We arrived in Singapore by plane at about 23h40 and booked an Uber ride to our hotel. On our way from Changi Airport to 85 Beach Garden Hotel, we had a beautiful view over the Marina Bay and the popular buildings marking the skyline: the Marina Bay Sands Hotel (the one with the ship on top), the Gardens by the Bay (with its Supertrees), and the Singapore Flyer (the huge ferris wheel).
They were doing some renovations in the restaurant below the hotel, so we had to take the back entrance. We took the lift to the reception where we got a nice welcome (for the late hour) and some quick explanations about taking the elevator. We got to our tiny room (US$343 for 5 nights), dropped our backpacks and fell asleep. We were so tired we didn’t hear the renovation works on the street (right below our window) that started around 23h every night and drove me crazy during the other nights.
Like I said, our room was tiny (and it wasn’t even the cheapest one in the hotel) and had a small bathroom, although not as small as that miniature shower/toilet in Bangkok. There was a bottle of shampoo when we arrived and two small bottles of water. The room had an airconditioning system without remote, but I could almost operate the wall mounted panel from the bed. There was a television, but no fridge. The WiFi connection was decent.
When we wanted our room cleaned, we had to leave the key at the reception. We would get a new shampoo bottle, another two bottles of water, toiletpaper and fresh towels if they weren’t on the rack. Breakfast was not included.
The location of 85 Beach Garden Hotel in Singapore is great and one of the main reasons, together with the relatively cheap price, we chose this hotel. It’s close to the Bugis MRT station (a 5 minute walk) and not too far from all the must-see places. You can read in our blogpost about what to do in Singapore where we went and how we got there.
The staff was friendly and when we couldn’t get our door unlocked one time, their handyman came immediately and solved the problem with a smile. The lock just needed some oil, but we had already broken a key in Chiang Mai, so didn’t dare force it this time.
Accommodation in Singapore is expensive compared to the rest of Southeast Asia, so we had to do with a small room for double of what we were used to pay during the past three months. We didn’t spend much time in our room however, so it didn’t bother us that much. We chose for location and low price without giving in on cleanliness.