Hello everyone – welcome back to another of my reviews. In today’s article, I’ll be reviewing my stay at M Social.
With its chic youthful aesthetic, M Social is one of the more popular choices amongst millennials for staycations. After seeing several of my friends posting its iconic high ceiling rooms on their social media, I decided to book a stay for myself to see how it fares.
M Social – Video Review
For those interested in seeing some hands-on footage of the hotel, do check out my Youtube review of M Social below:
M Social – the Brand
Part of the Millennium umbrella of properties, M Social first opened its doors in 2016. A mid-sized 4-star hotel with 293 rooms, M Social occupies the mid-range of Millennium’s portfolio, and is mainly aimed at the millennial crowd.
Traveloka is currently running a promotion with M Social whereby guests can enjoy an early 11am check in, late 4pm check out, 20% discount on F&B, and free breakfast – on weekends! It seemed like a good deal to me, and thus I promptly pulled the trigger on a Sunday stay.
M Social – Check-in
M Social is located in Robertson Quay, on the outskirts of River Valley.
I have to admit – M Social is a challenge to get to by public transport. It’s not near to any MRT, and I had to rely on a variety of buses to get there. It’s also not particularly near any shopping malls, though there are a variety of food options in the vicinity.
I was expecting a short queue since it was a Sunday, but I was nevertheless surprised at the snaking queue of guests waiting to be checked in. The waiting area was unconditioned as well, so it was a hot and sweaty one-hour wait – by far the longest I had to wait to be checked in.
It appears the reason for the bottleneck is that there are only 3 counters available for check-in. I believe M Social should look into its processes to expedite this – an hour wait is far too long. On the plus side, the Peranakan inspired tiling of the lobby reflects the chic nature of the hotel well, with the pink-tinted cabinets in particular reinforcing its youthful vibe.
I was intrigued to see that Maison 21G’s products are on display. I enquired with the hotel staff, who told me that guests can actually book a perfume workshop, which will be held on the hotel’s premises. However, it would be remiss of me not to point out that you can actually use the promo code “WAHSOSHIOK” to enjoy 15% off Maison 21G’s products online, and the code “WAHSOSHIOK21” to enjoy 21% off workshop bookings.
The corridor features red carpeting, but felt a tad too narrow for my liking. I had to squeeze and manoeuvre myself to bypass the cleaning cart (pictured above) – not ideal.
M Social – Alcove Cosy Queen
Unfortunately, the cramped nature of the corridor extends to the room as well.
My first impression of the Alcove Cosy Queen was that it was indeed…cosy. It’s advertised as 19 sqm, but the room felt like 14-15 sqm instead. In fact, I highly doubt that the Alcove Cosy Queen, or at least the room that I was assigned, was 19 sqm large. For comparison, the Studio Premier room of Wanderlust was advertised as 16 sqm, and it’s definitely bigger than the Alcove Cosy Queen. However, the ceiling was indeed high, which made the room feel cosy instead of claustrophobic.
On the right of the entrance stands an open concept wardrobe. It’s pretty bare bones, coming across as functional rather luxury. There’s a small space and a couple of hangers where you can hang your clothes, as well as a pair of disposable room slippers.
There’s an electric kettle for boiling water, a pair of mugs, Nescafe coffee sachets and Raffles Lighthouse branded tea – the same that are also provided at Orchard Hotel.
Below is a safe in case you have a six-figure watch that requires added security.
Last but not least, there’s also a mini-fridge. It’s definitely on the smaller side, but I was still able to fit a bottle of wine, though there wasn’t much space left for much else.
On the left of the entrance are the room switches, which includes Do Not Disturb and Housekeeping signals, as well as lighting for the room mirror, toilet and entrance. However, the switches looked grimy and well-worn – certainly not in the best condition.
Due to its “cosy” nature, the room is only large enough to fit a Queen bed. I had no complaints with the bed – it was clean, and relatively comfortable to sleep in, though not particularly spectacular. However, I disliked the square pillows that were provided. I would have much preferred the regular rectangular pillows, preferably made out of microfibre. My guess is that the hotel opted for these sofa cushion-esque pillows in a bid to make the Queen bed look larger, but the pillows lack the support of traditional ones, thus resulting in compromised sleep quality.
What I did like was the pair of bedside lamps, power ports, switches and tables that flanked the bed. This meant that both parties will have ample space to charge their phones/put their accessories before heading to bed, and can also both control the bedside lighting. On the left is a modern-looking landline phone that looks much sleeker than the regular corded phones found in hotel rooms.
