Conrad Centennial Singapore

[seval]

Actually it really depends leh.. if you are getting 06 banquet, by booking early, some hotels let you buy it at 05 banquet rate. So, it's really depends on your luck. Many people book 1 1/2 years in adv. Looking out for 06 dinner is not KS lah, really, I also started scouting 1 1/2 yrs before and took a very long time lah.. hehe

So far I think only Sheraton and Conrad is 12 per tables, the rest are mostly 10. Raffles is 10 per pax. If talking abt Conrad's 2006 weekend rate, it's the same & their deal is much better than Conrad. They hv 1 free bottle of wine per table but they will have ways to get it bk lah, their wine prices r very expensive but comparable to Conrad. However, they dun waive corkage.

Goodwood ballroom looks small lor but food is good.
Meritius Mandarin small ballroom got 8 pillar!
My friend had hers at Regent, so I'm not even considering it. Food at Regent over-rated, so so only, considering she top up for the dishes.

 

[caicai]

hving a smaller # of tables , would mean lesser ppl . so hv a cozier ambience , dun u gals think so . Only set-back , cannot collect more angpows ... and most big hotels cannot accomodate us .
Seval , what is the theme for Raffles , they hv pristine white walls , if add lotsa of Red Roses , WOW . shd be quite sweet ..
what is 2006 rate for Conrad now ? Becos their weekends are all taken up , they tried to raise prices ? chey !

 

[seval]

Actually I was very sad when I found out my number of tables to be abt 25 & most of the "grander" or the main ballrooms of many hotels nd a min of 30. This wld mean tt I cannot consider my dream Ritz Carlton or even Shang, those need 40 tbls and above lor. I was sore abt this for a while but after attending a good friends wedding with 58 tbls, I think a smaller wedding would be more intimate. I want to be able 2 remember every faces on that night and I want every guest to b able to see me as well.

Hehe.. I dun know if red will be too striking for the white walls wif pink paintings. Haven't really decided but the feel is just very english... I think I like it more now.... hehe

 

[caicai]

how abt Lunch at Ritz ? last time Diana Ser held hers - champagne Brunch ?
So Seval , u will still be sticking around at this thread rite ? nice talking to you !

 

[seval]

ya lor... a champagne brunch also not bad but we need to have a traditional sit dwn chinese dinner... my hubby wun consider lunch.. anyway, even lunch I dun think i can hit their min lah, the ballroom is huge...

hehe.. hope u gals dun mind me. I just came in to share my experience wif Conrad with the brides here and end up kaypoh so much here... hehe...

 

[caicai]

so u will hang around here rite ? hehehehe
by the way , did you check out Marriot too ? Coz they are not so strict on the # of tables for weekdays / certain months too.
Maybe u can check them out too ,their food is nice n the ballroom no pillars too ? If i rmber correctly , 25 tables - ok .
Look for Angela , she is quite frenly .

 

[seval]

whenever i'm free..

very free in ofc...
Marriot very hao liao one. When I called to asked, they straight away tell me they need 48 tables and dun even bother to send me their package when I asked for it when they know i hv 25.
I heard from a friend in the hotel wedding service that they have the highest take up rate of all the hotels, so they can be very hao lian.

I think I'm very suay leh, always kena these rude people.

 

[demure]

Hi Seval

Don't be discouraged lah. my fren is having her wedding at Marriott in Dec. she also warned me the co-ordinator is very 'dao' so I didn't bother to contact her. f'more I heard that altho Marriott's BR is nice, its disadvantage is that it shares car park with Tangs n parking will be hell for your guests if yours is a weekend wedding. Due to the jams, weddings at Marriott tend to start late as all your guests are stuck in the queue to get into car park n find lots. Incidentally InterCon also has the same problem hor. It was already hell when we tried to find parking space before our appt with the hotel.

caicai, your experience sounds so like Adeline!!! wah, must go and share this with my fren. my FH loves the BR, so do I but a major turnoff is Adeline herself and the parking problem.

novgal, I went to my colleague's wedding at waterfront copthorne last year and I love the part where the curtains behind the stage opened to reveal a beautifully lit up garden with its own little gazebo! I wanted to consider that place but my FH said the location is not convenient and also the min req is 45 tables for weekends. sigh.....too bad lor...

