A Sample of Singapore Hotels to Explore and Review
As a first-time visitor to Singapore in June 2024 to attend a week-long physics conference at the National University of Singapore (NUS), I had no prior experience on what I should expect in that part of the world for suitable hotel accommodations that would satisfy my academic business travel needs. Even though I’ve had numerous experiences figuring out what is considered a “realistic expectation” for hotels found in places I’ve visited before in the United Kingdom and elsewhere, the best I could do as a rule was to get a large cross-section of data on suitable hotel options available within a workable price range and determine what I should likely get in return concerning cleanliness, safety, and other essential factors before I made any commitments on where to stay.
Of course, given that Singapore is an expensive place to visit overall, a huge factor in my ultimate choices for hotels was the cost per night. That reality was made acutely clear to me later on by my longtime friend Vincent. Having lived in Singapore for well over two decades, he told me over dinner on my first night that every one of the hotels where I chose to stay—regardless of overall quality and price point—would be significantly and proportionally less expensive in Malaysia by comparison.
Among the other considerations I needed to make when sorting out my hotel choices, I was particularly concerned about ease of access to public transportation when I had no idea of what are workable options until after my arrival to Singapore. One thing I did know beforehand was that I was going to stay at the luxury hotel recommended by the conference organizers for the duration of the conference, but choose additional hotels for the days immediately upon my arrival and just before I was to depart for home. In particular, I needed to stay at a good quality airport hotel on the night before my flight home to Canada the next morning.
When all these factors were taken into account, I came to make the following choices for where I chose to stay in Singapore and why so:
Capri by Fraser, China Square
For my first night in Singapore, I stayed at Capri by Fraser, China Square, located at 181 South Bridge Road, Singapore 058743. It’s within walking distance of Chinatown, three metro stations (Chinatown, Telok Ayer, Raffles Place), and the Central Business District. The hotel is also within walking distance of a long waterfront promenade called Boat Quay where numerous restaurants of all popular cuisines are to be found there.
Besides having all the standard amenities to be found in a mid-level luxury hotel in the heart of Singapore, including complimentary WiFi and room service, it also has a rooftop swimming pool and steam room, a car park, laundry and dry-cleaning service options, a foreign currency exchange service, and a meeting space for conferences. As for the room itself, the basic décor is clean, elegant, and understated, as to be found in a typical business-friendly hotel. Finally, the Capri by Fraser, China Square has a dedicated restaurant is called Moss Cross Tokyo, Singapore that features both Japanese and French culinary influences for its guests to enjoy.
Considering its central location that connects with both Singapore’s historical Chinatown area and its modern shopping and nightlife, the Capri by Fraser, China Square is certainly a suitable place to stay for a reasonable amount of time.
Park Avenue Rochester
The hotel where I stayed the longest because of its close proximity to NUS is the Park Avenue Rochester, located at 31 Rochester Drive Park, Singapore 138637. It’s conveniently located within five-minutes’ walking distance from the Buona Vista metro station and surrounded by a growing collection of high-end business buildings with ready access to restaurants and other services that hotel guests would want to utilize. It also offers guests access to a gym, an outdoor swimming pool, laundry and dry-cleaning services, an internet kiosk, and has a small restaurant called CALI with all-day service.
My room, while certainly comfortable with all of my essential needs met in terms of complimentary WiFi access and a large enough desk space for computer work to get done, was a bit plain looking in its décor compared to my first hotel. Nonetheless, that’s a relatively minor detail compared to the obvious benefits of meeting my academic travel needs for the conference I attended, so I have no serious complaints to note about where I stayed.
Hilton Garden Inn Singapore Serangoon
Following the end of the conference, I decided to stay one night in Little India for the experience of being in that district of Singapore in the presence of many Hindu temples and Islamic mosques, and so I chose the Hilton Garden Inn Singapore Serangoon, located at 3 Belilios Road, Singapore 219924 and within a reasonable walking distance from the Little India metro station.
Again, the quality of this hotel is comparable to all of the other hotels where I stayed, which also includes complimentary WiFi, restaurant, fitness centre, business centre, and free parking for guests. In addition, it has an outdoor swimming pool and a set of coin-operated laundry machines located nearby that I utilized for doing my laundry before I returned home. Another major benefit of this hotel is its close proximity to the very popular Mustafa Centre where all types of shopping in Singapore can be done.
Dorsett Changi City Singapore
For my final night in Singapore before I boarded my morning flight home to Canada, I stayed at an airport hotel called the Dorsett Changi City Singapore—formerly the Capri by Fraser Changi City Singapore, at 3 Changi Business Park, Central 1, Singapore 486037. A big reason for my choosing this hotel is because of its close proximity to the Expo metro station, which is only one stop away from Changi Airport.
Once again, this hotel has all of the standard amenities that I found in the other hotels where I stayed, including an outdoor pool and Jacuzzi, and a restaurant called Cosmo where I sampled the supper and dessert menus in place of the buffet breakfast that I had to skip in order to arrive at the airport early enough to meet my flight.
Overall Recommendations When Staying in Singapore
Having given myself a large cross-section of hotel experiences in Singapore from which to compare, what I found is that I had no issues with any of my choices for where to stay. Despite acknowledging that Singapore is an expensive place to visit overall, there are a lot of reasonably priced hotel options to be found. In particular, the fact that the quality of Singapore’s public transportation system is second-to-none in terms of cleanliness, safety, and overall efficiency for getting around easily, the best strategy for travellers to use when booking accommodation is to figure out where exactly they would spend the most of their time and choose a single hotel that meets their comfort level for cost, personal safety, and ease of access to public transportation.
If not for my attending this conference at NUS, with the benefit of hindsight I would have probably chosen to spend all of my time at the Capri by Fraser, China Square, followed by one night at the Dorsett Changi City Singapore to round out my visit before flying back to Canada. If I needed to be more budget conscious, then certainly staying at the Hilton Garden Inn Singapore Serangoon would be a viable option for me. Overall, my basic point is that there are many suitable options for travellers to stay comfortably in Singapore—whether it’s for the first time, or on a regular basis for whatever reasons they may be.
Hi. Please feel free to comment on this article anytime if you like what I've written or have anything constructive to add. Also, please take a moment to check out my "About" page and become a free subscriber to "Scientist World Traveller" if you haven't already done so. Thank you.