Suite Stays at The Intercon Singapore

Whenever I am selecting hotels for my city holidays, location is such an important factor. Always within walking distance of where the action is, lots of shops and cafes around, and as far as possible very near the mass transit, or tube, or underground …whatever it is called locally.

By the same criteria, the Intercontinental Singapore fits the bill if you are swinging by our sunny isle for a holiday or work trip anytime soon. With the coming monsoons, this is a hotel smack bang in a shopping mall with the MRT station in the basement, which means that you can access the entire length and breadth of Orchard Road, the shopping belt, just five minutes away without getting a single raindrop on your Tods! Lots of shopping to do, whatever the weather, sweeties! And if its business on the agenda, it’s two stops away from the business district, after which  you can retire at the end of your meetings and…. shop!

I was there recently for a ‘staycation’ as Singaporeans like to call it (this is a curious concept where you escape to a nice hotel in town for the weekend and pretend you’re on holiday), and got to check out their newly refurbished Peranakan wing of rooms and suites.

Honestly speaking, I didn’t see very much of the Peranakan culture infusing the décor, but more a blend of colonial with a tiny bit of Asian. Didn’t matter – whatever you call it, it was very elegant in a Straits Settlement-meets-21st century style. Think dark wood floors, high ceilings, Persian carpets and deep-sill windows set low on the walls which evoke a sense of old Singapore. It’s a little like Raffles Hotel in ambience but just not so crazy expensive!

That this wing was once rows of 1920s shophouses – people worked in the ground floor, and lived upstairs – make it particularly interesting. The façades have been retained, even as the two streets, Malay and Malabar Streets, have now been swallowed into the Bugis Junction  shopping mall and turned into an air-conditioned streets within the mall. 

Despite the hectic buzz of shoppers outside, the hotel within is an oasis of calm and nostalgia.

Check-in into one of 11 Shophouse Suites takes place in the suite itself, located in a hidden garden and along a semi-open air corridor. Here stood the very private entranceways to the Shophouse Suites, complete with your own little patio!

How was the accommodation? It was a large suite with separate living area, a superbly comfy bed, huge marble bathroom and a separate luggage/closet room which was as big as a small condo bedroom.  I just didn’t quite understand the French eggshell blue walls in the hallway, but the louvered shutters, original shophouse windows, large doors, and original wooden flooring gave it an old fashioned feel. Modern day touches were the Bose Wave music system, 46” LED TV, great shower and gorgeously crisp sheets!

The windows of my room overlooked the shopping mall, but it still let in plenty of natural light, while day and heavy black-out curtains maintained your privacy. The only complaint was that the noise from outside filtered in when it got very noisy outside. But if one was out sightseeing for most of the day, it won’t be a problem – it quietens down by around 10pm. 

As with most hotels, the suites give you access to the Club Lounge (top), and this was one of the largest I have come across. (Then again, the Intercontinental generally does a very good job with their club lounges across Asia, with a particularly generous range of good booze going on during happy hour.) The theme of colonial elegance continued into this friendly but hushed space. We arrived just after lunch and in time for tea – scones, little cakes and cookies, and nicely sliced sandwiches – all very elegant. There were juices, a variety of teas and coffee done the way you like – latter, cappuccino, whichever way you wanted. Evening cocktails are at 5.30pm, and Madam was suitably impressed by the handsome list of drinks! Three reds and three whites, all very respectable brands, as well as a Chandon sparkling, and a range of cocktails such as Singapore Sling and Long Island Tea, all freely flowing for two hours, just in time for you to totter off to dins. Alongside this was a selection of cold and hot canapés – so very civilised and leisurely, just before dinner or an evening out at the theatre.

At night, you get nice little touches like a canapé delivered to your room – ours were a few pieces of baked kueh lapis; and a folk tale placed on your bed at turn-down.

If you’re staying at the hotel on a business trip, they start the morning off well for you. The spread was not huge, but classy, and you don’t have to queue, or jostle with the crowds for quantity. Bring your newspaper, set yourself in a cosy corner and start up your engines with your choice of eggs are done a la minute, Asian breakfast favourites like Chinese porridge, the usual cooked American breakfast, cold cuts, fruits, muesli and a plethora of pastries. The chef himself was out and about, talking to the guests, which gave the breakfast experience a nice touch. I was impressed when he accommodated the request of a vegan guest at the next table where he personally served her a dish which he had to specially prepare, and enthusiastically explained that there was no garlic, eggs or onions in it.

And whether you are here for fun or work, it’s nice to have an oasis of a pool on the rooftop to retreat to. It’s not huge, but arranged with pergolas, lots of deck chairs and even private pavilions with smaller pools with spouting fountains that are bound to please young guests.

While we’re talking about food, I must mention Man Fu Yuan, it’s fine dining Chinese restaurant which was also recently relaunched after a long period undergoing renovation. It offers the widest range of Chinese ‘gourmet delicacies’ in town. I had reviewed it in an earlier post which you can check out at http://www.simplyfabulicious.com/man-fu-yuans-fabulously-rich-chinese-food

Good to know: the hotel is also near the civic district and museusm, financial district and of course the shopping belt!..and right next to the central library also.

80 Middle Road
Tel: 6825 1062