Hotel for a first time visitor
 

Hi all,

Can anyone recommend a hotel in Singapore for a first time visitor? I have no specific plans yet other than to see some of the famous touristy sights and visit Geylang for some authentic (and cheap) food. I'd prefer the place to be not too far from points of public transportation. I have what seems like unlimited IHG points (IHG platinum) and unlimited Hilton points (Hilton gold), and am SPG gold and Hyatt platinum.

Thanks!

I'm not a fan of the Orchard Road shopping area, which is where the Hilton is located. To me it doesn't look appealing, but IIRC it's been renovated. Also IIRC one of Singapore's best restaurants is there, named something like Iggy's.

The StR is around the corner from Orchard and the Sheraton and Grand Hyatt up the hill. There's a new Westin (a bit like a W for business travelers) located between Chinatown and the Marina Bay Sands development.

All of these are close to a subway station. The ones that aren't would be along the far (western) end of the river, such as the Holiday Inn Atrium and Millennium Grand Copthorne.

I can't picture the IHG properties.

The Intercontinental is right on top of the subway. Seems to be pretty well-located. 50K points per night. But if you have an unlimited supply I suppose that's not an issue. They've been undertaking a refurbishment program and from what I gather the renovated rooms are a lot better than the old ones.

The St. Regis is too expensive for me. I'm staying on my dime and would rather use points, or book cheaper boutique hotels. The Westin looks nice though, but also expensive.



I'm looking at the IC on Tripadvisor, and the surroundings seem a little desolate?

Hi agp423,

I have stayed in a few Singapore hotels myself and would like to offer you some of my thoughts.

InterContinental Singapore - http://www.theshutterwhale.com/blog/...ore-staycation

The InterContinental Singapore is colonial-style and slightly dated but that being said, the service level is great and is located around Bugis (which isn't necessarily the first place to be in Singapore for most travellers).

Hilton Singapore - http://www.theshutterwhale.com/blog/...pore-revisited

The Hilton Singapore is dated as well but I really like the location of it. It's tucked away in a quieter area of Orchard Road and is really convenient if you want to hit the popular spots in Singapore. I have always gotten an upgrade to an Exec floor here as a Gold.

Conrad Centennial Singapore - http://www.theshutterwhale.com/blog/...ore-staycation

Great spacious rooms and book a Business Room to enjoy an Executive room that offers complimentary cocktails and drinks in the evening - alcohol is expensive in Singapore so this is something you should take into consideration especially if you enjoy a drink or two.

Pan Pacific Singapore - http://www.theshutterwhale.com/blog/...-skyline-suite

My personal favourite. Great rooms and amazing club access. If you are here and you want a luxury getaway, the Pan Pacific Singapore is amazing. :D

If you want a more detailed list of hotel reviews in Singapore, please feel free to access my website: http://www.theshutterwhale.com/hotels/

Happy to help and welcome to Singapore (soon)! ^

Yeah, not exactly the best location when it comes to the IC.

For a first-time trip I would recommend staying somewhere close or on Orchard Road (think of the Marriott or Meritus Mandarin Orchard as good examples location-wise), so the Hyatt would make a great choice here. As would the Hilton even though to go eastwards along Orchard you will always have to navigate the underground passage as the street-level pedestrian crossing is no longer available.

Do any of the hotel chains where you have status give free lounge access? If so this might be a key factor to consider.

As far as food goes I think you can easily skip Geyland and focus on eating more centrally.

IC might be really good if you want to check out the local fare. It's right smack in Bugis - lots of eateries (steamboats, street fare, desserts) that are popular with the locals, 2 shopping malls nearby. Train station is also just a couple minutes walk away.

aster might be right, though, staying along Orchard Road might be the 'safer' choice, albeit more touristy.

Bugis is not tourist central, but there's no way it can be described as "desolate": lots of shopping and restaurants, mostly at the lower end of the price spectrum, plus a handful of interesting temples and the nightlife and general quirkiness of Arab St/Kampong Glam within strolling distance. Transportation has also improved now that you can take the recently opened Downtown MRT line straight to eg. Marina Bay Sands and Chinatown. The IC is also a rather nice albeit not uber-luxurious hotel, search for a recent thread about it.

The other obvious option for Hilton is to stay at the Conrad, in the Marina Bay district. I quite like the hotel itself, but the area is a bit of a hotel ghetto, not an awful lot going on at night for example.

The IC is within walking distance of sights like little India, the Malaysian cultural center, a number of mosques, CHIJMES, the Cathedral, Raffles, etc. From the Hilton and other hotels on Orchard Road, the only stuff that's walkable would be big modern shopping centers.

However, IMO a lot of the advantage of the IC would be their club lounge, so the hotel might not be the best choice or best value if one isn't Royal Ambassador.

The Conrad looks pretty cool, you can see the marina as well, sort of, in some rooms. I was fully expecting it to cost 100K+ HH points / night, but at 60K I wouldn't mind staying there. With HH gold (might even be diamond by the time of my stay), I do get free breakfast as well, and club access, correct? Unlike at the IC, where IHG platinum does nothing.

I would not mind staying at touristy parts of the city, especially not on my first visit ^

Thank you all for the info so far, and thank you markcwj especially for the pictures.

The Conrad is in a very boring area compared to the IC.

Plenty going on around the IC, you have all the Bugis malls and Little India/Arab St within walking distance. It's one of the more dynamic areas of Singapore actually although very local oriented.

Bugis is good for a quick trip and that's it, not really the place to base yourself at imo. Way better to take the Swissotel The Stamford and have a decent mall, food court, supermarket + 3 MRT lines to get you everywhere. Closer to the river too for evenings out, whereas the IC is in the opposite direction.

Plus this is for a first time visit to Singapore, so regardless of all other factors I think Orchard is the best place to make one's initiation here.

Forgot to add... I'm only there for 2.5 days. I'm not too passionate about shopping, but I do love local food and partying at night.

We're all different!

I adore the IC and it's location, particularly being able to walk under cover to the MRT and the new MRT extensions. And also there is so much good food locally. And the IC is an absolutely brilliant hotel.

The problem is of course, I am biased.

I'd be more inclined to stay at the IC if I had club access/breakfast. Does anyone know if it's possible/worth it to pay for breakfast/club access on award stays?