2011-02-08 Update... Hmmmmm

Went to the Club today. Things have been progressing and this is the first time I came back since a few weeks ago.

The lift is now working so you can get to the 1st floor (Gym and Spa), 2nd floor (The Glass House Restaurant) and the pool (3rd floor) from the basement changing rooms. The Gym is the same so I am going to show you the other floors.

2nd Floor - Below is a view of the coffee lounge directly in front of the lift. It is not yet done as there are no glass on those windows.


2nd Floor - This is The Glass House restaurant (See below). I was asked if I wanted to sit down for breakfast and I saw some people in there already. I asked if this was for hotel guests, and was told it was open to hotel guests for breakfast as well. I thought this whole glass structure was for Members Only, no?

The Glass House breakfast buffet spread... Open kitchen... very Hyatt :-)

3rd Floor - Out of the lift on the 3rd floor.. the deck is now open.

3rd Floor Deck - the stairs here go down to the lower pool. I guess they will put some furniture here.

3rd Floor Deck - there is a bar at the end of the deck. There are two function rooms Jasmine I and Jasmine II on the right side (below).

Jasmine I - these rooms seem to be private dinning rooms for The Glass House restaurant. I am not sure how this is supposed to be "Members Only" either @#$@$#@$

Jasmine I is setting up for Chinese New Year dinner of some sort.
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1) Seriously, I thought this was supposed to be a member's only glass structure. Looks like:
- 1st floor gym and spa is shared with Hotel Guests (and public for the spa?)
- 2nd floor is a coffee shop and restaurant open to hotel guests (and public?)
- 3rd floor is a deck that hotel guests can probably use and private dinning rooms for the restaurants that are open to all.
- WHERE'S the 50% dedicated to members only? URA approved this? Hello? Hello?

2) Feb 14 is looking like a "soft opening". There are still much work to be done in the next 6 days. Is there a party? a meeting with members?

To Management: What's the plan?

WiFi is working!

I did not see a WiFi network last week, but I see one this week. Sitting in the members lounge right now and logged into "memwifi".

Mobile phone reception spotty

I am back at the club this morning working out. Just a note that my phone signal dropped a few times when I was in the men's locker room. I am on M1 using iPhone 4.

New General Manager has left

I was at the Club this morning for a workout. This is my first time working out there. Facilities have not change since my last update.

The only change is that the General Manager - Anthony Oneill - has left. I think he was there for a year, though we did not know he was GM until a few months ago.

Anyhow, in case you did not get the email from CEO last month, here the announcement that the Glass House will open on 14 Feb this year: (click to see full size)

Member Update - as of 3 December 2010

I have not had a chance to get to the club recently as we just came back from a holiday. One member did update us. Here's what Keith wrote last week:

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Hi all

Let me just put in my 2 cents worth here.

What is usable today:

Swimming pool

Gym

Toilets

Changing room

Members lounge

Card room (mahjong)

Car Park

What is not convenient:

Members must walk from the changing room to pool via the entrance of the club at the basement car park, take a lift to the mezzanine floor and walk from there to the pool – it’s a long walk to go to the pool because the glass house isn’t ready. When the glass house is ready, there will be direct access from the changing room to the pool via the glass house.

What puts me off:

The whole club now looks like a German war bunker, with corridors upon corridors, it feels like a bomb shelter, or a scene from a first person shooter like Doom (if you’ve played Doom, you’ll understand). It feels unfinished, unpolished, and a real slap in the face for members who have supported the club. If this is how the management treats its members, I don’t wanna know how it’s treating its staff, suppliers, or hotel guests. I definitely won’t recommend anyone else to join this club or even stay as a hotel guest.

As a social club – it’s not ready for prime time. But if you want to have a workout or a swim, or free parking for 3 hours, it’s OK. Is it worth the monthly fee? Probably, if you use the pool and gym on a regular basis. Oh, and by the way, you need to climb a flight of stairs to reach the gym from the changing room – so it’s extra exercise right there.

