Check-in
Cascading foliage,bulbous curves:first-timers do a double-take when they arrive at this part five-star luxury hotel,part futuristic forest,designed by world-renowned architects WOHA. While the check-in desk is ostensibly unremarkable,take a closer look. There are no cut flowers in the foyer (only terrariums or potted plants are allowed here),water is bubbling nearby and is that a natural breeze you can feel in that comfortably cool corridor while downtown Singapore swelters outside?
The look
This “hotel in a garden” is smack bang in the centre of the city and,some would say,smack bang in the future. But it’s a future that looks more rosy than many may envisage thanks to this 367-room hotel’s full embrace of sustainability and innovation since it opened in 2013. It’s an ethos that keeps on giving,with energy-saving features throughout the startling undulating design (it was inspired by Balinese rice paddies). The hotel’s leafy curves make for a new way of living in the built world,with the hotel housing 15,000 square metres of high-rise lush gardens,waterfalls and planter walls,making up more than twice the building’s total land area.
This greenery absorbs heat,shades hard surfaces and improves air quality,while rain harvesting,solar power,a farm on the rooftop to supply the kitchens and high-performance glass that cuts air-conditioning costs and allows rooms to open to sun-lit corridors adds to the green cred. But five-star fundamentals are also all here:the Collection Club lounge offers cocktails and canapes while on the “Wellness Floor”,the outdoor infinity pool among the highrise jungle interspersed with colourful birdcage-cabanas is an Insta-savvy delight.
The room