26 April -- Arrived Singapore early morning after an overnight flight from Delhi, which is always a

26 April -- Arrived Singapore early morning after an overnight flight from Delhi, which is always a great respite from the chaos and madness that is Delhi airport. Got to New Majestic Hotel at around 8am. New Majestic's grand opening party is scheduled for next Friday, but they have been soft opened for at least 2 months now. It is the more luxe property for the owners of 1929. The new hotel is located in Chinatown, within walking distance of lots of happening shops, restaurants and clubs along Tanjong Pagar, Club Street and Ann Siang Hill. It has been totally gutted and revamped the site of the old Majestic Hotel, and the only reference to the old hotel (aside from the name) is the exposed lobby ceiling. discount car rentals in phoenix arizona The rest of the lobby is a pristine white, which showcases a well-curated collection of 20th century chairs designed by modern masters as well as a pair of more quirky dentist chairs by the front desk. Also in the lobby is one of Cai Zhisong's Ode to the Motherland copperplate scultures discount car rentals in phoenix arizona (it is a male nude kneeling on one knee), which sold at this month's Sotheby's Chinese Contemporary Art in Hong Kong for HK$900,000. There is another piece by Cai in the hotel's contemporary Cantonese restaurant. All the rooms in the hotel have been designed by a selection of artists. The art consultant for the project was Asian Art Options discount car rentals in phoenix arizona . I had met Audrey Phng, one of the directors of AAO at a dinner last time I was in Singapore and met her again in Hong Kong when she was in town for the Sotheby's auctions. She is incredibly fun to be with and has a great eye in addition to being extremely knowledgable discount car rentals in phoenix arizona about art (not just Asian art). It was while looking through her site that I came across Justin Lee's work and was drawn to his works' strong graphic statement and kitschy sense of humour. So when she told me that Justin Lee is one of the 9 artists that worked on the rooms at New Majestic Hotel, I made sure to request his rooms for my one-night stay. I booked my room by email to the hotel. Three categories of Justin Lee rooms were available. I opted for the Premier Garden for S$250+++(US$160/night). discount car rentals in phoenix arizona When I arrived, the front desk told me it was too early to check in and my room was not ready yet. However, they had a Justin Lee suite (normally S$500+++/US$316/night) discount car rentals in phoenix arizona that I could use until my rooms was ready, but would have to charge me an extra half day based on my current room rate. The loft suite (room 403) was beautifully done by Justin. There were two main paintings on the wall. Both use the paper-cut, double happiness motif-- one is of the Singapore flag with the Singapore skyline worked in and another is of a Samsui Woman decked in barrister robe and traditional headgear again using the double happiness motif. The two paintings face each other. Directly in front of the Samsui Woman are two bathtubs in the bathroom area, which opens into the living area (the two areas are separated by a plasma TV on a swivel discount car rentals in phoenix arizona stand). Directly in front of the flag painting in the desk and the sitting area with a barber chair. The bed is in the loft just above the sitting area. The Premier Garden room (room 201), while much smaller, was still very comfortable. There was a desk hidden behind closet doors so as not to clutter the look of the room. The highlight, however, was the outdoor tub, a real luxury in any city hotel! All the facilities and room of New Majestic have been well designed and executed. Everything is very high quality discount car rentals in phoenix arizona from the ploh featherbeds to Bose stereos and free in-room wifi access. There is a pool (not exactly a lap pool though, but still a nice feature) and the gym was being completed. My only complaint, and hopefully this will iron itself out in a couple months, is that the service level is a bit rough at the moment. For example, on returning from dinner, there were no staff at the front desk or in the lobby. The lobby was shuttered and it was difficult to find the entrance, so a staff on hand would have been helpful. It took 20 minutes and an additional phone call to get a requested pair of scissors and the staff don't address guests by their names either when picking up the phone or in person (in a 30-room hotel, there is no excuse for this). Once the service improves, New Majestic will be a well-priced hotel offering one of the best and most unique hotel experiences in Singapore as well as other majore cities around the world. A lot of heart and soul has gone into the concept and design of the hotel, the service staff just needs to translate more of that passion into their service.