In 2016, Mercedes-Benz presented its first ever Star Drive to Ultra Music Festival Singapore (Ultra Singapore) 2016, the first mega drive for fans and owners of Mercedes-Benz with a total of 130 new generation compact cars driving down from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore.
Last month, for the 2nd year running and as the premium partner of Ultra Singapore 2017, Mercedes-Benz once again delivered an exclusive party experience like no other.
The #UrbanHuntingXUltraSG Star Drive 2017 featured a contingency of 120 new generation compact cars driving down from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore. Fans, friends, owners (AMG Club Malaysia represent!), and members of the media arrived at the Mercedes-Benz City Store in entertainment hub TREC Kuala Lumpur bright and early on the morning of 9th June (Friday) in anticipation of what’s in store for the next couple of days.
You could say that a distinctive buzz of excitement (and buzz from the free-flow coffee) was in the air 🙂
A line of the new generation Mercedes-Benz A-Class, CLA, and GLA awaited their drivers, ready to assist partygoers in arriving at their destination (Singapore) with a chockfull of swag.
After copious amounts of coffee and pastries, we all got into our respective three-pointed star rides (the new generation GLA 200 for me, score!) and the convoy was flagged off by Mercedes-Benz Malaysia’s Vice President of Sales & Marketing Mark Raine as well as other representatives from the Mercedes-Benz City Store.
The convoy took us down the North–South Expressway, with a lead car, a sweeper car, and outriders in formation just to keep us in check. The plan was to drive on for a couple of hours before making a pitstop at Jalan Dhoby in Johor Bahru for lunch.
For the uninitiated, the historical Jalan Dhoby street (aka “hipster street”) is home to hip establishments and hang out joints, and a popular haunt for cafe-hoppers. Thankfully, Mercedes-Benz Malaysia graciously booked out a couple of restaurants (The Replacement – Lodge and Kitchen, Flowers in the Window, Roost Café) to accommodate all of us.
I plonked myself down in Flowers in the Window, a whimsical “secret garden” cafe that boasts an indoor garden, floral decorations, high ceilings, and all the right trimmings (read: charming, mismatched furniture). The 2-storey eatery also features an open kitchen that you can see all the way from the top.
After lunch, I adjourned to the The Ice-Cream Project and Chaiwalla & Co. Container Cafe aka the “chilling stations” to grab dessert to-go. Because it’s hard to say no to dessert and driving long journey makes one hungry! Once everyone has gotten their fill, we continued on our journey to The Lion City.
Saying that we arrived in Singapore soon after in style (imagine the looks that the Mercedes-Benz convoy got along the busy Johor-Singapore causeway!) doesn’t even do it any justice because as soon as we arrived, we were quickly directed to The Ritz-Carlton, a luxury 5-star hotel at Millenia Singapore.
So, The Ritz-Carlton was where Taylor Swift stayed while she was in Singapore for her “Speak Now World Tour” in 2011. It was also where the SM Entertainment idols (TVXQ, Super Junior, SNSD Girls’ Generation, EXO, SHINee, f(x), BoA, Kangta) stayed for the 6th leg of the “SMTown Live World Tour III” in 2012. Talk about star quality! But I digress.
It was almost 5pm by then and while more invited guests from the other participating countries (there were 10 in total, we hear!) continued to file in, I checked in to my beautiful “home for the long weekend”. Oh, and I need to make it a point to mention here that Mercedes-Benz Malaysia gives the best welcome packs 🙂
After a quick dinner get-together with the other members of the media and our friends from Mercedes-Benz Malaysia, most of us knocked out early from the long day and in preparation for the even longer day that awaited us the next day at Ultra Singapore 2017.
Finally came Saturday – it was time to party! I was duly impressed by the size of the Mercedes-Benz Suite located at the heart of Ultra Park. That massive, luxury tent provided an unobstructed view of the Ultra Main Stage, which means that we had the best seats in the house.
From noon till night, the suite hosted more than than 1,500 partners, customers, and fans across the region over the 2-day Ultra Singapore festival. Full service bars served drink after drink (my RFID Ultra Singapore tag came preloaded with 5 complimentary drinks) and there were also free popsicles all around!
We also got up close and personal with the car display within the suite – the Mercedes-AMG GT S and the newly launched Mercedes-Benz GLA.
And let’s not forget the lounge-y areas complete with sofas and bean bags! It allowed us to soak in the euphoric melodies and bass-driven beats (courtesy of the performing DJs/producers e.g. Hardwell, Tiesto, Dash Berlin, Nicky Romero, Steve Aoki, Steve Angello, just to name a few) as well as the mind-blowingly spectacular pyrotechnics and stunning multi-storey LED display in the comfort of the Mercedes-Benz Suite. We were so pampered and so spoiled, it was ridiculous – but in all the best ways.
After partying hard on both Ultra Singapore 2017 days (it was a miracle that I survived it without any hangovers whatsoever), it was time to go home. I picked up the keys to my ride back to Kuala Lumpur, the Mercedes-Benz CLA this time, and even squeezed in a little bathtub time for some R&R before packing up and checking out of The Ritz-Carlton.
Because we were treated so well the entire time that we were there, I left Singapore on 12th June (Monday) with a heavy heart – but not without a smile on my face, of course. It’s safe to say that Mercedes-Benz Malaysia made us all feel like stars, indeed. Just putting it out there 😉
Thank you so much for the opportunity, Mercedes-Benz Malaysia!
For more information on Mercedes-Benz Malaysia, hit up their website or Facebook page.
Featured image: Ultra Singapore.
