Ascentia Sky: 4-Bedroom unit (Review)

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This is really the one that the wife and I came especially to see – the 1851sqft, 4-bedroom (Type D) unit. The 4-bedders in Ascentia Sky range from 1733 – 1991sqft, and all have similar layout except for the 1991sqft unit.

The 4-bedroom units come with their own private lift and lift lobby. Although you get more privacy of access to your unit, this area actually eats into your total livable area.

As you enter the apartment, one of the bedroom (Bedroom 3) is immediately on your left (or right, depending on the orientation of your unit). The glass partitions you see are just ID and do not come as an option.

The living and dining area is rectangular-shaped and comes with compressed marble floors. We liked the regular shape but find it a tad small for a 4-bedder unit. It reminded us of the living/dining area in our previous apartment, which was only about 1530+sqft!

The balcony is huge – this plus the planter box easily takes up about 200sqft of floor-space. The consolation is that you get a long rectangular strip that is fully sheltered. This makes the balcony/planter box area alot more functional. We reckon you can easily fit an 8-seater long dining table here, or two separate tables of mahjong, whichever is to your fancy.

The kitchen is L-shaped and of decent-sized. The developer has thrown in a host of kitchen appliances with the unit – the exact brands are yet to be confirmed, but you will get a fridge, oven, hood, hob, dishwasher and even air-conditioning! The kitchen cabinets also looked to be of good quality.

The wife and I loved the yard area – this is very spacious and functional, e.g. for laundry drying and ironing. The opposite set of windows just before the back door provide good natural lighting and the necessary ventilation for this area.

The home shelter is large enough to fit a regular single-bed, so you do not have to worry about finding that bed that fits for your domestic helper.

One of the common bedroom (Bedroom 2) is tucked towards the same end as the kitchen, with a comman bathroom (Bathroom 2) separating the two. This is the smallest of the 3 common bedroom – you probably have to contend with a single bed here, or use this room as a study. This is also the only bedroom that has a balcony – the balcony stretches from the living area across to this bedroom, so one can actually access this bedroom via the balcony.

One of the unique feature of the 4-bedders in Ascentia Sky is the absence of a junior suite – you get two common bathrooms on opposite ends of the apartment instead. We actually quite liked this idea, as it allows the option of dedicating one bathroom (e.g. Bathroom 2) as a guest toilet. This is especially if you are using Bedroom 2 as a Study or Guest Room.

The common bathroom is good-sized, and comes with homogenous-tile floors/walls. It is also fitted with “Bravat” sink/toilet and a nice set of “Bravat” shower fitting in the shower cubicle. Nothing sophisticated in here, but the quality fittings do stand out.

Over at the other end, you find two common bedrooms (Bedrooms 3 & 4) as well as the master bedroom. These two common bedrooms are regular in shape and seemed larger than Bedroom 2, maybe because of the additional bay window area that is missing from the latter. The bedrooms come with nice timber-strip flooring and decent quality wardrobes. The two bedrooms share a common bathroom (Bathroom 3), which is almost a replica of Bathroom 2 but just a tad smaller.

The master bedroom is very spacious by current standards – you still have quite abit of space after fitting a King bed inside. The only problem we have is the tiny wardrobe space, which then again, is common these days.

The master bathroom is probably the area within the apartment we liked best – from the good quality marble floors/walls, to the chic cone-shaped bathroom sink and last but not least, the unique black-coloured shower fittings. You also get a bath-tub plus an adjacent standing shower area, so you do not have to climb in/out of the tub (and risk slipping and hurting yourself – don’t laugh, it has known to happen!) if you just want a shower.

Price-wise, following are prices quoted for 2 selected (South Facing) 4-bedroom units:

• #06-07 (1851sqft) –   $2,315,800 or $1251psf
• #11-06 (1851sqft) –   $2,360,500 or $1275psf

The monthly maintenance for a 4-bedder is estimated to be around $360. The developer will also absorb the stamp duty for each unit purchased. This effectively represents a 3% discount on the selling price. However, the catch is that this will be in the form of a rebate upon TOP.

As Ascentia Sky is already built up to the 17/18th storey, progressive payment is already up to 40% (for units in the low floors) or 30% (for units on the higher floors).

What we like:

• Location – You cannot possibly go wrong with Ascentia Sky. Located along Alexandria Road and minutes away from the CBD and Orchard Road, it is also about 100m from Redhill MRT Station. 
• The unit layouts, especially the 4-bedroom – All the rooms are regular and good-sized and very functional.
• Quality of furnishing and fittings are very impressive, if what we see is what we get.
• Being of North-South orientation, we can expect the units (especially those on the higher floors) to be quite breezy. Thus less need for air-conditioning, which translates to smaller electricity bills.

