Hotel Clover The Arts, the latest addition to the Hotel Clover brand, is a small boutique property that has only 44 rooms. Opened on 2 April 2014, the new property features individually-themed rooms to feature a unique arts experience. To promote and encourage Singapore's brand of creativity, Hotel Clover The Arts invited students from different arts and design schools in Singapore to participate in a mural competition for 19 rooms.

Located close to Clarke Quay and a short stroll away from Chinatown, this small boutique property is great for travellers wanting to visit these areas without wanting to pay a high price. I stayed in a Deluxe Room featuring the Ang Ku Kueh (translates into Red Tortoise Cake) Girl design. While the was is only 16 sqm in size, it came with a range of basic amenities which are important for the travelling guest. There's a laptop safe box, LCD television, toiletries, a small fridge and basic coffee/tea making facilities. Some of the larger rooms also include a Nescafe Coffee Machine.

Each room comes with a unique post card on the bed which features the design of the room - mine came with the Ang Ku Kueh design! These cards are great especially for international travellers who wish to take along a souvenir with them or to write to family and friends. Since each of the 44 rooms are individually painted and themed, you can enjoy a different experience every time you stay at Hotel Clover The Arts (just remember to let the reservation team know which rooms have you stayed in and let them do the magic).

Bathrobes and slippers can also be found in the room should you require them. One major difference between a boutique hotel and a large chain hotel is the number hotel rooms. With a smaller room inventory, boutique hotels may find it more challenging to offer early check-in or late check-out to hotel guests since there's a desperate need to turnover those rooms.

The hotel lobby is playfully decorated with an array of different colours and textures, creating a rather homely feeling for hotel guests. If you have some time while you are there, be sure to check out each level of the hotel for a little Easter Egg (not literally, of course). You should be able to find the painting of a cat on most levels.

My room was located on the same level as the lobby. In fact, it was only approximately 10 steps across from the check-in counter. There was also a store room (where luggages are held amongst other things) next to my room. Due to its location, it may be difficult for you to catch some sleep if you do intend to nap in the day. It gets significantly quieter at night (where less people are walking around) but then it can be noisy again in the morning when people make their way down for breakfast. Therefore, I would highly suggest getting a room that isn't on street level. The hotel has six levels in total so be sure to request for a room on a higher floor.

Located just a minute stroll away from Hotel Clover The Arts is a sister property, the Hotel Clover 5 Hong Kong Street. Since Hotel Clover The Arts does not have a swimming pool, guests are welcomed at the sister property to utilise the rooftop pool - just show them your room key and tell them you are a guest from the other hotel.

Although the hotel does not have its own swimming pool (as mentioned previously), it has a rather unique rooftop garden that is great to hang out in the evening when the temperature is nicer. I managed to get a glimpse of the National Day fireworks from the garden during one of the rehearsals on Saturday.

The breakfast in the morning had a simple and limited selection - something that you would expect in a boutique hotel. I do believe that the food was catered for since I do not remember seeing a kitchen in the property itself. When I was there in the morning, the "restaurant" staff was asked to leave by another co-worker to help out at the Hong Kong Street property and therefore leaving the drink station empty. This created some confusion for the hotel guests who were standing around and waiting to be served.

Being one of my first few stays at a boutique hotel in Singapore, my time at Hotel Clover The Arts was an interesting one. I did encounter a few issues with my room during my stay. While the rooms provided all the right amenities that a traveller may require, it is important to note that some rooms (like mine) do not come with windows. As such, you do not get any form of natural lighting at all. One thing that the hotel does well is that such rooms are explicitly listed when you make your reservations online. The lack of space is also a concern for me personally. I feel that anything between 25-30 sqm is comfortable and anything around 40 sqm is great for a single traveller as it provides ample space for you to lounge, read or relax. Having only 16 sqm of space in this room meant having to squeeze through a narrower passageway to get to the work desk.

Also, being a rather light sleeper, the noise was definitely an issue for me. Since the room was just located across the check-in area (on street level), I can definitely hear people walking outside my room. Since the store room where luggage are held was next to my room, I did receive a decent amount of noise from it too. The room next door also seems to suffer from a noisy pipe situation. I was fully aware each time my neighbour decided to take a shower. The guest who occupied the room next door took a shower in the wee hours of the morning which resulted in me waking up so it definitely was not a pleasant experience. With all that being said, I do believe that the noise issue is a result of a poor room choice (in terms of location) and that the rooms on the higher levels should not experience the same issues.

In line with Singapore’s 49th Birthday earlier this month, Hotel Clover The Arts offers “An Artsy Singapore Staycation” package for consumers looking for a getaway in the month of August. The package offers room at 15% off Best Available Rate, with breakfast for two and a little surprise gift pack!

Hotel Clover The Arts
58 South Bridge Road, Singapore 058689
Website | Email

Hotel stay has been sponsored by Hotel Clover The Arts, though all views expressed are my own.