8.9/10Very Good1302 Reviews
Marina Bay Singapore|1.3km from downtown
Picked Lyf at Funan cause of its accessibility to performance venues plus work.
This is the second time staying at an Ascott group and serviced apartment-type hotel.
The Lyf guards/staff were super helpful during check in.
Rooms were from level 5 onwards, situated on both sides of the lift and via a secured door of which we had to tap our room card to access the corridor of rooms. Meaning corridor of rooms (left and right side of the lift) also had its own secured entrance.
We could even use the DiscoverASR app on our phone to access our hotel room. Love this idea so much. I feel all hotels should implement this system.
There was a black board outside each room for us to draw something should we wish. Each room also came with its own unique door design, which resembled local gates and doors in Singapore. Which is pretty cool!
Hotel room was fairly clean, but I did find a huge fingernail on the sheets at one point, which I threw in the bin.
Bathroom was good. While I do appreciate the compact creativity of the bathroom, it does not allow a guest to place the bathroom mat in the bathroom itself, without risk of getting it wet or soaked. Instead, placing it outside (in the bedroom) felt more feasible, though not aesthetically pleasing.
Love the Ideology shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, and hand wash! They always reminds me of Aesop products.
Shower water pressure was good, and one could choose between shower head or rain shower.
AC was good too, though I do wish that we are able to adjust the temp. I tried to set it lower than 20, but was unable to.
Bed was an interesting structure of a mattress on a wooden (plank) “shelf”, which meant that it was lower than a normal bed height. This allowed for better usage of the room space, though older guests might find trouble getting up. I do love that there was a small space from the mattress, which allowed us to place our phone/charging devices, even a drink beside us.
There was a small room safe was underneath the bed too. However, as the middle leg of the wooden structure also supported the weight of the structure, this meant that one might stub their toes/feet into it.
Guests mentioned that they didn’t like having to crawl across the bed to draw the blinds up and down, which is exactly I had to do too.
As there was some landscaping works going on, I also saw a giant grasshopper outside. Very nature vibes!
There was breakfast provided daily on Level 5. Nothing fancy but still pretty decent. There was a mix of local/asian and some western cuisine on the menu. Staff at the breakfast area were super amicable and efficient.
Appreciated that there was a small kettle, and two mugs in the room. Which meant there was no need to head to communal kitchen for hot water should one decide to have a cuppa or instant soup.
There was however no mini fridge in the room. And no telly either, not even a small one. Not a huge issue as a staycation, but might have been a deterrent if I had been visiting.
At 18sq metres, this basic one of a kind room was also much smaller than the Lyf on Elizabeth St in Melbourne - which had a telly and fridge, at 22sq metres.
There was however considerable good usage of the room at Lyf @ Funan. Hanging racks instead of a wardrobe. Shelves of sorts, and hidden corners to put your stuff in.
Some worked better than others. As I normally make my bed before checking out, I wondered if it was more difficult for housekeeping to make the beds of these sort of rooms considering the height and the fact that it’s wedged to the end at the window.
Nevertheless, albeit the shortcomings in the functionality of a some design aspects, I would definitely still stay here again, if the price was right.
They have strong competition from nearby hotels.
Place is good. Safe, and easy to get to, even if it’s past midnight or 6am in the morning. The entrance to Funan is actually open, and there’s a straight lift to the hotel. maccas downstairs that opens till 2am.