What we dislike:

• The living/dining area for the 3 and 4-bedders are rather small. Ideally, the balcony can certainly be smaller with more space accorded to the living/dining area. 
• The area around Ascentia Sky is rather built up, with Tanglin Regency/Tanglin View directly across from Alexandria Road and HDB blocks surrounding the project. We were also told that the plot of land next-door to Ascentia Sky is slated for further residential developments. As such, only the higher floor units (we reckon 17 and above) will likley get the Tanglin/Orchard or Sentosa views that the project boasts. The rest will probably have to contend with looking at the pool/facilities below.

In summary, Ascentia Sky is probably one project that the wife and I will consider buying into. And our preferrence (budget withstanding) is a lower-floor (6th or 7th), South-Facing 4-bedder unit that overlooks the lap-pool. The North-Facing units will probably be noiser, given the busy Alexandria Road.

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Ascentia Sky (Project Details)

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Ascentia Sky is a 99-year leasehold project by Wing Tai Holdings. It consists of one 45-storey block with a total of 373 apartment units.

The project resides on a site area of about 92,000sqft and is a full-facility condo, which includes a tennis court!

Other than the facilities found on the ground level, Ascentia Sky also has a number of sky gardens – each with its own different themes and facilities.

The unit types consist of 2-, 3- and 4-bedrooms as well as penthouses. There are also 2 duplex units (North Facing).

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Ascentia Sky (3-bedroom unit photo-review)

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The wife and I had the impression that Ascentia Sky is a “sold out” project. So we were rather surprised (pleasantly) to be invited to view the showflats over the weekend.

The sales gallery is located directly across from the actual site.

Ascentia Sky located along Alexandra Road, right across from Tanglin View and next-door to The Metropolitan. Entrance to the development will be via Alexandra View, a new access road that runs between Ascentia Sky and The Metropolitan.

Ascentia Sky consists of one block of 45-Storey, and consists of 373 units. It is developed by Wing Tai Holdings, and scheduled for TOP in 3Q 2012. The development consists of 2-, 3- and 4-bedroom apartments of at least 1,000sqft (sorry, no “shoeboxes” here).

The wife and I were told that this is the final selling phase of the project. The launch was made just before Chinese New Year, and only about 70 units remain for sale. Of which, most are 3- and 4-bedrooms, with very few 2-bedders left.

The photos shown here is from a typical 3-bedroom (Type C) unit. The unit type is of standard size (1475sqft), so it is just a question of which facing you prefer – The “North Facing” units look towards Tanglin/Orchard (or the apartments/HDB flats opposite Alexandra Road for lower-floor units), while the “South Facing” units will supposedly get a good view of Sentosa (or rather, the HDB and Redhill MRT Station for low-floor units).

And speaking of MRT Station, the nearest station (Redhill) is a mere 100m away! We were also told that the grounds on which Ascentia Sky is built is elevated by about 0.5m from ground-level. In addition, the units are built on pillars that are about 5-storey high. So the lowest units (2nd floor) are actually on the same level as a 6th floor unit in neighboring developments.

As you enter the unit, a short walkway leads you into the living/dining area. However, this is not before you see the “fish bowl”-like kitchen on your left.

The living room is rectangular shaped and come across as a tad small. This is probably because of the large balcony and planter-box space within the apartment, which takes up about 100sqft. The consolation is that the balcony area is fully covered, and its rectangular shape does make it rather functional, e.g. as an external dining area, which frees up space for the living room.
 

The kitchen is almost square-shaped, and is of good size. The huge window located between the back of the kitchen and the yard provide ample ventilation for both areas – you be surprised how often this important feature is missing from many other new projects we have seen so far.

The unit comes with a small yard area with dedicated space for your washing machine (separate dryer will have to be stacked on top of the washer). It also has a small bathroom and and the home shelter will probably fit a custom-made single bed.

The common bedroom is huge by current standards – it can easily fit a Queen bed (or was it a Super-Single?!) and still have ample space within to move about. This is especially considering that the unit comes with bay windows!

The common bathroom is good-sized, and comes with nice looking fittings.

The wife and I especially loved the huge master bedroom (for a 3-bedder). However, it can certainly do with more wardrobe space, which is just a small strip flushed against the wall to your right as you enter the bedroom. Then again, it is a common curse for all new developments these days, so you and your loved one will probably have to move some of your clothings to the other bedroom for storage… or just make do with less clothes.

The master bathroom is equally impressive – it is spacious and comes with very eye-catching fittings. We especially like the black-colored wall mounted shower-set in the long bath, which is a departure from the standard stanless steel shower you get in other projects.

When we visited the showflat last weekend, the actual construction of Ascentia Sky has reached the 17th floor. And we were told that they are completing an average of 2 floors per week!

We will be posting a more detailed review of the 4-bedroom (1851sqft, Type D) unit in the next couple of days.
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