lucapu

Hi all,

this is my first post (after very long time of voyeurism, in particular regarding KVS tool). I'm newbie in hotel booking, so I'm asking you assistance.

I'm looking for an hotel in Singapore from Aug 12th to Aug 16th.
My requirements are 4+ stars, good TA rating (let's say first 70 hotels in Singapore) and maximum rate of 110� (without breakfast) or 130�/ night (with breakfast).

Till now, I used this booking strategy:

Step 1 - research on booking.com, orbitz and hotels.com
Best results: Village Hotel Katong by Far East Hospitality (488�/ 4 nights tax inc.) or Adonis Hotel (528�/ 4 nights tax and breakfast incl.)

Step 2 - reviewed travel engine as kayak, getaroom, hipmunk, trivago and TA
Best results: Village Hotel Katong by Far East Hospitality (468�/ 4 nights tax inc.), Adonis Hotel (526�/ 4 nights tax and breakfast incl.) or One Farrer & Spa (585�/ 4 nights tax inc.)

Step 3 - reviewed hotel sites
Result: no deals better than the previous

Step 4 - try hotel coupon (through FlyerTalk General list of Codes and Promos) on Cheaptickets and Orbitz
Result: no deals better than the previous

Step 5 - reviewed priceline Express Deals
Best result: 5* Central Singapore Area Hotel for 108�/night
I was not able to understand which hotel it is (I think it could be One Farrer & Spa) and how much can tax and fees costs

Step 6 - reviewed last priceline bidding history
Result: very limited number of recent deals reported on FlyerTalk, biddingfortravel or betterbidding

PS: basically all the previous rate are non-refoundable

Now I can't figure out which strategy to pursue.
Do you suggest me to book Adonis (best "public" option for my understaing), to try bidding for the 5* Central Singapore Area Hotel or to wait other coupons/ deals (eg. spg hot escapes)?

I will appreciate an help from you, I'm really freaking out

Thank you all
L

chgoeditor

I can't offer you any guidance, but wanted to say bravo...this is a fantastic example of a first post because you've clearly done your homework! Hope you'll stick around because you clearly have the makings of being a great contributor to FT.

MSPeconomist

Where do you *want* to stay in Singapore? Location close to what you'll be doing, public transportation, type of neighborhood, views, style of hotel, etc.? Look at where your apparent top three choices are on a map and read about them (or look at pictures) beyond ratings, which aren't very informative IMO as they're not necessarily by people who travel often.

Then ask yourself whether the price differences in this range matter much to you. Does it mean one very fancy dinner in Singapore, for example? Or paid lounge access, paid Y+ seats, etc.? You might decide that you'd rather splurge on a hotel that excites you.

For Singapore, look also at your arrival and departure times: Would it make sense to save one hotel night by using the transit hotel at SIN? (IIRC a room with ensuite facilities is about US$65 for the minimum six hour block, a bit more for additional time.) Or even a lounge at SIN if you can check in and go airside late the night before a very early morning departure?

shuigao

Of the three you've shortlisted, Adonis has far and away the best location, right in the middle of Bugis where there's a good mix of heritage stuff, restaurants and modern shopping malls.

One Farrer is a little more skewed towards heritage stuff (being close to little india).

Village Hotel Katong is near a "heartlands" area (that is to say ... mini mall/town centre more suited for local residents rather than tourists.

obscure2k

Welcome to Flyertalk lucapu. Please continue to follow this thread as I move it to the Singapore, Asia Forum.
Obscure2k
TravelBuzz Moderator

lucapu

Thank you all for the answers
This will be my first time in Singapore, so I cannot be sure about where to stay (areas). I decided to have a stop-over there (then I will continue my holidays in Bali), because I'm really curious to see this fast-growing city.
I'm doing my homework (thanks chgoeditor for the post ) also regarding what to do/ to see, but I didn't freeze my plan yet.
In any case, considering it's my first time, I'll spend much of the time in the must-see and popular attractions (gardens by the bay, botanic gardens orchard road, little india, etc.). I thank also obscure2k that make my aware of this part of the forum (destinations), I think I'll find lot of useful information here

Coming back to my request: I'm trying to structure a "process" that can fit every booking situation (in case you can't redeem points).

1) For sure I didn't put the right emphasis on the importance of the area.
I'm not planning to sleep near Changi, because I'll arrive and departure in the afternoon (6 pm and 2 pm respectively). For what I read till now, I understood orchard road, colonial district, marina bay and quays are the best area where to stay for tourism.

2) I need to add a step in my process to verify hotel rating with frequent traveler opinions. I checked this forum, but didn't find anything about Adonis and One Farrer (bad news). I understood Village Katong is pretty nice and new, in an interesting area in particular for food. On the other hand is a bit far out of the city and not really close to any train station.
Result: no great changes in my preferences.
I found good reviews of Novotel Clark Quay, but is above my budget for these dates, and Studio M, that is in budget. Studio M doesn't have good reviews on TA, is there anyone with experience in this hotel?

3) Let me make more explicit that during the first two step I discarded several hotels due to bad review or because I didn't like the general style of the hotel

4) I need also to add the last step in my process, that is "make the call"... I will contact my preferred choice directly asking for a less expensive rate than the public, or asking for upgrade/ other services.

What is still struggling me is to have low understanding of possibility to find better rates using coupon or priceline... Any help from you regarding this point?

Thank you for your support
L

JHattery

Doesn't really matter, as everything, and I do mean everything is a relatively short taxi ride away. That being said, you might prefer to NOT stay in the more residential areas as they are relatively far away from the sights, and taxis can be harder to get. For example, Jurong or Woodlands

You need to decide what your priorities are. Is budget #1? Reviews? Location? Remember you will pretty much only be using the hotel to sleep and shower. So long as you avoid the true low end (Hotel 81, Fragrance, etc.) you should find adequate lodgings.

Swiss Tony

The Wanderlust is showing on Expedia for �83/nt incl breakfast, which would be about EUR120....

Rates no. 75 on TA

But to be honest I think you're doing a good/thorough job!

lucapu

Yes, it is true, but sleep and shower, in some cases, can be very important.

Thank you, also Wonderlust seems to be a good option

Any suggestion about coupon and priceline?

aster

Do you plan on walking a lot or are you going to be shuttling around in a cab or on public transport?

The Studio M in Robertson Quay would pretty much be the ideal location if you were to live in Singapore, and is a great location for a short stay as long as you like walking (luckily most of your walks will be along the river). Technically you could even go on a magical walk right up to the Marina Bay sands, always following the river and never having to cross any streets.

Normally the Swissotel In Clarke Quay (or the Novotel) would be easier because you have Clarke Quay MRT station close-by, but the Studio M is definitely going to be a great choice when going out in the evening and you should definitely choose this hotel over anything out in Little India or Geylang.

Be very wary with the 3-star hotels as they are more like 1-star dumps. 4-star is a minimum but overall you need to research the hotel itself first and foremost.

The Studio M is quite a modern building and should be absolutely fine.