Le Grove
Overview & Key Facts
Le Grove is a 173-unit freehold serviced residence on Orange Grove Road in District 10 — one of Singapore’s most prestigious diplomatic and residential addresses, flanked by embassies, good-class bungalow enclaves, and the Botanic Gardens corridor. Originally a smaller development, it was comprehensively refurbished by City Developments Ltd and reopened in 2018 with an expanded unit count, upgraded facilities, and a repositioned identity as a premium serviced residence catering to corporate and long-stay international tenants.
The rental data reflects exactly that market position. With 31 rental transactions averaging S$6,407 per month (median S$6,161), Le Grove is firmly in the upper tier of D10 rental product — a bracket dominated by long-stay corporate tenants, diplomats, and senior expatriate executives who prioritise managed services, on-site facilities, and proximity to the Tanglin embassy district over raw square footage. At median rent of S$6,161 per month and a serviced-residence model where costs including utilities, housekeeping, and daily breakfast are folded into the rate, the all-in cost is competitive with the furnished unit market at comparable address quality. The walkability score of 65/100 and ShiokNest composite of 56/100 reflect the genuine trade-offs: Orange Grove Road is tranquil and exclusive but not a walk-to-everything address — the nearest MRT (Stevens, DT/TE) is 730 metres, and Orchard Road’s amenity density requires a 10–12 minute walk or the complimentary daily shuttle.
The competitor landscape positions Le Grove clearly. Against nearby freehold resale condominiums — Leedon Green at S$2,785 psf and Hyll on Holland at S$2,648 psf — Le Grove operates on a different axis entirely: it is a managed serviced product, not a strata condominium for owner-occupiers or traditional buy-to-let investors. The freehold title is structurally significant, but the investment thesis is built on the managed-residence model, the CDL brand, and the irreplaceable location in Singapore’s most exclusive residential enclave.
Location & Connectivity
Orange Grove Road runs through the heart of the Tanglin – Nassim residential belt — a corridor that Singapore planners have, by design, kept low-density, heavily tree-lined, and predominantly residential. Good-class bungalow land parcels border Orange Grove Road to the south and east; the Singapore Botanic Gardens (UNESCO World Heritage Site) is approximately 1.5 km north-west; the Tanglin Club and American Club sit within 700 metres. The United States Embassy, Australian High Commission, and more than a dozen other diplomatic missions are within 1 km. This is not a neighbourhood that evolves by accident: zoning protections, GCB land rules, and the absence of commercial or industrial neighbours have maintained the residential character of Orange Grove Road for decades and will continue to do so.
Rail connectivity is multi-line but not doorstep. Stevens MRT (Downtown Line / Thomson-East Coast Line) is approximately 730 metres — the nearest station, reached in 8–10 minutes on foot or 2–3 minutes by the property’s complimentary shuttle. The shuttle runs daily from 7am to 7pm to MRT stations and business districts, which materially reduces the practical friction of the 730m gap for long-stay tenants without personal vehicles. Napier MRT (Thomson-East Coast Line) is 770 metres in the opposite direction; Orchard (NS/TE) is 1.21 km. Together, these stations give residents access to the Downtown, Thomson-East Coast, and North-South Lines — covering the CBD, Marina Bay, Woodlands, and the East Coast corridor without a transfer.
Day-to-day retail is well served for a premium residential street. Cold Storage at Tanglin Mall (approximately 1.0 km) handles premium grocery; Orchard Road provides the full spectrum of retail, F&B, and medical services within 1.2 km. Nassim Hill Bakery, Tiong Bahru Bakery, and PS Café are within 10 minutes on foot, serving the neighbourhood’s expat-heavy resident population. For residents without a car, the property’s shuttle service effectively extends the walkable range to the MRT and Orchard Road during operating hours — an important practical consideration for this address.
Schools & Education
2 primary schools within the 1 km Priority Phase balloting radius.
| School | Type | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| ISS International School (Preston) | international | Within 1 km |
| ISS International School (Paterson) | international | Within 1 km |
| Methodist Girls' School (Primary) | primary | Within 1 km |
| Methodist Girls' School | secondary | Within 1 km |
| Nanyang Primary School | primary | Within 1 km |
| Chatsworth International School (Orchard) | international | Within 1 km |
| Nanyang Girls' High School | secondary | Within 1 km |
| St. Anthony's Primary School | primary | ~1.1 km |
Facilities
For a managed serviced residence, Le Grove’s facility provision is genuinely competitive. The estate includes a swimming pool and spa pool, a fully equipped gymnasium, and a padel and pickleball court — an amenity that has become a differentiator in the premium serviced-residence segment as corporate tenants increasingly treat racket-sport access as a baseline expectation rather than a luxury. A residents’ lounge with vending machines and massage chairs handles informal downtime; a meeting room covers work-from-residence needs.
