Hotel Review: Holiday Inn Singapore Orchard City Centre

The Holiday Inn Singapore Orchard City Centre stands as one of the most centrally-located hotels in Singapore. Its location just behind the Centrepoint mall, within walking distance to the Orchard Road stretch, makes it highly popular among leisure travelers. It is one of the hotels I frequently recommend to friends from overseas whenever they ask for a mid-range option in Singapore. Likewise, it is one of the few hotels in the country that offer two double beds under the twin category which makes it easy for those traveling with kids.

I recently spent a night at this IHG property. Although I have been here a couple of times, this was actually my first time staying here. The hotel was renovated in 2009 – prior to that the property was known as the Holiday Inn Parkview. One defining feature of the hotel is its open atrium which used to look down to the lobby. After not being here for a while, I discovered that the atrium now houses the club lounge – but more on that later.

As I was checking in during a weekend which happened to be a holiday, there was quite a crowd when I was queuing at the front desk. However, it was cleared relatively quickly and staff members proactively approached guests to speeden up transactions. I went in around 2 hours prior to check-in time but fortunately my room was already available. As an IHG Elite benefit, I was also asked to pick a prize from a bowl and ended up with 1,000 points. Not bad compared to the 500pts and 250pts I won from Holiday Inn Singapore Atrium and Crowne Plaza Changi Airport previously. I was also told the free drinks voucher for IHG Rewards Club members have been discontinued. Not sure if this is also the case now in other IHG properties in Singapore.

My room for this particular stay was a Club Room – located at the 7th floor of the hotel overlooking the atrium. The size is advertised to be 31 square meters and is definitely a marked improvement over its sister hotels. The rooms at the Holiday Inn Singapore Orchard City Centre carried a distinct green shade which was made even more apparent by the view of the shrubbery from the window.

The Holiday Inn Singapore Orchard City Centre property charges a premium over the one in Havelock Road. One can argue that this is because of the location but after a closer inspection of the room, I found that this is also because of the fittings within. The room for instance came with a DVD player, had more bells and whistles such as a weighing scale, iPod dock, Handy phone with free data and calls and a 37″ LCD TV. This is on top of an already quite elegant set of fittings which create a more upmarket feel.

The king-sized bed was huge and was a delight to sleep on. As with other Holiday Inn properties, guests get to have equal numbers of soft and firm pillows which are handily labeled so that I didn’t have to guess which is which.

The bathroom came with a tub which had an overhead shower. The bathroom mirror was thankfully the fog-free type while copious amounts of towels (the thick and fluffy kind) were provided in various shapes and sizes. Toiletries came from the in-house brand, as can be expected. It wouldn’t be a Holiday Inn without that trademark oatmeal hand soap!

Executive Lounge at Holiday Inn Singapore Orchard City Centre

The Holiday Inn Singapore Orchard City Centre boasts of an executive lounge that probably has the highest ceiling in Singapore. Set in the atrium, it’s a bright and airy affair that serves not only the standard breakfast and evening cocktails but also afternoon tea. Here’s a summary of the executive lounge benefits:

• Personalized check-in and check-out service at the executive lounge
• Access to club lounge from 7am to 11pm with light refreshments available all-day
• Breakfast at either the club lounge from 7am to 11pm or at Window on the Park from 5:30am to 10:30am
• Snacks from 1pm to 4pm
• Evening cocktails from 6pm to 8pm. During evening cocktails, the lounge transforms into an adults-only venue
• 2 pieces for laundry and pressing (non-accumulative)
• Free internet access
• Complimentary local calls
• Late check out til 4pm

I dropped by the club lounge during cocktail hour to find a decent assortment of both cold and hot items. If you’re too tired to grab dinner, the spread here can make for a modest evening meal. There were a number of sushi rolls plus three or four hot items. The club lounge staff members were pretty proactive in offering drinks. I asked for the cocktail list and was offered selections such as Singapore Sling and Gin and Tonic.

Facilities

Up at the 8th floor is the hotel’s wellness area. Here, you can find a modest gym and a lap pool. If you’re a pretty serious swimmer, you’ll find that the pool here is deeper than many other hotels (up to 2.4 meters deep at the center) although recreational users may very well enjoy the shallower sections. I was also pleasantly surprised to find a jacuzzi, probably a first for a Holiday Inn property. Kids are also not left out as there’s a separate children’s pool.

I dropped by Window on the Park, the hotel’s all-day dining restaurant for breakfast but as I was staying on a holiday weekend, I found a queue already forming to get inside the restaurant. After finding a seat, I surveyed the buffet spread to find quite a good variety of breakfast items. There was a wide array of western, Indian and local dishes but a personal highlight for me was the Chinese section. Their steamed buns and siu mai practically took up most of my tummy space that morning.

As it was also Deepavali during the time of my stay, I dropped by the hotel’s award-winning Indian restaurant, Tandoor and had their dinner set menu. For $59++ per person, the food was very good and brimming with different exotic flavors. Do note that serving sizes are huge.

Verdict

For a mid-range property, the hotel exceeded my expectations by offering a few touches of what you might find in more upmarket properties. The rooms are spacious and well-appointed while the staff members are polite and responsive. In summary, the property delivers as a Holiday Inn and gives a little bit more.

Holiday Inn Singapore Orchard City Centre
11 Cavenagh Road
Singapore 229616

Tel: +65 6733 8333

Reservations: Compare the best prices HERE