In February 2022, I checked into Hilton Singapore Orchard, set above Mandarin Gallery along the iconic Orchard Road shopping stretch. Formerly the Mandarin Orchard Singapore, the 1,080-room hotel relaunched as a Hilton hotel on 24 February 2022 as part of its first phase of opening after an extensive S$150 million renovation. Both Orchard and Somerset MRT Stations are a short walk from the hotel, with major shopping destinations such as ION Orchard, Ngee Ann City and Paragon just steps away.
The mega-hotel is positioned as Hilton’s Asia-Pacific flagship property, and is the region’s largest Hilton hotel. Other notable properties in the area include The St. Regis Singapore, Marriott Singapore Tang Plaza Hotel, voco Orchard Singapore and Four Seasons Hotel Singapore.
The hotel is in its first phase of soft opening, with its current guests mainly being those who have been staying at or had booked stays this period for Mandarin Orchard Singapore. The property has yet to complete renovations for the guest rooms in the Orchard Wing, but tentatively from 7 March 2022 onwards, the swimming pool as well as the Mandarin Wing – which houses the newly-renovated guest rooms, the revamped fitness centre as well as the new Executive Lounge – will be fully open.
I was the first Hilton Honors Diamond member to check into the property, and received 10,000 Hilton Honors points as well as a bottle of Laurent-Perrier La Cuvée brut champagne to commemorate the occasion. Here’s what you can expect from the hotel when it enters its next phase of opening on 7 March 2022.
HILTON SINGAPORE ORCHARD
Past the front doors of the hotel’s main driveway entrance, elevators connect you to the reception area on the 5th level for the completion of your check-in process. Apart from housing the hotel’s signature restaurants as well as the swimming pool, the 5th level also provides connectivity between the hotel’s Mandarin Wing and Orchard Wing as well as direct access to casual dining restaurant Chatterbox.
Paying tribute to Orchard Road’s nutmeg and pepper farms, fruit orchards as well as surrounding plantations back in the 1800’s, the hotel boasts a botanical-inspired design across its various spaces, pairing light and dark woods with forest green shades and various textures of grey, accentuated by streams of natural light. Vibrantly-coloured floral arrangements add elegant flashes of visual drama to the visually distinct spaces within multi-concept lobby lounge/bar/deli Ginger.Lily, while buffet restaurant Estate showcases colonial design flourishes as well as botanical motifs in its design. Interior design firm Avalon Collective (who are also behind Caroline’s Mansion at The St. Regis Singapore as well as various Four Seasons luxury properties across Asia) are behind the hotel’s general design mandate.
The hotel boasts five dining concepts: residential buffet restaurant Estate; multi-concept lounge and bar Ginger.Lily; LA-based Italian restaurant Osteria Mozza; Michelin-starred Japanese-Szechuan restaurant Shisen Hanten; and casual dining restaurant Chatterbox which is famed for its iconic chicken rice and other Singapore fare. With the exception of Osteria Mozza, which is scheduled to open in April, the other restaurants will (re)open their doors progressively across the March 2022 period.
Guests will be able to access the fitness centre, swimming pool and Executive Lounge from 7 March 2022 onwards. The sleek fitness centre is equipped with an extensive range of state-of-the-art Technogym equipment, while the impressive Executive Lounge stretches across almost the entire length of the level and offers a variety of seating arrangements, including sizeable private booths for larger groups. My favourite area would be the sophisticated residential set-up at the far end of the Executive Lounge, which plays it like the posh living room of a well-heeled corporate socialite.
ROOMS
Set within the Mandarin Wing and overlooking the quiet affluent neighbourhood behind Orchard Road, the spacious 49sqm King Premium Family Room boasts a convertible sofa bed, a chaise lounge, a table with attached power outlets which can serve both work and dining purposes as well as a minibar stocked with snacks, bottled still and sparkling water as well as Nespresso coffee-making facilities. While the room is fitted with an open wardrobe with attached full-length mirror, hanging racks behind the TV console provide additional storage and wardrobe space (reportedly to cater for the indulgent shopping habits of shoppers and tourists along the Orchard Road shopping belt).
