As a local I'm rather bemused to see such passions ignite over this small island. Having lived and work in other countries, I'd say Singapore just makes every effort to welcome tourists, and in a tried and tested way that works. You could book a flight, step off the plane at Changi with zero clue of what to do, and 15 minutes later emerge from tourist info with a decent and reliable plan for the next 3 days. Try doing that in most of SEA, or god forbid, South America.

And hotels. Compared to anywhere else in the developed world, they're pretty affordable, no? If you don't need 5 star luxury, the online hotel aggregators often have good deals especially on boutique hotels. I like the heritage-building properties myself, around Jalan Sultan, Keong Saik Road or Joo Chiat. It's the mix of modern and traditional that defines the heartlands in a quintessentially Singaporean way.