News of National Day being postponed got us really excited as there is a possibility of seeing the rehearsal. We requested for a high floor with a view. At the reception we repeated the request and specifically asked for one facing the bay. We were very early in the check-in process so we thought we had a good chance of securing a great view of the fireworks display as rehearsal was scheduled for the Saturday night we were here. The receptionist offered an upgrade for $50 per night which we declined and then her demeanour turned sour and took a long time to find an alternative perhaps a room with the worst possible view to punished us for her failed sales attempt. We confirmed this when we saw the room list in a diagram of the hotel during breakfast when the maitre’d had some discussion with another guest. Our room was the lowest available one on the side opposite the bay! Most of the other rooms were facing the bay on higher floors! After checking with the staff of the hotel about getting points for staying we were told we had booked from a third party instead of directly from the hotel. We are terribly disappointed we missed the fireworks display. Even if we didn’t get the best rooms available at the price range, I don’t believe we were that far behind in queue to get that worst possible room! Lesson learned book direct from hotel if we need to secure a decent room. The hotel however is newly renovated with a minimalist aesthetic. Very pleasant and John Portman’s atrium is still as awe inspiring and jaw dropping as when it was first revealed decades ago. They have turned the area into a forest like enclave with spiral huts and song birds that sing beautifully every morning and occasional in the afternoon. This really adds a beautiful ambience to the place. Because of Covid restrictions, we were not allowed to get our own food for breakfast. But the friendly and warm staff were very efficient and took bespoke orders from any guest with special request. This we were very impressed with. We didn’t get a chance to use the pool for the two days as it rained just when it was our slot to swim. The mall with many eateries are just next door so food is never a problem here even if you didn’t had breakfast with the room. The MRT station is just outside the main entrance which makes for easy exploration of the rest of this island country. I highly recommend it just pray very hard you don’t get a vile receptionist to allot you with the worst room possible, especially when you have asked for the opposite.