Singapore Hotel ??

[Ashland]

OMG cool it. You just abused a local Singaporean who was only trying to be helpful. This is a classic case of two different cultures not understanding each other due to slight differences in the use of the English language.

 

Singapore has high taxes on alcohol and cigarettes. The people are just so lovely and kind.

Sorry ASing1Cruise that you got flamed. Totally unnecessary.

 

Back to the subject. What do people think of the Marina Mandarin. Thinking of staying there next May. Second, is the Grand Park Orchard a bit far out of the city? Or not.

Just trying to decide whether to stay on Orchard or somewhere near Marina Bay or Raffles place.

Hugh

Thanks for your input about the hotels.:)

 

However your criticism and interpretation on the wording of "my" post and considering it a "flame" is what was unnecessary :eek:

 

Enjoy whatever hotel you decide upon and your time in Singapore.

[travelinjudy]

Back to the subject. What do people think of the Marina Mandarin. Thinking of staying there next May. Second, is the Grand Park Orchard a bit far out of the city? Or not.

Just trying to decide whether to stay on Orchard or somewhere near Marina Bay or Raffles place.

Hugh

 

Hi Hugh,

We have stayed at the Marina Mandarin twice. The hotel is good (not great), the service was fine and the location is wonderful--very convenient to everything--underground tunnels, Sun Tech, and a short walk to Raffels Place. We would probably stay there again.

[Ashland]

Hi Hugh,

We have stayed at the Marina Mandarin twice. The hotel is good (not great), the service was fine and the location is wonderful--very convenient to everything--underground tunnels, Sun Tech, and a short walk to Raffels Place. We would probably stay there again.

Do you mind answering..what was not so "great" about the hotel ?

[The Mommy]

We are booked into the Shangri-La on Sentosa Island post cruise for 2 nights. Our friends stayed in the sister hotel on Orchard Road and said it was superb.

[Ashland]

We are booked into the Shangri-La on Sentosa Island post cruise for 2 nights. Our friends stayed in the sister hotel on Orchard Road and said it was superb.

Thank you so much for taking the time to post your plans and impression of friends on their hotel...

 

My problem is we have to add an extra night due to a very early (12:45am) arrival..so 5 nights total and am finding most of the hotels I prefer are very expensive in Singapore...So hard to justify around $1,000.00..but may have no choice.

 

We're not traveling until early March so hoping I see some price drops between now and then as I don't think (hope I'm right) that I need to book this now.

[ellbon]

I looked at three hotels, Sentosa island- Capella- the Ritz and in the end decided on raffles. the size of the hotel and i could still get around more easily than from Sentosa Island.

 

I would listen to friends first, then trip advisor then here...plus books-

[ASing1Cruise]

if Hotel cost is a greater consideration, check out http://www.travago.com.

You will be able to compare hotels, location and services.

[Ashland]

if Hotel cost is a greater consideration, check out www.travago.com.

You will be able to compare hotels, location and services.

Thank you so much for the advice...however I'm always a little unsure about dealing with 3rd party sites for international hotels..I tend to feel a little safer dealing directly with the hotel..especially when my arrival (checkin) time is going to be so very early in the morning. But I will give this website a look see..Thanks again.

 

Also do you know anything about the Royal Plaza on Scotts Road ? I keep checking this one out and reading reviews.

Edited November 5, 2014 by Ashland

[Northern Miss]

Thank you all so much...great recommendations so far...still doing some checking...Anyone know much about the Park Hotel and the area of Clarke Quay :confused:

 

We have stayed in the Merchant Court Hotel opposite Clarke Quay and have found it very good both price wise and for food. My husband would never eat anything other than westernised food and Merchant Court fitted the bill. Because it is so close to Clarke Quay it's nice walk among the quay where there are restaurants which do serve the type of food you're looking for. We likes Harry's Bar who has inside and outside eating, as many of them do. If you get as far over as Holland Village there is a very good vegetarian restaurant, again with outside seating.

 

Enjoy Singapore, it's my favourite place to visit.

 

Maggs

[Northern Miss]

Sorry, the hotel is the Swissotel Merchant Court.

 

Maggs

[ellie1145]

We stayed at the Holiday Inn Atrium, which we really enjoyed. Very nice room, amazing view, spotlessly clean and a huge and brilliant breakfast buffet plus free Internet in lobby. Staff were very helpful. Within walking distance of the river where you can catch a river boat, and within walking distance of Clark quay with shops and restaurants.

 

It's an iconic hotel built round a huge towering atrium.

 

Taxis are very cheap so not a problem, we were not near an MRT but buses were frequent too. We were surprised at how small Singapore actually is and were agreeably surprised by how cheap it was to get places by taxi.

 

We are pretty plain in our eating, me especially, and I worried about where we'd eat, but this hotel was a short walk from a large mall with lots of food including western, and there was a Waitrose store (not called Waitrose but you'd recognise their food labels) for snacks etc. we also ate in the hotel bar one night, very English type menu, and good value. We had tea and coffee making facilities in our room.

 

You are not alone in being a little unadventurous in your eating! Don't feel bad, it takes all sorts to make a world! ;)

Edited November 5, 2014 by ellie1145

[Ashland]

Sorry, the hotel is the Swissotel Merchant Court.

 

Maggs

Thank you so much for all your info...so helpful.

