In October 2022, we learned about plans for the Regent Singapore to close, undergo a renovation, and reopen as the Conrad Singapore Orchard. The refreshed hotel has officially opened as of today, so let’s go over all the details.
In this post:
Regent Singapore becomes Conrad Singapore Orchard
The Conrad Singapore Orchard has opened as of December 28, 2023, so the property is now part of the Hilton Honors portfolio.
The Conrad Singapore Orchard features 445 guest rooms (including 46 suites), starting at 35 square meters (~377 square feet). However, it seems that not all room types are ready yet, as I only see a limited number of room types bookable for the coming months — executive rooms and many suite types aren’t yet available for sale.
The property also has several food & beverage outlets, including Manhattan, Basilico, and Summer Palace. The hotel also has a gym, pool, and executive lounge.
The Conrad is located on the famous Orchard Road, known for its shopping and luxury retailers. The hotel is roughly 22 kilometers from Singapore Changi Airport (SIN), or a 30-minute drive away (though of course public transportation is great as well).
Currently rates at the hotel seem to start at just over 400 SGD per night, with points stays starting at 70,000 Hilton Honors points per night. 
The Regent Singapore initially opened in 1988, so it’s quite an old property. While it looks like the interior has been nicely updated, it’s hard to bring the exterior of the property to a level where it doesn’t look past its prime.
Below are some renderings of what the refreshed property looks like.
As a point of comparison, below is what the guest rooms looked like when the property was branded as a Regent.
This is an interesting rebranding
There are a couple of things I find noteworthy here:
- The property has left the Regent brand, which IHG took a majority stake in as of 2019
- This is the second Conrad in Singapore, along with the Conrad Centennial Singapore
Let’s talk about both points in a bit more detail. First of all, while I appreciate IHG’s acquisition of Regent, as it helps the company in the luxury space, I can’t help but find the brand a little… stray? The brand has six properties in Asia and three in Europe, so there’s not exactly a whole lot of global name recognition or brand loyalty.
One would think that Regent gaining the power of IHG’s global distribution power would help Regent properties with selling rooms, though I find it surprising that the hotel is rebranding shortly after the IHG acquisition. Were the owners not finding that the property was selling as well as they hoped? Are IHG’s fees too high for what’s being provided?
This doesn’t exactly set a great precedent for IHG’s Regent acquisition, since the Regent Singapore was one of Regent’s biggest properties. It seems that IHG is now trying to grow the Regent brand through conversions, with the InterContinental Cannes and InterContinental Hong Kong both being rebranded as Regent properties. Is Regent just becoming a more premium business hotel version of InterContinental?
Then there’s the hotel being rebranded as a Conrad. Hilton has been killing it lately when it comes to picking up contracts for premium and luxury hotels, and I’m thrilled to see that portfolio continue to grow. However, I’m still surprised to see a second Conrad open in the city. I generally assume that there’s some cannibalization among the potential consumer base when the same brand has two or more hotels in a city.
You’d think that we’d instead see a Waldorf Astoria or maybe LXR. However, I suppose in this case the hotel is so big that it could be kind of tough to brand it as either of those. Conrad, which is more of a competitor to Grand Hyatt type properties, is a better fit for a property of this size.
Bottom line
The Regent Singapore closed in October 2022. It has now undergone a full renovation, prior to opening as the Conrad Singapore Orchard as of late December 2023. This is a great addition to the Hilton Honors portfolio, and I look forward to checking out this property some day.
I’m not sure what exactly to make of the hotel owners choosing to rebrand the property shortly after IHG’s Regent acquisition, and especially to choose a brand that already has a property in the city.
What do you make of the Conrad Singapore Orchard, and of the rebranding in general?
Definitely not on Orchard Road, a bit of a hike in the heat. Not particularly near public transport either.
I considered staying there a few years back when it was a Regent but decided it was just too inconvenient. The Conrad Centennial is a fantastic hotel, our “go to” Singapore hotel, and we “go to” Singapore most years, sometimes more frequently.
If you want a big hotel on Orchard Road in the Hilton...
Definitely not on Orchard Road, a bit of a hike in the heat. Not particularly near public transport either.
I considered staying there a few years back when it was a Regent but decided it was just too inconvenient. The Conrad Centennial is a fantastic hotel, our “go to” Singapore hotel, and we “go to” Singapore most years, sometimes more frequently.
If you want a big hotel on Orchard Road in the Hilton Portfolio you would be much better booking the recently renovated Hilton. Unbeatable location.
Not an amazing property, location is not great, and like many atrium hotels, you don't want to stay there if you are sensitive to noise. Esepcially if you are still jetlagged after a long flight and in need of an early night while there is a wedding taking place...
This property is NOT situated on Orchard Road, but Cuscaden Road, and is actually quite a hike to the part of Orchard Road where the retail is concentrated.
Rooms look just as small as the other conrad.
I’m staying at the Conrad orchard now for opening night. A bit disappointing compared to the centennial Conrad. Lobby, executive lounge and atrium decor need updating. Pool area has horrible ac noise pollution. No upgrades for diamond member even though low occupancy. Very low quality food and drinks in executive lounge.
Lucky, I'm afraid you're missing a lot of context here. Just to clear things up, the Conrad Singapore Orchard and the Conrad Centennial Singapore are owned by the same owners – Pontiac Land Group. They are a huge conglomerate owned by the Kwee family, who also owns the Capella and Patina hotels as well as a few other hotels in Singapore and Australasia.
