YOTEL Singapore: A Smart Hotel

Having been to the Lion City a number of times, me and my buddy definitely had our fair share of different hotel experiences in Singapore. From a cheap hostel in Chinatown to a luxurious treat from a five-star hotel. No matter what our accommodation is, as long as our food cravings are satisfied from nearby food joints, then we’re good. Halfway through our two-month backpacking trip, I was yearning for comfort of the familiar sights, and as we emerged at Orchard Road subway train station, I felt at ease. YOTEL Singapore, our home for three days, quietly witnessed our surrender to our glutton sessions.

Both of us love Singapore as much as we love Kuala Lumpur in terms of food and we don’t mind going back again and again. It was just a month before this recent trip when we did a full day Singapore layover when we visited Australia. And for our annual two-month summer backpacking trip, we, of course, included Singapore on our itinerary, just because.

Day 18. Last day in Singapore. Morning musings. Blessed. Loved. Happy. But mostly, craving for pork sinigang with patis and sili combo 😁 Photo by @lakadpilipinas #SEA2africa2018 #Yotel #YotelSingapore

A post shared by blissfulguro (@blissfulguro) on May 2, 2018 at 3:43pm PDT

After partying in Bali for ten days and exploring East Timor for six days, we finally took a much-needed break from hustling and sightseeing. There’s this comforting effect when we landed at Changi International Airport. It wasn’t as intense as what we always feel when we go back to the Philippines but it’s more of the same (check here for discounted tours, activities and transportation in Singapore here).

Perfect location at Orchard Road

We took our leisurely time at the airport and made our way to downtown via the uber efficient train system. We arrived at Orchard Road at noontime.

The familiar sights, smells and feeling was like my black coffee in the morning which makes me feel alive. After a few minute walk from the Orchard Road MRT Station, we reached our home for three days, YOTEL Singapore.

An ultramodern hotel

YOTEL brand has hotels in London, Boston, Amsterdam, New York City, and just recently opened its newest branch in Singapore, the first in Asia.

Smart check-in and check-out

The brand itself is inspired by luxury travel by translating the comfort of airline services into smart spaces that is value for the money. The well-designed cabins, as they wanna call them, has all the key elements for a comfortable stay, plus more.

Yotel merchandise for sale

A funky shade of violet glowed on one side of the dazzling white space with marble tile flooring. Odd-shaped chairs and tables made up for the reception area. You may think that it would be tacky but no, the mix of patterns and colors worked pretty well, like my buddy was fascinated about the tiles at the hallways that he’d like to replicate it on our future love shack.

Funky and hip

The hip design was in stark contrast with the minimalist features of our Premium Queen View Room (check here for discounted room rates).

YOTEL Singapore's Premium Queen View Room

Neutral palette of beige, cream, grey, and black filled the 16-sq.m. room. The seemingly plain room was filled with surprises, those happy ones.

I love how they incorporated style and practicality on a compact room; funky and purposeful, design meets comfort.

The SmartBed is really comfy.

First thing I noticed was the queen size adjustable SmartBed™. The fully-automatic bed that turns into a recliner sofa was remarkable with its uber comfy linens and pillows. An additional storage space was provided underneath it plus, there’s a flexible arm LED reading lamp on both sides of the bed.

Space saving ideas

A multi-purpose area rested on a corner with a mini fridge, coffee and tea-making amenities, in-room safe, retractable work desk and a foldable chair.

Things that you need and nothing that you don't.

A vanity area was conveniently located near the bed which is great as you don’t need to take turns in the bathroom when you only need to wash your hands. It’s complete with washbasin, towels, mirrors, hair dryer, drawers for storage and vanity articles. 

Eco-friendly liquid soap and body lotion.

It’s good thing to note that they provide reusable huge bottles for liquid soaps and such which is totally eco-friendly compared to those disposable plastic bottle containers.

Smart storage

The TV wall doubled as storage space and charging area with foldable table. The same wall smartly stored some nifty coat hooks, umbrella, emergency flashlight, and ironing facilities. I was quite surprised on their space storage ideas at this point.

Open layout wardrobe and vanity area.

The open layout wardrobe was efficient with its clothes rack and shelves. I immediately unpacked my stuff and filled this space with my knick-knacks. I then stored my backpack underneath the SmartBed™.

I'm totally diggin' the bathroom!

My favorite part of our room was the ensuite toilet and bath. I dunno why but I have this thing with full-length glass windows, I find it romantic for some reason. Located on the 23rd floor, we got an amazing view of the city. Two shade types of automatic roller blinds were also provided for privacy.

YOTEL Singapore: The Smart Hotel

I was ready to surrender to the bed to complete a one full cycle of sleep when my buddy mentioned that there’s a Jollibee outlet near Orchard Road, around 5-minute walk from Yotel. So we sped our way to the happiest bee of the Philippines and had hearty meal of good old chickenjoy and spaghetti. It was as if we were back home as we got to speak with the staff in our native language.

That night we hung out with one of our Singapore-based friends who treated us to a movie date.

Grains & Hops Bar & Restaurant

Complimentary breakfast was included on our booking so we proceeded at the 10th floor, or TEN as they call it, the next morning. The floor is dedicated for the guests’ leisure and enjoyment; there’s an outdoor pool, gym, co-working studio, and a bar and restaurant—Grains & Hops.

Clean lines and layout.

The restaurant was more of a hangout place with the bar as the focal point. Oddly-matched chairs and tables filled the minimalist space and natural light peeped through the floor-to-ceiling glass windows.

Co-working studio for casual meetings or hangout place.

We went directly to the buffet spread and noticed the variety of choices; soup and bread station, cheese and salad station, egg station, noodle station and more. I also loved the fresh juice station wherein I took a sample of different fruit concoctions and settled for a citrus mix.

Happy brekkie!

My plate was filled with crispy-fried bacons, waffles, eggs and sausages. After my first plate, I went back for more of my ultimate brekkie comfort food (although I really don’t take breakfasts in my normal daily life).

Outdoor pool area and garden.

We did the exact thing on the next few days as we met up with some of our Singapore-based friends and indulged on laksa and yong tau foo plus Tiger Beer. We’d go back home and spend the rest of the night downloading new TV series and chill on our crib.

The welcome snack plate brings back some childhood memories.

There’s a difference between a staying in a posh hotel to get pampered like royalty and staying in a smart hotel where all your basic needs are met in a very clever and fun way. Everything that we usually perceive to be essential in all of our lodgings were addressed by YOTEL Singapore, like every little thing. For a little less, we got to be in a convenient location and nestle on our snuggly bed at night.

YOTEL Singapore (check for discounted room rates here)

366 Orchard Road, Singapore 238904

Contact Number: (+65) 6866.8000

Website