Apart from the fact that this hotel has been closed perpetually on SHN contract, it has never popped up on my staycay radar because it’s kind of old and IHG has been a little lacklustre anyway. But I chanced upon a good deal on Hotelux and so here we go!

Address – 1 Cuscaden Road, Singapore 249715.

Contact – Tel: +65 6733 8888. Email: contactus@regentsingapore.com.sg.

Location – The property is located at the far end of the Orchard stretch and kind of a neighbour to St Regis Singapore. Weather permitting, its a 10-min unsheltered stroll from the Orchard Road buzz. If you prefer the quieter life, Tanglin Mall nearby offers a more peaceful but much more limited choices.

Price – $335++ = $395nett booked for a Classic Room via Hotelux which includes the below benefits – of with the Lounge Access bit calling out to me like a song:

• Daily breakfast
• Handwritten and personalized welcome card
• Welcome amenity (fresh fruits/snacks in room upon arrival)
• Room upgrade (subject to availability)
• Early check in (subject to availability) and late check out til 2:00pm
• Executive Lounge Access

I had initially gotten a rate of $295++ but had to cancel my stay at the last min due to medical reasons and the hotel was not willing to move my stay at the same price. Given that the stay was already prepaid with the Amex offer, I decided to stick with the plans given if it means rebooking at a higher rate.

Pre-arrival – For my initial dates, I received a welcome email but nothing when my new date came along. Perhaps a change in protocol but still somewhat odd for a supposedly old-school lux property.

Check In – I arrived to an empty lobby on a weekday afternoon and check in took about 15mins including explaining of my benefits. The staff was super friendly and patient, and proactively asked if I needed a late check out which was accorded for 2:00pm in line with my benefits.

I recieved my welcome letters as a Platinum member + a Regent Club guest.

The lobby is indeed very “old school lux” with its prominent dark marbling and glossy brown decor – while well maintained, I can’t help but feel the property will really benefit from a refurb. Perhaps some brighter colors?

The lift lobbies are pretty aligned in terms of their deco as well.

More shots of the lobby space from other angles

Room – I received an upgrade to the Premium Room (38SqM), Room 620, and it was …… uninspiringly dated. There are some serious old school vibes going on here, especially the bathroom. Oh boy.

As you step into the room, the first cut of space you’d see is your mini bar with plenty bottled water, Dilmah teas and sad freeze-dried coffee – is a coffee machine too much to ask from a Regent? The fridge has more bottled water if you are really thirsty – a surprise small birthday cake was also placed in it as this was my belated birthday staycation.

To the right of this space is your wardrobe with the usual suspects of bedroom slippers, hair dryer, bathrobes etc:

To the left of this is the bathroom which feels very yester-year. Drapped in brown marbles, the space contains a single sink with sufficient countertop space, a toilet right in the middle, and a shower-tub with the dreaded shower curtain (I mean, how often do they clean these things?). L’occitane toiletries helped to elevate the statue a little though. They also have the most generous supply of cotton pads and ear buds which made them the first hotel which I didn’t have to request for more from housekeeping. Yays.

The main space itself is spacious enough to fit a king bed (super comfy and firm) with 2x bedside tables equipped with powerpoints, a sitting area + coffee table , a work desk + chair, and a TV + console which offers more cupboard space.

The sitting area + coffee table feels aged due to the choice of colors here, but this is also where the property set up some cute birthday deco (balloons!). A welcome fruit platter + welcome note was set up on the coffee table, along with 4 sets of plates/cutlery. The note highlighted a welcome cocktail to be consumed in the room which was a nice tough. On top of that, there was a small reminder of the cake placed in the fridge which I thought was quite thoughtful.

The work desk was equipped with one single powerpoint and the chair was good for a short work stint.

The TV was non smart and positioned facing the sitting area as a default so for TV-ing in bed, some manual swivel is needed.

Regent Club (website) – Located on the 11th floor, the Regent Club is opened from 11:00am – 8:00pm where light snacks and non-alcoholic drinks are available all day, with food served during selected timings. The space is expectedly old school as well, and reminds me very much of a gentlemen’s club with its brown yellow decor. It is not a big space but the cosy seating options should suit most guests quite well.

Tucked away in a little corner is also a business spot equipped with an iMac and a printer.

Afternoon Tea (2:00pm – 4:00pm)

The afternoon tea selection is rather small with tea cakes and other sweets, as well as DYI coffee tea stations. Scones and quiche are served to your table upon requests – my session saw plain scones and a delicious corn quiche and the next day, a too-funky-for me bak kut teh quiche. The space was really quiet on both weekday sessions I was there but no complaints!

Daily Hors’oeuvres, soft drinks, wine, beers, and house pours (5:30pm – 7:30pm)

For the evening, another section of the lounge is opened up for the spread.

It is a small-ish but good quality buffet including some breads / pizza, fried yam pockets, cauliflower soup (good!), and a cold spread which saw roasted veg, cheeses, cold cuts, nuts, salads – these tastes awesome!

Alcohol selection includes Astoria Lounge prosecco, red/white, and housepours. The prosecco was the same one you have to pay for at Basilico so have more here if you can! I also had no issues asking for a takeaway coffee to be consumed in my room near closing time.

Breakfast – held at Basilico from 7:00am – 10:30am, with no bookings required. The place was barely occupied at 7am on a weekday morning and I was quickly seated.

The spread saw pretty good quantity and quality, with awesome curry chicken and packaged cream cheese. There is of course the quintessential egg station where the chef can do eggs to your liking. Coffee was weak though – do double up if you need to.

Facilities – The property’s gym and pool are located on level 2, accessible via a small corridor of sorts beside Basilico. No bookings are required and access is via your keycard.

The circular pool is not big (expectedly from a old property) and comes with a handful of neglected daybeds by the circumference. This area does not get much love it seems.

The gym is adequate but lacks a rowing machine (my new fav workout!).

Service – Generally smiley and efficient, and service in the Regent Club was excellent – attentive and professional and was surprised to be addressed by first name. Great team there!

Little bumps that happened:

My first set of key cards did not work for access to Regent Club. Turns out they weren’t coded for Regent Club and I had to get them changed – not life threatening though.

I also called to want to arrange for my welcome amenity of a cocktail to be enjoyed in my room (mentioned in the welcome note): I called the front desk and was told to call in-room dining. I called in-room dining and was told the cocktail can only be enjoyed at the bar but it will only be opened at 5:00pm (I was due to check out at 3:00pm). So I went to the front desk to seek help for alternatives before zipping out for an errand. While outside, I got a call from the Guest Experience manager to apologize for the confusion and clarifying that the welcome note was actually mistakenly placed in my room – the cocktail amenity is only for Platinum Ambassadors and not Platinum Elites. But to her credit, she honored the mistake and arranged for a bottled cocktail to be sent to my room which was a great recovery to the mistake.

Check Out – Painlessly done at 3:30pm and I was given a warm farewell by the team at the front desk.

In Summary,

Happy to check off this property on my list despite having to pay a higher rate. Ended up not minding the dated room so much and I can now understand how this property can continue to keep its loyal customers happy.