Jo Kessel checks into new 347-room Pan Pacific Orchard hotel in Singapore to film a structure that resembles a giant Jenga game. This unique 23-story hotel has four outdoor terraces stacked on top of each other, each designed to integrate with nature. One is home to a forest, another has a beach, the third is a garden, and the fourth (and tallest) has to do with clouds. Jo has inside information on all of them.
Award-winning architecture firm WOHA has a reputation for integrating the environment into its designs. And when he set out to build Pan Pacific’s newest hotel in Singapore, his goal was to create the ultimate prototype in sustainable hospitality.
This has been done by introducing vegetation in practically every corner.
Knowing this in theory is one thing and seeing it in reality is another. The guests enter through the hotel woods, a real wow moment, and this is where the film begins.
The lush entrance is filled with foliage and there are almost 100 different species of plants throughout the property that covers 130,000 square feet (12,000 square meters).
Jo Kessel checks into the spectacular Pan Pacific Orchard hotel in Singapore. In the photo: well-kept lawn on the garden terrace.
The sliding door at Jo’s Beach Club Loft (above) opens to a private patio with direct access to a pool.
The hotel is the work of award-winning architecture firm WOHA, which has a reputation for integrating the environment into its designs. Upstairs there is a bathroom of the Terrace Suite.
And since this is an eco-friendly hotel, the forest pond, which houses a floating bar, is much more than water. It is an ecological pond filled with algae, as is the adjacent giant waterfall.
A terrace on the fifth floor is my Beach Club Loft. This unique duplex accommodation has benefits including doors leading out to… the beach.
An orange bracelet (which guests wear as a watch) can be used to open doors instead of a key. As for the view beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows, it’s spectacular.
The spectacular 120m (390ft) columns rising across the terraces thrive with flora and fauna and attract birds.
The Florette Bar (overlooking the lawn) offers botanical-themed cocktails. Jo tries the strawberry-themed ‘Garden’ drink
The hotel has 360 photovoltaic (solar) panels that generate clean energy
The foliage covers 130,000 square feet (12,000 square meters), or more than 300 percent of the hotel.
It is the first hotel in the world to have built a forest, a waterfall, gardens and a beach in the same skyscraper. Pictured above is the Pacific Breeze bar.
Jo Kessel presents the hotel to viewers
Each Beach Club Loft has its own walkway and floating sofa, with direct access to the sea. Of course, this is not a conventional beach, but the pebble finish mimics sand very well.
And the pool has an outstanding view of the city skyline.
The hotel’s green credentials are impressive. The spectacular 120m (390ft) columns, rising across the terraces, thrive with flora and fauna and attract birds.
And the plants, which cover more than 300 percent of the hotel’s surface area, are watered with naturally collected rainwater.
None of the terraces are air conditioned, but rather the flora helps cool the atmosphere and the rooms have thick insulated glass windows designed to keep the heat out and the cool in.
Jo enjoys dinner at the hotel’s exclusive Mosella restaurant on Forest Terrace, which also serves afternoon tea.
The glamorous entrance to the Pan Pacific Club Lounge, located on the 11th floor.
There is greenery in virtually every corner, including The Cloud Terrace above. Pink lights encourage growth.
Jo’s room has its own floating sofa.
Better yet, the roof has solar panels that generate enough energy to power the public areas.
As for the hotel’s upper terrace, it is on the 18th floor and is named after its surroundings: Nubes. It is dizzyingly high and is a reminder that very soon I will be soaring above the clouds and flying back home.
As much as I enjoyed my Singapore Airlines flight here (their service and champagne were impeccable), I’m not ready to leave just yet.
The menu at Bar Florette (overlooking the lawn) includes botanical-themed cocktails. I order one called ‘Garden’ which, as well as being laced with alcohol, is filled with strawberry slices and tastes deliciously refreshing.
Dinner is at the hotel’s exclusive Mosella restaurant on level two: Forest Terrace, where the burrata and tomatoes followed by black cod in green sauce are excellent; The same goes for afternoon tea the next day, served on Wedgwood china.
The hotel overlooks exclusive Orchard Road (Singapore’s answer to London’s exclusive shopping area, Regent Street).
Pan Pacific Orchard has become a pioneer of what all hotels could look like in the future, writes Jo
There are many things worth exploring that are close to the hotel. First of all there are the Botanical Gardens.
It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, free to visit, and has the largest collection of orchids in the world. This is where I capture a pair of monitor lizards mating.
The 66.5 meter (218 ft) long observation deck of the iconic Marina Bay Sands hotel is also worth a visit.
It is 56 stories high and not only is the view of the skyline spectacular, but you can even see Indonesia and Malaysia.
Singapore is a botanical paradise. Everywhere you look (even at the airport) there is foliage. But green things are no longer limited to parks.
By landscaping a forest, a beach and a garden into one vertical building, Pan Pacific Orchard has not only designed the latest prototype in high-rise tropical hospitality, it has become a pioneer of what all hotels could look like in the future. .
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