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Robertson Quay is one of my favourite stretches along the Singapore River. Cruisy laidback bistros for beers in the afternoon and everything from burgers to international fine dining in the evenings make it an exciting all-day destination. To get a real sense of the precinct, though, a staycation is in order and for that, the recently reinvented Studio M Hotel is the perfect getaway.
The Rooms at Studio M Hotel
Live, Laugh, Loft. Studio M’s motto encapsulates its approach to both life and architecture. The loft-only concept they embody is the only one of its kind in Singapore. It’s quite an experience walking into one of these specially designed rooms for the first time.
The interior designer’s approach of staggering the space across two floors makes for a very stylish and airy layout for a space that has a footprint of just 22m².
With the study zone above offset from the sleeping area below, the tower of open space over the bed gives you the feeling you’re in a much larger room.
Then, there are the huge panes of glass. Floor-to-ceiling windows take on another dimension entirely when they stretch across 2 levels. On the day I was there, the sky was slightly overcast, which I believe makes for the most beautiful skyscapes. I loved lying on the bed and taking in the expansive view.
I was shaken out of my reverie in the most amazing way possible. The thud-thud-thud of rotor blades reverberated across the sky. In the distance appeared a Chinook helicopter carrying the Singapore flag, flanked by 2 Apaches (yes, this girl knows her military helicopters) as part of the National Day rehearsals. I think I got the full value of the room’s view-centric design in those few minutes.
That said, the washroom and toilet cubicles are smaller than I would have liked. The workspace at the top of the stairs is well-designed and the massive table spanning its width was ideal for my laptop and gadgets.
The Staycation Experience
Elegant as the rooms are, Studio M also has a couple of plans in place to draw you out of your loft and also out of your creative comfort zone.
The first of these is the Studio M Resin Play Staycation (from S$185++). I have long been intrigued by the gorgeous, extremely intricate resin patterns that the experts create with simply a few minutes of intelligent work. This package gives you a chance to put your own stamp on 2 coasters.
You get everything you need, including resin and hardener as well as a choice of regular, glitter and opaque paints. The process itself is deceivingly quick and easy but don’t expect your coaster patterns to turn out like you envisioned them in your head. You will have to leave your handmade wonders to dry and set overnight and collect them the next day.
The workshop was fun, especially watching the colours play with each other as they mixed on my coasters. Personally, I would have liked for the supervision to have been a little closer. It would have helped us avoid some of the novice mistakes that we ended up making. But still, here’s me showing off my masterpieces!
The second package is the Studio M Chocolate Temptation Staycation (from S$240++), which we did not get to try. Both packages come with overnight stay, breakfast for two and complimentary WiFi.
What’s a staycation without some time in the water? The lap pool and jacuzzi on the second level are open to the sun, ideal for you to work on your tan. Adjacent to them is the compact but well-equipped gym for the garang staycationer. So, I did not use it.
When you’re hungry, grab an ethical bite at Memo Café where the focus is on sustainability as much as it is on taste and nutrition. The element I found the most intriguing is the wall of edible greens, which is a vertical garden situated inside the café.
Simply choose what you wish to add to your salad, pluck and enjoy. This concept eliminates harmful emissions inherent to the food transportation process while also guaranteeing the freshest salads and most personal food preparation. Wonderful!
Final Thoughts
If you like a room with a view and the airy feel of a super high ceiling, there are not many hotels that give you a better option at this price. Memo Café offers a good variety of dishes, especially when you consider that the dining options in the immediate vicinity are a bit on the pricey side.
The Resin Play package is lovely and could use some fine-tuning to really thrill guests with the end result. I see myself coming back to try out their chocolate-making workshop, and with friends in tow.
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