Luxurious and plush but often characterless. Hotel rooms never quite manage to capture that homely feel that can make a stay so much more relaxing and that’s why I decided to test out serviced apartments when I recently relocated to Singapore. Surely they must offer something different?

Orchard Parksuites Singapore www.wotif.com

Basing myself at the Orchard Park Suites serviced apartments while looking for a more permanent residence, I was pleasantly surprised. That cosy, welcoming feeling of a home greeted me when I first looked around. It was hard to pin-point but perhaps the open space as well as distinct rooms and a fully equipped kitchen made it feel like somewhere liveable. Whatever it was, it was significantly different to the predictable shells known as hotel rooms.

Located near Orchard Road, I was close by to all the essentials including shopping, restaurants and the MRT. I soon got to grips with the area and realised that Ngee Ann City shopping centre was for the echelons of high society while Lucky Plaza was where the bargains could be had. Lucky indeed, if your bartering skills were intact. Almost every shop you could ever imagine was in the area from gigantic bookstores to English supermarkets. After trouncing around Orchard Road, coming back to my Singapore serviced apartments was noticeably better than arriving back to a hotel room. It felt comfortable, and with the kitchen facilities I could actually buy food from outside and bring it back with me like I would at home.

Orchard Road Singapore www.wotif.com

As an unexpected bonus the apartment came with complimentary broadband and after looking up the history of Orchard Road I discovered it was named that way because the road was lined with nutmeg orchards back in the 1830s. Peeking out my window revealed that wasn’t the case anymore but for a bit of nature I wasn’t too far from the parks and golf courses via the efficient MRT. I had booked the apartment at Orchard Park Suites through Wotif.com and after a brief chat to the customer service team they kindly offered me a discount because of my lengthy stay.

After staying for almost two months I eventually found my own place but the interim time wasn’t an ordeal, in fact I was fond of the apartment. Serviced Apartments are definitely also good options if you are relocating to Singapore while looking to rent, or if you’re looking for the next property, as they offer short term stays.  If I were to do the whole thing again I’d sidestep Singapore hotels for a prolonged stay like this although I would consider Singapore boutique hotels because these have character in abundance… just perhaps not the sort of character I would like to live in for a while.