Wanderlust Hotel: Unconventional Wandering

Immediately after landing in Singapore last week, our first stop was to check-in to the hotel and drop our things before heading on to lunch. We went straight to Dickson Road in Little India where the new Wanderlust Hotel is located.

Dictionary.com reference defines ‘wanderlust‘ as ‘a German word for the irresistibly strong desire to travel or wander.’

What a fitting name for an designer boutique hotel. 🙂

Wanderlust’s exterior impressed upon me as classical with Asian detailed designs. Upon entering, you will be greeted with a wall of strong colors foreboding of what is to come.

The first floor basically houses the hotel reception, the restaurant cafe – Cocotte, and a lobby of art structures. The first to fourth floors hold 29 rooms, each distinctively designed.

My Pantone Room

Together with friends, we proceeded to the 2nd floor where our rooms were located. I call my room the ‘Blue Room‘ because all things are in blue, from the door, walls, to the tiles, and amenities.

It can be disconcerting to the virgin eyes, but you can get used to it as you come along. In fact, a further inspection on the details reveal good taste. They used Mosaic tiles if I’m not mistaken.

A wide screen TV, an espresso maker, and stereo/iPod station are some of the amenities you will not find lacking. At about 15sqm with a queen size bed and free WiFi, rates may seem not cheap at S$189, but actually competitive among boutique hotels in Singapore.

A major design eccentricity is the location of two frosted glass enclosure in the middle of the room one of which is an overhead shower partition. It pushes the convention further with the toilet right beside the white bed.

Get to wonder at how the designer was able to maximize the whole space. You may also notice the jagged ceiling. I believe this has something to do with adding dimensions in space to eliminate the look of a ‘small room.’

I would also say it’s a room for men, something like a studio-type bachelor’s pad. There’s no chair nor a neat desk to work on for the ladies. But I don’t really mind working on Wanderlust’s very comfortable beds. On the other hand, you might want to stay on the upper floors if you mind the slight noise from street shops nearby still coming through the sealed windows .

The second floor mono-colored rooms’ layout are all similar but splashed in different hues with some in pink, yellow, and orange. My friends got the left and right adjacent rooms which were green and purple, respectively.

Four Floors, 29 Rooms

This is the second floor which was designed by :Phunk Studio with the theme ‘Eccentricity‘. The third and fourth floors are in different designs and layout as designed by DP Architects and fFurious, respectively. I didn’t get the chance to check out their interiors but I got some shots from the hallways, anyhow.

Checking their site http://wanderlusthotel.com/, the upper floors seem to be more exquisite and playful in terms of artistic design. Room types are Pantone (S$189; where I stayed), Mono (S$229), Mono Deluxe (S$269), and Whimsical (S$388). All rates include buffet breakfast and excludes tax.

Asylum, the fourth designer, handled the first floor, the exhibit lobby, and French restaurant Cocotte where we had our breakfasts. One would immediately observe the contemporary industrial theme with steel structures, neon light singages, and vintage barber chairs from the owners personal collection.

They also considered the building conservation status which was granted in 1989 for its early 1900 architectural design and prominent use of European art nouveau-inspired tiles. This meant that the external facade cannot be altered.

It is no surprise as well when boutique hotelier Loh Lik Peng opened Wanderlust last year (which was previously a school) having successfully done the same with ‘1929‘ in Chinatown and New Majestic Hotel in 2006.

Cocotte
Restaurant
Lunch – Monday to Saturday (12nn – 230pm)
Dinner – Monday to Thursday (630pm – 1030pm)
– Friday to Saturday (630pm – 1100pm)
Tel: +65 6298 1188
Email: [email protected]

Wanderlust Hotel
2 Dickson Road
Singapore 209494
Tel: +65 6396 3322
Fax: +65 6298 2211
Email: [email protected]

Wanderlust also recently won the I-S Readers’ Choice Awards 2011 for Best Boutique Hotel. So if you’re looking for an unconventional and interesting boutique hotel where you can get a different experience, consider a rich visual affair with Wanderlust Hotel.