Lloyd's InnThe Garden Room

Black and grey leather sofas occupy slightly less than half of the lofty lobby. There was still plenty of living, walking and breathing room to spare. Living, because an opaque enclosure of wood and sparse grasses sits on an elevated sofa middle. At the season of my visit, a live (Christmas) jewellery tree is implanted at the corner of the room. It stands organic and shimmery—with a silvery-wired star on the treetop—beside a marked, minimal map of the vicinity that spans itself across the wall leading to the bookshelf.

Check-in was quick. I was brought to Room 34, one of their garden rooms. Lloyd’s Inn has a range of rooms to choose from: a standard room, under its Premium class, The Reading and The Garden rooms, Big Garden, The Business and The Skyroom under the Deluxe class, The Patio and Big Skyroom, both of which are suites. Exercise discretion as not all rooms of the same type are built the same (or share the same amenities). Reviews from TripAdvisor and certain blogs have cautioned that some of the rooms booked differ slightly from the photos shown on the hotel’s official website.

I walked past an outdoor pantry that has an ice dispenser, a coffee-tea-milo machine and a microwave. These are especially useful if you backpack… Or if you have an insatiable dependency on caffeine. Clean black tables and chairs are available here and at the roof terrace (opposite the pantry) for guests to mingle. Though for the most of my stay, both the pantry and terrace feels vacant and under-utilised.

Close by the pantry is an elevator that took me down to the first storey where my room was. The hotel entrance and reception lobby is actually on the second floor. (I was searching for a Basement 1 button in the elevator.)

Gravel in assorted shades of grey compliments the concrete patio that adjoins the outdoor spaces to separate, individual rooms. Accompanying the pounded stones are green, minuscule plants creeping up the side of concrete walls. These grey walls are enveloped with raw grunge, possibly weathered from elements of nature, heat and humidity. There is however no indication of erosion.

Room 34 is tucked at the corner of the basement (my mind registers it that way). The entire flooring is cement. Walking barefooted felt raw and surreal. Opposite the room door: a black metallic clothes rack suspended from the ceiling. Blue yukatas (a casual version of a kimono) with white floral patterns along with several black hangers were prepared. Beneath the rack was a safe placed inside a lidless wooden box. A wall divider separates the wardrobe area from the queen-sized bed on a wooden platform. Atop it are four (based on my assumption) amazing down pillows. They felt like memory foam knock-offs, but are actually light and exceptionally lofty and soft.

On the other side of the room to the left of the door, a wooden tabletop affixed to the walls. The keycard holder is right beside the door, along with two other switches that control the “Do Not Disturb” and “Please Clean Up” indicators installed outside each room. Two keycards are given: one for the power supply, one for room access. I believe that both are homogeneous and can function interchangeably. Furthermost from the door is a basin with toiletries like toothbrushes and toothpastes, gargle cups, and combs among others.

The toilet has a frosted glass door that opens inward. There were separate towels: for showering, for the face, and one for the feet. A shower curtain (that does not extend to the ground) detaches the toilet bowl from the squared shower area. There is a single-spray hand shower for use. But most would opt to divert the flow of hot or cold water to the rain shower overhead. Another shower curtain can be pulled to reveal or conceal a second wonderful shower spot—an alfresco bathroom.

A stone slab emerges from the middle of a sea of black stones. An alluring sight. Unfortunately, the stones were littered with hair ties and small plastic pieces among other leftovers from the previous occupants. And… There is no overhead shower here. Diagonally overhead, vertical grills atop a three-quarter wall divider allow natural light to filter through. A small gap between the divider and the room wall offers a glimpse of a small private garden, also part of Room 34.

I took many showers. I took one when it rained deep into the night. I looked through the small gap into the golden-lit private garden—the light danced and flickered through refraction of rainwater—and I breathed vapour from my mouth. It reminded me of Japan when I soaked in an open-air onsen. The weather was around 17 degrees celsius and the mineral water about 45. Steam rose high into the atmosphere and dissipated without a care in the world into the vast, dark skies above.

The rattan pouf doubles as a multi-axis swing. The black curved seat and back pads provide ample comfortable cushioning. It rained twice throughout my stay but a short period after the rain, the pads were astoundingly dry and ready for use! An initial concern about the Garden Room that was on my mind (probably on yours too) was mosquitoes. On my second day of lodging, I encountered one bloodsucking critter that attacked viciously when I was in the private garden. Thankfully, there is a standing electronic insect killer. It works. When automatically powers on at night. Come morning, manually activate it and be at ease.

The private garden was serene, the crickets stridulated in the background. The outdoor air smelled like freshly cut grass (slightly comparable to a trek up a mountain), and that was surprising because the Lloyd’s Inn is ultimately situated within the confines of bustling Orchard Road. Because Room 34 is situated directly under the walkway (towards the reception lobby), I griped over the infrequent loud chatters and the appalling acrid stench of cigarette smoke. The pungent smell lingered and blanketed the garden and the bathroom with a dull, damp stale.

The wifi password provided to guests on a piece of receipt. It contains a 7-day access code that you have to input after you connect to the wifi and open up any webpage on your internet browser. This is an one-off process. However, if you wake your wireless device from rest mode, or if you happen to leave the sphere of connectivity, the wifi struggles with background authentication, effectively crippling a supposedly seamless and easy-to-use experience. When connected though, the wifi is horrendously slow. 4G reception in Room 34 is practically non-existent, and on 3G, you can get one bar of signal at best. I hope that my room is the only dead zone in the hotel.

I left the hotel for dinner at around 7pm and when I returned at 10pm, some pastries—packaged in a translucent plastic wrap—were placed on the table as a gift to welcome us back to the room. A neat gesture… Even though I was wondering why the staff had entered the room when the Do Not Disturb sign was lit. But this attention to detail is definitely a plus point as there is no incentive for any hotel/hostel/inn to leave snacks while guests are out as part of their service.

Lloyd’s Inn has many hidden staircases that guests can use as shortcuts to other areas of the hotel. One of them near Room 34 leads to a garden deck and dipping pool. Come here for a breather at night. Tungsten lighting and a quiet ambient provides a desirable secluded area for relaxing.

Complimentary breakfast vouchers (two of them) are provided and you can choose to dine in either at Killiney Kopitiam (I had the kaya toast with a drink), or top up S$7 for western cuisine at Freshly Baked. Both eateries are 3 minutes away from the hotel.