Hotel Review: Singapore's Beautiful PARKROYAL COLLECTION Pickering

‘Beautiful’ was the word repeatedly used when I shared photos of my stay at PARKROYAL COLLECTION Pickering on my Instagram page, and they weren’t talking about me, haha.

Staying in a city hotel with the tagline ‘Hotel In A Garden’ is a serene experience, and when they say ‘garden,’ they mean botanical gardens. They even have an Urban Farm on the top floor.

The hotel boasts double the greenery compared to its original footprint, which is impressive even in one of the world’s greenest cities. With over 15,000 square meters of lush gardens, waterfalls, and planter walls, the architects at WOHA provided me with the coolest stay ever.

Sustainable Luxury is the way to stay!

It’s not just a beautiful hotel, the PARKROYAL COLLECTION Pickering is well-regarded for offering sustainable luxury. The garden design makes this hotel one of Singapore’s iconic hotels for its environmental impact. As their website claims:

‘PARKROYAL COLLECTION hotels are statements of iconic design with a sense of responsibility and care towards the environment and self.‘

Won’t you come for a wander with me and I’ll show you around?

Singapore location

Booking a stay at PARKROYAL COLLECTION Pickering places you in the heart of Singapore. During our early morning wanders, we strolled amongst the impressive skyscrapers of the adjacent Central Business Area one moment and enjoyed the heritage buildings in bustling Chinatown the next.

We walked to Marina Bay Sands and Gardens by the Bay area, it’s a bit of a hike (it would be 5 minutes by taxi) but after all the gorgeous food we ate at the hotel we needed the exercise!

Guests who strive for sustainability surely value public transport. Singapore has been voted the second-best public transport in Asia (behind Tokyo). The hotel is close to various modes of public transportation and is located a 2-minute walk from MRT Chinatown Station.

In the evening we headed to the waterfront dining and entertainment options along the Singapore River. We always enjoy exploring the vibrant nightlife at Clarke Quay and Boat Quay when we visit Singapore, making this location perfect.

Hotel Design & Vibe

You will long remember this hotel for its innovative design. No wonder it is declared in the Top 50 most influential tall buildings in the World.

PARKROYAL COLLECTION Pickering from Swimming pool

Ambiance & Guests

This hotel is a grown-up hotel, I did not see many kids. Its location makes it a popular choice for the business market.

We think it’s perfect for the newest growth market the Bleisure guests. Bleisure guests combine business trips with leisure. We have always tagged extra days onto work trips to Singapore. Why would you not?

A quick check on what the couples say about this hotel on Trip Advisor brings up Marm with the quote: “For Couples, this Hotel is a 10: Romantic, sexy & relaxing”.

Lifestyle Premier King Room. PARKROYAL COLLECTION Pickering.

Rooms

We stayed in a Lifestyle Premier King Room. As you walk to your room door along an open-air corridor, the fresh air and natural light are another of the clever design features. The fresh air and natural light eliminate the need for air conditioning.

There were many things we loved about our room after we’d worked out how to turn the lights off at night time!

Great for sleep quality & relaxing

The king-sized bed offers the most comfortable night’s sleep and my highlight was definitely relaxing in the bath with its nighttime views of Singapore. A pot of bath salts would have finished off my luxury experience, as would some better lighting for my makeup in the morning. Am I just showing my age?

Anyway, they are forgiven on behalf of both a black and white toothbrush and well-stocked bathroom supplies. Does anyone know what that’s all about? Asking on behalf of a friend!

Bathtime Lifestyle Premier King Room PARKROYAL COLLECTION Pickering

Workspace

Otherwise, a gorgeous well-furnished, nature-inspired room. I felt inspired working at the big desk, the Herman Miller’s ergonomic, office chair is so comfy I have taken note, I want one of these at home. The Wi-Fi was great and I was perfectly positioned to answer the door to all the sweet treats appearing.

It’s all in the details!

A personal water filter in each room is one of the many examples of the thought given to sustainability at every turn. They estimate this eliminates the carbon impact from the production, storage, and eventual waste processing of up to 360,000 plastic bottles each year. However should by chance you arrive with a plastic water bottle you will be delighted to see the rubbish bin is divided into general waste and recyclables!

This is one of the few hotels I have been in recently that still offers a nightly turn-down service. It always makes me smile to see my slippers waiting for me beside the bed. It’s the little things, isn’t it that make you smile?

Restaurants and Bars

Breakfast

We had the choice of breakfast either in the COLLECTION Club Lounge or at Lime Restaurant. Both were lovely breakfast experiences. Lime Restaurant offered a greater choice (they are known for their massive buffet selection) and was busier. We tried both during our stay. I preferred the quieter COLLECTION Club Lounge, where I enjoyed spending time. The attentive staff even offered a brekkie glass of fizz!

