Hotel Review - Orchard Hotel Singapore

At the time of writing, Orchard Hotel is rated at number 52nd out of the other hotels in Singapore by Tripadvisor readers. As it is located along Orchard Road, the shopping city of the nation, and considering it is a 4star hotel, how bad can it really be?

I am in for a shock! Check-in reception was slow and the most outrageous thing was the fact that there there were not many guests going through check-in.

My check-in was handled by a guy (I have decided to make him anonymous here)who seemed pleasant at first until he asked me a question which appalled me - What time will you be checking out?

My goodness - that is exactly like asking what time will I be leaving? This is just so wrong. I believe informing me of the check-out time(like other hotels I have visited) would have sufficed.

What make matters worse is the fact that I did not get a double bed room but a twin bed room - I indicated in my booking form that I am going to be staying on my own so why can't they have booked a double room for me. Very upset! But the hotel did have a non-guaranteed clause so there is nothing that I can do about it.

Lifts to your room require a card to access to other levels. The corridor is more towards contemporary style - this is indeed a business hotel – and from its interior it looks exactly like it.

Upon entering the room my immediate disappointment was with the bathroom. Size was a tad small and to make matter more unpleasant is the very fact that there is no dental kit nor any shaving kit. The guest is required to call for the items to be delivered to your room. I don’t understand the rationale for this at all. Luckily upon calling, those items were sent promptly which ease my frustration a little.

I always love a bathroom with rain shower and Orchard Hotel has it albeit being part of the bathtub. The mirror has some Chinese character on it - pretty Zen-looking if you asked me. It is also very clean and well maintained. However the complimentary toiletries are pretty generics.

From the toilet you can pretty much overlook the sleeping area. In other words if you are a couple you can enjoy the great view of your partner from your side.

The beds and pillows were not as comfy as I expect them to be, it is rather too soft for my taste. But I have to say that the bedroom walls are pretty nicely designed. Very aesthetics. The help desk has a caller id so there is no need to even mention my room number - which makes me ask myself - if they have caller id why can't they answer the phone by stating my name - is that too much to ask for a little service?

No laze chair unfortunately but i guess that armchair will have to do. My other redemption for the room is the 32inch LCD screen.

Another thing which pisses me off is the view outside my window - simply horrendous.

However small touches like my name on the TV is an added bonus.

Another thing - its at Orchard Road so location wise its perfect for shopping and in the end I ended up spending more than SGD200 just for taking a stroll along that wretched road. Oh well, I have not shopped for a while :)

I guess the special room rate that was offered to me was good and edging on being complimentary. As such I believe this must be one of their cheaper rooms. But would you pay the standard normal rate of SGD150 to SGD200 for such a room?

Thus my first ever stay in a hotel in Singapore is quite a dismay which makes me promise myself to only stay and review hotels that are in the TOP 20 in Singapore.

Overall rating: 65 out of a possible 100.

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