Last year, we had a staycation at Sentosa Island, and this year, we stayed at the heart of Orchard shopping belt, right in the city itself. My top three criteria were good breakfast buffet, nice pool and free parking. At first I wanted to stay somewhere with a good view of Marina Bay but all the hotels in the vicinity were just too expensive!
So my next choice was Orchard Road area where we can explore at ease, and I notice that the pool at Hotel Jen Orchardgateway has a view of the Marina Bay Sands which has the Spectre Light show at night where we could view it. So I chose Hotel Jen! Buuuut, turns out, we didn't get to see the Spectre Light show after all, but we did enjoy the HSBC Rain Vortex show at Jewel Changi.
Picture time!
The reception at Hotel Jen Orchardgateway
Lobby, with a piano you can play on.
Important note: If you drive, I do advise you to park at Level 8 because there is an elevator that goes directly to Level 10 where the hotel reception is at. So basically this express elevator goes from Level 1 to Level 8 to Level 10.
I parked at Level 5 and only had this choice of elevator that services the entire floors of Orchardgateway, so the waiting time was rather long.
Our twin room, non-cityview type.
The view from our bay window.
Bamboo Sky Terrace where yoga mats are also available.
The pool with a good view of the cityscape.
During the entire day, all the beanbags, cabanas and deckchairs are taken up by sunbathers.
View from the poolside at night.
Dinner at Maison De PB @ Jewel Changi
Finally we came to see the Rain Vortex! I realised all our photos of the rain vortex didn't turn out as nice as those taken by others on Facebook. Is it because of night time? It does look nicer at night, with all the fancy lights.
Breakfast buffet at Makan@Jen
Our table with a nice view of the city.
OK, SO... I was trying to search for as many details as I could about breakfast buffets in Singapore hotels but even blogs didn't reveal much. So I told my boy to take photos of every nook and corners of Makan@Jen, haha! So that I can share mah!
Tea and coffee station.
Yoghurt station, with toppings of nuts, berries and fruits.
Cereal station.
Salad station.
This should be porridge station, with plain porridge, English porridge (like oats?), and chicken porridge with condiments like pickled veges, fermented beancurd etc.
Waffle station.
Pancakes.
Bacons!!
Pork and chicken sausages, hams and baked beans.
Fried rice.
French toasts.
Can't make out what are these.
Cold cuts, and cheese.
Cut fruits.
Ice cream and sorbet. There is even durian flavour.
A sweet snack bar which has cookies, marshmallows and candies.
Croissant station.
Muffins and cakes.
Toast bread station.
After a hearty breakfast, we lazed in our rooms until checkout time at noon. Then we explored Orchard Road a bit.
A performer outside Somerset313.
Remember the Best Dressed Award I won for my DIY Darth Vader costume? I still kept the $100 Takashimaya voucher. It was put to good use today, bought mummy dearest 2 nice dresses :)
Mum says this giant beads garland performer has been around since her younger days. Wow.
Apple flagship store.
Emerald Hill. Love all the preserved heritage shoplots.
Don Don Donki at B2 of Orchardgateway. We actually had our lunch at Hokkaido Marche near here, right after we arrive at the hotel.
That concludes our little staycation! We also got a glimpse of the early Christmas decorations at Orchard Road, so all in all, I'd say it was a fruitful trip!