Until 2018 the hotel was known as Regent Singapore, A Four Seasons...
Lucky, I'm afraid you're missing a lot of context here. Just to clear things up, the Conrad Singapore Orchard and the Conrad Centennial Singapore are owned by the same owners – Pontiac Land Group. They are a huge conglomerate owned by the Kwee family, who also owns the Capella and Patina hotels as well as a few other hotels in Singapore and Australasia.
Until 2018 the hotel was known as Regent Singapore, A Four Seasons Hotel. And yes, this property was the last Regent to stay under FS. The hotel was supposed to be rebranded as a Capella hotel when the 26-year FS contract with Pontiac ended in 2018. Pontiac later changed their mind and IHG entered a brief contract to manage the hotel as Regent Singapore.
However, they probably decided that the hotel's size was not appropriate for Capella and having already had the rights to using the Conrad brand in Singapore, decided to rebrand it as such. Regardless, the physical aspect of this hotel is also completely different to IHG's intimate vision for Regent, which probably helped with the termination of the contract.
Furthermore, regarding Regent and IHG: Regent Hong Kong was originally a Regent Hotel until its initial owners sold the property to InterContinental. When Formosa International Hotels (FIH) sold Regent to IHG in 2018, FIH CEO Steven Pan only agreed to the transaction if InterContinental Hong Kong were to be reflagged back into Regent.
Re: the rebranding- Seems they chose the Conrad brand since it fits best with that particular hotel's size and room style. It seems not luxurious enough to be made into an LXR or a Waldorf but not distinct enough to be made into a Curio/Tapestry/Canopy. And that atrium photo with its orange lighting makes the hotel look dated already and is doing it no favors.
For a city to have 2 luxury properties of the...
Re: the rebranding- Seems they chose the Conrad brand since it fits best with that particular hotel's size and room style. It seems not luxurious enough to be made into an LXR or a Waldorf but not distinct enough to be made into a Curio/Tapestry/Canopy. And that atrium photo with its orange lighting makes the hotel look dated already and is doing it no favors.
For a city to have 2 luxury properties of the same brand, I thought it was not common but not totally unheard of. Hong Kong had 2 Intercontinentals (until one rebranded as the Regent), and Seoul had 2 Hiltons (at one point in time, now they have none). Maybe something to do with property location?
As for the Regent/Intercontinental brands, I'm just confused as to their individual brand strategies. IC tries too hard to compete in several different market segments and Regent feels like an overlap of IC. If there's a way to say, differentiate the brands, maybe that will work. But then again IHG can't seem to build their brands to give them strength so they feel a lot weaker and seem to have less cache/recognition than the equivalent Hyatt/Hilton/Marriott brand. Outside of Holiday Inn that is.
The hotel was designed by John Portman. The design is iconic, not "dated."
Exactly. I make a point of trying to stay in a John Portman-designed hotel wherever possible, but admittedly I am a very keen admirer of his work. His hotels across the USA are wonderful to behold, examples being the Bonaventure in LA, the Marriott at the Renaissance Centre in Detroit, three hotels at the Peachtree Centre in Atlanta (his home) and the Hyatt Regency at Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco among many more. Sadly, there is...
Exactly. I make a point of trying to stay in a John Portman-designed hotel wherever possible, but admittedly I am a very keen admirer of his work. His hotels across the USA are wonderful to behold, examples being the Bonaventure in LA, the Marriott at the Renaissance Centre in Detroit, three hotels at the Peachtree Centre in Atlanta (his home) and the Hyatt Regency at Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco among many more. Sadly, there is not one John Portman building here in England!
I've just booked this Conrad for my trip next October, thanks to this article.
Personally I love the design of the atrium, but it's rooms that look like straight out of 80's to me. Not great for a freshly renovated hotel.
During the SARS outbreak I flew SFO-NRT-SIN for $188 roundtrip, plus earned double miles from a promo, and stayed at this property for about $30/night. That one trip earned me silver status on NW.
This has some interesting insights into the background of the re-brand.
https://www.edgeprop.sg/property-news/rebranded-conrad-singapore-orchard-capitalises-tanglin-orchard-boulevard-renaissance
Lovely hotel, the location is not actually quite on Orchard Road, it is a bit of a walk to the start of the road, and quite a distance to the main shopping area. More of a quiet retreat type of hotel though I suppose with the Foreign Affairs and Tourism Board right there and Gleneagles Hospital, not to mention the US, British, Chinese and Australian high commissions right across the road, the appeal is obvious....
Lovely hotel, the location is not actually quite on Orchard Road, it is a bit of a walk to the start of the road, and quite a distance to the main shopping area. More of a quiet retreat type of hotel though I suppose with the Foreign Affairs and Tourism Board right there and Gleneagles Hospital, not to mention the US, British, Chinese and Australian high commissions right across the road, the appeal is obvious.
Used to have a really nice and chilled American-style steakhouse downstairs, my uncle would take us there on weekends. Probably long closed.
Great point, and an important one at that.
100% agreed; I view the Shangri-La on Orange Grove Rd. the same way.
I am sad to see the property being rebranded. My husband and I stayed there for 10 nights in November 2022. It was a great point redemption property as the nightly rate was between 30K and 34K with breakfast included. We opted to upgrade to a one-bedroom suite, which was twice the size of the basic room, for ~$100 USD per night. We had a comfortable and lovely stay.