When The Standard throws an opening, it is never just a hotel launch, rather, a mood board in motion. In Standard Bangkok, it was New Year’s Eve with Dita Von Teese and synth-heavy DJ sets in the clouds. In Singapore, it is moss-covered hills, flower spirits and a white snail with main-character energy.
After a year-long wait, The Standard, Singapore has officially opened, taking over a tucked-away pocket on Orange Grove Road with a bold collision of surrealist art, chaotic nature and downtown-cool subculture. To set the tone, artist and designer Eric Tobua staged Dreamscape, an immersive, hyper-sensorial installation that started as a terrarium at the reception desk and spilled out across the hotel’s lush tiered gardens.
Inside that glass case is a self-contained world inspired by Gardens by the Bay: glowing oranges, a mermaid in still waters, tropical frogs, and mossy dream terrain. Those characters wandered freely. As guests entered, they were met by orchid pole dancers, a pianist disguised as a bush, and dancers drifting from a sculpture by local artist Samuel Xun—as if plucked from a sci-fi botanica. The hotel’s waterfall got an art-school makeover with flower installations woven into its foliage. Meanwhile, a glowing tiger lily opera singer belted out under the stars, her voice echoing through the pool area, where synchronized swimmers dressed as lotus flowers and technicolor frogs turned chlorinated water into performance art.
In that spirit, The Standard, Singapore is one of the key venue partners for this year’s Pink Dot, when it announced its 28 June return, not just as a hospitality brand, but as a committed Human Resources function, dedicated to growing the pink microcosm. The brand’s support extends beyond rainbow branding, offering space, resources and venues to LGBTQ+ artists and organisers, working across the intersection of community, performance and politics throughout the month of June.
The vibe: A little psychedelic, a little absurdist, and unmistakably Standard. While other hotels go high-end, The Standard has always leaned left-of-center—cultivating a brand of hedonistic hospitality that’s more about the subculture scene, than status. Think Hollywood fringe, New York weird, and now, Southeast Asian energy. In Bangkok, that meant rooftop parties with disco lighting and DJ sets by Lost Frequencies. In Singapore, it’s more trippy garden rave than velvet-rope exclusivity.
The hotel’s interiors reflect the same approach: yellow-tiled bathrooms, warped mirrors, curvaceous wooden ceilings and a sun-drenched pool deck that feels more retro-futurist than resort. Designed with Ministry of Design, the 143-key property houses three F&B spots: Kaya, a modern izakaya; Kaya Bar, its cocktail-forward sibling; and Café Standard, a bistro-meets-bodega hybrid that leans American nostalgia.
And like all Standard locations, Singapore’s iteration comes with a lineup of not-your-typical hotel programming: artist takeovers, cheeky game nights, genre-bending performances. With the opening of The StandardX Bangkok on the horizon and The Standard Pattaya set for 2025, the brand is continuing to expand its cultural ecosystem across Asia. For now, Singapore is the stage, and it is already dreaming.
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