This Singapore hotel is an absolute bargain in a city of high-priced rooms

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The place

Orchard Rendezvous Hotel, Singapore

The Orchard Rendezvous Hotel’s history dates back to 1970.

Check in

Sitting at the western end of Singapore’s iconic Orchard Road shopping strip, the Orchard Rendezvous Hotel’s building has a long history, dating back to its first incarnation as the Ming Court Hotel which opened in 1970. As a result, its facade and tower is a well-known sight in Singapore. The hotel was refurbished in 2018 and rebranded from the Orchard Parade Hotel to the Orchard Rendezvous, part of the Far East Hospitality Group.

The look

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The gleaming lobby.

The terrace pool.

While those ’70s elements can’t completely be overwritten, the lobby has a nice, classic feel with marble in golden hues contrasted against modern touches such as the striking works by Chinese artist Hua Qing, one of the artists whose works can be found in the Nanman gallery on the ground floor. There’s a botanical theme throughout, taking inspiration from the location’s historic role as a pepper plantation and the nearby Singapore Botanic Gardens, with touches such as the lobby’s pepper-leaf chandelier and the specially bred hybrid orchid found throughout the hotel. Small arcades run either side of the check-in desk featuring several restaurants and a convenience store. A huge outdoor terrace on the fourth floor is home to a large pool, along with a bar, and there’s a 24-hour gym. Despite a refurb that has freshened up the rooms, they may still seem a little dated compared to modern design hotels, but it’s all clean and functional.

The room

The family room with a bunk bed feels palatial.

A wide range of room types is available across the hotel, starting from superior queen through to combinations featuring up to four beds. In a city where Airbnb and even serviced apartments are limited by law to longer-term stays, the inclusion of multiple room types suitable for families is a godsend. I’m here with my partner and two small kids and we stay in a family suite, which features a king-size bed and two bunks. Having arrived from a cruise with four of us in one cabin, the 53-square-metre space feels palatial. There’s a dining table, couch and armchair, as well as a large terrace. The bathroom is also spacious, with a separate shower and bathtub. A nice touch is the inclusion of a blackboard/whiteboard with chalk for the kids, creating a mini play area in the room. The only minor aspect that doesn’t seem to have been thought about for kids is that the soap dispenser by the bathroom sink is too high for young children to reach.

The food

There’s a multitude of restaurants on the hotel’s ground floor – many perhaps aimed more at catering to Orchard Road traffic than the guests – with a wide range of Asian cuisines, including traditional Chinese at TungLok Signatures, Japanese at Akashi, Indian at Bukhara and Turkish and Middle Eastern at Tarboush. Breakfast is a buffet at the ground floor cafe Brewerkz, though the space is a little undersized given the number of guests it needs to cater for, so you may find yourself having to wait if you arrive at a peak time.

Stepping out

ION Orchard, one of Orchard Road’s many giant shopping malls.iStock

Orchard Road, with its seemingly endless array of shopping and dining delights, is right outside. There are shopping centres galore, with the largest one close to the hotel the striking ION Orchard. While there aren’t any hawker centres particularly close by, most of the shopping centres feature food courts with plenty of traditional dishes on offer at bargain prices. For something a little more cultural, the Singapore National Museum is just a short bus ride or two train stops away at the other end of Orchard Road.

The verdict

With its ’70s origins, it might not be the most fashionable hotel on Orchard Road, but it’s in a great location, clean, comfortable – and a real bargain in a city where hotel prices can often be sky-high. Although the family rooms are more expensive, they’re still a great option if you crave some space. Although I stayed as a guest of the hotel, I’d have no hesitation in booking a room at my own expense on my next Singapore visit.

Our score out of five

★★★★

The details

Rooms at the Orchard Rendezvous start from $S310 ($340) with family rooms from $S400, though you can find deals for as little as $160 per night online. See rendezvoushotels.com

Highlight

A spacious room in Singapore that doesn’t cost the Earth? As the Singaporeans would say: can.

Lowlight

If you like cutting-edge design in your hotels, you’d best look elsewhere.

The writer stayed as a guest of Far East Hospitality.

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Craig Platt is the digital editor of Traveller and has had responsibility for the travel content on the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Brisbane Times and WAtoday digital products since 2007. He has worked in journalism for more than 25 years. Craig has a strong interest in aviation and airlines, as well as wildlife tourism and (increasingly) family travel. He has visited every continent, including once visiting six of the seven in a single year (he missed Africa).