Grand Park Orchard Staycation Guests Waited Up to 7 Hours to Check in; Police Has to Be Called In

One misconception about Singaporeans is that they like queuing for everything.

Incorrect.

They like queuing for things that they haven’t paid for yet. 

Whether it’s the latest iPhone, a Hello Kitty product, or a newly-opened fast-food chain, Singaporeans are more than happy to queue for hours and hours because they haven’t gotten what they wanted yet.

On the other hand, if Singaporeans have already purchased something and have to wait for the product to arrive, even a slightly long waiting time will send them into a rage.

Especially if the waiting time is 7 hours. 

Grand Park Orchard Staycation Guests Waited Up to 7 Hours to Check in as People Use Their Tourism Vouchers

It’s December, which means a truckload of hotel rooms across the country are suddenly going to be filled with Singaporeans utilising their SingapoRediscovers tourism vouchers.

Sure, there are tours and attractions too, but let’s face it; most of us will be opting for a luxurious staycation. 

That’s what guests who booked a stay at Grand Park Orchard were hoping for, but had to wait much longer than usual to get checked in.

One netizen who was part of the long queue took to Facebook to complain about the lack of planning and poor service in a post on Saturday (12 Dec).

The netizen starts his post off by warning his fellow Singaporeans not to use their tourism vouchers to book a staycation, as it might lead to extremely long queues.

There were allegedly over 70 people queuing at the 5-star hotel, with hopeful staycationers packed like sardines without staff members implementing crowd control or safe distancing measures.

The result was a chaotic mess of Singaporeans, including young children and the elderly, who stood close to each other for several hours.

One criticism that many customers shared was a lack of initiative on the part of the hotel’s staff members, as guests weren’t informed of how long they had to wait to get checked-in.

For this particular netizen, he had to wait five hours not to check in, but for the general manager to speak to him.

Even then, he had this to say:

“Their GM came out to Address the issue, say can’t promise what time they can get us a room, offered to give refund or give us another free stay another day or just wait at the 5 hour mark”.

That’s right, after waiting for five hours, this netizen didn’t even manage to get a room.

Bad Reviews & Negative Comments

Other irate Singaporeans took to Facebook to air their grievances about the hotel’s response to what may have been a simple case of overbooking.

One particular Singaporean had to wait 7 hours just to check in.

“This is atrocious. If the hotel is not able to accommodate to such a number of guests, then why did they allow so much booking?” she asked.

Others took to Grand Park Hotel’s Facebook page and slammed them in the comments section of one of their posts.

For one unlucky guest, his problems continued even after checking in, as he found live and dead cockroaches (just for the sake of variety) in his room.

The swamped hotel employees were also unable to provide him with toiletries, so he had to buy it himself.

Police & Safe Distancing Ambassadors Arrive 

Photos shared by one netizen showed police officers and safe distancing ambassadors in the lobby, possibly called down to control the spiralling situation.

Grand Park Hotel has yet to comment about the incident.

So, are you still going to use your tourism voucher to book a staycation?

Featured Image: Facebook (Kife Wee)