NoMad Singapore is now open for reservations, and the first details suggest one of Orchard Road’s most ambitious new lifestyle-hotel arrivals. The property is set to open in late 2026 as NoMad’s first destination in Asia Pacific, bringing the brand’s layered interiors, restaurant culture and arts programming into a city that already understands high-design hospitality unusually well.

The project is significant because NoMad is not entering Singapore with a neutral international template. The 173-room hotel combines architecture by Singapore practice WOHA, interiors by Los Angeles-based Kevin Klein Design and a visual language that draws from Art Deco, Peranakan shophouses, New York dining rooms and tropical urbanism.

The building begins with WOHA’s biophilic urbanism

WOHA has built an international reputation around dense tropical architecture, greenery and the idea that high-rise buildings can behave more like vertical landscapes. That makes the firm a natural choice for NoMad Singapore.

The redesigned former Faber House introduces a 14-storey waterfall and planted facade, giving Orchard Road a softer and more ecological expression than a conventional glass luxury tower.

Why a vertical waterfall matters beyond spectacle

A tall water feature can easily become a gimmick, but here it operates within a broader language of greenery, terraces and climate. Water changes sound, humidity and perception, softening the threshold between a busy shopping district and a hotel designed as a retreat.

The real test will be how it feels at street level. If the waterfall and planting create shade and sensory separation, they can become part of the arrival experience rather than simply an Instagram backdrop.

The arrival begins on level five

Guests will not enter into a standard ground-floor lobby. The main arrival takes place on the fifth level, where an open-air reception connects to Lù bar, a terrace and pool overlooking Orchard Road.

This vertical arrival sequence gives the hotel a sense of transition. Guests move upward out of the street and into a planted social space before continuing to the rooms above.

Kevin Klein Design is layering New York with Singapore

NoMad’s interiors have traditionally relied on richness rather than minimalism: marble, timber, rugs, books, art and dark tonal rooms. In Singapore, that language is being reinterpreted through local decorative traditions.

Guest rooms use pale blue and green walls, rich marble, burlwood, custom wool rugs and paravent screens, referencing the visual character of nearby Peranakan shophouses without attempting to recreate them literally.

The rooms are designed to feel residential

Seventy-one Atelier rooms include around 32 square metres of space with a separate living area and bathtub. Suites expand further, with Parlour Suites at approximately 42 square metres and NoMad Suites at around 43 square metres.

Those dimensions are not enormous by resort standards, but in central Singapore the emphasis is on intelligent planning, layered material and enough separation between sleeping, bathing and sitting areas to make the room feel more like an apartment than a conventional hotel box.

Bathrooms are part of the luxury identity

Freestanding or integrated tubs, double vanities in suites, marble and warm metal details make the bathroom a major part of the room experience. This matters because urban luxury hotels increasingly compete on private rituals rather than public spectacle alone.

A quiet bath, good lighting and generous counter space can feel more luxurious after a long flight than an oversized lobby.

NoMad Grill brings a New York dining-room archetype to Singapore

At the top of the building, NoMad Grill is designed around ornamental columns, a high tin-coffered ceiling and the atmosphere of a classic New York dining room. The menu focuses on dry-aged meats cooked over wood, seafood, a raw bar and seasonal produce.

The concept is intentionally familiar but not generic. Singapore already has a sophisticated restaurant scene, so a hotel restaurant must feel compelling to locals as well as guests.

The Tropicana Club is designed around glamour and memory

The Tropicana Club takes inspiration from Havana’s famous Tropicana Club of 1939 and Singapore’s own Tropicana Club from 1968. The result is intended as a craft-cocktail venue with cabaret-era energy rather than another anonymous rooftop bar.

This kind of layered reference suits Singapore, a city shaped by migration, trade and cultural translation.

Sticky Fingers makes the ground floor playful

At street level, Sticky Fingers will serve house-made gourmet soft-serve sundaes. It is a deliberately lighter concept than the hotel’s formal restaurant and bar spaces.

That matters because lifestyle hotels work best when they create multiple reasons for non-guests to enter. A playful dessert counter can make the building feel porous rather than exclusive.

The art programme is enormous

NoMad Singapore will feature more than 1,860 artworks, with approximately 90 percent created by Singapore-based artists. The collection includes commissioned and original work across photography, painting, historical ephemera and large-scale installations.

That level of commitment turns art from decoration into part of the hotel’s identity. Guests may never consciously register every work, but the density of visual culture changes how the interiors feel.

The hotel at a glance

Supporting artists with disabilities gives the programme another layer

The hotel is also working with ART:DIS, a Singapore non-profit that supports artists with disabilities. The partnership includes commissions and opportunities for artists to develop and present work to new audiences.

This gives the art programme a stronger local connection than simply buying decorative pieces from a global art consultant.

Orchard Road is changing too

Orchard Road has long been associated with retail, malls and major international hotels. NoMad’s arrival reflects a broader shift toward mixed lifestyle experiences where dining, culture, design and hospitality matter as much as shopping.

The hotel’s Cairnhill location also places it close to Emerald Hill and historic shophouses, giving guests a route into a more textured side of central Singapore.

The property is built for the luxury-lifestyle guest

Traditional luxury often emphasises ceremony, formality and grand scale. NoMad’s approach is more layered and socially driven: restaurants people actually want to visit, rooms that feel personal, art, music and a sense of discovery.

This is particularly well suited to younger affluent travelers who may value atmosphere and cultural relevance more than marble acreage.

The hotel could change how visitors use Orchard Road

For years, many travelers treated Orchard primarily as a retail district. A hotel with destination restaurants, a serious art programme and a terrace-driven social scene can encourage a different pattern: arrive for dinner, stay for drinks, explore Emerald Hill, then use Orchard as a cultural base rather than a shopping stop.

That wider role matters because the most successful urban hotels influence the neighbourhood around them as much as they respond to it.

Singapore is the right test for NoMad in Asia

The city is compact, highly international and already has a sophisticated mix of luxury hotels, private clubs, cocktail bars and destination restaurants. A new entrant cannot rely on brand recognition alone.

NoMad needs to become part of Singapore’s local social life, not merely a place where visitors sleep.

What travelers should look for at opening

Watch how successfully the property balances the dramatic exterior with intimate interiors, and whether the restaurants attract a genuine local following. The best lifestyle hotels feel different at breakfast, afternoon and midnight without losing their identity.

It will also be worth seeing how the art programme is interpreted through tours, printed material or digital storytelling rather than remaining background decoration.

The Luxe Journal takeaway

NoMad Singapore is interesting because it refuses to choose between global sophistication and local references. New York chophouse energy, Peranakan colour, Singaporean art, tropical architecture and Art Deco glamour are all being layered into one property.

If that mix feels coherent rather than crowded, Orchard Road may gain one of Asia’s most distinctive new luxury hotels — and NoMad may find the ideal launch point for its next international chapter.

FAQ

When will NoMad Singapore open?

Hilton says the hotel is scheduled to open in late 2026, and reservations are now live.

How many rooms will it have?

The hotel will have 173 rooms, including 25 suites.

Who designed the building?

Singapore architecture practice WOHA designed the project.

Who designed the interiors?

Los Angeles-based Kevin Klein Design created the interiors.

How large is the art collection?

More than 1,860 artworks will be displayed, with around 90 percent by Singapore-based artists.

Source: Hilton, September 16, 2026.