I thought I'd share this for the benefit of all brides who have signed up / are thinking of signing up with Orchard Hotel.
To facilitate planning of my wedding, I decided to do book the biggest thing out of the wedding - the banquet - first. Thus, I started shopping for hotels/banquet venues in June 2012 for my 2013 wedding.
Orchard Hotel was one of hotel choices. We went down to look at the hotel, and when the coordinator met up with us, she was friendly and showed us all the ballrooms in the hotel. Having sampled their food from Hua Ting Restaurant before, i thought their food was fine. When we enquired about the rates for 2013, they said that the rates were not out yet and would contact us at a later date. Finally, the coordinator called us and said that for 2013, because my wedding was to be held in November, we would be charged an extra $88 nett per table because Nov - Dec was a popular period for weddings. We were hesitant upon hearing the $88 - however, the coordinator assured us following the trend of past years, wedding rates would rise in 2013, and this rate would most likely prevail in 2013. We then thought - oh well, since sooner or later we would be paying the same rates anyway, might as well sign the contract then.
That, proved to be a great mistake.
In Feb 2013, when I checked the hotel website again, I was shocked to find out that the the banquet rate for 2013, unlike what was mentioned when i signed the contract, did not include the extra $88/table increase at all as the coordinator mentioned - Orchard Hotel had charged me an extra whopping $3520 for the tables. Naturally, I was upset and called the coordinator. I was given the reply the rates were so as to "entice customers to book unpopular dates leftover in 2013". This was a unreasonable and lame excuse. I would understand the rates perfectly if these were released in September, when people had few dates left to choose. However, it was only February, and I would hardly call a Nov/Dec date a "leftover date in 2013" when the year had just begun. Basically, I was paying $3520 more than the people who signed up / are going to sign up with them this year, for the same number of tables on Nov/Dec a weekend night. The question is: I was told Nov/Dec is a popular season for weddings, thus I was charged the $88/table. Why does this charge not apply to the couples who signed up in Jan 2013 for Nov/Dec 2013 wedding dates, but only to the couples who signed in 2012? It makes the couples who signed up with OH in 2012 feel like idiots for paying a premium for choosing to put their trust in OH earlier.
I called the hotel and tried to reason with them. The misleading info - that the $88nett/table rates would prevail in 2013 - ended up with me and my husband-to-be having to pay $3520 more than the market rates. When told that, they have assiduously avoided the fact that I was misled and maintained that because I booked early, I had the liberty to choose a date I liked and thus have to pay more for the banquet. Somehow, OH forgot that because I booked early, I had a choice of dates AND HOTELS too. I could and would have booked with my first choice hotel, which had my date available for me, if not for the fact that I was misled that the $88nett/table rates would prevail in 2013 and that I was getting a better package with OH.
My point? CHECK, check and check again if you are going to sign up with Orchard Hotel. I am unhappy that the hotel was not upfront in telling me that the $88/table was a PREMIUM I had to pay for booking early in 2012 - instead, I was then fed with the reason Nov/Dec is a popular wedding season and thus the $88/table. Had I known that the $88/table was a premium over and above the market rate only applicable to couples who signed in 2012, I would not have signed with Orchard Hotel, and landed myself in this sorry and dire state, with an overpriced wedding banquet and having to face a penalty charge (which OH didn't fail to remind me of) should I decide to cancel the banquet with them.