This is an intriguing hotel: one the one hand, it's immaculate, modern and looks almost brand-new throughout. It has a smart, clean, lobby area and a great rooftop pool. The rooms have a pleasing modern-minimalist aesthetic, with subdued greys and browns throughout. The bathrooms are great - stone effect and well lit. The super-king bed was very comfortable: huge, great mattress and pillows, high thread-count sheets. The A/C worked great. Location is also amazing: a bus-stop right outside the lobby doors, across the street from Bencoolen MRT and just around the corner from Dhoby Ghaut MRT . It's a 5 min walk to the National Museum. It couldn't be more central.
What I can't make sense of, is that the hotel has ZERO catering: the lobby has an open-plan seating area with a bar/catering area at one end. It could be the coolest, hipsterish, hangout. But it's dead. There is no restaurant, not even a coffee shop or a morning breakfast bar. Obviously, there's no room service either. What's up with that?
I've spent a whole month at 30 Bencoolen this year (two weeks in March, and two weeks in September). I wouldn't have returned if I wasn't happy to stay there, but I do think they need to sort out the catering arrangements - it doesn't feel like a proper hotel without catering, and I can't help feeling that they are missing out on a huge opportunity to turn this great property (which as I've said looks brand new) into a very hip hangout for travelers and locals alike.