Review of Intercontinental Singapore, by Caroline Major

A dime a dozen in Singapore, the Intercontinental has tried to distinguish itself by choosing an old building for its opening in order to retain some of 'Old Singapore'. Its personality lies in the row of live-in shops dated from the late 1800's, which have converted into the covetable 'Shophouse Rooms'.

The street below is still a shopping street, which retains some charm in a city of oversized shopping plazas. The original grid of narrow outdoor market streets have been covered with a glass roof, set amongst the more average shopping mall. Looking down from the balcony of your Shophouse Room, you get some atmosphere of the original Singapore street. Young funkies come to the Parco Plaza to watch the latest release films and hang out.

The rooms retain the hardwood floors from the previous incarnation of the building. Combined with the louvered doors opening onto the shopping market below, and the potted palms, Intercontinental have indeed managed a little of the colonial charm they seek, and the elegance of the bygone era. Adding colour is the selection of Peranakan (Straits Chinese) artefacts, paintings, framed ethnic jewellery and ceramics. Make sure you ask for one of these Shophouse Rooms, otherwise, in the 406 room hotel, you may end up with a more standard business hotel offering.

Facilities wise, this hotel specialises in small to medium sized conferences. There are 13 meeting rooms of various sizes, all with the latest high-tech gadgetry and differing degrees of privacy for your posse. Making up the complement are the 'Business Rooms' on the Club Inter-Continental private floor.

Equipped with 200m range mobile phones, you can wait for a call anywhere in the hotel complex. Get Singaporean about it, and spend the wait in the shopping mall. Alternatively, get busy at the desk with its ergonomic chair, or print out your Singapore Snaps. Maybe just hang out in the private lounge and indulge in the complimentary high tea or cocktails. The hotel has had a string of awards in its relatively short history, including a spot in the top 5 best business hotels in Singapore from Business Traveller Magazine.

A 20 minute taxi ride from the airport, the hotel is right next to the Raffles Hotel, is on the MRT, and midpoint between Orchard Road and the Shenton Way Financial district. It doesn't have a nightclub like most of the other chain hotels in town, instead offering an elegant lobby lounge (complete with harpist) and a more casual bar. There is a Chinese and Japanese restaurant as well as a Mediterranean brasserie. Worth a mention is the breakfast buffet in the Olive Tree. It's loaded with anything your western palate might crave, as well as equally impressive Japanese and Chinese selections.