com> wrote:

Dear Dr Ee

Thank you for your support for the Marina Mandarin and for sharing with us your feedback on your recent visit.

I am embarrassed by our inefficiency and would like to offer my sincere apologies for the service lapse.   We would like to assure you of our continuous efforts to improve our services and to meet our customers’ expectations wherever possible.

I have investigated into your feedback and would like to share with you the following findings:

Upgrading of room

Our Reception agent was at fault in assigning you to the next available room, which was a Premier category when your Deluxe room was not ready, and later changed it to an Executive Deluxe when this latter room became available.  The agent concerned has been advised to adhere strictly to our procedures and seek the assistance of her superior when in doubt. The misunderstanding between you and our staff could have been avoided.

Internet service

We are in consultation with our Broadband vendor to upgrade our infrastructure to meet the increasing demand. This investment has been proposed for in our Budget 2014/2015 to our owners.

Breakfast quality

Our Culinary team has been advised to constantly review their food replenishment, especially nearer to the breakfast closing time.

Re-used keycard jackets

We hope to have your understanding that our hotel is not re-using the jacket for the sake of cost cutting (the cost for each jacket is negligible), but rather it is our FO team’s initiative towards a “Green” environment.  Our hotel has been supporting the Green Mark for years and we encourage our staff to actively participate in this campaign.  In this instance, returned keycard jackets are sorted for their good quality and cleaned before re-using.  It is apparent that the jacket issued to you was missed during quality checks.

Dr Ee, your feedback is important to us as it enables us to take remedial actions to our shortfalls and maintain our high service standards.   We will definitely heed your advice to improve the overall experience for all our guests. 

Please do not hesitate to contact me should you require my assistance.

Yours sincerely,

___________________________________

KURT O. WEHINGER

GENERAL MANAGER

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I guess I am rather amused by the reply but somehow this quote came to my mind.


"Details of your incompetence do not interest me." - Miranda Priestly, The Devil Wears Prada


One of my friends also told me he would not stay at any Meritus Hotel from now on after reading my review.


Well, methinks Marina Mandarin can be much much better at service recovery. This reply is hardly impressive.

Regards to all readers,
Fred

Marina Mandarin Singapore - August 2013

UPDATE (12 October 2013)
Email reply from GM of Marina Mandarin

Based on the reply, I have changed my recommendation to DO NOT STAY HERE

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The Marina Mandarin is a hotel under the Meritus Hotel Group which is a rather small chain in Singapore, Malaysia and China (http://www.meritushotels.com/en)

The official website of the hotel is http://www.meritushotels.com/en/hotelinformation/marina-mandarin-singapore/about.

This hotel is located at Marina Bay which is near the central business district and other places of interest such as Marina Bay Sands and the Esplanade. The hotel is above Marina Square shopping centre (http://www.marinasquare.com.sg/) and other nearby hotels include the Mandarin Oriental Singapore and the Pan Pacific Singapore. Thus, food and shopping are easier available within minutes of the hotel.

It is also near the Singapore F1 night race track http://www.singaporegp.sg/.

The entrance at the ground floor houses a small lounge and a peek at the hotel upstairs.

One may also enter the hotel by the side entrances from Marina Square.

The main Lobby

One may hear birds chirping in the lobby and the sounds are actually live from the songbirds in cages on the upper floor of the lobby.

The Room

My room is a Premier Room which is suppose to be "Planned with the well-travelled in mind, the “business class” Premier Rooms and Suites offer an unprecedented level of luxury with a spacious working desk, a 37-inch plasma screen television and 12 hours of complimentary wireless/wired broadband Internet access."

 The view from the room is rather good and the Mandarin Oriental (to the left) looks particularly impressive.
Marina Bay Sands is located across the bay.

The Pool

The pool is starting to look tired (the hotel was completed in 1987) and I would certainly recommend renovations soon.

The Food and Drinks

The buffet restaurant Aquamarine and Chinese restaurant Peach Blossoms are the highlights of the hotel but I feel the standard has dropped tremendously and the food overpriced.

Breakfast buffet was poorly organized and food was not replenished promptly.

And yet, the restaurant is award-winning.

The Service

I would rate the hotel as poor in terms of service.

Check-in was always difficult and time-wasting.

At this visit, I was given a Premier Room as mentioned but was downgraded to a Executive Deluxe and the staff (including the manager) did not handle the situation well when I confronted the front desk agents.

Being a eat@mandarin (the hotel's loyalty program) member, I was certainly unhappy about the incident.

The internet was also very problematic and I was locked out of my complimentary account early.

The holder for the room card was very worn out and suggests the hotel has strict cost-cutting measures.

In conclusion, the hotel is great for its location, but is otherwise unremarkable as a 5 star hotel.

Updated: The hotel does not value its guests at all. DO NOT STAY HERE.