Shangri-La Singapore (SG Clean, Staycation Approved)

Six Hectares of Garden at the Top of Orchard Road

Shangri-La Singapore opened in 1971 as a Westin and became the flagship of the Shangri-La group in 1985, the year its Valley Wing was added alongside the original Tower. A further Garden Wing followed in 1978 and was fully refurbished in 2012. Together the three wings sit on six hectares of mature grounds at the top of Orchard Road, more green space than any comparable hotel in the shopping district can offer, and the age of the property shows in trees and landscaping that a newer build simply couldn't have grown yet, whatever the budget behind it.

Why It Works

We chose this address because the scale of the gardens changes what a stay here feels like: guests can walk from a rock garden to a waterfall-fed pool without leaving the property, something no tower hotel on Orchard Road proper can offer. Four distinct restaurants, including a fine-dining Chinese kitchen and a serious Japanese one, give the hotel its own reasons to stay in rather than eat out every night. It suits travellers who want Orchard Road's address without trading away quiet or greenery, and who plan to stay long enough to actually use the grounds rather than just photograph them on the way to dinner.

Why This Location

Orange Grove Road sits just off the top of Orchard Road, close enough to the shopping strip for an afternoon there without the noise carrying back to a room set deep in the grounds. Free shuttle buses run to the nearest MRT stations and shopping districts, and Changi Airport is about forty minutes away. It's a location that rewards travellers who want the convenience of Orchard Road balanced against somewhere quieter to return to each evening, rather than a room stacked directly above the shopping crowds.

Fast Facts

• Price: €€€€

• Vibe: Established grandeur, garden resort, Orchard Road adjacent

• Rooms: Spread across three wings — Tower, Valley and Garden — over six hectares of grounds

• Best For: Families, longer stays, travellers who want gardens with their Orchard Road access

• Our Favorite Thing About the Hotel: The Garden Wing's three-storey rock garden, built into the wing itself

• Dining: Shang Palace (Chinese fine dining), Nadaman (Japanese), The Line (all-day dining), The Waterfall (sustainable seafood and organic)

• Amenities: Chi spa, pool with children's play area and cascading waterfall, floodlit tennis courts, large gym

• Attractions: Orchard Road shopping (short ride by shuttle), Botanic Gardens (nearby), Changi Airport (about 40 minutes)

Three Wings, Three Different Hotels

The Tower is the original 1971 building and houses the Horizon Club lounge; the Valley Wing, added in 1985, has long been the hotel's most exclusive address, with its own separate check-in and a reputation among Singapore regulars that outlasts most trends; the Garden Wing, refurbished in 2012, holds 158 rooms across Deluxe City View, Deluxe Pool View and suite categories, with Premier Balcony Garden suites running to 137 square metres. All three share a lobby but keep distinct identities, down to their own service rhythms and regular clientele, which means the choice of wing matters as much as the choice of hotel.

A Rock Garden Grown Indoors

The Garden Wing's three-storey rock garden is the property's signature architectural gesture, built around rather than beside the rooms it serves, and it leads directly to the ground-floor Chi spa and The Waterfall café. The pool area carries the same logic outdoors, with a children's play pool and a cascading waterfall alongside the main pool, spa baths and floodlit tennis and artificial-grass courts rounding out a leisure offering built for a stay of several days rather than one night passing through on a business trip between meetings.