New swanky name and look for Holiday Inn Singapore

The Holiday Inn Park View has always been something of an odd duck -- it's tucked away behind Orchard Road, around the corner from Centrepoint and in hotel years, it looks older than John McCain. But in the past 15 months, the owners have been quietly carrying out an extensive refurbishment to the tune of S$25 million big ones. The result is ... well, let's say if McCain started looking like James McAvoy, we'd want to know his plastic surgeon.

The hotel has been renamed and rebranded as the Holiday Inn Singapore Orchard City Centre --  quite the mouthful, but it does better reflect the site's central location in Singapore's shopping and tourist districts. And it's more than a superficial makeover. Almost everything's been overhauled, from the signage to the lobby reception area, from the rooms to the Executive Club. There are new scents, new sounds (specially selected tunes from the Holiday Inn playlist) and a promise of new service -- hotel staff have been trained to provide better attention to guests, according to Holiday Inn Singapore Orchard City Centre's general manager, Shantha de Silva, who soke at the unveiling of the re-launched hotel.

The hotel has a total of 319 guest rooms, overlooking the Presidential Palace, the Istana.

"We have focused on the things that guests value most -- great beds, great showers and genuine service with a contemporary look. And, we also have the advantage of being right in the city center, just off the beaten track," de Silva told CNNGo.

The hotel adds new bed linens and individually marked pillows to all 319 rooms, as well as new bathroom fixtures like condensation-free mirrors, therapeutic shower heads and other details like connectivity for laptops, digital cameras and MP3 players.

The new look takes its lead from the Holiday Inn brand's US$1 billion global relaunch program, and the Hong Kong-based Harilela Group, owners of the Holiday Inn Orchard City Centre, which engaged interior designer Manny Samson and Associates for the refurbishment.

"The decision to invest such a signficant amount was based on the fact that we have a very high repeat guest ratio in the city -- we need to keep working at constantly improving our product and service," said Dr. Harilela, director of the Harilela Group.

getting there

Holiday Inn Singapore City Centre
11 Cavenagh Road, Singapore
tel. +65 6733 8333
www.holidayinn.com/sin-orchard