Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
5
Where to Stay
in Singapore
Competition is fierce among hotels
in the G arden City , driv en b y a steady
stream of business and conv ention travel-
ers, many of whom stay at international
hotel chains such as H yatt, H ilton,
Sheraton, and M arriott (all r epresented
here). These companies inv est millions in
a never-ending cycle of r enovations, con-
stantly upgrading their super-r oyal-regal
executive facilities, all in an attempt to lure
suits and CEO s and—ev entually, it is
hoped—land lucrative corporate accounts.
Sadly, this means that good-quality
the one hand and the inflated Singaporean
real estate mar ket on the other , r oom
prices tend to be high. What this means
for leisure travelers is that you may end up
paying for a business center y ou'll nev er
use or a 24-hour str ess-reliever masseuse
you'll never call—and all this without the
benefit of a corporate discount rate.
Don't fret, though: I'm here to tell y ou
that ther e's a range of accommodations
out there—you just have to know where to
look. In this chapter, I'll help you pick the
right accommodations for y ou, based on
your v acation goals and y our budget, so
you can make the most of y our stay.
budget accommodations ar e not a high
priority on the island. B etween the busi-
ness community 's demand for luxur y on
CHOOSING YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD
In considering wher e you'll stay, think about what y ou'll be doing in S ingapore—that
way, you can choose a hotel that 's close to the par ticular action that suits y ou. (On the
other hand, because S ingapore is a small place and public transpor
tation is ex cellent,
really nothing's ever too far away.)
Orchard Road
has the largest cluster of hotels in the city and is right in the hear t of
Singaporean shopping mania—the malls and wide side walks where locals and tourists
stroll to see and be seen. The
Historic District
has hotels that ar e near museums and
sights, while those in
Marina Bay
center mor e around the business pr ofessionals who
come to S ingapore for Suntec City, the giant conv ention and exhibition center located
there. These hotels in Marina Bay overlook the bay, the Singapore Flyer, and the Harbor,
offering some of the best vie ws in to wn.
Chinatown
and
Tanjong Pagar
hav e some
lovely boutique hotels in quaint back streets, and
Shenton Way
has a couple of high-rise
places for the conv enience of people doing business in the do wntown business district.
On a strict budget, but want to be close to the center of things? Check out my r ecom-
mendations on and ar ound Bencoolen Street for decent backpacker stops. M any hotels
have free morning and evening shuttle buses to Orchard Road, Suntec City, and Shenton
Way. I've also listed two hotels on
Sentosa,
an island to the south that's a popular day or
weekend trip for many S ingaporeans and might be a good choice for families or honey-
mooners. (It's connected to Singapore by a causeway, cable cars, and a light-rail system.)
Remember, S ingapore isn't huge and has myriad transpor t options, so nothing 's ev er
really far away.
