Orchard Hotel . Review on Orchard Hotel Singapore, Singapore

Orchard Hotel is an economy class 4 star hotel in Singapore. Main reason for choosing this hotel is corporate discount and the location. It takes about 30 minutes from the airport by taxi. Orchard is located on the hub of shopping and entertainment districts on the Orchard Road. For me corporate rate in 2002 was Sing $ 135 (@ 60 USD) for a deluxe room including complementary breakfast.

About Orchard

-Lobby--

One of the key attractions is very well design and well-decorated clean lobby. It is spacious with well-arranged seating arrangement. So, one can avoid hiring business centre for small deals. Restaurants are attached to the lobby so entertaining guest is also very convenient.

Staff-

Very helpful staff makes you feel easy and comfortable. One can expect quick service with a smile from everyone. There are many staffs of Indian origin.

Rooms--

Rooms are not very luxurious but okay for S$ 135. Furniture is not that satisfying but serves the purpose. Cable TV and network for surfing (if you are carrying a laptop) keeps you updated. Few useful types of stationery are available but who cares because we are heading towards paperless life.

I have never used there telephones so cannot tell you about charges. It is better to buy telephone card from the airport and use telephones available in the lobby. Next best alternative to hotel phone is your own mobile operator (however please be careful if it is Idea because I have suffered a lot but still continuing with it because other do not operate at my workplace).

Bathroom is clean and they provide reasonably good toiletries. There are good stocks of clean towels and bathrobe but not as good as many international hotels.

One better thing in orchard is a well-maintained mini-bar and it is not very expensive. Both hard & soft drinks, Celanese tea bags and few chocolates are available. These mini-bars are a temptation and I always drain money. So, I nowadays check the available brands in the mini-bar and buy those from outside. Replace whatever I consume from mini-bar and do not hesitate to do it when I plan for long stay. Many may not like this but I have done this in several occasions.

Non-smoking rooms are also available.

-Restaurants--

There are few restaurants inside the building however I have visited only one in the lobby for drinks and dinner. Not much of experience but food is good. Few Indian dishes are also available. At night orchestra and reasonably good singers will surly helps to reduce stress level however they are too loud. (You know Chinese are loud after few small bottles of beer) Not at all a bad place if someone is reluctant to venture outside hotel.

Cake shop in the lobby is quite expensive. Moon Cakes are available during season and I do not mind to spend because everyone at home likes it.

Room Service-

Being a lazy person and always a late night entrant in the hotel I need room service quite often because I am invariably very hungry. Here, service is very prompt by very well mannered staff. They will not hang around after serving you if late to take out the purse.

Orchard serve food in just 10-15 minutes in a very decent away.

Travel desk--

A well-experienced person is available there to guide you. One can buy tickets for local site seeing tours from there. All sightseeing tour operators have pick up facility from hotel.

Hotel Address

442 Orchard Road

Singapore 238879

I have forgotten the telephone numbers. Internet booking is possible.

Shopping malls and food plazas are just a minute walk on the Orchard Road. From the nearby bus stop one can catch bus for Little India (for good Indian food or Mustafa for shopping) or any other destination. Shops inside Hotel building are very expensive as usual so it is better to venture outside.

Orchard is overall a decent hotel having 600+ rooms. There must be many hotels in same tariff range but I prefer Orchard because of its location and very decent staff.

Enjoy Weekend

24th July 2004