As big-name hotels crowd nearby Orchard Rd, the year-old Artyzen hotel stands sentinel just a short stroll from Singapore’s busy shopping district. Set among residential blocks on a quiet street, it literally stands apart from its rivals.
“We look on and let them do their thing and we do ours,” says Artyzen director of Marketing and Communications Francine Loh before we started a tour of the property.
The Artyzen is among 15 venues created by Artyzen Hospitality Group (AHG), the bespoke lifestyle hospitality specialist arm of Hong Kong developer Shun Tak Holdings Limited. The company was created by the late Macau billionaire Stanley Ho. His daughter, Pansy Ho, is behind the Artyzen hotels, with Singapore the first AHG property outside of Greater China.
Artyzen Singapore sits on the site of what was once a sprawling tropical-garden mansion “Villa Marie”, created by the great-grandson of Singapore’s well-known philanthropist, the late Tan Tock Seng.
Seen from the street, the exterior architecture with its copper-coloured metal shutters and pocket gardens inserted deep into its interior looks almost futuristic but somehow sympathetic to its surrounds in the Garden City. It’s as much art-meets-garden-meets-architecture as it is a hotel to sleep, and what a place to sleep!
While ONG&ONG designed the exteriors, the interior is by Australian designer Nic Graham & Associates, who also designed all the QT hotels in Australia and New Zealand, as well as numerous five-star hotels including The Ritz Carlton Vietnam, W Hong Kong and W Kuala Lumpur.
The entry is subtle, with guests willing to walk in the humidity from Orchard Rd, greeted by a wall of green which hides Quenino by Victor Liong, a restaurant by the Australian chef best known for Melbourne’s two-hatted Lee Ho Fook. Indeed it is becoming quite popular among Australian travellers as they discover those connections.
AHG could have probably put twice as many rooms into the 142-key hotel but fortunately it chose instead to create expansive suites with vaulted bedroom ceilings, towering from 4.2 to 4.5m with all standard rooms featuring a balcony of some type.
The Grand Terrace Rooms, which are two adjoining rooms, share the same courtyard between the two units while each Terrace Suite comes with a 94sqm private courtyard, exclusive to the room, with hanging gardens several storeys high that seem to defy gravity. It’s like something out of Avatar – well the first movie anyway.
Our two rooms were connected by a single door, accessed by either key which led to a small corridor and doors to each room off that offering both privacy and connection, if we needed it, to our teenager next door.
In the rooms, the timber barrel-vaulted ceilings, landscaped balconies, digitalised botanical wallpaper and Peranakan tiles are elements that Graham has used to reflect the city’s rich heritage. The bathrooms are rich in marble, feature full-sized baths and a large walk-in shower, fine toiletries, a separate toilet and adjacent large wardrobes.
Our balcony featured a view to the north-west, across former colonial estates to the far horizon, where you can see Johor Baharu, Malaysia. Our teen’s room featured the high-rise residences and offices surrounding Orchard Rd and even closer, kids playing in a rooftop pool. The Artyzen’s own west-facing rooftop pool and bar is a world away from the streets below.
Talking of street level, Artyzen is not just a place to see, stay and swim – it’s an all-encompassing experience. That continues on into Quenino where Liong and Artyzen chef de cuisine Sujatha Asokan have crafted a stunning menu that combines the flavours of the region, produce from Australian and the influences of Su’s Malaysian-Chinese and Singaporean-Indian heritage.
Our lunch started with an array of amuse bouche, and continued on into an enlightening menu of gently treated Australian produce with local flavours: Green Lip Abalone Sweet Potato, with the garlic-tasting Buah Keluak nut; thinly sliced Full-blood Wagyu with pillowy Flatbread and Green Chilli; aromatic Yellowtail Kingfish Lemak, Lemongrass, Passion Fruit and Heirloom Beetroot; Wagyu Beef Cheek – the moist meat falling apart under fork; crisp Game Farm Quail with “Fried Rice”, Tamarind and Stingless Bee Honey.
Desserts included Taro Ice Cream with Fermented Rice Wine, Sweet Potato, Roselle, and finished with petit fours, all delivered with understated elegance by well-informed staff. Even Su approached out table, keen to explain the origins of the dishes. On departure, we are gifted a small jar of a fresh spicy chutney which will be a fragrant reminder of Artyzen.
Did I not mention the wellness and spa, plus the courtesy car? No? You’ll have to find out for yourself.
It’s an all-encompassing experience we will not forget.
The writer stayed and dined at his own expense.
Featured image: The Artyzen exterior. Supplied. Gallery images: Grant Jones
