Thoughts on the D’Kranji Farm Resort
November 18, 2008 by Eugene
Filed under Nature and Biodiversity, People and Lifestyle
The D’Kranji Farm Resort held its grand opening last Saturday. The farm resort is touted as Singapore’s first Agri-tainment Centre, located at the Kranji Countryside with a land size of 5 hectares. Visitors can stay in the villas, have food at the seafood restaurant and beer garden, visit the agri-retail kiosks, spa centre and herb garden, and explore the corn and rice plantation.
After visiting the D’Kranji Farm Resort, we think they blew the opportunity to be a green destination for Singaporeans and visitors. Being situated in the Kranji countryside and near to the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, there could be great scope to position itself as a green haven for Singaporeans and ecotourists. Instead, one would find the usual Singapore-style entertainment – artificial, meaningless and devoid of natural diversity.
We would expect to see local and natural biodiversity being preserved, activities that increase awareness of nature and environmental protection, houses and buildings built with eco-friendly materials and features, the use of renewable energy for the resort, clean transportation for the visitors, organic farming and composting, organic food for visitors, and more stuff that allows Singaporeans to experience the true farm – a place that is self-sufficient and where food and resources are derived from nature, and waste are returned back to nature harmlessly.
A farm should be a place where we contact with nature, respect and learn from nature, and finally understand that we are part of nature too. This is a feeling of biophilia that urban Singaporeans have forgotten but are desperately trying to regain, judging at the hundreds of people who went to take a look at the farm resort and the parked cars outside the farm that stretched long and far.
Some photos of the farm resort:
The rice plantation
The corn plantation
The spa centre
Sunflowers at the herb garden
A view of the villa room
Marine creatures at the seafood restaurant
Slimy octopus
Horseshoe crabs (Is it legal to capture them? Who’s going to eat them?)
The agri-retail kiosks: Processed food, organic food, electric bikes, and more
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Hi! D’Kranji should have better judgement when they hire their staff!
I just called their Room Bookings line @ (http://www.dkranji.com.sg/contact.html) and was treated with absolutely no customer service.
The operator reluctantly gave me the rates for the Villa and only gave me the rates for the Suites after I specifically asked if there are other room types.
As if this is not bad enough, the only next thing I heard after saying “Thank you, I will think about it” was a click followed by a dead tone.
D’Kraji might as well be getting one of their corns to manage the calls.
It’s such a sad situation now as I love nature but am seriously considering to boycott D’Kranji as the telephone experience has left a bad after-taste. :(
This is good initiative. I like it very much.
Its just a farm stay theme. Including environmental friendly features and habits are not even an afterthought. Seafood at a farm? Maybe they will try to include a future fish farm. Is the business model sustainable commercially? Adding environmental sustainability will make it unique
Go green is good. Recycle’s fantastic. They will not be able to sustained for long. Now that they have make good earnings we should push them to do that.
I would call it a chalet rather than a resort… just to set the right expectation! For that kind of price, you do not get anything close to resort facilities…even a farm resort.
Don’t expect service. You only see the staff once in your the entire stay – at the drive through check-in counter. The rooms are so small. The car porch area is almost the same size as the bedroom including toilet.
Not young kids friendly either. No baby cots….but my as well as there is no space for one. There were so many centipedes in the bathroom that my 5 year old daughter is spoilt for choice for her show and tell. Bring your own mosquito repellent and coil. My 2 year old had 15 bites and I had 16 in one night.
Next time (if there is one) I’ll bring my camping gear. D’Kranji, don’t call yourself a resort nor charge like one.
I agree, the phone customer service was very bad. They even show attitude in their tone. I think they should seriously sack the customer service lady and hire another better one.
I just went to the ‘resort’ a few days ago and the service was really bad at the drive through check-in counter. on the phone, i had already pass the staff my credit card no, yet they never even note down and claim for the credit card no and expiry date in a very bad attitude. the staff never even bother to introduce the place, once the procedures for the check-in was done, they just gave u the key and you are on your own.
next, the room is really a disappointment because it’s really small. the queen-size bed almost filled up the whole room and there’s not much space for us to walk. the outer appearance of the room looks nice and big, but it’s actually the opposite. Paid a high amount of money for a resort yet smaller than most of the other chalets. And there’s a lot of ants in the room and the toilet.
furthermore, the place is not accessible and the shuttle bus timing is too little. only per hour basis. once we missed the shuttle bus, we had to wait one hr for another one. so we took a taxi, but most taxi drivers didn’t even want to drive us there because the place is quite deserted.
to stay in this resort, it’s best to drive your own car there.
the only benefit of this resort is that its quiet and quite private there.
however, i think it’s not worth the price. u can book a hotel with that price with better service and cleanliness.
I walked in and walked out.
The artificiality of the place was too overwhelming.
You have to REALLY SUSPEND YOUR DISBELIEF to believe you are living at a farm, even more to believe you are at a “resort”.