I heard that M Hotel's BR is quite nice? have not been there before but I heard the BR is quite Zen-looking and their major selling pt is the bridal suite bathroom with its transparent glass wall....hmmMMMmmMmmm.....

btw Conrad's prices increased wef 1 Oct 2004. think its abt $100+ per table. Also heard that the reason Oriental's post-reno prices are so steep ($1000+ per table!!!) is coz they are trying to position themselves on the same level as Ritz and Shang. I don't advise booking there so soon coz most pp will still think its a $800-per-table hotel and u will make a huge loss. Must give them a few years to psycho everyone into thinking they are as "class" as Ritz...

aiyoh...got wedding at Orchard hotel this Sun, Amara next Fri, Westin next Sun and Marriott the following Sun. am going to be so super the broke liao.

 

[seval]

Hi Demure,

Yeah.. I was SHOCKED when I recvd Oriental's package. And there was a thread on the ang pao for oriental and another two hotels and people actually said tt they will only gv 80 for oriental... but actually oriental is much more expensive... their package is now even more ex than ritz lor... dunno if they can be sucessful to position themselve as a luxury hotel leh... maybe lor, after the reno, they may look very classy...

wah, you Ms Popular? so many people invite u to their wedding.. hehe

 

[caicai]

ooh ya , Seval why dun you try M hotel / Club Chinois (they just renovated , shd be nice too)

I went to M hotel before , the decor very ZEN , not bad leh , the ball room abit odd though ..... L shape ?

Demure , u are right -- HI coordinator is "A"
heeheee
Actually when i signed up wif Conrad , my coordinator told me they are raising the pricing , i tot it was 1 of those gimmicks to make me sign up immediately , so it is true lah ?!?
1000 for Oriental hotel ? gosh .....

Maybe the suites are very beautiful or the food must be very good , braised sharksfin / 1 whole abalone . yumyum ....

Seems like next mth very popular mth for wedding , i hv got 3 .
gals u all signed up with any B.S yet ? I am cracking my head ... need help

 

[seval]

I thought M hotel ballroom shape is funny too, it's not really L shape... sth funny lah...

I'm more or less settled with Raffles lah... shd be placing the deposit soon once we feel comfortable enough.

I still feel that Oriental not worth the prx leh.. I went to the hotel b4 the reno and it really looks old lor... but it's a million dollar reno, so, shd turn out good lah..

 

[starmed]

hi gals
just browsing thru the threads... hmmm after seeing what lilac commented after her freind had said n what u gals had told her... think i've got something to say...

seval n gals
what u gals said is correct... it's afterall your wedding so it's perfectly fine on how u wanna go abt it... the main problem is not whether one stays in a HDB or not, HDB doesn't mean a person's not rich... it's more on whether the amt $$ spent is less or more than the amt $$$ earned....

last time i was looking for a venue... like everyone here i also have my own ideal wedding setting... but somehow i've to compromise esp I wanted to go to exotic place for honeymoon... so i calculated i need to cut down on certain indulgences... like the grand hotel venue.. n my dream bridal couture... cos both my hubby n me dun earn alot... still got a flat coming...

sigh what to do..

if i insist on doing it my way, my hubby will give in one but I thought abt the future after the dinner n everything... guess i have to 'ge ai' on certain stuff... can't have the best of both worlds...

now i'm happier n glad that I follow my logical reasoning... though wedding is once a lifetime... but there's so much more after the wedding.... glad we didn't splurge on the wedding dinner(held it half a year ago at a hotel) n even earned a little from it.. sponsor for my HM...

the final note to all brides is to plan n think wisely... whether the $$ spent jus for the dinner is going to be more than income both of u can 'tahan' smoothly... it's a fun process but dun let your dream wedding dashed the long term reality.... => slogging hard everyday after that to pay up debts...

not tryig to be a wet blanket here but just an advise.... no offence to those offended...

seval
maybe u should say otherwise abt HDB...cos I've got friends who stayed in HDB are loaded... n pple who stayed in condo are not that rich...

lilac
well my advise is if u plan n think throughly tt u can easily afford...y not??? go for it gal... but do discuss wif your FH aferall i think it's the guy who would foot the bill ...

