voco Orchard Singapore is a

voco Voco (stylized as voco) is an international hotel brand owned by the InterContinental Hotels Group. Since launching in 2018, voco has opened hotels in the UK, Australia, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. The name voco is derived from the L ...

hotel in located at

Orchard Road Orchard Road, often known colloquially as simply Orchard, is a major –long road in the Central Area of Singapore. Known as a famous tourist attraction, it is an upscale shopping area of Singapore, with numerous internationally renowned depa ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

. It is the first voco branded hotel by

InterContinental Hotels Group InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), marketed as IHG Hotels & Resorts, is a British multinational hospitality company headquartered in Denham, Buckinghamshire, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the F ...

in Southeast Asia

History

The construction of the Singapore Hilton was announced in ''

The Straits Times ''The Straits Times'' is an English-language daily broadsheet newspaper based in Singapore and currently owned by SPH Media Trust (previously Singapore Press Holdings). ''The Sunday Times'' is its Sunday edition. The newspaper was established ...

'' on 1 November 1963, along with its sister hotel, the Kuala Lumpur Hilton. Singapore had joined as one of the states in the new nation of Malaysia only weeks before. The two hotels were financed by businessman Cho Jock Kim, head of Far East Publishers. The $18 million hotel was designed by local architects

Booty Edwards & Partners Booty Edwards & Partners, now known as ''BEP Akitek Sdn Bhd'', is an architectural firm based in Malaysia. Ralph Booty & Sidney James set up their practice in Singapore in 1910 and began the Booty Edwards & Partners firm on September 7, 1923. Ralp ...

. Completion was intended for

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...

, but Singapore left

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

that year, and by November 1965, only the pilings of the structure had been completed. Construction resumed in 1968 and the

Far East Organization Far East Organization is one of the largest private real estate developers in Singapore. It has businesses in property development, retail, hospitality, and food and beverage brands in Asia and Australia. The company was founded by the late Sin ...

, owned by billionaire Ng Teng Fong, listed the hotel on the Stock Exchange of Malaysia and Singapore in August 1968, through its Far Eastern Hotels Development Ltd. subsidiary. A

topping off In building construction, topping out (sometimes referred to as topping off) is a builders' rite traditionally held when the last beam (or its equivalent) is placed atop a structure during its construction. Nowadays, the ceremony is often parlaye ...

ceremony was held on 23 September 1969. Interior design work was done by Dale Keller, of Pacific House (Asia) Limited and the hotel featured a huge 19-panel facade mural, sculpted by local artist Gerard Henderson and a 25-foot solid aluminum lobby mural by artist

Seah Kim Joo Seah may refer to: *Seah (surname), a surname in various cultures *Seah (unit), a unit of dry volume of ancient origin used in Jewish law * Seah Holdings, a South Korean conglomerate See also *Seay, a surname *Shea (disambiguation) *Siah (disamb ...

. The partly-completed hotel opened 100 of its 448 rooms in March 1970. The Singapore Hilton celebrated its grand opening on 30 January 1971, officiated by Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Labour

S. Rajaratnam Sinnathamby Rajaratnam ( ta, சின்னத்தம்பி ராஜரத்னம்; 25 February 1915 – 22 February 2006), better known as S. Rajaratnam, was a Singaporean politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of Singapo ...

. Hilton International operated as a separate business from Hilton in the US after 1964, and its properties were rebranded in 1979, with the hotel renamed the Hilton International Singapore. In

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

, the hotel was sold to billionaire

Ong Beng Seng Dato' Ong Beng Seng ( born January 1946) is a Singapore-based Malaysian billionaire businessman and husband of Christina Ong. He is the founder of the Singapore-based organisation Hotel Properties, and a shareholder in many businesses. ''Forbes' ...

. Hilton re-acquired Hilton International in 2005 and the Hilton International branding was retired in 2006, when the hotel became the Hilton Singapore. On 13 December 2015, the ceiling of the hotel entrance collapsed and debris fell into a car. 4 people were sent to hospital. According to the Building and Construction Authority, the building's structure remained intact and was not affected by the collapse of the false ceiling. On 1 January 2022, the hotel was renamed voco Orchard Singapore.

Accommodation and facilities

The hotel has 423 guest rooms, a rooftop swimming pool, fitness center and 2 treatment rooms, 11 meeting rooms for 18-550 people and 2 business centres. Situated in the heart of

- a popular entertainment and shopping district, the hotel is close to both ION Orchard and Takashimaya shopping centers. This hotel is only 20 minutes from

Singapore Changi Airport Singapore Changi Airport, commonly known as Changi Airport , is a major civilian international airport that serves Singapore, and is one of the largest transportation hubs in Asia. As one of the world's busiest airports by international passen ...

and close to Singapore's popular attractions.

Access

The hotel is linked to

Four Seasons Hotel Four Seasons Hotels Limited, trading as Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, is an international luxury hotel and resort company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Four Seasons currently operates more than 100 hotels and resorts worldwide.D ...

via a link bridge.

References

Hotels in Singapore Orchard Road Hotels established in 1970 Hotel buildings completed in 1970 Singaporean companies established in 1970 {{Hotels in Singapore