CONFIRM: FAIRMONT

actually we replied to the banquet manager that we have confirm to choose fairmont for our banquet on the same day but it takes time to prepare the contract so we went down today to sign it... As the original manager was on leave, we were assigned to another manager to sign the contract... actually we prefer today manager as she seem nicer, more assuring but perhaps the original manager is the HOD & been in the business for so long, so he may sounded abit more complacent.... but no matter.... so we went down, signed the contract & paid the $5K deposit... *$$$ fly away*

although fairmont is a big hotel (5star wor), their payment policy is kind of irritating... from what we know and also heard from friends that, normally the final payment will be made after the banquet.. ie: next day morning or upon checkout... BUT the manager told us that we have to settle the payment IMMEDIATELY after the banquet.. we were like WHAT?!??!?! whats with the rush man??? coz the hotel would have gotten our credit card details 1wk before actual day & they would have confirmed with the bank that we have enough credit limit to pay... so why so rush?? only then we understand why the manager suggested to us to make progressive payment... such that the final bill will be just a small amount to pay on the actual day... so kns 1... as a result... we have to start applying for credit cards for the progressive payment in order to earn those cash rebates... oh well... what to do... but at least we secured our hotel =)

appt with fairmont singapore

as mentioned in the previous post that we were on waiting list but after much pestering at the fairmont staff, we finally gotten a reply that the couple before us decided to hold their banquet earlier so YEAH!!! we have our chance!!!!!

Location: GREAT!!! just above raffles city = city hall mrt... how convenient can you get? hot sun, downpour, strong wind, etc... all doesnt matter since is sheltered & indoor all the way from mrt unless you take bus then that is another story
Price: $1199++, min 20 tables
Includes: 8 course cantonese dinner, 1 night stay at suite + helper room, 15% parking coupon & invitation card for 70% of the guests
Ballroom: due to our limited number of guests, we are only given atrium ballroom... the bad thing is that there are 2 pillars inside & is quite in the way so the manager suggest us that we put the stage in an orientation that will minimize the blockage as much as possible...as a result, the march in will be from the "back door"... slight disadvantage but hey... only walking in twice... no big deal la.... i think in this orientation, if put about 22-23tables should not have any blockage...... forgot to ask how high was the ceiling but average, i guess 2.6-3m+... the reception area is private so even when there are 5 banquets on the same day, the guests wont be squashed with other people

atrium ballroom layout, box with cross=pillar, w = door

Conclusion: actually i didnt know fairmont exist... shua ku me.... i always thought it is just another building under swiss hotel... but i am not totally wrong since fairmont & swiss hotel are owned by the same rich guy... back to proper stuff... i think fairmont is definitely the best choice we have among those that fit into our selections... the banquet manager was quite ok but my fiance felt that he tend to exaggerate his speech but i think that is still a small issue... parking coupon is lesser than usual but judging from the convenient location, i think it should be fine... actually after yesterday experience with the 3 other hotels, i am kind of sian of searching hotels already & due to our tight schedule... i think we will 90% confirm fairmont & sign the contract next week...

appt with riverview hotel

the last hotel for the day... took a bus from dhoby ghaut there... actually missed the shop, must stop at the grand copthorne then walk over...

Location: not very convenient, although have buses around, still have to walk a distant to reach the hotel
Price: $738/$838/$918/$1088/$1188/$1388++, min 10tables
Includes: 7-9 courses menu depending on the price, 1 night at suite + helper room, invitation cards for 70% guests, 20% parking coupons
Ballroom: at level four, 3.67m ceiling, the ballroom is quite spacious but the orientation is abit weird.. the march in is actually crooked due to the position of the door.... but i think that is not a major issue.

ballroom layout, w=door

Conclusion: the hotel exterior actually look kind of old & the interior renovation was also average.. my nose is quite sensitive so i can smell this musky smell which probably due to the hotel age... the advantage is the selection of different menu but personally if anything more than $918++ for riverview, i think is over-priced since the hotel didnt not very nice...

appt with hotel fort canning

2nd hotel on the list, the hotel that i always wanted to check out... we had our lunch at PS then walked up fort canning hill...

Location: somewhere in the middle of fort canning hill, behind park mall... NOT convenient coz there is no bus to the hotel, only transports are cars or your own legs... that is definitely a major disadvantage
Price: $1268++, min 18 tables
Includes: 8 courses cantonese dinner, 1 night at premium king bridal room, invitation cards for 70% guests, 20% parking coupons
Ballroom: at level one, is actually below the lobby floor... lavender ballroom is quite spacious, 3.3m ceiling... pillars are at front & back of the ballroom so no obstruction for the guests... reception area is also quite spacious

lavender ballroom layout, box with cross = pillars, w = doors

Conclusion: the hotel definitely look very nice... those English mansion style, very grand... the bridal room is also very lovely but the location is a major turn off... we cant expect the guests to climb up the hill ma... unless we cater our own bus to transport the guests up but that will cost extra $... also the price is quite steep so sadly... probably we wont choose that lovely hotel

appt with ParkRoyal kitchener

parkroyal was the first appt we had for that day....