Food and drink at PARKROYAL COLLECTION Pickering

Lime Restaurant

We enjoyed the Buffet dinner evening at Lime offering a wide variety of choices from local favourites to International cuisine. It was an excellent chance to sample a variety of Singaporean dishes, such as Kueh Pie Tee, Singapore Rojak, and Singapore Bak Kut Tehat at the buffet stations. Chefs were available to prepare the dishes and provide explanations about the recipes and ingredients.

Collection Club Lounge

I do love a Club access pass, and the team at the COLLECTION Club Lounge on the 16th Floor looks after their Club members really well. The spacious lounge offers brilliant views, and fabulous food and drinks on offer throughout the day. We really enjoyed their afternoon tea and evening cocktails and canapés.

Afternoon Tea at COLLECTION Lounge PARKROYAL COLLECTION Pickering

Wellness space

The 5th floor is a dedicated wellness space, swim, exercise, or spa it’s all here.

Outdoor Infinity Pool

Any swimming pool area that offers giant birdcage-inspired cabanas as relaxation pods wins my heart. The pool is a gem. Look up you can’t help but gasp at the green gardens. They are designed to be reminiscent of Bali’s rice paddy fields, cascading down the front of the building above.

The other gasp comes when you get in the pool. How come Singapore swimming pools are so much cooler than in Thailand?

Get there early to secure your spot. I love that there is limited seating to maintain its tranquility.

Swimming pool and birdcage-inspired pool cabanas

St Gregory Spa

St. Gregory is known as one of Singapore’s top spas. So of course this wannabe Spa Queen of Asia immediately booked an afternoon of pampering. Luckily they are currently offering a 90-minute head-to-toe relaxation package, which I enjoyed. This includes a body massage and a 30-minute foot massage, for $200 nett.

The entrance through the swimming pool area is a wow of a start. By contrast, my treatment room was underwhelming in design, or should I say designed without any distractions for utter relaxation! They tell me the couples’ spa room is the one to see.

The spa itself has only four treatment rooms. So do book ahead to avoid disappointment. With special thanks to May, my excellent massage therapist. St Gregory spa was a lovely highlight of my visit.

The Gym PARKROYAL COLLECTION Pickering

The small but well-equipped gym looks out over the pool and complete the

300-metre Garden Walk

Singapore aims to become a ‘City in Nature’ by 2030. Take a bow PARKROYAL COLLECTION Pickering you are more than doing your bit.

As the “World’s Leading Green City Hotel,” the hotel’s gardens are a must-visit. The 300m garden walkway is impressive. Not only with their beautiful planting but also with the remarkable infrastructure that supports these plants.

The use of rain harvesting, auto-irrigation, and fertigation systems in all planter areas ensures that water and nutrients are provided precisely through time-controlled drip nozzles.

300-metre Garden Walk — The 300m Garden Walk.

Urban Farm

Talking of sustainability PARKROYAL COLLECTION Pickering offers tours of their rooftop Urban Farm on request. Chef Stanley guides us through more than 50 types of vegetables, fruits, herbs, and edible flowers at the farm. The plants sure do thrive here, everything looks so perfect.

As we tour round, two chefs appear to collect their eco-friendly garnishes, and ingredients for the day. Chef Stanley offers us various leaves to taste. As we taste the mint and stevia leaves we’re impressed with how their farm-to-table, farm-to-bar, and even farm-to-spa concept works.

Chef Stanley, Urban Farm Tour
PARKROYAL COLLECTION Pickering — Chef Stanley, Urban Farm Tour

Value for money

Our total bill for one night stay using our GHA Discovery members rate for bed and breakfast, was $627.15. This included an upgrade to The Collection Club Lounge access and my 90-minute St Gregory Spa treatment( $200.00 SGD.)

Given that Afternoon Tea and cocktails & canapes in the Lounge are substantial at least you save on dinner!

Staff Service

Every interaction we had with staff was top-notch. There are many great examples, from the warm and friendly welcome by the cheerful Faustine at reception to Chef Stanley’s enthusiasm for the Urban Farm to the helpful concierge team who arranged my transportation around the area. The staff service was memorable.

GHA Discovery

Three nights were kindly hosted by PARKROYAL COLLECTION Pickering as part of my attendance at TravMedia’s International Media Marketplace (IMM). We paid for an extra night ourselves.

Delegates are assigned to hotels. We were happy to find out we were staying at the PARKROYAL COLLECTION Pickering. This is our first stay here, despite being Gold and Platinum members of GHA Discovery, their loyalty program. To say we are fans of their hotels is an understatement.

The reason we chose GHA Discovery Hotels is we appreciate their standout iconic designs and the sense of responsibility and care towards the environment. Each hotel is different, each stay has left us with fabulous memories of not just the location, but also the hotel.

We have stayed at GHA Discovery hotels on three continents. Our stay at The Dupont Circle in Washington DC, USA is another great example of a hotel we are still talking about!

Our PARKROYAL COLLECTION Pickering Experience

I hope you have found our thoughts on staying at the PARKROYAL COLLECTION Pickering helpful. This iconic eco-friendly gem stands out as a true testament to sustainable luxury. We loved our stay, my top hotel stay of 2023 so far.