Staycation Review: Voco Orchard Singapore retains its ‘heart’ and sustainability legacy

The Room

Voco Singapore

1/5

If you are particular about swanky and architecture-forward interiors, the room passes muster for a comfortable stay. However, I couldn’t help but chuckle at some relics that pepper the room: A dial-in telephone in the marble-cladded bathroom and instructions on double-locking the door that included Japanese translation — a nod to the boom in Japanese tourists here in the 1990s. 

The signs of an ageing hotel room are hard not to notice with the weather-beaten wall trimmings. Spotting a WhatsApp QR code at the bedside that allows one to send requests to the housekeeping team brought me back to the current day.

Kenneth SZ Goh

2/5

A beige wooden island headboard holds a 55-inch-wide smart Samsung television, which has a wide array of cable TV channels. However, it is not smart enough to connect to streaming devices like laptops or mobile phones via Wi-Fi. A big no-no in an era of streaming entertainment options. The hotel can loan out HDMI cables, but be prepared to wait as they are in limited quantities.

The highlight of the room is the impossibly comfy beds. The duvet is thick, fluffy and dream-like — it feels like being nestled in Carrie Bradshaw’s Vivienne Westwood wedding dress in the Sex And The City movie. The mattress has a right mix of softness and firmness.

In a nod to sustainability, the bedding is made from recycled materials. The plush filling of the bedding, which includes the duvet and four pillows, is made with over 150 recycled plastic bottles. The bedsheets are also made with sustainable cotton.

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The Food

a carbon-neutral ribeye steak by Five Founders farm in Australia. (Photo: Kenneth SZ Goh)

3/5

Food-wise, there hasn’t been many changes save for the poolside Italian restaurant il Cielo which has revamped to a more casual concept. I had dinner at Opus Bar & Grill, tucked behind the lobby and D9 Cakery (Hilton’s famed cheesecakes are still available here).

The interiors are intact, but the surf and turf grilled steakhouse restaurant had a menu revamp a couple of months ago, in which around 80 per cent of the dishes were revamped. 

The restaurant’s sustainability focus, which dates from its Hilton days, is retained. Opus Bar & Grill is big on using sustainably-sourced meat and seafood. It is the first hotel in Asia to receive the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) Chain of Custody certifications in 2015. This means that F&B outlets operated by the hotel serve seafood that is sustainably sourced and farmed. 

The restaurant has a purple glow on one side, thanks to the lights beaming from an indoor vertical farm that houses rows of micro cress. At the heart of the restaurant is the grill and oven that is filled with smoky and fragrant Jarrah wood from Australia and a cabinet of dry-aged meat. 

In the spirit of sustainability, I opted for a carbon-neutral ribeye steak by Five Founders farm in Australia. For comparison, my dining companion ordered an Angus ribeye from Uruguay. Both grain-fed slabs, done medium rare, looked the same — charred, brown and seasoned with salt and thyme. 

However, there is a discernible difference in the mouthfeel and flavours between the meat.  

The carbon-neural ribeye has a more fuller bodied meaty and mineral flavour, which overshadows the flavour imparted by the burnt Jarrah wood. The carbon-neutral steak is also much softer — slicing it reveals sinewy muscle fibres, while the Angus ribeye steak has a bite and chew. The steaks were served with sauces including chimichurri, béarnaise, and bordelaise sauce.

Voco Singapore

4/5

Drinks-wise, the restaurant stocks organic and sustainable wines from labels such as Ferro 13 and Love Grass. However, I opted for Voco Cocktails, which is part of the hotel’s effort to incorporate more of Orchard Road’s heritage.

The orange-pink Rosella, which is a fizzy concoction of aperol, roselle infusion, elderflower liqueur, and cranberry and lime juice, is finished off with prosecco.

For something heavier, go for the Nutmeg Old Fashioned, which pays tribute to the nutmeg plantations in the area through the vanilla-like Wild Turkey bourbon with nutmeg, maple and angostura bitters. 

The Verdict

Voco Singapore

5/5

With the rebranding to Voco Orchard Singapore, I hope to see more of its youthful and cheerful DNA incorporated into its activities offered by the hotel. Sure, it is hard to shake off the decades of Hilton legacy in terms of the hardware, but I hope that the hotel’s identity can be spiced up with experiences that will give guests a more lasting impression on what the Voco branding is about.

 

3 Staycation Tips

Go early for the buffet breakfast at Opus Bar & Grill as it closes at 10.30am promptly to prepare for lunch service
If you have to get work done during your hotel stay, get the Club Lounge Access as it provides refreshments throughout the day. It is also spacious, quiet and conducive for meetings. The lounge serves continental-style breakfast and has a live egg station in a more intimate setting. There are light refreshments like cakes and cookies from 1 to 5pm daily. Come 5.30pm, there are evening cocktails paired with canapes like smoked salmon egg, crudités and satay.
Look out for more high fashion and art gallery shopping options via a little-known linkway at the second storey of the hotel’s shopping gallery that is connected to Four Seasons Hotel, which is home to the much-talked-about Nobu Singapore. 

 

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