Singapore Hotels & Malaysia Hotels
About Singapore Malaysia

WHERE TO STAY 2

What appeals to you? A big, flashy, internationalist palace or a smaller, homier place? Hyatt, Sheraton, Hilton, and Hotel Intercontinental are just a few of the international chain hotels you will find in Singapore. For the most part, these city hotels are nondescript towers-though the Swissotel Stamford has the distinction of being the tallest hotel in Southeast Asia, with 71 tlour.,. i1 Ivv exceptions stand out. The Shangri-La has gorgeous landscaped grounds and pool area, making it truly a resort inside the city. Meanwhile, Shangri-La's Rasa Sentosa resort and The Beaufort on Sentosa island are out of the way, but have a real "get-away-from-it-all" ambience. In addition, a few hotels offer charming accommodations in historical premises. The most notable is Raff7es, a Southeast Asian classic, and the new Fullerton Hotel, converted from the old general post office building. But you need not pay a fortune for quaint digs. Budget places like Albert Court and Regalis Court offer budget rooms in great locations with old-world charm.

The newest trend is the boutique hotel. Conceived as part of the Urban Restoration Authority's renewal plans, rows of old shophouses and buildings in ethnic areas like Chinatown and Tanjong Pagar have been restored and transformed into small, lovely hotels. Places like Albert Court Hotel, Berjaya Hotel, and the Royal Peacock are beautiful examples of local flavor turned into elegant accommodations. While these places can put you closer to the heart of Singapore, they do have their drawbacks-for one, both the hotels and their rooms are small and, due to building codes and a lack of space, they're unable to provide facilities like swimming pools, Jacuzzis, or fitness centers.
While budget hotels have very limited facilities and interior stylings that never made it much past 1979, YOU can always expect a clean room. What's more, service can sometimes be more personal in smaller hotels, where front desk staff has fewer faces to recognize and is accustomed to helping guests with the sorts of things a business center or concierge would handle in a larger hotel. Par for the course, many of the guests in these places are backpackers, and mostly Western backpackers at that. However, you will see some ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) people staying in these places. One note: The budget accommodations listed here are places decent enough for any standards. While cheaper digs are available, the rooms can be dreary and depressing, musty and old, or downright sleazy.
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