Another Hotel Advice Question, but with a Qualifier.
 

We arrive in SIN at 4:30pm (1630) on a weekday, and depart the following morning at 0830. We'll have already spent 2.5. days in town the week before, at the Intercontinental 80 Middle Road near Bugis Junction.

After 2 days of touring the week before, I wouldn't mind staying in another neighborhood where we can spend a last evening before heading out the next morning.

We need a hotel for a night. I don't want to stay at the airport, but don't want to go to Sentosa either. I'm open to a suggestion as to what neighborhood will be 'fun', and have nice restaurants for our last dinner in town.

Some choices:
Colonial District
Chinatown - Financial District
Geyland
Little India
Novena

I suppose I could just stay at the airport since I'll have to pay for a taxi to and from no matter what. :D


Thoughts.

Thanks.

Colonial District - you should have spent some parts of your first 2 days exploring part of the colonial district. (I am not sure where exactly is the colonial district, and no one uses this term in SG, but I'm guessing it's the area around the Padang, Fullerton, Esplanade).

Chinatown - Financial District - Skip the financial district. It's boring.

Geyland - Plausible option to spend some time in the Joo Chiat district. The Indigo offers a good vantage point across the shophouses and it's just interesting walking through the area, with several good restaurants.

Little India - Good if you want Indian food and Mustafa. Consider the Wanderlust or the Vagabond Hotel.

Novena - Mainly residential. Skip.

Two options:

A hotel at Changi Village which will give you access to famous hawker center, Pulau Ubin, boardwalk and coastal park.

A hotel at Joo Chiat with shophouses, hawker centers and vietnamese food nearby. Eas Coast Park is 30min walk away.

Both places are 10min drive via taxi from the airport. Changi village hotel would be more expensive.

Early in the morning, parts of central Singapore are just twenty minutes from the airport by taxi. I'm thinking especially of the area around Raffles, the Farimont, the Conrad, etc. but from Orchard Road, there's an expressway that avoids downtown and doesn't take much more time.

Perak Hotel on the edge of Little India. Boutique mid priced.

I stay in the Novena area because the IBIS is inexpensive. A relatively long way from everything though to the airport is not a big difference. OTOH there is a nearby food court with a good reputation. Better opinion on that in a few weeks.

Happy wandering
Fred

I was leaning towards Little India. After a little more research, we're staying at the Holiday Inn Express Katong. It's a little closer to the airport, which will be good for our departing 0830 flight. The Katong neighborhood seems to offer an old style Singapore experience.

Thank all for your help. Much appreciated. ^

The Holiday Inn Express is right next to the Indigo. Right opposite is the Joo Chiat neighbourhood with lots of eateries. If you walk to Koon Seng Road (ask reception for directions), you will find a row of shophouses decorated Peranakan style. http://www.visitsingapore.com/see-do...ochiat-katong/

There is a really nice ice creamery opposite the hotel (along East Coast Road) called Birds of Paradise. Very good ice cream.

I’d have liked to catch up with you in Novena near my place ;)

Another option is the Four Points which is across the river from all the great restaurants at Quayside/Robertson Quay.

Just got back. This area is a short 15 - 20 minute ride to/from the airport. If you're in a taxi at 5:00am (0500), there's a steep surcharge. We paid approximately S$17, or USD ~$13.00. If I recall, the regular meter price was under S$10. It was cheap enough.

The neighborhood was perfect. Plenty of shops and restaurants, plus a mall to spend a last night in town. East Coast Road runs just a few blocks.

The Holiday Inn Express is a cute little hotel. It's not like anything in the US. It's small, and 100% functional. The glass bathroom door doubled as the shower door, and it was a fairly large spacious walk in shower. People love this place on Trip Advisor. It was a good hotel to spend the night, but a major letdown after the Grand Hyatt in Bali. :p No surprise there.

I spent a night at the Hotel Indigo in Geylang last week. I'd go back, cute rooms.