Let me just make one thing clear.
This is a non-Influencer post.
Meaning that these pictures are generally not the kind that you'll find on Instagram or Facebook or Twitter or any blog that also has pictures of beautiful, well-groomed people wearing stylish cloths, sunglasses, hats, lovely shoes and trendy bags posing at outdoor carpark lots, gritty alleys, faded, rusty staircases together with cemented, concrete drains and colorful dustbins with hashtags that go like #OOTD, And there won't be well-composited pictures of the Hotel that will make you "stop everything and book a stay here" with gorgeous, beautifully colored pictures hashtagged #asianholiday #HotelJenOrchardGateway #staycation #livefortheday #livingthelife #Singaporeholiday #Somerset #Orchard etc etc etc.
But they're pictures that every visitor, and every guest in this hipster hotel along the Somerset stretch will see. They're scenes and places where guests, and visitors will likely enter, go past and enjoy. Or they might be places where you've seen people hanging out but hey, no reason to be there or whatever, and so you don't go there.
Like if you're a non-smoker, chances are you won't go to the narrow area that's been designated smokers' area and so you won't catch views like these..
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| the rooms |
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| orchard emerald opposite.. last time |
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| dramatic cloud day |
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| to rest the smoker's eyes |
But whether you're a guest or a visitor, you'll definitely hang out at the lobby, which is wide, spacious, sun-filled, has a little casual cafe by the side if you want a light meal of sandwiches, coffee, pastries, muffins or fruit. There's a fun, casual, hipster, sit down and chat sort of atmosphere at this space located right in front of the lobby, and the hotel has an incredibly local vibe, so at the same cafe, you'll find sealed packets of biscuits and snacks familiar to locals. Like those cookies in the shape of a ear. Or those gem biscuits that we locals often take for granted but forget that this charming cute little biscuit is not found everywhere.
There're two sides to the lobby. One side looks like this...
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| the lobby |
and grants you a view like this.
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| river valley up to tanjong pagar |
The other, which is where the smokers' area is, faces Orchard Road and leads you to the drinks lounge- a very lovely place with cosy seats and is decorated in peacock colors and offers Happy Hours Wednesday through Saturday and Sunday, Makan @ Jen, which is where you go for breakfast, or lunch or dinner. and the lifts that will take you up to the rest of the building below, or to the rooms above.
It takes you to the 19th floor where there're the conference rooms, meeting rooms and the pool too.
The pool's one of the biggest highlights in this Hotel. The view, I think, is unrivaled. Completely unrivaled. Undeterred and unblocked on three sides, what you get is a panoramic view of Downtown Singapore from Somerset all the way to Marina Bay Sands, and on clear days, even the sea beyond. On the other side, right up to Pearl's Hill Bank on the Chinatown side. And on the third side, facing northwards, the condominiums of Cairnhill all the way up to somewhere in Balestier with just the hint of Toa Payoh's edge.
That's the idyllic description, which isn't wrong, by the way.
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| the Downtown view |
But closer to the property, closer to you, right in your face, right where you're lounging by the pool with her cushions, pillows and gorgeous sunset, is a view of Singapore's something-something telecommunications provider. I'm talking about SingTel, which long, long time ago used to be Singapore Telecom and which had an orange logo shaped like the handle of a phone that would be pretty retro today.
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| singtel by the pool |
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| the someone just snoozed here shot |
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| drinks by the pool |
It takes creativity and sharp angles to take a picture of the comfortable cushions and round lounging poolside chairs without the opposite building peeking out of the corner of the shot. The SingTel building just looms in your face, man. You cannot avoid it. No matter where you sit, whether at this row of cushioned seats here with a book or a drink on the table, or at the high bar seats that is great if you're in heels and a sexy dress, or whether you're at this other side where you've got your own sheltered nook. You lie down on all those cushions and you've got your view bashed in by the sight of the telecommunications company.
But #Singapore.
Thank goodness there's only this one inevitable skyscraper and that you can actually squeeze other more relaxing, more scenic views as well. And it's not actually bleah for the mood. Set against dramatic cloud formations in the dusky evening sky, it can be quite uplifting.
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| the VIEW |
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| the VIEW.. by the pool |
And there're enough landscaped plants to distract your eyes away from the concrete and steel and glass, where you can choose to be beneath them, sort of a modern-day open-concept hut beneath a tree canopy, or to be surrounded by them on all three sides.
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| the balinese villa shot |
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| the instagram shot |
And if you can't seem to be distracted enough, there's always the beauty of the skies. Unaffected, nothing towering over you, that always, always will give one a sense of hope and fill the soul with an unparalleled quiet.
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| the VIEW one loves |
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| the VIEW that one goes up to the pool for |
I've been both visitor and guest here a couple of times. Enough to say that I've seen the view from one side to the other and back again. Enough to say that I'm familiar with their upstairs lounge and I wonder from time to time if they still serve pandan chiffon cake, salmon sashimi, sushi and tarts and pies for evening cocktails and I wonder what happened to that lady staff from Taiwan who was there one time and not there the next time I went.
The vibe of this place is one of the best draws for both families and couples and seniors alike. Basically, you'll feel younger once you step in here and stay in here. Hipster, youthful, millennial, xennial, Gen Z from inside out, Hotel Jen Orchard Gateway blends together elements of fun, liveliness, color and cheerfulness with systematic, global-standard professionalism and topped with just that touch of warmth, and 'zai-ness' that is distinctive in the soul of Singaporean-Malaysian hospitality.
By the way, there aren't any pictures of the rooms. I told ya this was a non-Influencer post. :) You'll find them on their website or their Facebook page. What I do have, though, is a picture of a popcorn tub that they kindly gave me at no charge because hey, vibe.
You get my point. :D
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| #ilurrrrrvepopcorn |
