Lloyd's Inn Singapore

Lloyd's Inn is a minimalist boutique hotel with a stylish monochrome finish. Tucked behind high hedges in a quiet residential neighborhood, guests enter the hotel through an iron-framed raised walkway, looking down over the landscaped gardens below. The modern white-washed lobby has a central sofa and a large angular plan of the area on the wall, and leads through to partially outdoor walkways and elevators to the rooms. Floors and walls throughout the grounds have a raw, unfinished look, with exposed concrete and creating a rough urban style. The design is contemporary in the extreme, and perfectly fitting for this most urbanized of nations. Even so, there are softer moments, too -- the exteriors have a real secret garden feel to them, edged with ivy-covered walls and looming leafy trees. The hotel is popular with tourists looking for an intimate alternative to the many upscale chain hotels in the city. It also attracts locals looking for a designer staycation.

Lloyd's Inn is tucked away in a residential neighborhood located between Orchard Road and Fort Canning Park. The location is excellent for seeing the city, especially for those who like to explore on foot. It's a five-minute walk to Singapore's best shopping strip on Orchard Road, and 10 minutes to historic Fort Canning Park. A 15-minute walk south of the hotel leads to the restaurants and boutiques of Robertson Quay and the riverfront. For destinations farther afield, it's a 10-minute walk to Dhoby Ghaut Metro station. With three lines, it's an easy trip to most central destinations within 30 minutes, including Chinatown, the business district, Clarke Quay, and attractions on the marina like Gardens by the Bay and the Singapore Flyer. Travel time to the airport via the metro is about 90 minutes, or a 20-minute drive. 

Rooms at Lloyd's Inn are contemporary and done up in a sharp minimalist style. They're individually designed in a variety of themes -- from The Standard to The Big Skyroom, which features an open-air bathtub. The entry-level rooms are compact, but well-designed, with large windows with leafy vistas. Many rooms have outdoor space. Big Garden Rooms have three beds, and The Business Rooms have an upstairs bedroom. Amenities across all rooms include air-conditioning, flat-screen smart TVs, mini-fridges, free Wi-Fi, safes, clothes rails, irons, and work tables. Top-end rooms add bathrobes and flip-flops, plus smartphones and tea/coffee facilities. A notable feature across all rooms are the bathrooms, which all have partially outdoor rainfall showers, screened with plants or canopies. Decor is simple and bright, with a good range of bath products. Some of the larger rooms also include a bathtub. Guests have reported problems with mosquitoes due to the open bathrooms, but the hotel does provide mosquito coils and there are doors from the main bedroom closing off the outdoor bathrooms. 

Lloyd's Inn has an outdoor pantry area where guests can prepare basic meals and drinks. It includes a microwave, sink, coffee machine, and vending machine, plus tableware and an ice machine. Unfortunately, there is no restaurant on-site. A free Asian breakfast is provided via vouchers in a nearby restaurant, or guests can pay a top-up fee for a Western-style breakfast (also nearby). The hotel garden is a pretty, secluded space with some sun loungers and stylish hanging armchairs, plus a small pool, big enough for dipping or sitting to cool off, but not for swimming. The front desk is open 24 hours a day and offers free luggage storage, plus there's a guest bathroom in the lobby with a shower -- useful for late or early flights. There's elevator access to the rooms, and Wi-Fi is free throughout.