The managed-service layer is what distinguishes Le Grove from a standard condominium purchase. Weekday housekeeping, daily continental breakfast in the residents’ lounge (Monday to Friday), free Wi-Fi and local calls, a dedicated 24-hour security post, and the daily shuttle to MRT stations are all included in the rental rate. Airport transfers and babysitting are available at additional cost. For corporate tenants arriving on short-to-medium assignments, the ability to move in without furnishing, sourcing utilities, or arranging services eliminates significant administrative friction compared with renting an unfurnished or semi-furnished unit elsewhere on Orange Grove Road or in the wider Tanglin cluster.
“The padel court is new and well-maintained. The pool is a proper lap pool, not a decorative feature. The shuttle to Stevens MRT runs reliably during business hours — that matters more than the 730m walk distance suggests. For a six-month to two-year corporate rotation, Le Grove hits the right balance of services and price.”
— Long-stay corporate tenant perspective via TripAdvisor review aggregation
Neighbourhood Comparison
Comparisons within the District 10 CCR universe need to be segmented carefully. Le Grove is a managed serviced residence operating on freehold land; its direct peers are not strata condominiums for sale but other long-stay serviced residence products in the Tanglin – Orchard corridor. The closest comparable operating products include the Somerset Orchard cluster and the St Regis Residences, but these command significantly higher per-square-foot costs and serve a shorter average stay.
Against the strata-sale D10 freehold market: Leedon Green (freehold, completed 2024) transacts at an average of approximately S$2,785 psf, reflecting a modern full-condominium product with resort-scale facilities in the Leedon Heights sub-market. Hyll on Holland (freehold, 319 units, Holland Road) averages approximately S$2,648 psf. Both are strata products where buyers own individual apartments and either self-occupy or manage rentals independently — a fundamentally different tenure structure from Le Grove’s CDL-managed model. Skye at Holland (99-year leasehold, 666 units, launched 2025) enters at approximately S$2,945 psf, demonstrating that even 99-year leasehold CCR product commands a premium over comparable locations when backed by major developer branding and full modern-facilities specification. D’Leedon (99-year leasehold, 1,715 units) trades at approximately S$1,856 psf — the scale-vs-prestige trade-off of a large-format 99-year product versus the boutique freehold positioning.
The most honest comparison is structural: if you are buying an investment property for traditional strata ownership and rental income management, Le Grove is not the right product — Leedon Green, Hyll on Holland, or Orange Grove Residences (freehold, 60 units, completed 2009) would be more appropriate strata vehicles. If you are sourcing long-stay managed corporate housing in Singapore’s most prestigious residential address with CDL operational backing and freehold land security, Le Grove has no direct equivalent at the same price point on Orange Grove Road itself.
The 730m to Stevens MRT (DT/TE lines) places Le Grove in a similar MRT catchment to The Orange Grove (freehold, 72 units) at 38 Orange Grove Road — a comparator that trades at approximately S$2,452–S$2,855 psf as a strata condominium. For buyers specifically seeking a managed-income freehold asset rather than a self-managed strata apartment, the Le Grove proposition is meaningfully differentiated by the CDL serviced-residence infrastructure, the larger unit count (which supports professional operations), and the upgraded 2018 facilities package.
| Development | Tenure | TOP | Units | ~Avg PSF |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LE GROVE | — | 173 | — | |
| SKYE AT HOLLAND | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2024 | 2025 | 666 | $2,945 |
| LEEDON GREEN | Freehold | 2021 | 638 | $2,785 |
| D'LEEDON | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2010 | 2014 | 1,703 | $1,856 |
| HYLL ON HOLLAND | Freehold | 2021 | 319 | $2,648 |
| FOURTH AVENUE RESIDENCES | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2018 | 2021 | 476 | $2,465 |
ShiokNest Scores
Our proprietary scoring system evaluates LE GROVE across multiple dimensions.
What Residents Say
“We relocated from London for a two-year posting. Le Grove was the recommendation from our corporate relocation service — once we saw it, we understood why. The address is genuinely prestigious in Singapore terms. The shuttle to Stevens means the MRT distance is irrelevant for our daily schedule. And CDL’s management means we don’t deal with landlord maintenance issues. That peace of mind has real value when you’re managing a cross-continental move.”
— European diplomat perspective on Tanglin serviced residence via TripAdvisor long-stay review
“The neighbourhood is what you pay for. Orange Grove Road is quiet, green, and safe in a way that Orchard Boulevard or Cairnhill is not. My kids cycle to ISS International School. The embassies next door mean genuine security infrastructure. For families on a corporate package that covers the rent, it’s an exceptional quality of life.”
— Family expat tenant on school access and neighbourhood quality via PropertyGuru community discussion
“Padel twice a week, pool in the evenings, shuttle to Orchard Road for dinner. For a solo executive on an 18-month assignment, Le Grove works better than any of the alternatives I looked at. The CDL brand means the building is managed to a consistent standard — no surprises mid-lease.”
— Senior executive tenant perspective on serviced-residence operational consistency via SilverDoor corporate housing review
Across long-stay review platforms, the consistent themes are the address quality, the CDL management reliability, and the shuttle service as a practical equaliser for the MRT distance. Negative feedback, where present, tends to cluster around unit size (studios and one-bedrooms are compact by full-condominium standards) and breakfast service hours (weekday-only). Neither is structural — both reflect the managed-residence cost model.
