In March 2023, I checked into the Club Residence Room at Pullman Singapore Orchard. Formerly the Grand Park Orchard, the property underwent extensive renovations and reopened its doors as an Accor hotel in 2022. The 326-room hotel is situated along the famed Orchard Road shopping belt near major shopping malls such as Paragon, ION Orchard and Takashimaya. The hotel is five minutes away from Orchard and Somerset MRT Stations, while Changi Airport is 20 minutes away by car.
Nearby hotels include Hilton Singapore Orchard, Singapore Marriott Tang Plaza Hotel, The St. Regis Hotel Singapore, voco Singapore Orchard and Four Seasons Hotel Singapore.
The UTW (“Under Ten Words”): Playful, fashion-inspired modern chic in the heart of Orchard Road.
The must-dos (if any): Ride an animal float in the swimming pool, enjoy a meal at Eden Restaurant, unwind in the Archive Club.
PULLMAN SINGAPORE ORCHARD
Drawing its design inclinations from art and fashion, the chic hotel starts your journey on a suitably eye-catching note with a snazzy, shades-wearing French Bulldog installation (inspired by the “AeroBull” Bluetooth speakers created by musician Jean-Michel Jerre) greeting you at the main entrance. After completing your check-in process on the ground level lobby with its shimmering chain installations, you would have to take a lift to the 4th level in order to transfer to the guest room elevators. Before that, you would first pass Atelier Lounge, the hotel’s sexy designer social space suited for afternoon tea and tipples from the bar, followed by a dramatic, colour-changing neon-lit walkway that looks like it will transport you to a naughty nightclub as opposed to something as pedestrian as a hotel lift lobby.
The 4th level also hosts the hotel’s key dining and wellness spaces – Eden Restaurant, the glasshouse-esque space serving modern Asian cuisine; P.S.O. Beach Club, where you can enjoy floating on a duck float in the hotel’s striking outdoor swimming pool or lounging on a private cabana with a glass – or bottle – of rosé after earning your calories at the fitness studio on the same level; and the Archive Club, the exclusive Executive Lounge which houses two confessional booth-esque private work booths and whose evening cocktail and canapes presentation gives you access to an extensive variety of wines, spirits and even Singapore Sling and Negroni bottled cocktails.
CLUB RESIDENCE ROOM
Located on the hotel’s highest levels and offering rare views of the central Orchard Road shopping stretch through large windows with an accompanying daybed, the 32sqm Club Residence Room plays it all stylish comfort with wood and bronzed textures, leather accents as well as a neutral palette with shocks of vibrant colour courtesy of the headboard, carpet and assortment of art pieces in the room. Smart room controls allow you to customise your lighting and air-conditioning levels.
The minibar conveniently carries wine glasses to facilitate spontaneous in-room imbibing without the need to call room service, and is stocked with Nespresso coffee pods, T2 tea bags, chocolate bars and various beverages, including Brewlander beers and hotel-branded bottled cocktails (which you can also find at the Archive Club).
The aesthetically pleasing bathroom looks like it belongs to another hotel altogether. In contrast to the understated feel of the bedroom, the playfully designed bathroom boasts white and navy blue dual-coloured tiling, a terrazzo table-top with double vanities, a plush terracotta upholstered stool as well as a cavernous shower room with C.O. Bigelow bathroom amenities dispensed from wall-attached pump bottles.
DINING
Breakfast is served at Eden Restaurant, the hotel’s glasshouse-style modern Asian dining concept on the 4th floor with plenty of greenery and natural light. Aside from the obligatory selection of pastries, cold cuts and juices etc, the buffet also consists of an egg station, a modest buffet selection of Asian dishes (think Congee, Olive Fried Rice, Sesame Oil Chicken and Vegetable Curry) as well as a noodle station which presents a different dish daily. During my visit, I was served a delicious Mee Rebus which possessed a subtle yet daring spiciness of gravy.
Eden Restaurant’s dinner menu comprises a variety of starters such as the Thai Papaya Salad (classic Thai shredded green papaya salad with king river prawn and fresh pomelo), Beef Rendang (slow-cooked beef cheek in coconut milk with Asian aromatics and spices) and Eden Crab Cake (golden crab cake with mixed herb, spices and chilli lime aioli); an assortment of mains such as Steamed Atlantic Cod Fillet (cod fish steamed in banana leaf, served with cherry tomato and fermented black beans), Lime Ribeye Steak (charred New Zealand grass-fed ribeye with watercress and fennel “waterfall” salad) and Crusted Grilled Pork (Duroc pork chops coated with scallion and ginger, served with green beans); and a range of desserts such as White Sesame Hokkaido Milk Puff (fried sesame puff filled with creamy Hokkaido milk, served with lemon curd) and Coconut Pandan Tart (silky pandan cream with coconut caramel and kaffir lime ice cream).
My favourites of the evening were the refreshing and appetite-whetting Tuna Ceviche With Ikura (citrus cooked yellowfin tuna with kaffir coconut cream, Ikura and finger lime) which surprised with the unexpected appearance of sweet, Thai-tinged coconut creaminess as well as the well-seasoned Szechuan T-Bone (grain-fed beef seasoned with house made Szechuan marinade) which managed to ensure you enjoy the gently numbing wonders of Szechuan peppercorn with every bite of juicy steak.
Stylish lounge space Atelier Lounge presents a variety of bites (think Nasi Lemak, Fish & Chips and Miso Fries) as well as a cocktail menu created in conjunction with pan-Asian craft spirits company Orientalist Spirits, meaning the brand’s vodka, gin and whisky feature across the various Asian-inspired cocktails such as The Orientalist Vesper (Orientalist Gunpowder Gin, Orientalist Origins Vodka) and Kelapa Club (Orientalist 8YO Dragon Whisky, Oolong Tea, Coconut Water), although you are of course able to order classic cocktails such as Old Fashioned and Negroni with your choice of available spirits.
Rounding up the dining concepts is P.S.O. Beach Club which serves bites such as Kentang Penyet (fried red skin potato tossed in homemade sweet soy sauce) and Traditional Satay with Peanut Sauce alongside a variety of wines, with a particular emphasis on rosé – there is even a rosé button at one end of the pool (the swim-up bar) for you to get rosé service.
CONCLUSION
Amidst neighbouring properties such as Hilton Singapore Orchard, Singapore Marriott Tang Plaza Hotel and The St. Regis Hotel Singapore which are decidedly more conservative and traditional with their hospitality offerings, Pullman Singapore Orchard possesses a certain freshness, playfulness and edgy brand of style which sets it apart from the competition. A very welcome addition to the bustling Orchard Road stretch and also the Singapore Accor portfolio of hotels.
Pullman Singapore Orchard
270 Orchard Road
Singapore 238857
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