There comes a point in every Singapore trip when you’ve convinced yourself you’ve become local. You order kopi without hesitation. You stop flinching at the humidity. You tell people Orchard Road is “actually much more interesting once you leave Orchard Road.” You’re insufferable, of course. And then the city changes again.

That’s Singapore’s favourite trick. It doesn’t merely reinvent itself; it quietly replaces yesterday’s certainty with tomorrow’s confidence while you were distracted by laksa.

Come spring 2027, one of Orchard Road’s familiar addresses will undergo exactly that sleight of hand. The Holiday Inn Singapore Orchard City Centre will emerge as The Hari Singapore, the third outpost of Harilela Hotels’ quietly cultivated luxury brand, following London and Hong Kong. Same footprint, entirely different conversation.

There’s something pleasingly contrarian about The Hari. In an era where luxury hotels compete to become ever larger, louder and more algorithmically photogenic, the brand has built its reputation on a kind of cultivated restraint. Less spectacle, more personality. Less “look at us,” more “stay awhile.” That doesn’t mean it lacks polish. Far from it.

British designer Tara Bernerd returns to shape the interiors, bringing the layered, residential warmth that has become something of a Hari signature. Expect contemporary elegance softened by texture, thoughtful lighting and enough eccentric flourishes to remind you you’re somewhere with opinions. The art program—an ever-changing rotation rather than permanent decoration—means the walls will refuse to become background noise.

It’s an approach that feels particularly suited to Singapore, a city that’s often misunderstood as pristine and efficient when, in reality, its real charm lies in its contradictions. Heritage shophouses rubbing shoulders with gleaming towers. Michelin-starred tasting menus a short walk from hawker centers where dinner costs less than your flat white back home.

The Hari seems to understand that tension.

Positioned moments from Orchard Road but equally close to the pastel façades and quietly fashionable bars of Emerald Hill, the hotel promises something increasingly valuable in modern travel: a sense of neighborhood. Not merely a luxury address, but an invitation to wander.

There’s a rooftop pool, naturally—this is Singapore after all, where rooftops have become an unofficial civic institution—as well as wellness spaces, dining venues and an executive lounge. The practical luxuries are all present. But they almost feel beside the point.

The more interesting story may be the appointment of Andreas Kraemer as general manager. After steering the InterContinental Singapore through a successful luxury repositioning, he’s now tasked with opening a hotel that, refreshingly, doesn’t seem interested in becoming just another five-star monument. His remark that “Singapore doesn’t need another hotel. It deserves hotels with character” lands with surprising force. He’s right.

Singapore has no shortage of beautiful places to sleep. Character is considerably rarer.

Perhaps that’s what today’s traveler is really chasing anyway. Not thread counts or infinity pools—we’ve become dangerously blasé about both—but somewhere with enough confidence to have an identity. Somewhere that belongs to its city rather than floating above it in polished anonymity.

The Hari’s London and Hong Kong siblings have always felt like hotels that collect interesting people almost by accident. Artists checking in beside financiers. Fashion editors sharing breakfast with architects. Nobody making a fuss about any of it.

Singapore feels like the natural third chapter.

By the time the doors open next spring, the skyline will almost certainly have shifted again. A new restaurant will have become impossible to book. Someone will declare a different neighbourhood the city’s coolest. Inevitably, I’ll arrive convinced. 

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