Decked in white marble and dramatic glossy black tiling, the beautiful monochrome-palette bathroom offers a large back-lit vanity as well as an enclosed shower area with rainfall shower and a free-standing bathtub. Bathroom amenities are from Italian beauty brand Acca Kappa.
The hotel’s commitment to sustainability is evident in your guest experience – wooden key cards replace the usual plastic ones you might expect; lights and air-conditioning are motion sensor-controlled; drinking water is packaged in cartons made from recyclable material; and your bathroom amenities are in large bottles attached to the wall as opposed to small single-use plastic bottles.
I managed to take a peek at other room types during my stay, and can confirm that all other non-suite bathrooms boast the same glossy black tile design while suites offer gorgeous pearl marble bathrooms.
DINING
Breakfast will be served at Estate, the buffet restaurant located on the 5th level. While breakfast service was not available during my stay (I was offered in-room dining for my Diamond breakfast benefit), I did manage to go for dinner on their first day of operations and take advantage of my Hilton Honors Diamond member 25% dining discount.
The buffet dinner experience comprises a raw & seafood kitchen with seafood on ice such as tiger prawns, freshly shucked seasonal oysters, black mussels and scallops in shell as well as cold appetisers such as Red Tiger Prawns with Mango and Quinoa and Soy Glazed Beef, Asian Mushroom Salad and Curry Leaf; soups such as Signature Peking Duck Consommé and Butternut Pumpkin Soup; a grill kitchen offering skewers such as Black Miso Chicken, Grilled Thai-Style Beef Skirt and Kurobuta Pork Teriyaki with Spring Onion; a wok, fry and premium barbecue section offering the Estate Black Truffle Roasted Duck, Honey Soy-glazed Australian Short Ribs, Passionfruit Sweet and Sour Pork, Kam Heong Clams with Omelette as well as Steamed Fish with Green Chili, Black Beans & Bamboo Leaf; a noodle and wrap kitchen serving dishes such as Squid Ink Tagliatelle with Octopus Confit and Cantonese-style Wagyu Beef Noodles; as well as an enticing array of desserts from pastry chef Cindy Khoo such as Hilton Signature Cheesecake, Torched Citron Tart, Raspberry Champagne Gelee, Marsala Wine Tiramisu and Mango Infused Jasmine Cake.
I must admit that, despite trying almost every single dish available like the porcine glutton that I am, I managed to find space for two additional jars of Raspberry Champagne Gelee, which were so boozy it was akin to having a glass of bubbly for the road.
Boasting soaring ceilings and grand door panels, the most beautiful space in the hotel would arguably be the multi-concept and botanical-inspired Ginger.Lily, which serves as an all-day grab & go deli, an afternoon tea destination as well as an intimate bar from evening onwards. The iconic Hilton Cheese Cake and its Asian sibling Black Sesame Swirl Cheese Cake are available alongside other dainty creations such as the black tea-infused The Ginger.Lily and the juicy, chunky Apple Strudel.
Michael Mendoza (formerly from Sofitel Singapore City Centre and PARKROYAL COLLECTION Marina Bay) heads the bar programme, with the upcoming cocktail menu created in collaboration with Proof & Company.
Known for its chicken rice served in an upscale setting, Chatterbox will reopen its doors in mid-March after an extensive revamp that cost reportedly close to S$4 million. The 126-seater space will offer its perennial favourites such as Mandarin Chicken Rice and Lobster Laksa alongside indulgent sides such as the luscious Mackerel & Crab Otah-Otah as well as the crispy-skinned Sea Perch with Burnt Green Chilli.
Rounding up the list of restaurant concepts would be the Michelin-starred Japanese-Szechuan restaurant Shisen Hanten as well as the upcoming Italian restaurant Osteria Mozza.
P.S. Mandarin Orchard Singapore’s club lounge, Top of the M, was set within the hotel’s dual-level rooftop space which boasted 360° views of the Orchard Road shopping belt and beyond. The fate of the glorious space has yet to be announced, and my breath is certainly bated.
Hilton Singapore Orchard
333 Orchard Road
Singapore 238867
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