Carlton Hotel

[shirldreamz]

ya,there is a new ballroom. I've seen the picture of it. The overall structure will be the same as the old one, but the new one will be pillarless and higher ceiling. It will still be a L-march in.

 

[goldfishy]

Hi Germaine,
I'm not sure how bad they are going to hoard up the lobby area.. I think your coordinator will be the best person to describe in details... At this rate, hv you been surfing around for other possible venues?
From what I've seen, you only have 2 options:
1) Postpone the wedding till you can find better venue
2) Make do with current venue
And both of the options are damaging enough...

 

[carebearz]

Is Calton hotel considered a 4 or 3.5 star hotel? Thanks.

 

[carebearz]

Is Calton hotel considered a 4 or 3.5 star hotel? Thanks.

 

[strawberrie1983]

4 star

 

[goldfishy]

Hi CareBearz,
For the time being it's a 4-star. After their new wing finished built, then they'll be a 5-star hotel.

 

[w3ngal]

i saw the new package for 2010 first quarter, if i am not wrong, per table is something like 998 nett. weekend.

 

[ging3r]

seems like all the banquet price are rising despite the economic downturn =(

anyway june the will be having wedding show.. heard from zack they might have some cash rebates..

 

[strawberrie1983]

Yeah I am out of Carlton!~

 

[shirldreamz]

hi Stella, wat do u mean by out of carlton?

 

[holiday_ger]

congrats stella!

wish you have a perfect wedding at your new venue!

 

[strawberrie1983]

ShirlDreamz (shirldreamz) : I am getting my refund back and moved on to the new htl!

Ger (holiday_ger): thanks!

 

[michecwy]

Hi all, currently carlton is having reno, when wll their reno be completed? anyone knows it?

And anyone sees their photos of how e new ballroom will look like? waiting for them to reply my email, wanted to make an appt wif them for site viewing

 

[snow_angel]

I am also out of carlton and changed to another hotel.

FYI, carlton is willing to give a small discount but it's still not up to my expectation.

 

[strawberrie1983]

snow_angel (snow_angel) : Yea very "small"..So where u moved on? did u change date?

 

[michecwy]

snow, erm.. mayb i know ur reasons for backing out from carlton? is it ur date crash wif e reno? =)

 

[minnie80]

Hi all,

Could anyone clarify the start and end date of the renovation? =)

Thks!

 

[snow_angel]

Stella, I did not change the date because I have informed my close relatives and friends. I have called to some hotels and most ballrooms (M hotel, Hilton, GCW, Novotel and Grand Plaza Park City Hall) are still available as mine falls on a weekday. Now still considering which hotels to choose and my FH and I are pretty surprised most hotels are willing to give much more perks than usual and even discount although I read that they are pretty rigid.

Michelle, my date coincide with the reno and we do not like it especially the renovation at the reception area. I feel that it spoils the whole ambience but probably some do not mind because the wedding banquet will still be in the nice ballroom.

 

[strawberrie1983]

snow_angel: icic okok lucky u..jialat now I had booked Hilton..but hafen sign contract la..happened to see Marina Mandarin oso have weddin show and for wkday quite cheap leh..jialat le..

 

[snow_angel]

Stella, you are also lucky since you have managed to find a hotel. You still can change your banquet venue since you haven't signed the contract. IMO, the food in Marina Mandarin is better than Hilton. Probably, you can compare the pros and cons (cost, perks, ambience, food, etc) for each hotels and see which hotels do both of you like.

 

[strawberrie1983]

But hor I paid the 4k deposit to Hilton le..aiyah nvm la dun wanna change again le..the more i compare, wait mi more pek chek

 

[michecwy]

All, i will be having an appt wif carlton this coming sat.... maybe can ask them to show me the pix of "after reno" of carlton. kekes...

 

[carebearz]

Err..but their current hotel rooms is not undergoing reno right? They're just building a new wing which is more like an expansion project rather than upgrading project.

