Park Hotel Orchard, situated diagonally across from Ngee Ann City on Orchard Road, will close for renovations on Wednesday.

When it reopens by the second quarter of 2010, it will have upgraded rooms and suites with state-of-the-art technology, said its owners the Park Hotel Group.

It will also boast a new name - Grand Park Orchard. This will be the second name change for the 25-year-old hotel, which is still known among many Singaporeans as the old Crown Prince Hotel.

Once an eye-catching Orchard Road landmark with its outdoor capsule lifts, it has been overshadowed in recent years by newer and swankier neighbours such as the Paragon and Ngee Ann City malls.

Other hotels on the stretch have been undergoing renovations recently, such as the Meritus Mandarin.

'We will transform the existing hotel into a fashionable icon by dressing it up with a dramatic new facade,' said Mr Allen Law, director of the Park Hotel Group.

Artist's impressions unveiled on Monday show its familiar white and brown facade transformed into a glittering glass wall. It will also have a large media space for advertisements, which is several storeys tall.

The 83,000 sq ft retail poium will have flagships stores of international brands, with 'unique' entrances fronting Orchard Road.

Read also:
Ultra-luxe Capella opens