The floor looks like it hasn’t dried out, and the signs on the wall (Toilet, changing room) are basically pieces of A4 paper pasted on the wall with sellotape. If you want to impress somebody, bring this person to the hotel lobby and say that this ‘used’ to be the club area which you’re a member of. Don’t bring this person to the actual club area (bunker), because it’s not impressive, in fact it’s depressing. No sunshine, no internal décor, no flash.

Oh, and there’s a dilapidated pool table covered with an ugly tarpaulin right smack in the member’s lounge. Why is it covered? Because the table is in a shite condition. I’m surprised it’s even there.

I met a member there who doesn’t want to bring his kids to the club right now because there is still construction work going on. So if you wanna swim, consider bringing a hard hat along.

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Recent Comments by Visitors to this site...

Anonymous said on November 16, 2010 9:06 AM ...

"Thanks for the details. I wonder if we will be paying full monthly membership subscription fees from now....."

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Chris said on November 14, 2010 8:26 PM ...

"We have been quiet observers for the past 2 years, choosing to leave things in the good hands of the management.

Were there yesterday. Didnt expect a pool table and ktv room, we had lowered our expectation to only a one gym club so we're happy, in an ironic way though.

I think the management should provide members more info like a club layout so we know what's installed. It is common sense management politics, goes a long way.

The furnishings can be perfect but that's not our concern now, reflecting at the no. of chances the management had to improve it's handling of members worries us."

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Anonymous said on November 1, 2010 8:22 PM ...

"Thanks for the update. The new place looks good, except The Hotel Guests Only thingy is...........(maybe hotel guests and members only will be more friendly). Was all ready to go for the gym today and was told over the phone that it will not be ready till 12th Nov. Disappointed. Had terminated membership with other gym. Now will be gym-less for next 11 days. This is madness, why am I still paying the monthly subscription. Should have ask Nov 2010 or Nov 2011."

Legends Fort Canning Update: 14 November

Hi Folks,

I did not make it on the 12th. The family and I did manage to make it on the evening of the 14th though. Here are the pics...

The new Members' "Club Entrance" on B1. Note that their are about 5 "Members Parking" spaces near this door (past the Elevator). So do go all the way in...

Upon entering, there is a Reception counter on the right and this hall way up ahead. At the end of the hallway, there is a wall. Apparently this is temporary and will be gone as this area will open up into a lift lobby. This lift will take us up to the "Glass House".

BTW, Just behind Reception is the Playroom. It is not yet ready for play, though my kids wanted to get all over the arcade games that were not plugged in.

So at the end of that Hallway, a left turn leads to this wet area (I don't think it is supposed to be wet). These are the locker and shower rooms on the right side. The left side is that temporary Lift Lobby area that is still under construction.

After passing the Men's Lockers, here is the Men's Dipping Pool and Sauna on the left. There might be a Steam Bath on the left.

Lady's Locker Room - (the only time I will be in here, I promise).

Lady's Dipping Pool and Sauna on the right. Definitely Steam Bath on the left.

Pass the whole locker area and around a bunch of dizzying hallways, we get to the Member's Lounge. Not sure if this is a temporary thing or what until the Glass House gets finished, but my wife was asking "How can we put 1,000 members in here?"

The Gym has been changed around a bit. The area that was the Studio has been opened up and the cardio machines are there. I guess this is so that runners and cyclists can watch the greenery and people watch the path.

The Studio has been moved towards the end of the Gym. All walls and pillars are glass. I got confused when I saw five of me looking at me. I will dub this the "Hall of Mirrors".

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Well, that's it for now. I guess you can say it's "Open" since they have a staff sitting at reception, but it is not "Open for business" as there is not much you can do there as a Member. On the 13th, 17 members signed in to the Guest Book and on the 14th, 23 members did so.

And so we wait...