In January 2025, I checked into the Premium Balcony King at Artyzen Singapore. Located along Cuscaden Road, the 142-room property is just steps away from Orchard and Orchard Boulevard MRT Station as well as shopping and dining destinations such as Forum The Shopping Mall, Wheelock Place and ION Orchard. Marina Bay Sands and the Central Business District are about ten minutes away by taxi, while travelling to Changi Airport by car will take less than 30 minutes.
For the uninitiated, Artyzen Hospitality Group is an international hotel management company headquartered in Hong Kong whose flagship brands include Artyzen Hotels & Resorts as well as Artyzen Habitat. Artyzen Singapore is notably the first Artyzen property launched outside Greater China.
Artyzen Singapore belongs to the Preferred Hotels & Resorts portfolio, which also includes The Fullerton Hotel Singapore, The Fullerton Bay Hotel, One Farrer Hotel, EQ Kuala Lumpur and The Siam in Bangkok. Hotels located near Artyzen Singapore include The Singapore EDITION, Conrad Singapore Orchard, The St. Regis Singapore, voco Orchard Singapore, Four Seasons Hotel Singapore and Shangri-La Hotel Singapore.
The UTW (“Under Ten Words”): Lush Hideaway with Soaring Ceilings and One Unforgettable Rooftop Pool.
The must-dos (if any): Spend time in your beautiful room; enjoy breakfast at Cafe Quenino; indulge in a degustation menu at Quenino; use the well-equipped gym; take a dip in the cantilevered rooftop infinity pool and check out the transparent oculus (if you dare).
ARTYZEN SINGAPORE
Designed by renowned architect ONG&ONG Pte Ltd (Renaissance Bali Nusa Dua Resort, M Social Singapore, SilverKris Lounges in Bangkok and Sydney) and award-winning interior design studio Nic Graham & Associates (W Hong Kong, W Kuala Lumpur), the lushly-landscaped hotel pays tribute to Singapore’s culture, colours, and flavours through its aesthetic features. Local artist Terence Tan presents a stunning shophouse digital artwork in the hotel’s elevators (each of the three lifts boasts a different colour scheme), while Aeropalmics is responsible for local motifs seen in the hotel’s public spaces. What the hotel may lack in terms of horizontal real estate, it makes up for with its vertical qualities – ceilings are high. There is an abundance of outdoor spaces – aside from the garden terrace on the ground level as well as the Wellness and Workouts space on the 5th level, many of the guest rooms enjoy balconies and, for a select few, spacious private terraces.
Fun fact: the land the hotel stands on used to house a sprawling tropical-garden mansion named “Villa Marie” owned by the great-grandson of the late philanthropist Mr Tan Tock Seng, which gives the property additional heritage points.
The bulk of the property’s wellness facilities are located on the 5th level. The fitness centre is equipped with state-of-the-art Technogym machines, while various private outdoor pavilions can play host to private yoga and exercise sessions. There are also two spa treatment rooms. However, the standout wellness facility within the premises would be the 25-metre cantilevered infinity rooftop pool on the 21st level which is fitted with jacuzzi jets as well as a partially transparent base (!) for Mahanakhon Skywalk-esque heart-pounding thrills. It remains one of the most underrated swimming pools in Singapore.








PREMIUM BALCONY KING
Set on the hotel’s highest floors, the 48sqm Premium Balcony King offers a private balcony offering scenic views of the Nassim Road neighbourhood. The room is tastefully appointed, with the feel of a luxurious residence – think dramatic arches and an overhead fan which accentuate the soaring ceiling, bright and tropical colours, plush carpets as well as special art pieces which make reference to Straits culture. A Bang and Olufsen wireless Bluetooth speaker is available for your soundtrack needs, while the pantry offers a Nespresso machine as well as teas from The 1872 Clipper Tea Co. I was enthralled by the stylish and amazing Fellow Stagg EKG electric kettle, which allows you to boil water to the exact temperature needed as well as tells you the current temperature of the water.
The spacious bathroom has a large vanity, an enclosed rainfall shower space as well as a freestanding bathtub which proved to be impressively deep. Separate from the bathroom area, the powder room boasts bidet functionalities. Strong and solid sliding doors partition the bathroom from the bedroom, and guests have the option of sliding open one of these doors to take advantage of the lush views from the comfort of their bubble bath. The pampering perfumed shower amenities are courtesy of perfume house Heeley, created exclusively for Artyzen hotels.










