Over the years Singapore has been transformed from a popular tourist destination to a conventioneers' mecca teeming with tour groups and delegates. Lodgings have visibly changed to accommodate this clientele: extensive refurbishment and growth with more varied services has been the trend. With that said, though, luxury still abounds, and there are places where exceptional personal service hasn't completely fallen by the wayside.
Costs rival those in New York or London -- a superior double room in a deluxe hotel can run more than S$400 a night; one with a private bath in a modest hotel, about S$150 a night. Further, during conventions and the peak months of August and December, hotel rooms can be scarce and prices can rise. Still, there are enough discounts and deals that no thrifty visitor should ever have to pay the published price. There are also budget hotels with rates less than S$85 a night, especially in the Geylang area east of City Hall.
For more information on affordable lodgings, contact the Singapore Tourism Board (736-6622 or 800/736-2000; www.stb.com.sg) for its annually updated brochure "Budget Hotels."
If you like shopping and nightlife, then the Orchard and Scotts roads area is for you. If you're attending a convention or simply want an urban landscape with open spaces and river views, Marina Square is the logical choice. If you're doing business in the financial district, a hotel close to Shenton Way is ideal; if your business plans include a trip to the industrial city of Jurong, then a hotel on the Singapore River is best. Regardless of where you stay, it's easy to get around this compact city. Taxis and public transportation, especially the subway, make it possible to travel between areas swiftly, and no hotel is more than a 30-minute cab ride from Changi Airport.
Booking ahead -- particularly for stays in August and December -- will probably save you money and will definitely save you headaches. If, however, you gamble and arrive without reservations, note that the Singapore Hotel Association has two counters at Changi Airport that are staffed by people who can set you up with a room -- often at a discount -- with no booking fee.
Establishments in the highest price ranges offer such amenities as International Direct Dial (IDD) phones with bathroom extensions, TVs with international cable stations, room service, minibars, data ports for modems, no-smoking rooms or floors, in-room safes, and business and fitness centers loaded with the latest equipment. On the flip side, some smaller hotels have a few rooms that lack windows, so be sure to ask for one that has them. This is particularly true of those in converted shophouses -- two-story buildings with shops or small factories on the ground floor and living quarters on shuttered upper floors, an architectural form characteristic of old Singapore. Unless otherwise noted, all rooms have air-conditioning and private baths.
All prices are for a standard double room, excluding 4% tax and 10% service charge.
