– Sponsored Staycation –
In July this year, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) opened the first ever Holiday Inn Express in Singapore, located in the heart of the country’s vibrant shopping district and entertainment hub, Orchard Road.
Holiday Inn Express Singapore Orchard Road is the first of two Holiday Inn Express hotels planned for Singapore during the brand’s rapid expansion across South East Asia. With so many hotels concentrated in Orchard, it is needless to say that travellers will inevitably be spoilt for choice.
I was invited to discover the Holiday Inn experience for myself and since misterchewy was working that day, I checked into the hotel on my own that morning. I wasn’t the least bit worried about not being able to locate the place since I had been told that Holiday Inn Express Singapore Orchard Road is situated in between The Heeren and Paragon. Talk about prime location!
Upon stepping into the hotel, I was warmly greeted with a smile at the 24-hour reception. Check-in procedure was straightforward, swift and hassle-free.
Our room was on the 15th floor, highest being the 16th. There are 221 queen-bedded and twin-bedded rooms with complimentary in-room wifi. In fact, the hotel offers free and fast Wi-Fi access throughout the hotel, so guests can stay connected all day, every day. In this day and age, not many of us can survive without Internet connectivity!
Holiday Inn Express’ STAY SMART concept revolves around making sure that every valued guest can expect a fuss-free and refreshing stay with guaranteed comfort and convenience at a reasonable price.
A panorama photo of our queen-bedded room taken with my iPhone 5.
All rooms feature high quality bedding with pillow top mattress and duck down duvet.
Interestingly, guests have a choice of soft pillows..
..or firm pillows. We preferred the firm ones!
To my delight, there is also a comfy couch for people like me who abhors lying on the bed before taking a shower. To me, the bed is sacred. I’m not joking. Haha.
There are also 40 inch LCD televisions, ergonomic desk chairs and efficient work stations in every room.
Tea and coffee making facilities
I was quite surprised to find an un-stocked mini bar but honestly, with so many supermarkets and convenience stores around the vicinity, I would rather choose my own selection of drinks and snacks.
In-room safe
En-suite bathroom
Holiday Inn takes pride in its green initiatives and Holiday Inn Singapore Atrium recently received the Singapore Green Hotel Award 2013.
Pleased to find liquid handwash instead of bar soap!
Silly me, I was busy taking photos of the bathroom amenities and then realized in a state of shock that I had not seen the shower area. I was almost ready to believe that there could be another shared bathroom within the hotel.. until I saw the handle of the door! Phew!
Guests can recharge after a long day exploring Orchard Road by utilizing the refreshing power showers in the bathrooms with three-head massage showerhead.
There was a tour around the hotel and the first thing I noticed was “SMART is having your own set of wheels”. So there you have it, Holiday Inn Express provides trolleys for guests to conveniently wheel their luggages into their rooms.
Complimentary internet stations and self-service business centre
Complimentary Express Start breakfast is made available at the Great Room.
There is also a Grab & Go option for guests who do not have the luxury of sitting down to enjoy their breakfast. More on this later.
On the 4th floor of the hotel, a compact meeting facility for 12 persons can be booked, subject to availability.
The self-service laundry and and ironing facilities are also located on the 4th floor.
After the tour, I bought McNuggets’ meal at Cineleisure, which was about a 10-minute walk away, and enjoyed a quiet lunch in the comfort of the hotel room.
Watched a couple of movies while resting on the couch before meeting misterchewy, misstamchiak and her fiancé for dinner. There will be a separate post for this!
Featuring our OOTD! Hehehe.
Breakfast ends at around 10am each day and we made sure that we got there by 9.30am.
Scrambled eggs
Chicken sausages
Fried beehoon
Prawn dumplings
Besides the usual coffee and tea, you can also have hot chocolate. Kids will definitely love this.
This is the Grab & Go breakfast option which consists of a cup of hot beverage, muffin and fruit. Busy guests don’t have an excuse for skipping breakfast. Very thoughtful of the hotel!
Packed our stuff and spent a relaxing moment in the room before checking out at 12pm.
The new Holiday Inn Express Singapore Orchard Road is the smart choice for savvy travellers who are looking for the best location combined with the best value. The Smart Stay experience offers value-conscious guests everything they need and nothing they don’t. We personally felt that everything that was provided during our stay was adequate and we were very satisfied!
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Holiday Inn Express Singapore Orchard Road
20 Bideford Road
Singapore 229921
Tel: +65 6690 3199