 

[gooobergrape]

slowly, well said.
That's my philosophy too. spending within your means. ie. with whatever money you already have. dont borrow from anyone or the bank just to get a posh hotel etc. I read a book which said to ensure that at all times, you still have 6 months of your current salary as savings.

 

[caicai]

Hi Slowly , I agreed with you too. But i was overcomed with my desire to indulge my heart
Seriously , I think if most of us really want to save from customary dinner , the safest way is to hold it in a restaurant .
Many months back , i read from a newspaper article abt a couple who paid for their wedding @ Raffles with their credit cards , luckily for them they hv generous relatives / frens who gv a substantial amt of angpows . they managed to recover most of their costs and even earned a little profit .
Of coz there are definitely ppl who still bleed from their wedding expenses.
Maybe shd "give n take" , cannot expect the best of both worlds. Like to compromise on that expensive wedding bridal package / honeymoon , if we want a posh hotel wedding?
For me , i am still struggling with my renovation budget too and I simply refuses to tk up a reno loan. Loans really tie you down :<

 

[novgal]

hi! just to share a view of mine.. i've attended dinner @ M-hotel 2 or 3 years ago.. din leave a good impression. a funny shaped and the room was pretty cramp. plus svs also not good.

talking abt budgeting for the wedding.. it's afterall a once-in-lifetime event. so i believe to follow ur heart but of cos must be practical. like what caicai mentioned, to compromise for the package &amp; honeymoon. eg, to accomodate for a resort HM instead of europe tour.

 

[seval]

I dun expect to cover the cost of my dinner as it's abv 100 per head at Raffles after all the plus plus and alcohol. Many hv expressions like "huh? so ex, then you sure lugi!". But for me, I prefer to use the word "pay" than "lugi". Wat's there to lugi I thought? We should be paying for the dinner in the first place and we're fortunate that our culture has big ang paos to help cover our cost.

Yeah.. talking about spending within your means. Sometimes I get affected by people with their comments (a bit like what lilac felt) when some people make comments when they know that I'm looking at the luxury hotels. They would start to hint things like, better not borrow from credit card companies &amp; spend within yours means, the banquet is not everything. Well, isn't that hinting that I cant afford it? I get quite pissed off that sometimes I feel like asking them if they would like to see my bank book... hehe.. mayb they meant well lah but can't help but feel affected wif such comments hinting that since u cant afford a posh hotel. Anyway, since then, I dun really talk abt my hotel search with people. Some cant even empathize with my incident with Conrad. Someone even said, dun go 5 star hotel, go those cheaper ones, then maybe they won't treat you like that. Oh, so I asked for it by going to a posh hotel huh..??... Well, if such hotels want to stubbed me when I'm paying them, then bye to them lor...

Ya lah... there are many rich staying in HDB flats but just that some people judge a person's wealth by the type of flats they stay...

Some judge by car lor...

 

[gooobergrape]

yah.. when FH adn I called up a housing agent to view a 3 room flat at waterloo costing 230K, prob thinking that only poor folks want to buy hdb 3 room flats, the agent actually even asked us, "you have enough in your CPF not? If not no choice have to take bank loan for this apt"... she also sounded rude. only when FH told her we are using cpf + cash to fully pay for the place, then she change her attitude to us and ask us what time we can view the place.

 

[starmed]

yup gals.. glad u gals got the meaning...

If it is within your means... by all do so... u want a six star also can...keke... if both of u are real tight after spending, I feel it's good to think twice bef deciding....

plan wisely n enjoy the process...

goober
wah your agent like that one...so superficial....aiyo...

