In May 2025, I checked into the Standard King at The Standard, Singapore. Set within a lush enclave off the famous Orchard Road shopping district next to the legendary Shangri-La Singapore, the 143-room hotel is less than ten minutes away on foot from the famed Orchard Road shopping belt comprising shopping and dining destinations such as ION Orchard, Paragon and Ngee Ann City, and a slightly longer trek to the Singapore Botanic Gardens, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Nearest MRT stations include Orchard and Orchard Boulevard MRT Stations, while Singapore Changi Airport is less than 40 minutes away by car.
For the uninitiated, The Standard is an American hospitality brand popular with the celebrity and elite set, with several of their properties featured on Sex and The City, Entourage and Gossip Girl. The brand made its debut in Asia with The Standard, Hua Hin followed by flagship property The Standard, Bangkok Mahanakhon in 2022. Hyatt acquired Standard International in October 2024.
Other notable hotels in the area include Shangri-La Singapore, Conrad Singapore Orchard, The Singapore EDITION, Artyzen Singapore, voco Singapore Orchard and Pan Pacific Orchard.
The UTW (“Under Ten Words”): Cosy, aesthetic garden wonderland gideaway off Orchard Road.
Must Dos: Take a long shower in your yellow-and-white tiled bathroom, explore the lush garden landscape, have a boozy milkshake al fresco at Café Standard, have dinner at Kaya.
THE STANDARD, SINGAPORE
The hotel’s gleaming lenticular facade was designed by DP Architects (The Fullerton Bay Hotel, Oasia Resort Sentosa, The Clan Hotel and the Sky Villas at One Farrer Hotel & Spa) while interiors come courtesy of The Standard International’s team in collaboration with Singapore-based interior design firm Ministry of Design. The ground level boasts a variety of eye-catching artworks, from the diorama-terrarium that doubles up as reception counter and a pair of chrome puppy sculptures who are said to occasionally land “droppings” (i) to the twisty blue oversized flower-inspired sculpture by Singaporean artist Samuel Xun which stands proudly in the centre of the lush courtyard outside Café Standard.
From the courtyard, a gentle flight of steps lead upwards towards the 2nd floor swimming pool, but things progressively get a bit Alice In Wonderland – you pass by pockets of garden seating, black-and-white swirl tables, a temple exploration mural, colourful mushrooms and giant full lips on the hedge. The swimming pool – with a swim-up bar for that glamorous W Singapore vibe – is more Alice Through the Looking Glass, you being Alice and the balconies of the Shangri-La Apartments surrounding the pool being the looking glass for the residents within. The Standard, Bangkok Mahanakhon’s sensually red elevators make an appearance here as well. I had previously compared these red-lit spaces to a particularly muscular and throbbing v…(Censorship Board: stop right there. Me: I meant to say ventricle, you presumptuous perverted rooster).
What the property lacks in real estate (there is no fitness centre), it makes up for with its social programming. At the front desk, I saw May 2025’s happenings advertised on a poster, amongst them being The Pup-up Club (Mother’s Dat Edition) which pairs cocktails with corgis and animal communicators; The Standard Run Club, led by the hotel’s Rooms Division Manager; Tarot Thursday sessions hosted at Café Standard; as well as new menu launches, Weekend Brunch sessions and cocktail creation events at dining concept Kaya on the 2nd level.
STANDARD KING
The element which defines and anchors the cosy 23sqm Standard King is the timber-ribbed canopy which runs from the bedhead onto the ceiling, a brand staple featured in other The Standard properties. A plush circular sofa with a terrazzo table next to the expansive floor-to-ceiling windows function as both dining and work area, while the minibar comprises Nespresso and TWG tea-making facilities as well as a refrigerator stocked with canned and bottled beverages, including a selection of pale ales and lagers. Wall hooks with multiple hangers as well as leather storage pouches replace a conventional wardrobe, while the safe and an additional storage drawer can be accessed under the bed. A full-length mirror near the door is occasionally adorned with handwritten scribbles wishing you had a great stay, while another wall mirror to the side of your bed provides a side reflection vantage point for bed activity.
Aside from the suites, all guest rooms are similarly sized at 23sqm, with the key distinguishing factor being the view. My room had a very Hitchcockian frontal view of the Shangri-La Singapore‘s Tower Wing, and from how clearly I can see folks who are lounging by the window daybed, I suspect a reasonably good 5x camera zoom could offer you the chance to roleplay as a character in the Netflix limited series The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window. I did wish the blind/sheer controls were bed-side as opposed to window-side to facilitate the “waking up to the sunshine reveal while in bed” experience available only in good hotel rooms.
