I agree that the New 7th Storey is a decent cheapo hotel in a good location close to Arab Street and, with a 15 minute walk, Little India. If you want to zoom over to Orchard Road, it's about 20 minutes on the MRT/subway/underground.

Did they ever replace the window mounted aircon with something less noisy?

The next ratchet up in this same general area are the small Beach Hotel towards Raffles and the larger Golden Landmark in the Arab Street area (close to the famous Zam Zam restaurant. Well, it's pretty famous anyway. Well, one or two people besides me eat there a lot).
Rich