 

[seval]

wahh... fully pay for the place?? 230K... wah, you really rich leh...
Ya lah... the eyes of these people are on top of their heads. Anyway, he is just a housing agent lor...
I think if we were to compare bank account with some so call "rich" ppl staying in condo, I think we are richer than them... hehe.. but becoz we have lesser/cheaper assets lah... but no pt asset rich, cash poor also... there has to be a bal lah

 

[seval]

Slowly,

where did u hold your dinner?

 

[starmed]

me I held it at Carlton hotel( wanted to hold at ritz carlton)... not too bad except the reception area is rather open... food's not bad... service so so... but the coordinator she's rather attentive n friendly...

enjoy my AD...

can't complaint cos we spend on our honeymoon more... went to maldives for almost two weeks...keke.. finally realised my dream to go there...

 

[starmed]

oh ya gals.. in case u really interested... i just saw the oriental hotel new ballroom's blue print on their hotel website... looks grand n cool... no pillars... heard they spent alot on the reno... sigh.. ihow i wish i can dun marry so early keke... *saw the link at the oriental thread....* rooms also very nice.. maybe go there n stay for one year anniversary...

 

[novgal]

goobergrape,
sorry.. me going to side-track the topic... but were u the one who mentioned buying simmons mattress at $1.3k from geylang? is simmons mattress that good? can i have the store name &amp; location?

 

[pup_pup]

juz to confirm: Conrad is 5 or 6 star har?

 

[seval]

I had considered Carlton also because of Wah Lok but the coordinator also turn us off leh.. when we suggested sth, she will tell us that no, people dun do like this. Basically, she is ok but not open to ideas lor... in the end, we totally forgotten abt the place.

I'm planning to go either Maldives/Mauritius.. how much u spent for Maldives if you dun mind sharing the cost?

 

[starmed]

seval
it's ok.. no prob sharing..

think in all for accom i spent abt US$3600... stayed there for 8 nites.. keke.. we went island hopping basically stayed at two diff resorts...

the resorts i stayed is those mid range one... not soneva fushi lah, etc... but nice n cosy ones... think abt 4 stars one... got spa everything.. keke..

the down side is I practically lug a bag full of drinking water cos water there is EXPENSIVE!!! think a bottle of mineral water is abt US$1.50... if u plan to maldives, better buy some stock of water...

 

[caicai]

my 2 cents worth. Maldives is very expensive eh .
I think if i were to choose btw Mauritius / Maldives , i will take Mauritius - the cheaper cousin
heard fm other ppl at the forum , Mauritius package onli S$ 1688++ for 6 days ?
Cheap cheap.... &amp; they hv a nice beach too ( of coz not as beautiful as Maldives lah) n they have shopping ! Go to Maldives can be a beach bum / sea activities onli .
Slowy , your US$3600 includes accom ? what about air tix ? food / shopping ? for 2 pax ? can tell us more
Cheersssss

 

[seval]

issit? I always thought Mauritius is a more ex place leh... 3600 for accomodation only, hmmm... so, mayb I have to budget more for my honeymoon liao... I budget 8k in total for the 2 of us for a 2 weeks trip, looks like not enough...

 

[demure]

Seval
ya lor...wat to do? and I thot my wedding "season" is over liao coz me not very young (hehe) and most of my frens are married. then suddenly those around me who are not married yet decide to get hitched! *faint*

I also had same problem as u....ie many "well meaning" folks telling us not to spend too much etc etc. my FH already got a place for us to live so all I haf to do is move my stuff in. since I don't haf to spend on reno and such, I feel I shd spend on my wedding, right? not say splurge recklessly lah but spend to make yourself happy. like I said already, me not very young so also got enough savings to spend comfortably....and why not on a memorable occasion like my own wedding?

btw I zoomed straight to Ted Wu's for my BS without looking elsewhere coz I already had my heart set on his gowns when I saw wat he did for my friend's 4 yrs back....

