Holiday Inn Express Singapore Katong, an IHG Hotel

Annexed to Katong Square and a stone’s throw from i12 Mall and a short walk to Parkway Parade mall, Holiday Inn Express Katong has a great East Coast location. The hotel is modern and clean. Buffet breakfast included in the room rate was fine and WiFi speedy and the room had lots of device charging points including USB sockets. A nice touch was the fresh orange juice machine and the StarBucks Coffee machine at the lobby level. Our family had two rooms and stayed for 8 nights. Our request for adjoining rooms with a double bed in one and twin singles in the other was honoured. We thought the staff were efficient and friendly during the stay. Shower pressure was fantastic and water bottles provided daily. We were located on a “Quiet Floor” and it was indeed quiet, even during typical peak people movement hours in the morning and evening. GRAB can pick you up and drop you off at the hotel entrance which is handy during Singapore’s frequent thunder storms!

Hard to find fault with the hotel, but if pressed would say the rooms are quite small and the “firm” pillows were not firm at all. But in sum, this hotel is outstanding value for money; far better value than the Indigo hotel next door which is owned by the same group (IHG) but is far pricier with slightly larger rooms and breakfast extra.

Breakfast was so good. The location is intermediate between airport and HarbourFront. There are many restaurants within walking distance.

Had everything you needed for a no frills comfortable stay. Breakfast was a nice bonus, standard hotel breakfast fare but very handy to start off the day. Great housekeeping, reception & front desk service. Queries were attended to promptly. Daily bottles of water provided. Powerful water pressure in showers. Comfy beds and bedding. Rooms on the small side but had everything you needed. Plenty of f&b choices surrounding the hotel. Easy access to buses makes getting around a breeze. Umbrellas for loan on a rainy afternoon.

Crowd at breakfast can be rather hectic. Lack of places to sit although the staff did their absolute best. Access to hotel via level 7 was slightly inconvenient with luggage in tow and the steps right at the entrance made maneuvering with luggage tricky just to get to the lifts. Lack of TV & entertainment channels with no streaming services. “Firm” pillows were still quite soft.

My stay started off with the cheery greeting and check in by a very friendly Rosa. My room was smaller than expected but it was comfortable for the 2 of us with small bags. Loved the shower with the strong water pressure. Breakfast was enough for me to start off my day well. Hotel is surrounded by restaurants and connected to Katong Square. A very short walk to Katong 112 too where there is a cinema, supermarket and pharmacies. I loved the vending machines (orange juice, Starbucks & ice cream) found around the hotel lobby. I was all prepared to drop the key into the Express Checkout but was surprised there was no guest at the counter at 12 noon. Both my check in and check out were smooth and swift!

My curtains must be drawn all the time because my view was the condominium next to the hotel which was quite close. On the first morning, I looked for a counter to get in line for breakfast only to realise that there was no counter. It was every man for himself. We had to search for our own seats. The food ran out fast when the dining area was full house. Quite chaotic with people rushing here and there, carrying plates of food in their hands. There were ants crawling all over the table between the 2 beds in the room. The website indicated the room size as 19 sq metres but in reality, it felt like 12 or 13 sq metres.

I loved the variety of breakfast they had everyday. They had baos, noodles, rice, Indian breads and chutneys, sausage and eggs, plates of dragon fruit, and multiple free espresso machines. They had a small limited gym but it rarely had more than one person in it. And the views from the rooms were an unobstructed view of Singapore with floor to ceiling windows. Service was exceptional from all the people I talked to. There was a minor inconvenience that the workers noticed in our room & they immediately switched us to another room to ensure our comfort. The location is decent. There is a row of bars and restaurants nearby that are open late at night and the hotel is located next to a mall. It’s also nearby some busses a few steps away.

The room was slightly small for two people but cozy enough to meet our expectations. The mini-fridge is indeed very mini. But despite these things, I had a great stay. These were slightly off putting upon first glance, but everything else (the included breakfast, the gym and laundry, the fast elevators, the accommodating staff) more than made up for it. Didn’t even think about these shortcomings moving forward.

Staff are extremely cordial and helpful breakfast is very good. A few more vegetarian options would be helpful especially adding oats along side cornflakes maintenance and cleanliness is excellent

Unfortunately, room temperature in the room cannot be regulated. Looks like it is automatic. With the result most of the I am either taking extreme cold in the room or I have to switch off the Aircon for sometime. Reported 3 times in the reception and one time the Maintenance person came but the problem remains the same

Clean and comfortable rooms Helpful staff

Nil

property was clean and quiet. staff was excellent.

Shower leaked into the room. breakfast was not good.

Excellent helpful staff. Johnston was especially great when we checked out. Breakfast is outstanding. A long window to enjoy so suits early and late risers. Something to suit every breakfast preference. Location was great we found it easy to jump on no12 bus to bugis then anywhere we wanted on the MRT. It made us try out restaurants we wouldn’t have previously tried had we stayed closer to cbd. Next year MRT is expected to be up in running for Katong and that will make it even easier. Great laundry with washers ( preloaded with washing powder) for guest use. We tried some delicious restaurants close by and would definitely recommend and we will return next year.

Nothing to not like

The room was cozy, the staff were friendly and helpful, and breakfast had good variety and taste. The hotel is also located in an excellent location, with amenities, heritage buildings and interesting eateries nearby.

The day curtain could not close completely, meaning we either had to sacrifice natural light by closing the night curtain or sacrifice privacy. The toilet could be bigger, it would have been good if the hotel provided Shampoo, and we requested for some items through the app but they did not arrive.