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Luxury travel inspiration from the Asia-Pacific region

DestinAsian

<h2><strong>Why stay?  </strong></h2>
<p>For three decades (or four, if you count its previous incarnation as Pavilion InterContinental), the Regent Singapore was a local landmark, beloved as much for its grand, lofty interiors as its sweep of restaurants, including the legendary Summer Palace. The property has recently emerged from a long overdue tip-to-toe refurbishment of its guest rooms and public spaces, alongside new management under the Conrad slash Hilton banner. For long-time habitués of the Regent, the good news is that the newly monikered, freshly spruced up hotel is still every bit as good as the old one, and then some.</p>
<h3><strong>The neighborhood</strong></h3>
<p>Located off the quiet west end of Orchard Road amid a forest of extraordinarily expensive condominiums, old-money residences, and swanky hotels including the St. Regis and the Edition, Conrad Singapore Orchard has an impeccable address that’s matched by its convenient proximity to the vast Botanic Gardens to the west and the CBD to the east. Orchard Boulevard, the nearest MRT station, lies just a few hundred meters away.</p>
<p><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-136606 size-full" src="https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Conrad-Singapore-Orchard-Tea-Lounge.jpg" alt="Inside the Tea Lounge at Conrad Singapore Orchard." width="1200" height="800" srcset="https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Conrad-Singapore-Orchard-Tea-Lounge.jpg 1200w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Conrad-Singapore-Orchard-Tea-Lounge-300x200.jpg 300w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Conrad-Singapore-Orchard-Tea-Lounge-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Conrad-Singapore-Orchard-Tea-Lounge-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /></p>
<h4><strong>The feel</strong></h4>
<p>The extensive refurbishments have breathed new life into the hotel, particularly its public spaces and restaurants—mostly the work of local hotshot studio, Matthew Shang Design Office. Once gloomy, dated spaces now pop with lighter hues, mood lighting, fresh upholstery, botanical themed carpets, and low-slung furniture, their modern silhouettes emphasizing the building’s great architectural bones.</p>
<h5><strong>Guest quarters</strong></h5>
<p>Unscripted Design has updated the rooms in a soothing palette of beige, blonde timber, excellent reading lights, handsome armchairs, and comfy ottomans. Adding to the existing collection of framed traditional textiles, Singaporean art curator The Artling reinforces the sense of the tropics with modern photographs, paintings, and illustrations of botanicals. The balconies in each room, dressed with slim-line furniture and daybeds, draw guests out of the overly air-conditioned interiors. By millennial standards, the bathrooms are, for a five-star hotel, all on the small side, but that has more to do with the original 1980s floor plan than anything else.</p>
<h6><strong>Food and drink</strong></h6>
<p>It’s physically impossible to go hungry at the Conrad, such is the movable feast on offer. The ground floor alone is a foodie’s haven with the Italian breads, pastries, alcohol, ice-cream, and all-day snacks of Dolcetto in the south wing; and a full-blown international afternoon tea buffet at the Tea Lounge, and a bijou outpost of Michelin-starred sushi restaurant Shoukouwa in the north wing. Upstairs, take your pick from a smorgasbord of Korean, Japanese, European, and Chinese. Basilico thrills with its first-rate Italian spread including a jaw-dropping cheese room; Summer Palace holds court with a classic Cantonese menu; and Manhattan seduces with sexy dark interiors, killer drinks, and a blow-out Sunday brunch spread of bourbon milkshakes, roasts, and seafood.</p>
<p><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-136604 size-full" src="https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Conrad-Singapore-Orchard-Manhattan-Bar-Library-and-Majestic-Cocktail.jpg" alt="Inside the Library at Manhattan bar; the same venue's Majestic cocktail." width="1200" height="800" srcset="https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Conrad-Singapore-Orchard-Manhattan-Bar-Library-and-Majestic-Cocktail.jpg 1200w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Conrad-Singapore-Orchard-Manhattan-Bar-Library-and-Majestic-Cocktail-300x200.jpg 300w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Conrad-Singapore-Orchard-Manhattan-Bar-Library-and-Majestic-Cocktail-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Conrad-Singapore-Orchard-Manhattan-Bar-Library-and-Majestic-Cocktail-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /></p>
<h6><strong>Wellness factor</strong></h6>
<p>Unusually, the Conrad has no spa. Its wellness facilities consist entirely of a spacious, updated gym (sans sauna or steam room), the original in-the-round swimming pool, and a limited activities program by local health and fitness outfit Trapeze Rec. Club.</p>
<h6><strong>Family matters</strong></h6>
<p>Children are entirely welcome, though there is no kids’ club or play area. Babysitting services can be organized by the concierge. Meanwhile, pet-owners will get to check in with their dogs so long as they weigh no more than 35 kilograms, but they won’t be allowed in the restaurants.</p>
<h6><strong>Sustainability cred</strong></h6>
<p>The hotel is part of a wave of new or refurbished properties across Singapore that has jettisoned plastic water bottles in favor of in-room filtered water taps, while shower and conditioner gels are dispensed from large, refillable bottles. Even more commendable is a novel collaboration with local recycling company Greensquare, through which guests can leave behind old clothes and accessories to be donated to charity.</p>
<h6><strong>What else?</strong></h6>
<p>Conrad Singapore Orchard is one of four atrium-styled hotels in the city-state designed by the legendary American architect John Portman—the other three being the Mandarin Oriental, Pan Pacific Singapore, and Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay. Note that there are now two Conrads in the city; if you’ve booked a room here, be sure you don’t end up at the Conrad Centennial Singapore on the other side of town.</p>
<p>Reviewed by <strong>Daven</strong><strong> Wu</strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.conradsingaporeorchard.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">conradsingaporeorchard.com</a><br />
+65 6733 8888<br />
<a href="https://maps.app.goo.gl/2sYoUk7p4uKZfab68" target="_blank" rel="noopener">1 Cuscaden Rd., Singapore</a></p>


The soaring modernist atrium at Conrad Singapore Orchard.

Conrad Singapore Orchard

Singapore Hotels