 

[seval]

Haha.. wah, come, I help you calculate.. hehe.. I aga base on my own ang pao std for just normal friend to help them cover their cost lah..

Orchard hotel ($88)
Amara ($80)
Westin ($88)
Marriott ($80)

ttl = $$256!!!

haha.. that's a hole in yr pkt, if those are close friends, haha.. the ang pao $$ can easily shoot up to 500 liao...

It's very confusing hor? U know u want to have it at a nice hotel n those who are married come telling u, dun spend so much... it's only 4 hrs, when flush yr money down the toilet like that? My sis said to me "you are just fantasizing abt your wedding, like me last time but after you went thr it, you know it's not worth it".. I know maybe I might regret spending so much &amp; i am indeed fantasizing.. but come on lah.. u had your chance, so let me hv the chance to fantasize too right?? hehe.. so, either way, you will regret, either you regret spendg so much on the wedding or you regret not spending enough to have a nice wedding dinner at a posh hotel with nice floral decos, etc. AND, either way, my hubby will suffer.

Senario 1: u lah, dun stop me from spending so much on the dinner. you think u very rich ah..??... if we din spend so much, we wld have $XXXXX now.. !! @#$%

Senario 2: You lah, so stingy. See I'm so poor thing, other ppl have it in posh hotel whereas I can only hold it in a lousy hotel (even if it's not lousy)...@#$$%

(even if we are the ones who made choice 1 or 2...)

hahahaha... I'm going to ban my hubby from coming to this thread.. hehehehe

 

[caicai]

ya , Seval i agreed with you absolutely

I think scenario 1 or 2 will apply for me , next time .....
kekekeke

 

[gooobergrape]

novgal - i have not bot my mattress yet....

havent gone down to geylang to check it out. but simmons is definitely a highly recommended brand!!

 

[seval]

Caicai, you already cfmd conrad so it'll b senario 1 for you...

 

[starmed]

gals
think the US$3600 is only accom... me also going there soon... n everything's in US dollars one...just dropping back only then saw this post on maldives... looking forward to the trip...

 

[starmed]

gals
ok i'll share more since u gals ask..

think i spent ard $10k(sing dollars) for my honeymoon.. cos the US$3600 only for accom... 10k(slightly more) is include air tics n meals n activities... we went for water sports...hee. both hubby n me r beach bums... that's one of the reasons for going maldives... we chose there also bcos of the waters n privacy we can have... where else can u see sun set n sun rise in the comforts of your room??? I actually saw sun rise n set at my balcony of my bungalow... (we stayed in the water bungalows) it's truly a dream come tru for me... beautiful...

one advice for those wanting to go there... like what cai cai said... maldives is really a beach bummer place cos there's only water activities to do every day... if not just laze ard the beach or swimming pool... it's not like there's no shopping but the shopping area is only at the main island(where the airport is) so it's a hassle n ex to travel back n forth just to shop... as it depends on where u stay...either u take a water boat to the "city" or sea plane..both ways r ex n waste of time as most resorts r located quite far off from the main island... (for info, maldives is a muslim country that's the reason y the country's resorts are all quite far away from the capital.... the govt wants to prevent so called unwanted influence from the foreigners to its locals...) but I've been to the city bef departure back to sing(the only chance to go as the flight is usu late at might one).. the locals are friendly batch...

 

[seval]

the water bungalows?!! I love the hilton ones! Did u stay there? The sunset water bungalows cost a bomb, very very big bomb...

I'm thinking of having a 2 weeks honeymoon so staying at a beach for 2 weeks maybe too boring. Mauritius sounds more suitable for me now.

 

[starmed]

nope.. hilton ones are too expensive... the top ranges of resorts there... I stayed at taj resort n spa..

 

[seval]

yes very ex and very very nice!

 

[duffybuff]

hi seval,
we initially planned to go maldives too.. but just changed our minds.. cos' i dunno how to swim so going there will be quite a waste! so hv decided to go spain instead!

but hubby still can't get over maldives!

