Orient House consists of 6 floors of 10 flats. Each flat consists of 4 rooms and a common kitchen. It is in between Imperial Wharf Station and Fulham Broadway Station. It takes about 3 minutes to walk to the former and about 10 minutes to walk to the latter. As such, it is situated rather far from the South Kensington campus (2.2 miles by Google maps). The average commute time is 25 minutes by tube and 40 minutes by foot. The most economical method of commuting is as always by foot. An added benefit of walking is the fact that it is probably the only form of exercise you will get (something you wouldn’t do in Singapore unless you enjoying sweating early in the morning), as there is no free gym near the hall, and of course the crisp morning air and the noxious car fumes as they drive past you.
The nearest Tesco is around 50m from the hall, and is able to supply most of your daily needs like fresh vegetables and milk. If it is insufficient for your needs, the nearest Sainsbury’s superstore is a short 10 minute walk away. If even that does not meet your requirements, the Imperial Wharf tube station is only 2 stops away from Shepherd’s Bush station, also known as the site of Westfields Shopping centre (imagine Vivo city in London, only slightly larger and less confusing in terms of layout).
Fulham Broadway is about 10 minutes walk away from the hall, and in addition to being the district line tube station, also houses the cinema, another smaller Sainsbury local store and several restaurants if you feel too lazy to cook or feel like treating yourself. If you happen to be a Chelsea FC fan, then you may be delighted to know that the Chelsea Football Club is situated a 5 minute walk from Fulham Broadway station, making it a short 15 minute walk from the hall. Otherwise, Fulham Broadway also has a few shophouses near it, which include several barbers and hairdressers.
In terms of rent, 170 a week is about the standard for a single room with ensuite toilet. However, note that unless you choose to walk, you will probably have to fork out 50 pounds extra a month on transport costs alone (the actual sum depends on how much you travel).
The flats are cleaned only once every two weeks, hence the cleanliness of the kitchens depend on the standards of yourself and your flatmates. The walls of the flat are rather thin and as such, if you have a noisy flatmate who enjoys partying into the wee hours, you should prepare to accompany him or her in their revelry (albeit reluctantly, although you could always make your protests known loudly). Like the other halls, the hall has its own washing machines and dryers, although there are only 3 of each (and note that although you are free in the weekends, so is everyone else). In terms of entertainment, the hall holds monthly movie nights, has a common room with vending machines, pool table and a ping-pong table.
The disadvantage of living in Orient House is mainly its distance from the South Kensington Campus. The campus facilities, e.g. library, gym, pool, are all at South Kensington campus and most of the social events are held there as well. As such, while others may get away with waking up half an hour before lecture or even fifteen minutes before lectures, if you plan on staying in Orient House, you should be mentally prepared to wake up a minimum of an hour before lecture starts (depending on how long you actually take to wake up, so if your alarm clock snoozes multiple times before you actually wake up, then you may have a problem there). And your flat windows will either face (A) an enclosed area surrounded by other flats filled with Londoners (so close your curtains for privacy unless you prefer it the other way) or (B) a current construction site (which may be filled with residents soon so you might still face the same problem). Due to the proximity of Chelsea FC to the area, expect the Fulham Broadway station to be swamped with people during match days and the streets to be ‘patrolled’ by drunk people hours before kick-off starts.
The main advantage of living in Orient House is that it is quiet (relatively and again, it depends on your flat mates). If you prefer a place far from the bustle and distractions of college (for whatever reason), and enjoy having a walk every morning and afternoon or in some cases, evening, then Orient House is probably the place for you. Also, you get half a fridge to yourself, which I believe may be more than what other halls provide.
Due to the distance between it and the college, one might expect the rent charged to be a bit lower. The sad fact remains that you can get a hall closer to college, the college facilities, social events, and have a better room overall for roughly the same amount of rent you pay.