Location was good. There was a plaza across the street (Shaw Plaza) which had a Fair Price (Supermarket), Watsons, and several restaurants (Ya Kun Toast, Burger King, Japanese, Chinese, etc). It is also walking distance from two hawker centers (Balestier Market and Whampoa Food Centre), two 7-11s, and several Bak kut teh restaurants (and others) if you wanted to try. The 2 bedroom I booked had enough space for three people and it was good because I didn't hear my dad's snores from the other room :). We enjoyed using the fridge to store our leftovers and drinks for our stay. The staff was helpful in resolving my credit card issue and allowing me to do an early check in (since the previous guest left early).

Like others mentioned, the closest MRT station was 20 minutes away (Novena station). I was planning to use the MRT, but I ended up using Grab (Singapore's Uber) for convenience so it ended up not being an issue for me. However, if you were planning to solely use MRT to get around, this place may not be the best location for that. To note, they had buses nearby so that could be an alternative. The drying machine took a while for our clothes to dry but I'm not sure if it's the machine itself or due to Singapore's humidity. We ended up drying our clothes by the A/C.

Then staffs are very friendly and helpful, hotel room rates are also reasonable, Good location, the hotel was clean, I like the environment of the room. It is very suitable for long trips and the environment is very comfortable, I have stayed in so many hotels in Singapore, and the bathrooms are all pitifully small. This is the only hotel I have seen that has a spacious bathroom.

There is no subway near the hotel. You need to go to Novena to get to the subway. Although the bathroom is spacious, I still dislike the bathroom problem the most. The drain pipe in the shower room is blocked. When taking a shower, the water is drained very slowly and there is water accumulation. Moreover, the dirty water in the drain pipe flows back and the dirt flows up. The drain pipe is also very smelly. The lights in the bathroom are not bright enough, and one light is burnt out. There is no mirror on the dressing table in the master bedroom. The sound insulation is also very poor. If someone in the next room closes the door and pulls a chair, they will be woken up.

Great location! Immediate access to bus station, shopping center in front with good supermarket. I stayed for 12 days, and the hotel had mini kitchen and nice, large freg and washing machine, so it was really great! The area was super safe with good selection of restaurants. On the second floor of the hotel was a very nice workspace, but my room was super comfortable with great view, so I didn't use the workspace. It was 20 to 30 min bus ride to downtown, so that was great too! Next time I am in Singapore, I will definitely want to stay at the Initial Residence!

I wasn't sure when they were going to do housekeeping, sheets change and stuff.

The front desk staff by the name of Luna (not sure if I spelled correctly), she was extremely helpful and nice. I made a request to change rooms as I did not find the room that I checked into was what I expected. Luna was kind to assist me with this. And also as we have a late flight back, she checked and allowed us to have a later checkout time. She made our stay very pleasant, thank you Luna!

One issue I had with the room is there's ants crawling all over, every part of the room.. even in the wardrobe and surprisingly into my wet wipes too. The housekeeping part is also quite disappointing, as they seemed to be rushing through the whole process... And it's not thoroughly cleaned at all.

Pros: ————- 1. Good and clean hotel. 2. Has everything you need for a short stay including small kitchen and a fully automatic washing machine. 3. Good internet in all rooms. 4. A restaurant is very conveniently located for which you can order right from your room. The Chef John takes special requests too for kids. 5. Helpful staff. 6. Located right opposite to Shaw Plaza mall. 7. Excellent connection to bus.

Cons: ———- 1. Connectivity to nearest MRT station “Novena” is 15mins of walk. 2. We stayed in a family room, which was cozy, but felt little congested. 3. There is no frying pan in the room, hope they keep on for guests to use. 4. TV channel has only 4-5 channels and shows for kids hardly come on TV.

Had a great time staying at the Initial Residence. Great location because there's a lot of great places nearby that you can easily walk to. Connectivity by walking is not so bad, however it is quite far from the MRT Station. Staff was very accommodating and friendly.

The staff was a bit of a mixed bag. Some are really great and really helpful and some not as helpful as the others. It's fine though, not a huge deal. You just need to be more specific on housekeeping etc.

The room and property in general were very clean and looked well maintained. The location was excellent with the shopping plaza only across the road with a supermarket and food options to eat out in. It was also close to bus stops and a short 15 minute walk to an MRT station. The staff were super friendly, especially one member of staff on the desk at night who helped us out with acquiring a hairdryer and frying pan we were missing.

We were missing a couple of items from the room but this was resolved very easily.

Staff are ever so friendly and helpful to serve. After 90 minutes of check-in, my husband realised he had left his notebook at the back of taxi. Reception staff, Aby swung into action, tracked down the taxi company from the video footage and contacted the driver. The notebook was finally returned safely. My husband and I stayed 10 nights and we always felt so supported and well-looked after. E.g. My husband called at a late hour for desk to ask for a forgotten wi-fi password. Within five minutes, he had a callback to check if everything was ok. Great amenities such as a Beko washer and dryer in-one, a terrific lounge we can fit 1 night of card game with a friend, a little gym and the excellent location with convenient access to food and public transport such as buses and taxis.

This is such a great location to stay with the family. Right across the street was a mall that had many restaurants and a grocery store. The grocery store has everything you could need for the family, especially if you have little ones. The public transportation is right next to the hotel and you can get just about anywhere using the buses. Our boys loved riding the double decker buses. Staff was very friendly and helpful. At the end of the stay we had accidentally left one of our suitcases, and the staff saved the day by collecting it and sending it to us at the airport before our flight left. We will definitely stay here again.

We were in a two bedroom on the 3rd floor and the room is cramped (we have a family of 5). But it was exactly as advertised so we can't complain, it's just helpful to know what you are getting in to. There is a playground at the mall across the street, so when the kids were getting little stir crazy we just took 30 minutes to go over there an let them run around.

A truly wonderful, central place to stay whilst exploring Singapore. Location is excellent with plenty of restaurants and shops nearby, with a bus stop and taxi rank directly outside. On a main road but still quiet in the apartments. 15 minute walk to Novena MRT which wasn't a problem for us, a lot of the walk is under cover. The rooms themselves were very clean, comfortable and a generous size for central Singapore. The kitchenette was well outfitted so we could make simple meals and heat up leftovers, and there is a washer dryer in the bathroom. Plenty of storage space as well. What really made the stay extra special was the staff - really helpful and friendly, quickly responding to any requests from extra towels to booking a taxi to the airport. Thoroughly excellent service. Overall a little gem of a place - would definitely recommend.

Nothing! Only recommendation would be a clothes rack to dry laundry and a mirror in the bedroom/living room.