 

[demure]

hi seval

aiyoh....the angpows are only the beginning hor. just realised all my "wedding dinner dresses" very old liao and so thot of buying new ones. f'more my FH got a NY's Eve Ball end of the year which means I need to get a formal gown. my cruel colleagues gleefully added up all the expenses (dresses + ang pows) and estimate I gotta spend abt $1000 in all!!!! nearly fainted at tat. so haf decided to throw all face away and wear my old stuff instead, hehe. at most buy 1 or at most at most 2 dresses to "dong" coz not all the crowd at the dinners will be the same folks. haf dug out all the vouchers/credit notes/discount cards liao...hopefully can find some good deals tom nite.

I thot of going maldives or mauritius but haf come to realise that we may end up super super bored coz we are not very sporty pp. so am looking elsewhere like Spain, Egypt, Turkey or New Zealand. FH doesn't know this yet, hee hee hee.

 

[gooobergrape]

hi demure, duffy, I am also looking at Spain

It's a beautiful place to take my PS by my FH after the wedding. I am bringing my gowns to Spain hehe...

 

[duffybuff]

hahah...demure,
i share the same sentiments.. me not a sea-sport person.. of cos dun mind relax at beach or sun tan but for 1 whole wk.. thk tat's too much! so city desination still the best!
but hb said hv to postpone our trip to later probly in apr/may cos must see how bad is our damage for the banquet in jan.. hehe.. wat to do!

 

[novgal]

duffybuff,
have nvr thot of spain as a HM destination. is the place beautiful or just city like? is F&amp;E encouraged? i've not thot of where to go for HM but would very much prefer to have a F&amp;E one

 

[duffybuff]

hi novgal,
we plan to go F&amp;E... i prefer to look at maps and figure our way around! tat's the best part of travelling.. there're lots of historical sites in spain as well.. so at least city sightseeing with a taste of art &amp; culture!

 

[preci0usm0ments]

goober grape lover!! u going to Spain!! my ideal honeymoon destination!!! Greece also can!! both romantic!!!

 

[starmed]

ladies

well.. if u r an avid diver, it's real lovely to go there.. fishing too... can go deep sea fishing...

seems like alot of u going europe for HM... think it'll cost alot isit??? How much is needed? me not sure cos me never wanted to go europe bef.. always tot it's a 'too cultured' place...

 

[duffybuff]

hi gals,
anyone of u hv lobang to rent projector? or is it better just to get from hotel.. cos' conrad does not include this in its package.

 

[gooobergrape]

hi lilacblur, Yeah!!! Spain is sooo pretty.
I been to most of Europe following a Contiki tour after my Uni but I missed out on Spain so thought might as well go during honeymooooon!!!

Slowly, think set aside $6K per person to really have fun.

The last time i spent 40 days in Europe I spent S$8K on food, shopping, accomodation, tickets, transport. really really fun!!! and the pictures taken very nice. somehow the sky there is always bluer than singapore.. here very grey...
lately keep raining somemore... anyone PS in Dec??? how to tell whether it will rain or not in afternoon?? my PS is in Jan...

 

[caicai]

saw someone wrote about Greece .
My coll went to Greece before , she said other than the ruins , there is really nothing much to see ..
a couple who happened to be on the same tour as her , was robbed at the back alley. they were traumatized
so girls , u better be careful

 

[demure]

I went backpacking in Europe after my 2nd yr at NUS. it was a thrilling experience. 4 yrs later, I went there again with my family. we drove around F&amp;E and I planned the itinerary. I missed spain both times so thot it'll be a great place for my HM. actually (to sound real bimbo, haha), I fell in love with spain after watching meteor garden II ('liu xing hua yuan') which was filmed there.

went to Greece during my backpacking days. the ruins are interesting. rest of the city reminded me of bangkok - dirty and dusty. had real terrible pimple breakout there.

yippee....managed to find an evening gown at Takashimaya just now. tat will do for at least 1 of the 4 wedding dinners I haf to attend and my FH's NY's Eve ball.