First time visitors to the country staying at this hotel would probably not know that the hotel sits on the very site where SAFRA Bukit Merah used to be, and what is now a seventeen-storey hotel used to be merely five or six storeys with a common corridor stretching out along the entire property, and with two lifelike models of soldiers rappelling down from the roof.
I know.
My place of work used to be down the road, and more often than not, me and my colleague would walk down Bukit Merah to this area for lunch at Anchorpoint, IKEA and sometimes, Queensway. IKEA's meatballs were a favorite then, as were the lunch sets at Jack's Place and Secret Recipe in Anchorpoint.
Jack's Place is still there, but Secret Recipe has gone and is now replaced with Ma Maison. Anchorpoint doesn't seem to have changed much in the last decade, I'd say. The outlet shops are still there. KFC is still there. Xin Wang and Cold Storage are also there. The bookstore downstairs has disappeared, but the food court is there at its corner. The Watsons is still at its usual place, Bengawan Solo hasn't moved, there's still the pet store, and right next to it now there's a Valu$ store.
Really, this neighbourhood has seen a bit of change.
Really, this neighbourhood has seen a bit of change.
And the most dominant one, perhaps would probably be the Park Hotel Alexandra that sits at the junction of Queensway, Alexandra and Bukit Merah.
It is in a strategic location, no doubt, with Queensway Shopping Center (McDonalds!) at one side, Alexandra Village on the other, IKEA behind and Anchorpoint directly opposite.
There is not much for the luxury shopper, the party-goer, or the one who wants to see the glittering, glimmering cityscape of Singapore.
But this area is great for the quirky explorer who wants to walk around the neighbourhood, and they would find themselves having much to see, whether it be the factory buildings, the industrial estates, the public housing board flats, the condominiums, the sprawling IKEA building, the luxury car showrooms, the stretch of greenery along Queensway, the quaint bakeries in the Alexandra Village area, or the street-style shops in Queensway Shopping Center.
This area would be great too for the nature lover, where two bus stops away would lead them to the entrance of Hort Park and thereafter the forested foliage of the Southern Ridges Nature Reserve.
And if they were the in-and-out tourist who preferred making time for the Singapore Zoo, Orchard Road and Universal Studios, there would be the flowers by the lift to welcome them back, whilst up in their rooms, a most wonderful view for them to see.
Of course, brighter than what you see here all this would be on a sunny day- through the dark glass, this was all my camera would grant me- and warmer than this view it would be in the room behind.
That's how they have designed the space to be; a place filled with warmth, complete with the offerings of huge, cheerful cushions, nice linen, a great shower area, work desk, peppermint scented toiletries, business magazines (I finally got to read Forbes after the longest time!), a mini fridge, and most importantly, big mugs for coffee or tea.
Park Hotel Alexandra would not be one I call spectacular, but it is a place good enough to "stone", even if you're local, just for a little while. It is a place that gives you a different perspective of what you know, or what you think you know. It is a place that is comfortable, quiet, with just the right presence of cheer, and yet, leaving you with whatever space you need.
In short, it is a place where you can be just you.
And breakfast at the restaurant downstairs next to the pool does make the whole experience better. After all, you can go all Continental and have pastries and toast with butter and jam. You can go American and have pancakes with eggs, baked beans, bacon and ham. You can go Asian with porridge, dim sum and warm soymilk. Or you can do as I did, go chapalang, eat whatever you want, and have a combination of lor mai kai, pancakes, scrambled eggs, siew mai, Koko Krunch, cherry tomatoes and hash browns.