This hotel has such a youthful vibe, it makes me feel old. I’ve been here countless time to wine and dine, but never to stay. And I have to admit: the only reason why we picked this spot for our 3D2N family staycation was because this is about the only hotel in Singapore whose lounge allows kids below 12 to enter. It was such a painful experience trying to find places who welcome the little tot.

Address – 277 Orchard Road, Singapore 238858. Tel: +65 6708 8888. Website

Price – SGD$432 per night for a Panorama Club Room (king bed): 55SqM of good use of space. The promotion we booked was the Jen’s Suite Life, which entitled us to an apparent 20% already off the room rate, late check out until 3pm, and a free extra bed. And of course, access to the Club Lounge because of the room type.

Location – The location is quite unbeatable whether you are a local looking for a chill staycation or an excited tourist who can’t wait to explore this tiny island. Its smack in Orchard Road, on top of 313 Somerset / Somerset MRT, and provides sheltered access to 313, Orchard Gateway, Orchard Central and (maybe?) Centrepoint.

Check In – Once the front desk staff saw my reservation for a Panorama Club King room, she ushered me to the 19th floor to check in at the Club Lounge. The whole process took about 20mins inclusive of taking my card for deposit, but was rather seamless. But no recognition of being a GC member though (would have been a nice touch!).

Room – I was assigned 1610 as I had emailed to request for the bigger end of the room type (there are different sizes for this same room type: level 17 to 20’s Panorama Club rooms are smaller as the building is pyramid shaped). I love the day bed which is superb for lounging on! The space was not too bad, and they have a cup of cut fruits in the fridge too. Double sinks are always a plus, and the shower, bathtub, and toilet are separated – design that all hotels should copy I think. But it pains me to see that they used a rather old-ish looking carpet design in the room instead of the cheery one used for the corridors – whyyyy.

Club Lounge – Located on the 19th floor, the Lounge provides breakfast and evening cocktails, and coffee / tea + cookies and fruits whole day. No afternoon tea, which was quite a disappointment honestly. For the evening cocktails, you can have your choice of canned beers and wines from dispenser machines (quite nice!), or mix your own cocktails based on a cute recommendation board placed there. Food was a let-down though: I saw sashimi, cheese platter, bread, spring rolls, tandori chicken, mushroom pie, otah quiche, and keropok over the 2 cocktail timings. Both quantity and quality were lacking I felt, especially when at that price point, other hotels offered much more, and plus they usually have an actual afternoon tea with food included. The place was nice and mostly quiet though. But I did notice there is no need to tap your key card for access to the 19th floor, staff did not ask for room number, and there was a side door to the Lounge you can use to completely bypass the Lounge reception. Hmmm…

Breakfast – As usual, I ate at the breakfast restaurant instead of the Lounge. Makan @ Jen offered a good variety of breakfast nosh quite sufficient to stuff your faces for 2 hours perhaps. But please go early as the queues got quite crazy from 9am onwards.

Check Out – Painlessly done at the Lounge complete with smiling service and an enthusiastic ‘please come and join us again!’ thrown at me.

Service – Very smiley throughout. Perhaps it has something to do with the age group of the staff they hire (youthful vibe remember?), or the fact that the staff don’t have to wear stiffy uniforms. Whatever it is, it works!

Pool – Oh, and yes I went for a swim at their pool at level 19th – you can take a dip right after cocktails if you want (no, I did not swim drunk). The different kinds of sun beds were a cute touch, and their jacuzzi pools are seriously power jets – so worth a try!

I would probably return but no need for the Club rooms I feel. At the same price point, Westin or Pan Pacific would probably offer a much more quality Club experience. But a youthful, nice enough but not so atas place? Hotel Jen 🙂