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ANY good hotel redemption in Singapore?

ANY good hotel redemption in Singapore?

Old May 15, 2016, 1:33 pm
  #1  
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ANY good hotel redemption in Singapore?

... that is actually in Singapore? There are great values in JB, but convenience is sacrificed.

My standard for "good redemption value" is pretty high. These are the minimum values I usually get for my redemptions:

0.75 cpp for Hilton
1.0 for Marriott, IHG
1.3 for Wyndham
1.8 for Hyatt
2.3 for SPG

I'm not seeing any option close to those values.

Did I miss anything? If not, I plan to go with either JB or Airbnb/independent (target budget: $80/night all in).
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Old May 16, 2016, 5:14 am
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Originally Posted by italdesign
Did I miss anything? If not, I plan to go with either JB or Airbnb/independent (target budget: $80/night all in).
Let me assume - you've never been in Singapore, right?

JB is in different country, if you fail to look at the map.

If you going to JB on Saturday and coming back on Sunday, you should put a budget of 3h to cross causeway in each direction. Most of the time will be spent waiting at passport control, remember that you need to do it twice. Then, you need to wait another 1-1.5h in bus line. If you have APEC card and willing to cross causeway by foot, it can be done in 1h.

Regarding AirBnB - careful there. Local are not allowed to rent out their flats/rooms. While chance is low, if there is noisy neighbour who has some beef against the host, that neighbour might call police and ended up on street might be least problem you end up with.

So check reviews/location and avoid HDB estates. BTW, if property has bars on windows, most likely it is HDB flat.
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Old May 16, 2016, 8:44 am
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Thanks for the explanation about Airbnb and JB. The JB situation is worse than I imagined. I was told in another thread that going from DoubleTree JB to downtown SG takes 2 hours total during "non-peak times" (which I assume apply to weekdays), with a few transfers along the way. I might try it once.

is there any area in SG that would cut the journey from JB significantly and which is worth checking out (for food or sight)? I've been to Singapore several times but always stayed with friends in the south-central part (Chinatown and Harbourfront). Would like to explore the rest of the island more, especially hiking and parks.

Last edited by italdesign; May 16, 2016 at 8:56 am
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Old May 16, 2016, 11:00 am
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Originally Posted by italdesign
is there any area in SG that would cut the journey from JB significantly
Yes, Woodlands Checkpoint during business days and work hours. Sorry for sarcasm.

Originally Posted by italdesign
and which is worth checking out (for food or sight)? I've been to Singapore several times but always stayed with friends in the south-central part (Chinatown and Harbourfront). Would like to explore the rest of the island more, especially hiking and parks.
Lake a look of the following map - http://www.streetdirectory.com/. Note where parks are, there are:

- Sungai Buloh - this will be the closest park from JB/Woodlands.
- McRitchie itself (which you can't cover one day) and vicinities: Bukit Timah and Bukit Batok
- Bukit Brown Cemetery (*)
- East Coast Park
- Pasir Ris Park
- Pulau Ubin and Changi Village
- Punggol area

Notice that these parks are in different part of the island. Now, if you are coming from JB and want to use public transport, click on Directions and then put Marseling as start and park you plan to go as destination, it will give you options and approximate time how much it would take to get there. BTW, you need to do it (route planning) during Singapore daytime, otherwise it won't give you anything. For better results, use this site - http://www.gothere.sg/maps it is not as fancy as previous one, but travel times and options are far more accurate.

So, using these two sites you will get some idea how much time you will spend in transiting and if you stay in Singapore - where you want to if you want to get to these places. For example, if you stay at East Coast/Marine Parade Rd, you can walk down to East Coast park and get to Changi Village park via taxi fairly quickly (there is no good ways to get there via public transport). On other hands, if you stay at Bukit Timah area, you will have good access to Bukit Timah, Bukit Batok and and a little bit further away - McRitchie.

(*) Bukit Brown cemetery is whole another story, if you want to go to complete non-touristy place, until it is completely demolished, this is the place to go.
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Old May 16, 2016, 11:28 am
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Have you checked muchopoints.com or hotelhustle.com? They offer quick ways of looking for hotels where you can redeem points.
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Old May 16, 2016, 3:31 pm
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Singapore doesn't have good redemption values. There is a new IHG property in town that seems like it may be ok (HIX Singapore Katong). Also I think W Sentosa may be worth it as well, depending on which room you get.
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Old May 16, 2016, 7:42 pm
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Originally Posted by s0ssos
Singapore doesn't have good redemption values.
Or good values for anything. I wouldn't be too concerned with "maximizing point value", I would pick a good location first and then go from there.
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Old May 16, 2016, 8:09 pm
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Originally Posted by TOMFORD
Or good values for anything.
You are obviously entitled to your, completely wrong opinion.

P.S. Emphasis on word 'anything'.
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Old May 17, 2016, 5:20 am
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Originally Posted by invisible
You are obviously entitled to your, completely wrong opinion.
No opinions are wrong. I feel that Singapore is not a place of value for tourists. You cannot say my feeling is wrong because 1. you don't know how I feel and 2. feelings aren't facts, they cannot be said to be matter-of-fact right or wrong.

Okay, I'll give you one... best value for gardens. There, now 'anything' no longer applies.
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Old May 17, 2016, 9:27 am
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Originally Posted by s0ssos
Singapore doesn't have good redemption values. There is a new IHG property in town that seems like it may be ok (HIX Singapore Katong). Also I think W Sentosa may be worth it as well, depending on which room you get.
I just booked the new HIX Katong on points for 15K/night. Maybe not the best in terms of value some nights as I've seen the place as low as 80US. My nights however were about 135US so not a bad deal at all.
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Old May 18, 2016, 11:06 am
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Originally Posted by ChiefNWA
I just booked the new HIX Katong on points for 15K/night. Maybe not the best in terms of value some nights as I've seen the place as low as 80US. My nights however were about 135US so not a bad deal at all.
It's 20k now.
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Old May 18, 2016, 11:22 am
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Originally Posted by italdesign
It's 20k now.
That's the problem. Along with revenue rates, redemption requirements have been increasing. Up until a few months ago, some good values remained -- say, the HIX on Orchard for 20k or Westin for 12k. Now, you're pretty much stuck with corporate rates or the occasional BRG opportunity; points only make sense during a few high-demand dates when prices are through the roof.
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Old May 24, 2016, 10:35 pm
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In the past, I've done well with points at the Westin and IIRC once at the StR. A lot depends on whether hotel rates are high during the period of your stay, but these are properties that never would be in the $80 range.

Depending on your length of stay, how about a small serviced apartment?
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Old May 26, 2016, 2:19 pm
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Friends are back from an AirBnB stay in Singapore on their way home from Sydney. Two bedrooms for around 100 a night in a not-too-bad area near Lavender can't be bad.

They say look out for words like "cozy" in the descriptions
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Old May 26, 2016, 8:54 pm
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Originally Posted by IAN-UK
Two bedrooms for around 100
Yep, translates into SGD 100/night. People have argued here that you can get OK hotel room (even with windows) with that price, but one has to work to find it.

If using AirBnB in Singapore I would advice to stay away from HDB rentals.
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