M Social employs the sink in room concept, which I’m not a fan of as it entails exiting the bathroom (and touching the handles, etc) with dirty hands. Still, the sink is a pretty one, with a backlit mirror that looks primed for Instagram selfies. Plenty of toiletries are also provided, compartmentalized neatly in a separate area so that they won’t get wet.
Beside the sink is the workstation, which is definitely not an ideal arrangement. Unfortunately, there’s also no Herman Miller here. Instead, guests get a basic IKEA-ish chair, though the marble top table is a nice touch. However, the entire space felt cramped – notice how close the chair is to the bed. That being said, I doubt many come to M Social for a workcation.
However, there are plenty of power ports, as well as an ethernet port so connectivity will not be an issue.
What I did like was the modern, flat screen 42-inch Samsung smart TV. The picture quality was good, and I had no issues connecting my phone to the television via Apple Airplay.
The view of the room is nice, though a tad misleading. At first, I assumed that the room overlooked the hotel pool, but found out later that the pool actually belongs to the adjacent condominium instead.
A key feature of the room is the see-through bathroom window, which allows one to glimpse whoever’s in the bathroom in their full glory. If you’re a couple on a romantic getaway, this might set the tone for frisky business later. If not, fret not as there are blinds available for more privacy.
Moving on to the bathroom, it’s one of the smallest I’ve seen – a parking lot would literally be bigger. It features a modern toilet bowl with a concealed cistern, though unfortunately without a bidet.
There’s also a Grohe rain shower, as well as a handheld showerhead. Being Grohe, the water pressure was strong and the temperature was stable, resulting in a pleasant showering experience. Due to the see-through nature of the window, those showering will be able to see the activities of those in the room, assuming the blinds have not been lowered for more privacy.
The toiletries provided are generic Millennium-branded ones, again the same sort that was provided in Orchard Hotel. They get the job done, but it’s certainly not a luxurious bathing experience by any means.
M Social – Amenities
Being a full-fledged hotel, M Social boasts both a gym and a pool.
The gym is of a decent size, and comes adequately furnished with multiple treadmills, stationary bikes, as well as free weights and a bench. There’s even a yoga ball, should that be more of your thing. It’s certainly not as impressive as the gym of Parkroyal Pickering, but it’s more than enough for a quick workout.
The rooftop pool is scenic – I observed multiple guests taking pool shots and selfies. There are plenty of lounge chairs to rest on the side, and its open-air nature makes it a great spot to watch the sunset. However, the actual pool itself is rather narrow, and can only comfortably accommodate two guests doing laps. If you’re planning on doing actual swimming, this might not be the most ideal.
Conclusion – so M Social “shiok” or not?
Ultimately, M Social was an underwhelming stay. I had high expectations of it given its popularity, but unfortunately it failed to deliver. Firstly, the stay got off on the wrong foot when I had to wait an hour to check in – without air-conditioning. M Social could have made a thoughtful gesture by offering those queuing a cold refreshment, but no such initiative was present. The room itself felt too cosy for my liking too, with the bathroom being particularly cramped. It’s also in an ulu location and quite hard to get to via public transport, so there’s simply no compelling reason to return. I did appreciate the late 4pm checkout, but with its sister property Orchard Hotel offering the same late checkout timing, going with the latter seems to be the clear choice. With more spacious rooms (literally twice the size), bigger facilities, and a convenient location for about the same price, I would definitely recommend staying at Orchard Hotel over M Social.
Those interested in booking a stay can do so on the Traveloka app. Traveloka constantly has some sort of ongoing promotions, with prices so ridiculously low that I’ve personally booked about 90% of my staycations on Traveloka. Just for my readers, you guys can use the promo code “WAHTVLKSRV” (if you’re using SRV) and “WAHTVLK” (non-SRV) for 10% off any hotels bookings (up to $30 off, with a minimum spending of $100) for new users and $5 off any hotels bookings (with a minimum spending of $50) for existing users. The codes are valid till the end of 2022. Here’s a pro tip: keep a lookout for Traveloka’s Weekend Flash Sales which occurs every Friday to Sunday for the lowest prices! However, this post is not sponsored – I paid my own dime to book and review my staycations.
M Social location: 90 Robertson Quay, Singapore 238879
P.S Do check out the new “Discounts!” page for exclusive discounts for Wah so Shiok readers! More brands will be added very soon – stay tuned!
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P.S.S.S Shiok is a common word Singaporeans use to express admiration or approval. As of 2016, you can find the definition of the word in the Oxford English Dictionary.
