All Wired Up By The Quay


The spanking new G@llery Evason may be the hottest sound bite to trip off every industry watcher's lips, but just how does it fare as a love nest for the couple looking for a romantic hideout? Purplelips reviews the hi-tech Robertson Quay hotel with Making Love stars, Andrea D'Cruz and Jimmy T, and finds it the perfect getaway for a new-age couple.

--------------------------------------------------------------------- By Tanny Chia

[eastciti.com, November 21]
If it's swathes of romantic silk curtains, drop-ceiling chandeliers and floor-to-ceiling wallpaper you are inclined towards, don't bother dropping in on Singapore's newest hotel. The G@llery Evason, with its fully wired-up rooms and restaurant (yes, customers get to surf free on The Restaurant's bubblegum-coloured Macs), 24-hour Internet access and (upcoming) interactive boutiques is the furthest you can get from old-world romanticism.

Décor wise, the hotel is just as progressive. Its colourful exterior reeks almost of pop art, with blue, red and yellow window frames dotting a stark grey industrial-looking exterior. The inside of the hotel is likewise minimalist, with only curious 'props' - courtesy of LaSalle-SIA College of the Art's students - creating fascinating accents. In one bare steel elevator, a rubber ducky bops cheerfully in a red basin; right outside, metal buckets (with cut out paper wings!) suspended by wires from the ceiling double up as ash trays.

But lest you think such avant-garde modernity gets in the way of steamy passion, the hotel also boasts of many intimate touches that could make for some serious weekend frolicking:

The Suite

Steamy quotient: ****
Steamy factor: The see-through, frosted bathroom walls

Thanks to floor-to-ceiling glass windows overlooking the river just by the hotel, the spacious suite is too bright and airy in the day to be a cosy love nest. But we can imagine the transformation at night when the river comes alive with lighted street lamps.

The cushiony settee in the living room with its plump throwaway cushions and the huge bed also look like comfortable settings for some cosy snuggling up. What really jacked up the steamy quotient for us though was the roomy bathroom with its teasing see-through glass walls (in rooms with double beds). From the bedroom, you can observe more than shadowy silhouettes of your partner soaking in the bath - major foreplay we think!

The Reading Corner

Steamy quotient: **
Steamy factor: The wooden chest stacked to the brim with well-thumbed novels.

"If knowledge be the food of love, read on…" If that's your mantra for love, this little reading niche at a corner of the 5th floor will be absolute nirvana. Among the well-leafed books we found was a thick Life and Death in Shanghai, and the novels of horror maestro, Stephen King.

Add to that the streaks of light streaming in from the ceiling's glass skylight and you get a veritable love nook. Just remember to check-in soon if you want to indulge in some cerebral making-out in this quiet corner - the entire 5th level will be women-only when the hotel is fully operational by year-end.

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