[Ashland]

We stayed at the Holiday Inn Atrium, which we really enjoyed. Very nice room, amazing view, spotlessly clean and a huge and brilliant breakfast buffet plus free Internet in lobby. Staff were very helpful. Within walking distance of the river where you can catch a river boat, and within walking distance of Clark quay with shops and restaurants.

 

It's an iconic hotel built round a huge towering atrium.

 

Taxis are very cheap so not a problem, we were not near an MRT but buses were frequent too. We were surprised at how small Singapore actually is and were agreeably surprised by how cheap it was to get places by taxi.

 

We are pretty plain in our eating, me especially, and I worried about where we'd eat, but this hotel was a short walk from a large mall with lots of food including western, and there was a Waitrose store (not called Waitrose but you'd recognise their food labels) for snacks etc. we also ate in the hotel bar one night, very English type menu, and good value. We had tea and coffee making facilities in our room.

 

You are not alone in being a little unadventurous in your eating! Don't feel bad, it takes all sorts to make a world! ;)

I appreciate so much you understanding that there's a lot of us that travel that have simple tastes when it comes to food.

 

Enjoyed reading your great advice

 

Thank you so very much.

[emski83]

Booking.com is great. I use it all the time to book hotels

[Ashland]

Booking.com is great. I use it all the time to book hotels

I often use The Last Minute Travel Club when I book hotels here in the US but was concerned about using a 3rd party booking site for Singapore...So you've never had any trouble ?...Because I've read a few negative comments on TripAdvisor with mixups on pricing when checking in using 3rd party websites...So that's my concern about having to disagree with someone at approx 2:00am after a looong flight.:eek:

[ASing1Cruise]

I don't use this website to book hotel. Only to compare location, services, prices.

 

Once you get an idea where it is located and if the services are good enough and prices are within your budget, then you can go directly to the actual hotel website. They may offer you even better deal when you call up.

[wangeling gal]

I often use The Last Minute Travel Club when I book hotels here in the US but was concerned about using a 3rd party booking site for Singapore...So you've never had any trouble ?...Because I've read a few negative comments on TripAdvisor with mixups on pricing when checking in using 3rd party websites...So that's my concern about having to disagree with someone at approx 2:00am after a looong flight.:eek:

 

Hi again Ashland,

 

I can totally understand your reluctance to use a hotel booking site when traveling to a foreign country, I used to be like that too. This year I bit the bullet and used them for my holiday to Bali. I was pleasantly surprised at how well it worked and with the savings I made. I had figured if it was gonna go wrong it would in Bali (my bad). However, I didn't arrive in the middle of the night, and I know Bali fairly well, so if things had gone wrong, I knew where and what I could do. When I next travel to Singapore, I will definitely use them, as I no longer want or need to deal with travel agents, and I like the discounts that can be had.

However they are a good source and way to narrow down which hotel you may want to stay at. You can put in all your requirements (pool, wifi, price range *rating, location, ect) and they will normally give you several to choose from. If you find one that's right for you, you can contact hotel and go from there. With some sights, you can book now, pay when you get there. There are normally reviews as well.

I find 50% of the fun of my holidays is in the planning and chatting with people learning new things about where I going to travel! enjoy :D

Edited November 6, 2014 by wangeling gal

[Ashland]

Check out the Royal Plaza on Scotts, great prices and mini bar is included.

 

ROYAL PLAZA ON SCOTTS

25 Scotts Road

Singapore 228220

Tel: (65) 6737 7966

Fax: (65) 6737 9420

http://www.royalplaza.com.sg

I think we might have a winner...so far this hotel looks great !!

[wotaripper]

"Sorry" you feel that way....I only asked a question...not your opinion of my possible "wasted opportunity" when it comes to food...We will make our own decision once we get there...and no we don't smoke or drink.

 

Check out Wild Honey there are two in Singapore they do breakfasts from all over the world all day every day.

[wangeling gal]

Check out Wild Honey there are two in Singapore they do breakfasts from all over the world all day every day.

 

I checked out their website!! Yum! It looks lovely. Thanks for the recommendation :D

[Iluvcruising2]

If you are staying in a hotel around the Marina Square Mall area, this video would be useful for you. Such hotels include Marina Mandarin, Mandarin Oriental and the Pan Pacific Hotel were connected to this Mall. Also connected was Suntec City Convention Centre.

 

[YOUTUBE]6qqm4kECCeg[/YOUTUBE]

[Iluvcruising2]

Thanks so much for the info.

 

You may think this is a crazy question :eek: but are we going to have trouble finding western style food ?..We're very simple in our taste when it comes to eating :o:)

 

If you feel like having lunch with a view, go to the Salt Bar & Grill which is at the 55th floor of ION Orchard. This restaurant is by Luke Mangan of Australia.

 

Not exactly cheap, but hey, the views were great.

 

Executive Set Lunch.

[YOUTUBE]FtYaEyQ0lMY[/YOUTUBE]

[Trend]

We are at the Ritz is that near the Marina shopping mall

[Mparis184]

I understand there is a Free shuttle on Sentosa Island that will get us all over, sort of a free HOHO bus. This sounds like a great service and a good way to get around the island. Has anyone used this shuttle?

 

Marion

[MrsWaldo]

I've used the shuttle. It's fine for getting around the island.

 

If you are there to see Singapore other than Sentosa then probably not the best choice IMHO…

 

the expats use Sentosa as a weekend getaway location :)