Visiting the Mandarin Gallery and Mandarin Orchard Hotel

15th April 2011. Written by Xin Li.
The Mandarin Orchard Hotel by the Meritus Hotels and Resorts, which was established in 1971 was formerly known as the Meritus Mandarin Hotel. The hotel had its second tower in 1980 and it had the largest pillarless ballroom in Singapore during its time.

For me, I remembered the hotel as where I had my secondary school Prom Night. That was quite some time ago.

It was a lavish hotel then and it is still today, though quite unrecognizable compared to my secondary school days. Wei Xiang and I explored the Mandarin Gallery and the hotel during our walk around Orchard Road out of curiosity.

Most of us will associate Mandarin Gallery with luxury shops, Lawry’s and perhaps Wild Honey but beyond that there are other things about the Mandarin Gallery. The Mandarin Gallery is part of the Takashimaya-Paragon-Mandarin Gallery triangle and it was part of the URA’s efforts to bring “buzz and vibrancy” to Orchard Road.

The gallery was the result of an extensive S$200 million facelift and it was designed by local architecture firm, DP Architects. For more details about the architecture, you could check out this website or this pdf.

High end furniture shops such as platform with its whimsical décor and furniture can be found on the fifth floor.

Shopping mall art galleries are the trend nowadays. The Mandarin Gallery, besides its M.A.D (Museum of Art and Design) also houses a few other galleries. Firstly, there is Art Tree Gallery, which specializes in selling antiques and handicrafts imported from China and Brunei.

Then there is the Nanyang@Mandarin Gallery, which is supervised by the Nanyang Academy of Fine Art’s own Art Galleries management. The gallery showcases works from both third year students and recent alumni.

Design or Arts and Crafts stores are getting popular nowadays as well. Here you have atomi which offers an “exclusive collection of modern, contemporary” products from Japan ranging from fashion wear, kitchen products to personal items. Think muji?

The humble haven of .woodwould.. attempts to start a “stationery revolution” within the walls of Mandarin Gallery with its “paper wonders and quirky finds from all over planet earth.

Of course there is always food. The one that has the longest queue is Ippudo Japanese Ramen Restaurant which originated from Fukuoka, Japan. A bowl of Hakata style ramen could cost about 19-23 SGD. Here are two reviews by Yumyumformytumtum (12/2010) and Daniel's Food Diary (02/2010).

If you are feeling generous for some Thai food, you could head to Thai Thai for some “Royal Thai Cuisine” which is managed by a chain of Thai Restaurants based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia called S.E.A Cuisine which includes Flying Chilies and Thai Accents. You could refer to Sparkling or Still’s review (12/2009) on Thai Thai or by MsGiltzy (05/2010) or eatshopbemerry.com (12/2010).

Lawry's is situated next to it, with its unmistakable (and rather heavy) aroma of cooked beef. Jones the Grocer is also situated on the same level. I shall touch on that later.

From Mandarin Gallery, you can move over to Mandarin Orchard Hotel. A dimly lit but classy lobby welcomes you as you enter from Mandarin Gallery.

The interior reminds me of a thermal spa of some sort. I like the subtle variations of the texture of masonry-clad walls. Above all, masonry seemed to add a sense of grandeur to the building.

A night here in its 28-33.6 square meters Deluxe Room could cost (under official rates) from 348 SGD to 436 SGD. The suites will set you back at 1198 SGD (for an 52-54.2 sqm Executive Suite at Best Rate Promise) to 5732 SGD (for a 153.7 sqm Presidential Suite with personal butler).

The famed Triple Three is located at the lobby area. You could read about the buffet in this post by Indulgence after Workout (10/2010).

There is a 1-for-1 Lunch and Dinner Buffet offer (Sun-Thurs only) for DBS card holders till 31st May 2011.