So can it become 5 star just like that? I thought the entire hotel needs to undergo revamp in order to get a 'status upgrade'?

My friend's having her wedding at Carlton and I'm her bridesmaid. She's worried about the stars of the hotel as it affects the amt of ang pows people give.

 

[thommy]

me and my wife went to Carlton to recce the place that time when we were selecting our venue, went to peek at their ballrooms but we left disappointed. Struck them off our list immediately. The renovation works didn't help matters too.

 

[strawberrie1983]

I will be getting refund from them tmr!! Yeah

 

[rockofice]

Hi all

I was at Carlton today to meet Zack with regards to wedding in Oct 2010. While all the perks he is giving are attractive, I was shocked to learn from the menu that there isn't a dish with abalone. There is only one dish with mushroom and vege. I find it quite unacceptable as I will be paying as much as other hotels but abalone is not included. Any couples know how much is needed to top up to get abalone in the menu?

Zack was so busy today that we only got chance to talk to him for 15min. any one also know whether the solemnisation outdoor is complementary with the dinner banquet?

And I was also disappointed to find out that 10.10.10 was also booked. Sigh =(

 

[michecwy]

hi lilian,

i went to carlton today too, agnes attened to me, her service is really gd.. and could offer us quite alot of perks... for usage of pool, she proposed to me foc. Same goes for the waterfall area, but however, if tt day on ur wedding gt ppl's wedding using the smaller ballroom,the waterfall area cannot be used as ur solemnisation area le. =)

 

[michecwy]

shery, i've asked agnes, she said that carlton is a 4star and after reno is still a 4 star..=)

my ad would be in 2011,so i guess i would be using their new ballroom... considering hilton an carlton... i love hilton's ballroom celling lights... but however they have very limited car park space...

 

[ev3]

I am also considering between Hilton and Carlton. My AD will be 2010.

 

[michecwy]

eve, u went to hilton's workshop?

hmm.. how u find both e hotels? =)

 

[rockofice]

Hi Michelle..
I believe Hilton has got pillars and ceiling is not very high? The new ballroom of Carlton is going to be pillarless and 6m of high ceiling. I believe Carlton is also cheaper and more accessible by MRT?

But im still quite sore ove the fact that Carlton does not have abalone in their standard menu (both weekdays and weekends). Does Hilton has?

 

[janh]

Hi All,

Need some advice here...

I'm now deciding between Carlton hotel or M hotel.

My AD is in oct 2010, which is after the reno of Carlton.

I have visited M hotel and is quite happy with the interior, the review of their food i got so far is so-so.

Anyone has comments on the food served by Carlton?

Thanks in advance for your reply.

 

[ev3]

Michelle > I did not go to the workshop but i visited both hotels &amp; also M-hotel. Still unable to make up my mind. >.<

 

[jayc23]

Hi Lilian,

Hilton menu do hav Abalone for wkend but wkday dun hav.

 

[bubbly19]

Janise: food @ M Hotel is not that fantastic.. went to an ex-colleague's wedding dinner there and was kinda disappointed. But the ambience is nice

 

[strawberrie1983]

Lilian Huang: Hilton grand ballroom got high ceilings..I am taking that..as for Panorama room at Level 4 is more like a function room

 

[janh]

Just spoke to Agnes, seems like we can't book the new ballroom at this time. She says it's not in the system yet and they have no idea when they can start taking in bookings.

Seems like I can't wait for Carlton anymore as mine is a 'hot date'. wat a disappointment....

Has anyone tried booking for the new ballroom?

 

[jayc23]

Hi germaine82 : "i was told that if new ballroom is out, i can use it but i was perfectly fine with the old ballroom. I am fine with Empress."

I was told likewise. Can u PM to further discuss on the ballrooms.Lady A didnt quite convince me to hold at Carlton anymore.

 

[ev3]

actually i visited Carlton, &amp; quite like it. but the coordinator Mr Z did not respond to my questions when i tried to arrange for appts to discuss. quite weird.. i indicated my availability but he did not reply...