The bathroom boasts sunshine-yellow tiled walls that give the space a cheery, McDonald’s-esque diner vibe, while a spacious rainfall shower space offers amenities from Italian skincare brand Davines in wall pump bottles.
DINING
Breakfast is served at Kaya, the Japanese modern izakaya concept on the 2nd level. While coffee, tea and juices are self-serve, food offerings are offered a la carte and unlimited. Options include Eggs Florentine (English muffin, smoked salmon, poached egg. spinach, hollandaise sauce), Avocado, Bacon & Egg (smashed avocado, scrambled eggs. crispy bacon, toast), Sweet Potato Frittata (eggs, sweet potato, spinach, onions, cheddar), Chicken & Waffles (waffled rosti, buttermilk chicken) and Ogura Croffle (waffled croissants, adzuki beans, chantilly).
The Udon Laksa (Japanese rice noodles, prawns, egg, spicy coconut broth) boasted a suitably thick and robust broth with the aid of the accompanying chilli, but the absence of a wider (and customary) supporting cast of laksa ingredients made the dish feel more elementary than essential. Elsewhere, the well-seasoned and prawn chunk-filled Onigiri made for delicious vinegared sushi-esque small bites, while the delicate and delicious Salmon Chazuke (fragrant rice, salmon, edamame, dashi broth) begged for a bigger portion of soupy dashi comfort.
I do wonder if things might be better if the extensive menu was consolidated into a selection that is smaller but upsized.
The recently-refreshed dinner menu at Kaya comprises a selection of small bites, sharing plates, claypot rice dishes as well as desserts. The Quack Attack (duck broth, noodles) played like an elevated duck kway teow dish with shredded duck chewiness; the Drowned Beef Carpaccio (crispy garlic, leek) was a smoky, savoury treat; and the Oyster-Yaki (kombu butter, garlic crumble) played loving canvas to butter and garlic like the Venusian muse she is. The Lamb & Furikake (frenched lamb rack, 4-week fermented shoyu koji, aged dashi yogurt) was excellent, but my vote goes to the Kani Meshi Nabe (snow crab, ikura, uni crème), a comforting seafood savoury valentine that plays like a loving, soothing hug from your partner after a very hard day at work. Elsewhere, the Miso Tiramisu (cocoa miso dust, coffee liqueur, mascarpone, coffee crumble) played more like a fusion remix of salt-shocked milk tea foam cap more than anything fermented.
Other notable dishes include Octopus Ashi (raw Chiba Japanese octopus tentacle, house fermented chili ponzu), Ash Karaage (shoyu koji-marinated fried chicken, nori garlic emulsion, leek), Tori Koji (spatchcock chicken, mushroom velouté), Kuri Teriyaki Nabe (chestnut), Sweet Potato Mont Blanc (pistachio sponge, chestnuts) and Matcha (honey butter caramelised brioche, matcha ganache, yuzu azuki).
The adjacent Kaya Bar serves a variety of Japanese-inspired cocktails, from the heady Shizuka-tini (sakura tea-infused Roku Gin, chrysanthemum-infused vermouth, earl grey tincture) and ginger-tinged Seikatsu Fashioned (The Hachi Sochu Mugi, plum umeshu, house-made pickled ginger syrup, house-made fig shrub, umami bitters, saline, zero-waste fig leather) to the spicy Takuya Mary (tomato-infused Tito’s, mirin, soy sauce, house made osmanthus honey, fire water, nori crisp with dashi carrot gel) and the dessert bonanza Wagashi Harmony (milk oolong-infused Suntory Whisky, NOBO coconut milk, matcha, hojicha, house-made black sesame syrup).
Rounding up the F&B dining concepts at the hotel is the ground level Café Standard which serves Western dishes such as The Standard Burger (hot pressed beef patties, sliced cheese, chimichurri mayo, fries), Naughty Chicken Burger (crispy buttermilk marinated chicken, tangy sriracha, shredded cabbage, fries) and Fish & Chips (classic battered fish, tartare sauce, fries). My friends who had dined here previously raved about their boozy milkshakes, and I can confirm that the Bourbon Biscoff Shake (vanilla ice cream, Biscoff spread, milk, Biscoff crumbs. chocolate popping candy, whipped cream, Jack Daniels Old No.7) was obscenely delicious and as potent as a respectable cocktail.
CONCLUSION
The hotel’s location trades off accessibility for greater privacy and a sense of occasion, with the food and social programming as well as the photogenic garden Alice In Wonderland-esque setting providing reasons not to leave the premises during your stay. That being said, like any party worth its salt, you probably shouldn’t stay for too long.
The Standard, Singapore
12 Orange Grove Road
Singapore 258353
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