EDIT: Hilton Orchard has rebranded to voco after our staycation.

In the late 90s when I was a teenager, I used to come to Club21 sales at Hilton. (Poor then need to buy past seasons’ clothes.) In my mind, I associate Hilton with old money chic. In their lobby, there is a Rolex watch shop. So it was a dream to have a staycation at Hilton. I bought their Xmas package ($200, including breakfast) and used it at the end of March for a deluxe room.

SERVICE

The service was meh, not really befitting of a 5-star hotel. I was feeling hot around midnight, so I wanted to get a glass of ice. Just one glass. I telephoned room service and they said the kitchen was closed so there was no ice. For a 5-star hotel, room service should be around the clock. Then, I went to lobby to get food from a delivery service. Since I was there, I thought I might as well ask again if there was ice. The concierge was noticeably irritated. Apparently he was the one who picked up my call, and here I was asking the second time. He was visibly annoyed. I think he better not be a teacher.

Then, during breakfast buffet, my partner ordered a second round of food and the waitress said, “Sorry, each customer can only order one round.” The way she said it made us look cheap. I mean, we are cheap, my philosophy for breakfast buffets is to eat so much that we can skip lunch. We are cheap but she mustn’t make us seem like that (John Berryman’s reference here). We were taken aback by her attitude. We ordered second and third rounds from another server. We actively avoided calling her.

DELUXE ROOM

The room was fine. It was outdated but I knew what I was getting into. This is a virtual tour of the room, starting from the entrance:

Pros:
-Nothing amiss. Standard. It’s a well-oiled machine.

Cons:
-outdated
-smallest bathtub ever
-no usb charging ports for phones by the side of the bed
-no rainshower

Here’s a video of the room:

FACILITIES

1. Pool

Nice rooftop pool, rather quiet due to COVID restrictions, but you have to climb a storey flight of stairs to reach it, not friendly to disabled people.

2. Gym

Fantasntic gym. Really one of the better hotel gyms we have been to. It’s huge and well equipped with cardio machines, weights machines, and free weights.

3. Breakfast at Opus

I had been to Opus for dinner and I was equally impressed at their breakfast. There were too few servers and the space was too cramp to accommodate guests for breakfast but the food was excellent. Everything we had was good from the eggs benedict to the dim sum. Even the chicken wing on their nasi lemak was old school and pleasing.

CONCLUSION

Pros:
-town area
-breakfast was good
-affordable
-good COVID measures
-facilities are good

Cons:
-meh service
-room was outdated
-can be more thoughtful to patrons, such as disabled people.

Hilton Singapore
581 Orchard Rd, Singapore 238883

You may be interested in…
–Goodwood Park Hotel Staycation: Almost Feels Like Bali
–Staycation at Yotel Singapore Orchard Road: A (Bath)Room with a View
–The Capitol Kempinski Hotel Review: One of the Best Staycations ever
–Andaz Singapore – Studio Suite King Review

Written by Dr. A. Nathanael Ho.