 

[jayc23]

1st when i wrote to them (2 days ago),i wanna held on Oct 10 they didnt mention that its was booked or reserved when they replied.(i still happy happy do planning).But when my WTB call today for site visit Lady A said it was booked and payment made. Hmmm..why can't she jus info me earlier there's a tentative booker previously? So sianzz still ask my WTB wanna change date anot..

 

[janh]

I was told that the package for the new ballroom is not out yet. The rate maybe the same or slightly higher.

The problem is, they can't take-in any bookings now. They don't even know when they can start selling.

 

[shirldreamz]

hmmm after reading so much from here. now i dun even know if i should go ahead with carlton, although zack has promised a lot of things. the only thing he keep trying to avoid is the new ballroom. which is a very major aspect of my decision as i decided to choose carlton cos of the new ballroom. now i'm considering hilton too. will be meeting rachel this fri and see how. till now, Zack can only verbally agree on the new ballroom, but not stated in the contract. kind of in a dilemma now leh...sianz

 

[janh]

Hi ShirlDreamz: when is ur AD? I heard the whole reno will be done in Aug 2010. You may want to give some allowance for delays as well?

 

[janh]

Hi ShirlDreamz.. can we talk in private? my email add is [email protected]

 

[germaine82]

Hi Jeffrey,

I am not sure if the wedding date at Oct 2010 will be affected by the reno.It shd be done by then, should not be delayed for so long right? For us, our AD is this yr. Definitely affected.

 

[jayc23]

Hi Germaine,

Anyway they doesnt open/agreed to let me book the new bookroom for Oct 2010 so i jus got to look elsewhere.

 

[rockofice]

This is so ridiculous... I am meeting Zack this evening and see what he says..I will give up on Carlton as well if it is not a free upgrade

 

[ging3r]

I have met zack few weeks back, he is promoting the newballroom.. so wierd that u girls are not able to book yet???

coz i was even showed the picture of the new ballroom and told me tat its high ceiling n pillarless..

he open the booking for me till april.. and im still deciding whether to go ahead anot..

 

[jayc23]

Lilian: Any updates on the booking of new ballroom? Can book anot?

Ging: Do you mean Z let u book the new ballroom?? I tot the reno oni complete in Aug 2010?

 

[rockofice]

Dear all

Basically, you are right in saying that the new ballroom is not "open" for booking yet. That is because in his system, there is only ONE Empress Ballroom which is the existing one. This is reasonable as the new ballroom is not even completed...

However, he confirmed that the "free upgrade" to new ballroom is still valid. Once the new ballroom is ready, the system will have TWO ballrooms, and he will "upgrade" those who has placed booking now to the new ballroom.

HOWEVER, we did argued that this is just a verbal agreement and if this is not stated in the contract, how can it be valid? After some negotiation, he agreed to drop us an email stating all the perks he promised us in black and white as he is not "allowed" to include those items in the contract, which includes the renovation completion date.

From what he told me yeterday, the completion date for the new ballroom is still 1Q 2010 and linkway renovation will be 1-22 April 2010, after which the new ballroom will be fully available.

As a summary, do get him to write you in black and white whatever he promised verbally, even if he cannot reflect all that in the contract. At least, there will be some evidence if there is any discrpancies or misunderstanding at later stage.

My concerns are actually the food menu. I gathered that the ingredients used in Carlton are not as "premium" as other hotels, such as:

1. No lobster/ suckling pig for cold dish
2. Promfret and seabass instead of cod fish or garoupa (upgrade at $30 nett)
3. No abalone dish (upgrade at $70 nett)
4. Simple deserts instead of deserts like yam paste(upgrade at $15 nett)

With a little maths, it seems like if couples out there are looking at superior ingredients, Carlton will not be the place. But I am sure Wah Lok restuarnt's food is still undeniably good. I am really having a tough choice between Carlton and Mandarin Oriental, which has all the above upgrades at $120 nett more.

Comments welcome!