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.
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?
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