The Vagabond Club, Singapore, A Tribute Portfolio Hotel

We recently spent two nights at the Vagabond Club, and we were very impressed. The location is great, right between Kampong Glam and Little India. The vibe is fantastic, with deep, rich maroon throughout the bar and lounge on the ground floor. The rooms aren't huge, but they're very comfortable, and our bed was perfectly firm and gave us a great night's sleep. We'd definitely go back. We would definitely recommend a stay. And if you do, be sure to ask the manager, Kavitha, for the art tour—it's fascinating!

The hotel looked very classy from outside when I got down from my cab. As I made my way inside, I took time to locate the reception desk, which was in the shape of a metallic rhinoceros. The entire lobby area looked very interesting. I was quicky checked-in and given the keys to my room. My room was a deluxe executive room, and it was quirky, but tastefully decorated. The room was small in width, but was very long. I really appreciated the style in which the furnishing and fixtures were done. Everything was extremely clean and well put together and all amenties and comforts were adequately provided. Some points should be noted however: 1. There was no person outside the hotel, or in the lobby to assist with bags. I was not carrying much luggage, so it did not matter to me, but there should ideally have been someone from the bell desk to assist with guest luggage. 2. The hotel does not provide in room dining. I forgot to read this detail on the Marriott website and I found out when I felt hungry later at night. The hotel encourages guests to order using Grab if they wish to eat. 3. The walls of my room were quite thin, and I could hear much of the noise from the adjacent rooms. These aspects aside, this is a remarkable property. My breakfast in the morning was wonderful. Further, their jazz and whiskey club has incredible amience, and they have live music from Thursday to Saturday. Sadly, my stay dates did not coencide, however, I definitely plan on coming back and enjoying a stay at this property over a weekend in the near future.

If you want to avoid the huge corporate hotels in tourist zones, this is a great option. It’s clean and well run. Owned by Marriott (and presumably upholds their standards) but definitely has the feel of a small boutique hotel. It’s located very close to Indian and Muslim sectors so you can go out on foot and explore those neighborhoods. Those shops and restaurants mainly cater to locals so it didn’t feel touristy at all. Didn’t see a single shop selling singapore T-shirts. Fabulous Indian and Lebanese food! The surrounding area isn’t upscale but it is authentic, and of course (like everywhere else in Singapore) felt safe even though we were often tourists walking amongst locals. It’s a short ride to most attractions in tourist zone. But honestly looking back we enjoyed local neighborhoods more than tourist stuff. The hotel is small but unique. They specialize in whiskey and live jazz. The decor is very cool, both in lobby and in rooms. It was quiet except Saturday night when bar patrons in street whooped it up until 3 am. Rooms are on 2nd and 3rd floor, so the front rooms like ours are right on the street. Thus earplugs were needed that night if you have a room on the street. No fitness room but Anytime Fitness is right across the street. No pool but that wasn’t important to us. In-house food is Indian. Bed was very comfortable. Room was smallish but very much met our needs. Had a fridge, desk, safe, etc. Now the best part: The staff. Unbelievable customer service! Small in numbers but sky high in quality. They all speak English fluently of course. One of them comes out to the sidewalk to greet and help us the minute our cab door opened. Someone came up to our room to check on us after we settled. Always warm and smiling. And unlike American hotels, they aren’t always looking for tips as it isn’t their cultural norm. Shakeela helped us on our last day with many details including free luggage storage after checkout. She went above and beyond and was so nice!

Location, food, hotel, excellent. Staff, five star an absolute delight to deal with or just to talk too. You did not need to ask for help everything you needed to know was given freely. Would recommend to everybody.

The vibe of the hotel from lobby to the room and friendliness of the staff is amazing. Jenifer and Avianne welcome us with smile and super helpful for our little one.