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A Guide to Hotels in Singapore

A Guide to Accommodation in Singapore

Here is a list of the top 10 hotels in Singapore and a guide to the best hotels in various types of accommodation categories. Whether its pampering yourself at a five star hotel or roughing it out and making friends trendy flash-packing hostel, we have the perfect list for you.

While planning your trip, you should be asking yourself:

How long you will actually be staying inside your hotel? Because if you’re not staying for long there is really no point spending a lot of money on hotel accommodation. Use it instead on your shopping and visiting the different attractions. If you’re on a budget you could very well avoid all the mainstream attractions and still get a good feel of Singapore.

And if you’re keen on shopping, are you after the biggest fashion brands or would bargain shopping for goods with a local flavour suffice? This would affect your choice of location too.

Are you keen sweating it out at hawker centres and experiencing true local flavoured food or would eating at hotels be a necessity for you? Do you not mind splurging, and prefer privacy and just want to laze around in your luxurious hotel being pampered my massages and good service?

These are important questions you must ask yourself before choosing your type of accommodation.

Hostels, Backpackers & Flashpackers

Hostels are an absolutely amazing way for young people on a budget to travel. First of all, there are typically large communal areas where you can make friends easily. Travelling alone? Not a problem, you will be making friends in no time, exposing yourself to a wide range of people from different cultures. Its also great for travelers who want to save money to spend on other things.

Because if you’re going to be out all day and just need a place to stay, why not just sleep in a hostel? Of course the drawback is the lack of privacy. But who cares if you just need a roof under your head? Accommodation listed here typically falls under $40 USD per person with most ranging anything from $25 to $40 USD per night.

Some recommendations: Wink Hostel is a fantastic hostel for the new generation flashpackers, priced slightly higher at about $40 USD, outfitted with lots of snazzy features and conveniently smack in the middle of china town. A good stay for those interested in exploring one of Singapore’s oldest enclaves, and isn’t too far from the city either

Bunc Hostel at another popular enclave – Little India, is another recommendation. It is gigantic and well maintained with group activities planned for residents daily. Unlike the other recommendations which are relatively small and cozy, Bunc is massive in size with over 250 beds! Rates are around $30 USD.

Finally, the last recommended place and a true backpacking inn would be “Tree in Lodge“. It is not as flashy and sleek as the other two but its a hostel created by backpackers themselves and where you will get very detailed knowledge from the owners about Singapore. The food to eat, the places to visit, etc you will feel right at home as they guide you. Rates start from $20 USD.

Budget Hotels

For the traveler who wants a decent and inexpensive place to stay in without the lack of privacy, Budget or Value Hotels are a good option. They provide private rooms, safes and a higher standard of security and service. Prices range from $100 to $200 USD.

At the lower end would be the Hotel 81 chain – two to four star hotel with varying locations with rooms starting at about $100 USD. Some of them operate as love hotels, something everyone knows so take note of that. There are many of these hotels in Geylang, famously known as Singapore’s  biggest legal red light district area. But this area is also extremely famous for its local fare, with the “no signboard” in Geylang being one of the best seafood restaurants in the city.

The budget hotels we recommend are 1929 and Kam Leng Hotel. They are both actually boutique budget hotels, just because you don’t pay top dollar doesn’t mean you can’t travel in style. The rooms in Kam Leng is far more spacious and they have the 1950s Singapore vibe to it. Whereas 1929 is sleek and modern but the rooms are tiny.

Boutique Hotels & 4 Star Hotels

Boutique hotels are much smaller versions of 5 star hotels with less facilities but all of them command a much better reputation. I.e nothing shady goes on in these hotels. They usually have a gym and swimming pool but thats about it.

They normally have really cool designs and concepts from rooms that feature lofts and high ceilings to couple bathrooms in the middle of the room. They are popular with locals too for staycations. The ones we recommend are the New Majestic Hotel, Wanderlust, Scarlet Hotel and the Quincy.

5 Star Hotels

For tourists looking to splurge and stay at the absolute best hotels in Singapore, this section is for you.

Popular favourites in the city are The Mandarin Oriental (Not to be confused with Marina Mandarin),  Ritz-Carlton, and the iconic Raffles Hotel. The most talked about though has to be the relatively newly built Marina Bay Sands, home to Singapore’s first casino and featuring a ship perched at its roof with a swimming pool and spectacular viewing area of Singapore.

And lastly, you have all the RWS hotels on Sentosa, our pick would be Hard Rock Hotel which is kinda like a 5 star boutique hotel imo, with one of the best swimming pools in Singapore.

Luxury Hotels

Beyond the 5 star hotels are what you may call the luxury hotels. The two hotels that I know that epitomize this concept the best are both located at Sentosa. First, the exclusive Capella Hotel located on Palawan Beach where you even have a personal attendant assigned to you during your stay as part of the service!

Next, W Singapore located in one of the richest neighbourhoods in Singapore – Sentosa Cove. The W Hotel Chain is one of our all time favourite hotel chains and we couldn’t recommend it more. You must check out the full feature we did at our W Singapore staycation.

Service Apartments

Service apartments typically contain full kitchen facilities and housekeeping services. They are for  visitors on extended stay in Singapore and usually offer discounts depending on the length of your stay.