Strengths & Weaknesses
- Freehold tenure in CCR District 10 — structurally rare at Orange Grove Road address quality
- City Developments Ltd (CDL) as developer and operator — one of Singapore's most credible institutional landlords
- Stevens MRT (DT/TE) at 730m and Napier MRT (TE) at 770m — dual TEL-line access with Downtown Line from Stevens
- Complimentary daily shuttle 7am–7pm to MRT stations and business districts — effectively resolves the 730m gap
- ISS International School (Preston) at 420m and ISS International (Paterson) at 440m — top expat schooling at near-doorstep distance
- Methodist Girls' Primary (650m) and Nanyang Primary (680m) — two sought-after local primary schools within ballot-competitive distance
- Chatsworth International School (770m), Nanyang Girls' High (830m) — exceptional breadth of both local and international school options within 1km
- Tanglin diplomatic enclave neighbourhood — embassies, GCB zone, Botanic Gardens corridor; prestige and residential character protected by zoning
- Modern 2018-refurbished building — pool, spa pool, gym, padel and pickleball court, 24-hour security, residents' lounge
- Fully furnished and managed units — weekly housekeeping, daily breakfast (weekdays), Wi-Fi/utilities included; zero setup friction for corporate tenants
- Interconnecting apartment option — rare flexibility for multi-person or family corporate deployments
- 173 units at 10 floors — scale that supports professional managed-residence operations while maintaining boutique feel
- Serviced-residence structure — not a standard strata condominium; different buyer pool, exit liquidity, and ownership model
- Stevens MRT at 730m — walkable but not doorstep-convenient without the shuttle; shuttle hours end at 7pm
- Yield compression — at S$6,407/month average rent and D10 freehold land values, gross yield is thin vs self-managed strata alternatives
- Studio and 1BR units are compact (35–46 sqm) — adequate for solo executives, constrained for full-household living
- Only 31 rental transactions on record — data set is directionally useful but limited for granular PSF/yield underwriting
- Shuttle-dependent for practical daily commuting — residents without cars reliant on 7am–7pm window; late-evening/weekend MRT requires the 730m walk
- Orchard Road retail is 1.2 km — not a walk-to-everything address despite proximity to Singapore's main shopping corridor
- Managed-residence model limits renovation or personalisation — units are CDL-fitted and maintained to operator standard, not buyer preference
- No HDB comparison buffer — pure CCR freehold pricing, with capital values fully correlated to Singapore luxury residential market cycles
Verdict
Le Grove is one of the most clearly positioned products in its segment: a CDL-managed freehold serviced residence in the Tanglin – Orange Grove corridor, targeting corporate and diplomatic tenants on short-to-medium rotation assignments. The address tier, the managed-service stack, the multi-line MRT access via Stevens and Napier stations, and the freehold land title under a credible developer are the structural pillars of the investment thesis. None of these pillars is easily replicated or eroded.
The case for is built on consistency: Tanglin as a neighbourhood does not change character, CDL as an operator manages occupancy and maintenance professionally, and the corporate relocation market that feeds premium serviced residences in Singapore has proven resilient across multiple economic cycles. For investors underwriting a purchase on a managed-income basis, Le Grove offers a more predictable occupancy and income profile than an individual landlord managing a strata unit on Orange Grove Road or Nassim Road — at the cost of yield compression relative to self-managed alternatives.
The case against is also straightforward. At S$6,407 average monthly rent and 31 recorded transactions, gross yield on a purchase at D10 freehold land values is thin by Singapore private residential standards — the investment is a long-horizon capital appreciation play with managed income as a supplement, not a yield-maximisation vehicle. The 730m walk to Stevens MRT (730m) is walkable but not doorstep-convenient; without the shuttle, the daily commute friction is real. And for buyers who want a traditional strata condominium with full residency flexibility and resale market liquidity, Le Grove’s serviced-residence structure means a different buyer pool and different exit dynamics than a standard D10 CCR condo purchase.
The ShiokNest composite score of 56/100 accurately captures the balanced profile: a 9.0/10 neighbourhood score for one of Singapore’s most prestigious residential addresses, a solid 8.0/10 for modern serviced units in a 2018-refurbished building, competitive 7.5/10 on both MRT access and lease, a 7.5/10 on facilities reflecting a genuine pool-gym-padel stack, and a 7.0/10 on value reflecting the yield compression inherent in the serviced-residence model at this address tier. The composite reflects a genuinely good product with a narrow, specific buyer profile — not a weakness, but a clarity.
The ideal profile is specific: a corporate or high-net-worth investor seeking a managed freehold asset in Singapore’s top diplomatic enclave, who is comfortable with the serviced-residence structure and values CDL’s operational track record. For that buyer, there are few alternatives on Orange Grove Road that combine freehold title, managed services, multi-MRT-line access, and a 173-unit scale that supports professional operations.