Singapore’s new Hilton Orchard is a mega-hotel with over 1,000 rooms

Almost every regular visitor to Singapore is familiar with the Hilton Singapore, even if they’ve never set foot in it.

Among the first international ‘marquee’ hotels to plant its flag in the Red Dot, the Hilton Singapore opened some 50 years ago – just five short years after the former British colony claimed independence from Malaysia.

Its location at the far end of Orchard Road was the downtown hot spot for shopping and leisure. But Singapore has inevitably changed, transformed, over those decades: and to keep pace with the new Singapore, the global hotel group today unveils a new Hilton – the Hilton Singapore Orchard.

Soaring high above the mid-town stretch of 333 Orchard Road, with over a thousand rooms, the Hilton Singapore Orchard is the hotel juggernaut’s largest property and indisputable flagship in the Asia-Pacific region.

The Hilton Singapore Orchard is now the hotel group's Asia-Pacific flagship.

It also proved a massive undertaking for the group: the Hilton Singapore Orchard is in fact a monumental $150 million roof-to-road revamp of the former Meritus Mandarin Orchard.

That’s a convenient spot for business travellers and holiday markets alike, especially with Somerset MRT station just a short stroll away.

A new location for a new Hilton.

Alexandra Jaritz, Hilton’s Senior Vice President of Brand Management for the Asia Pacific, says the group took a fresh locally-inspired direction with the design of the Hilton Singapore Orchard.

The interior “incorporates botanical inspirations and modern yet warm touches” she tells Executive Traveller.

The subtle botanical theme draws upon Orchard Road’s lineage as a hub of fruit orchards, nutmeg plantations and pepper farms.

Similarly, artworks dotted around the hotel flow across into the interior colours and reflect the city’s agricultural heritage.

The spacious and elegant reception of the Hilton Singapore Orchard.

“Right from check-in, guests are presented with a thoughtful wooden key card instead of a plastic one, and of course there’s the option to use your Digital Key too,” Jaritz adds.

Digital keys are a major element of the property and accessible through the Hilton Honors smartphone app, along with features such as in-room dining, restaurant reservations and spa bookings that can all be made through your phone.

Rooms start from a compact 29 square metres and climb to the immaculate 154 square metre Presidential Suite, complete with a separate living room and dining space for 12.

In between you’ll find eight floors of Executive category rooms which include access to the Executive Lounge and its daily service of breakfast, snacks and evening cocktails. The lounge also comes with a private alcove ideal for meetings for up to eight people.

Diamond members of Hilton Honors can also make use of the Executive Lounge, as can guests staying in the hotel’s suites – of which there are five different types, all positioned on high floors.

A King Premium City View room at the Hilton Singapore Orchard.

When it’s time to work up a sweat, guests can head to one of the two fitness centres or swim laps in the outdoor pool – although there’s something to be said for just reclining on the loungers and enjoying a cool drink.

The reimagined Hilton shines with five vibrant restaurants helmed by all-day buffet venue, Estate, while US chef and former winner of the James Beard Foundation Outstanding Chef Award, Nancy Silverton, replicated her heralded New York Italian pizzeria, Osteria Mozza.

Acclaimed by The New York Times, the Osteria Mozza label expanded beyond its American heartland to Singapore in 2010, originally at the Marina Bay Sands before closing eight years later and shifting to Hilton.

The Hilton Singapore Orchard's Estate Restaurant is one of five on-site eateries.

There’s a Japanese infusion too, with the expansion to Singapore of the two-Michelin starred eatery, Shisan Hanten, already hugely popular in Japan with 14 outlets across six cities. You’ll find it open for lunch and dinner daily with a menu designed by Yokohama-based Chef Chen Kentaro.

For your daily coffee hit or an afternoon tea break, you’ll also find artisanal pastries and barista brews at Ginger.Lily, a venue which turns down the lights in the evening and converts into a stylish cocktail bar.

And if by now you’re wondering what became of that original Hilton, down the far end of Orchard Road, it’s now home to the city’s first IHG’s Voco hotel.

Additional reporting by Matt Lennon