Location: nearby mrt = farrer road on the NEL line, NOT farrer park on circle line... i actually mixed it up when i first heard the location... so is actually around little india area & the hotel is just opp city square mall... although just across the road, due to the heavy traffic, it may take awhile to just reached the hotel
Price: sat dinner = $988Nett, min 25 tables
Includes: 8 course cantoese cuisine, complimentary wine/confirm table, 1 night stay at suite, invitation cards for 80% confirmed guests, 20% parking coupons
Ballroom: located on 2nd floor, ceiling abit low but the main problem was that there was 6 pillars & to make it worst, the whole room was surrounded by mirrors!!! i mean mirrors supposed to make the place look big, but when there are so many mirrors, it kind of look weird & together with the old looking carpet, the place just give me a hk dim sum restaurant feel...

ballroom layout, box with cross = pillar, w = door

Conclusion: the manager was quite nice, explained to us in details but sadly could not check out the suite since it was occupied... the cheap price is definitely a major advantage.. NETT price lea... how good is that man... but the pillars + mirrors in the ballroom are the down sides.... but still worth considering

continue the search for dinner banquet hotels

so after meeting with master david yesterday, we immediately resume our search for hotels... since the auspicious dates given to us by master david was different from master long, we have to revisit those hotels that we called previously... Last time, we can still play hard to get then just select those "better" hotels (those that fit our criteria) but now we are DESPERATE, so we just called every single hotels on the list & sad to say, majority of the hotels were fully booked for nov 2014.... I still thought maybe can just act rich & try out four seasons or Fullerton but sorry... full also.... my god, there are really rich people around who can afford those high class places wor....  BUT not all is lost, we still managed to find 8 hotels that still have slot for our date

1. Fairmont Singapore
- we are actually on waiting list coz there is a couple before us who are going down to meet the banquet manager this weekend, so they get the priority
2. Parkroyl at kitchener
- there are also 2 other couples who made the enquiry but nothing was confirm so we still have our chance
3. Hotel fort canning
- i always wanted to check out this hotel, so am really excited to go down
4. Riverview hotel
- attracted to this hotel coz the package was one of the cheapest
5. York hotel
- honestly, i didnt know the existence of this hotel till i start the search... is actually situated in between goodwood park hotel & mount Elizabeth hospital, kind of ulu
6. Pennisular excelsior
- is actually on top of the pennisular plaza, look kind of run down... & then i read some bad reviews about the hotel from the forum, so probably not going to choose it
7. Sentosa, resort world
- one of the newer hotel but price quite steep & then the need to travel into sentosa... quite a turn off
8. Beaufort Sentosa
- not sure of the exact location but definitely in sentosa... again... price quite steep

after considering the hotel choices we had, we decided to go down & meet the banquet managers for the first four listed

PS: just enclosed below the list of hotels that i called for reference

consultaion with master david tong

i must do some ranting first before going to the actual post... As mentioned in the earlier post that I went to see master long for my auspicious dates, i went back to tell my parents about the good news & you know what, my mama complained & said that master long was not good enough, didnt give enough information... i was like WTF!?!?!??! 3yrs worth of dates not good enough?? answer is NO... she said where got people give you so many dates... not supposed to let you (meaning us) choose the dates, the master should choose the best dates (maybe 2 to 3 of them) then must tell you what to do at the EXACT timing for the respective dates.... those were the exact words she told me during our argument.... i totally rolled eyes... i agree we should be abit superstitious to get an auspicious dates, then gotten already say not happy... like OMFG!!! !@@#*$(#$#)*%)#*%&)@&!*#_! damn angry la.... but ok... fine... after calm down, i told mama.. fine.. i will find another master & you tell me EVERYTHING that she want to know.... so i quickly arranged an appt with master long & luckily managed to squeeze into a slot today.... ok... enough of complain... back to the topic...

Location: i not sure if master long doesnt have a proper office or he doesnt like people to go to his office... the meet up is all outside.. my fiance & I met him at The central Starbucks... well... location doesnt really matter since it is the consultation that counts
Price: $130Nett
Experience: quite a young guy to be a feng shui master (he is approx 40yr old)... i guess is a personality thing & his busy schedule, he tends to talk very fast but still manageable.... he gave us about 5dates to choose from with ranking... like master long, david also gave us a printout of the necessary steps & things to get for the wedding... the customary things that he mentioned was the same as what I heard b4... then according to him, there seem to be more things that we need to take note of

Feedback: I wont say which master is better since they are good in their own ways.. but i think for a more traditional person, perhaps master david seem to be a safer choice... & for those who are more flexible with the dates & the customary.. master long is good too.... master david has his own website, so anyone can take a look at the services he provide & also some testimonials... www.cmgconsulting.com.sg