DINING
Breakfast is served at Cafe Quenino, the cafe space on the ground level which has a pet-friendly outdoor garden terrace. It is an exclusively a la carte affair (i.e. no buffet), with guests able to enjoy unlimited beverages such as Signature House Chai, Singapore Traditional Kopi and Teh (with customisable sugar level), Italian-style Coffee (using Bacha Surabaya Cold 100% Arabica beans) and fresh juices; as well as one choice of main from selections such as Ham and Cheese Toastie (virginia smoked ham, prosciutto, cheese, white bread), Nasi Lemak Kedgeree (basmati rice, onsen egg, peanuts, crispy whitebait, hot smoked trout, house-made sambal goreng), Bread Pudding (kaya whipped cream, banana, walnut, raisin, gula melaka, coconut ice cream) and Café Quenino Congee (served with traditional Chinese condiments).
My favourites were the brazenly spicy Chilli Crab Omelette (blue swimmer crab, coconut basmati rice, house-made sweet and spicy chilli sauce) and the feel-good and hearty Rolled Scallion and Egg Pancake (house-made five spice chicken spam, eggs, scallion, hoisin sauce). While the waiting time was longer than expected and there were some hiccups in terms of wrong/lost orders, I appreciated that each table had its own granola and fruit set-up after guests were seated, and in terms of the actual dishes this may well be one of the best hotel breakfasts in Singapore I’ve had in recent memory.





Located on the 4th level, the degustation menu-only restaurant Quenino by Victor Liong – meaning ‘little one’ in Malaccan Creole Portuguese and pronounced /ˈku-ni-nu/ – pays tribute to Asian flavours, ingredients and memories. From the Focus degustation menu, the House-made Flatbread played it all green chilli-tinged velvety wagyu meets fluffy garlic naan, while the Yellowtail Kingfish (lemak, lemongrass, passion fruit, heirloom beetroot) was smoky and green curry-esque rich. Elsewhere, Singaporean chef de cuisine Sujatha Asokan continues her playful recurring celebration of “rojak” and ginger flower flavours throughout the menu.
The most remarkable dish of the night? The very memorable “Fried Rice”, which offers you the opportunity to filter your gravy-laden, Mui Fan-esque rice through the spokes of a riotous flavour wheel – chive relish, tamarind chilli, fried betel leaf, cincalok marinated onions, bottarga, fried shallots, coriander, fried pork lard – with the rollercoaster ride spanning across chicken rice, fried rice and sambal sensations. One of my favourite dishes ever.









Rounding up the dining concepts is The Roof Garden, the poolside social destination which overlooks the West Orchard Road neighbourhood. I generally expect a certain will-this-do basicness when it comes to poolside tipples, but the cocktails genuinely surprised with how good they were, from the refreshing Island Negroni slushie cocktail (gin, campari, vermouth rosso, orange, coconut) and fragrant Pandamonium (rum, aperol, citrus, pandan) to the boozy Old Fashioned-style Liquid Bonfire (whisky, rum, gula melaka, chocolate bitters) and Mezcal Negroni-esque Smoky Señorita (mezcal campari, vermouth rosso, sherry) which would not have been out of place in a chic cocktail bar.





CONCLUSION
It has been more than a year since Artyzen Singapore’s opening in November 2023, and it remains one of the city’s most underrated hotels, with the gorgeous rooms, outstanding rooftop pool and great breakfast offerings deserving more acclaim. The hotel’s opening coincided with that of the glossy The Singapore EDITION and its alluring intoxicating scent across the road, and one year on, after having stayed at both properties on multiple occasions, during their opening period and one year later, I stand firm by my original verdict that while the aesthetic beauty of The Singapore EDITION’s public spaces makes a visit fairly essential, Artyzen Singapore is still where you would want to stay.
Artyzen Singapore
9 Cuscaden Road
Singapore 249719
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