This is a budget priced Hotel so we were not expecting premium quality and this review is based on that premise.
The Orchard Hotel is VERY WELL LOCATED, it is on Orchard Road, very convenient for all the central shops, restaurants and entertainments, for a City Break its situation is ideal.
Check-in was a queue up affair (not in-room Check-In) but that was what we expected. We were given a complimentary upgrade so this review is based on a delux room.
My only observation on check-in (and this does not relate to this Hotel in particular) is that when one arrives having carted ones luggage from home to the airport baggage drop and from the arrival airport to the Hotel - why do hotels insist on taking them away at the last minute so that they can deliver them to your room at some later point whilst one hangs around conscious that someone is going to come to the door at any minute. This just makes it awkward to shower, unpack, get changed or relax. I went to get the cases!
We were on the 10th floor and although the Hotel is in the City centre we had no street noise at all nor much corridor noise, it was very generally peaceful.
The room was spacious, pleasantly furnished in a simple, modern and attractive fashion, it was clean and welcoming. The bed was large and very comfortable, an extra blanket and pillow were in the cupboard. The bathroom well appointed with a good range of toiletries and a pull out washing line! The toiletries included shampoo, conditioner, shower gel and moisturiser and the accessories toothbrush and paste, make-up pads and Q-tips, shower cap and shaving general toiletries, soap etc. all were replenished daily which meant not having to go out and buy bathroom essentials. These incidentals are only important because our carrier airline although excellent in all other respects, only allow a tiny 20kg per person luggage allowance which, if you are planning a shopping trip to Singapore means travelling with little more than the clothes one is standing in, thus minimal luggage, and clothing recycling become important matters. There was an ironing board and iron and plenty of storage (especially as we had so little luggage!)
In the room, the tea making facilities are good and to ensure it remained so, our first evening stroll included buying further tea bags and "real milk" (fresh) which meant we were set for a few days. There is safe and a fridge with the usual array of overpriced snacks and fizzy drinks. We took wine with us from the Uk since alcohol prices in Singapore are far higher than at home.
The bathroom was clean, well appointed, equipped with a bath tub and a very efficient shower giving plentiful hot water even when the hot water in the basin was being run concurrently.
The room had two phones, a clock that doubled as an iPod /iPhone charger, a large flat screen TV and several 3 pin UK compliant sockets as well as other socket types, so we were well catered for in terms of comfort and utility.
The main atrium at the Orchard Hotel is both impressive and slightly utilitarian, it reminded me of Waterloo Station concourse, perhaps because it was always bustling and sports a very large clock, it was clean and had very good facilities but little dignity or charm.
My one BIG GRIPE, there is no inclusive Internet access. I can just about accept that in-room wifi is not included with the with the basic accommodation deal although it is hard to see why not since all rooms are suitably equipped BUT... no inclusive wifi in the public areas is unacceptable in the modern world It would not be so bad except that the charge for Internet was S$25per day -a huge amount! In a 3rd world country I could understand this but in Singapore where almost every Shopping Mall and cafe offers complimentary wifi is a pitiful state of affairs. This niggardly behaviour by the hotel meant that we breakfasted daily at Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf across the road where wifi was freely available to all customers, a net loss to the Orchard Hotel!
On the first day we mistakenly pushed the button Do Not Disturb button and duly a note was left which we found on our return at 19:30, I went immediately to reception to explain our error and ask if the room could be serviced when we left for the evening at 20:30. There was no quibble and we were offered a room service or just fresh towels immediately, we declined the kind offer and when we returned at 22:00 the room was well serviced and order restored, the mistake was entirely ours but the hotel could not have been more understanding and accommodating.
We turned off the air-con in our room to suit our preference for a warmer environment and it was a credit to Housekeeping that they took note and did not automatically turn it on each day after servicing the room.
Complimentary 500ml bottles of water were left daily in our room and the toiletries replenished once they had been opened, I thought the room servicing to be somewhat patchy, cups were sometimes left dirty and tea bags not replenished but the hotel was very quick to correct mistakes when they were brought to their notice.
The air conditioning was quiet and effective although I turned it off as a matter of preference.
On our morning of departure our transport failed to show up and the hotel staff could not have been more helpful, they made calls on our behalf and resolved the issue in good time to get us to the airport comfortably and with time to spare. It was not their problem but they took on management of it and were excellent.
Some reviews have noted that the adjacent Orchard Towers Mall is a red light area and the pavement across the road from the the hotel is used by prostitutes to ply their trade but unless I had previously read so on TA I would not particularly have noticed, it is quiet and pretty low key, it certainly gave us no cause for concern. Incidentally precisely the same is true of the Hilton Hotel which is also across the road from Orchard Towers and adjacent to the Orchard Hotel.
My perception is that the Orchard Hotel offers very reasonably priced, clean, accommodation in well appointed rooms with an excellent location and that is it, it balances lower cost rooms with very expensive extras such as Wifi, this is not a complain (apart from the lack of Wifi in the public areas), TBH I like it because it offers choice. We used to stay at the Four Seasons Hotel ( just a few hundred yards away) which is far more gracious but we used a tiny % of the extensive, inclusive facilities, therefore we paid for a lot of extras that, being tourists rather than business travellers we simply did not use. At the Orchard Hotel we could pay for only what we wanted and the location just had the edge on the Four Seasons. We will certainly be content stay at the Orchard Hotel again but we will investigate local PAYG phone deals for Wifi.
Room Tip: Be prepared to visit one of the Malls or Cafes to use Internet Services if you have not bought in-ro...
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This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
