James Beard once said that "Food is our common ground, a universal experience." For a certain kind of traveller, they are the ones who would experience the country that they are in from the comfort of a room service menu. Or, at the very least, venture out to an eatery within walking distance.

It's convenient. But you can spend a week here and leave having seen almost nothing real.

Ascott Singapore wants you to hold its beer, while it introduces a new initiative that go against all that. Called "World Within Reach," it launched across its Singapore Citadines properties—Ascott, Oakwood, and Citadines—the programme has a simple enough premise: that a hotel stay should connect you to a place, not insulate you from it. This arrives at a curious moment. According to the Singapore Tourism Board, 60 per cent of visitors to our fair city are repeat travellers. They've done usual touristy schtick: stroll through Gardens by the Bay; peruse the shophouses at Haji Lane; mime swallowing our national mascot throw-up at the Merlion Park... they have done it all and are itching for something more.

Thus, we one checks in at Ascott Orchard Singapore, the experience starts before you've even unpacked. Guests are welcomed with a Jin Ju Hua cocktail—a chrysanthemum-based drink made by APT SG. As you wet your whistle, that single, considered sip situates you somewhere specific.

At the other Ascott properties, there's a private dining experience at Yi Residence that offers a seven-course menu that swings between global culinary traditions and local sensibilities. Or at Oakwood Bencoolen and Oakwood Studio Singapore, one would get the Home + Beyond experience where each morning, you get Eu Yan Sang's chicken essence, alongside a western-inspired booster shot from Really Addictive Drink.

At Ascott Orchard Singapore, you have the enticement of what Singapore has to offer in the heart of Orchard Road. Across from Ascott Orchard Singapore, there's the Paragon; next to the services apartment, there's COTE at Como Orchard.

Ah, but what about the experience outside of food?

The rooms at Ascott Orchard Singapore are service apartments so you can't go wrong with the residential-style layouts, and in-room conveniences like having a washer/dryer and a kitchenette. Windows are floor-to-ceiling and the bedrooms are spacious with large, comfortable beds and floor-to-ceiling windows. Other Citadine properties—Balestier, Rochester, Fusionopolis, Raffles Place, Rochor, Science Park— provide a limited-edition welcome pack that functions less like a amenity and more like an orientation/welcome kit. You have a custom tote bag, a Citadines-commissioned essential oil roll-on, a sticker set, and an Urban Passport: a guide to off-the-beaten-track Singapore written specifically to get the average traveller to go beyond the confines of their room.

So a caveat: all experiences under the "World Within Reach" programme are refreshed quarterly (to keep pace with a city that has a habit of changing) and is available only to members of the Ascott Star Rewards programme. Someone once argued that the best travel is the sort that makes you feel like a local, and in order to to so, you'll need to get out of the comfort of the room. "World Within Reach" won't get you all the way there, especially with a short stay, but the direction of its intent counts for something.

World Within Reach is available across Ascott Singapore's properties. Experiences are accessible to all Ascott Star Rewards members