40th entry - a perfect weekend getaway

On 14 Jul, S and I had a wonderful weekend getaway at Grand Copthorne Waterfront hotel at Havelock Road, which is along the Singapore River. We were given a high floor Superior Plus room, which had a great view of the Singapore River as well as the city centre, a large marble bathroom with separate shower and bath, and a nice king-size bed. Cost? Nothing.

No, we didnt win any lucky draw. Neither did we know anyone in the hotel to get the free stay. It was all because of a feedback form.

S and I booked a weekend getaway package deal with the hotel in June to celebrate our anniversary and also spend time together. We booked the Superior Room package for SGD180+++ with breakfast for 2. At the end of the stay, we felt that the bathroom was giving a bad sewage smell and although we asked for a bathtub we got a shower, and instead of the river view we got the city view.

Disappointed, we wrote our feedback in the hotel's usual form. Not long afterwards, the Manager called us to find out more about the lapse in service. I wrote quite a lengthy email detailing the problems we faced. To convince us that the hotel was sincere in improving their service, the Manager decided to invite us back to the hotel for a complimentary night stay.

I had never encountered such excellent service recovery here in Singapore - in fact, ever, in my life! Because of this manager and the hotel's excellent service attitude, S told me that we should return in future for another stay using the ABN-AMRO bank discount voucher.

The cherry on top of the cake was that at 8.15pm we could see from our hotel room window the magnificent fireworks display from the National Day Celebration Rehearsal at the Marina Bayfront. Hugging each other tightly in the hotel's comfortable complimentary bathrobes, we kissed and made love under the fireworks... It was the most perfect weekend getaway we ever had!