Singapore Travel Answers

Close - how close is close enough for you? There are no hotels where you can walk off the ship, roll your baggage behind you and walk right up to the check-in counter. If you are thinking of Swissotel The Stamford, that is quite a comfortable hotel, good enough for Qantas crew. However within shouting distance there is a cluster of some first class hotels as well, and within walking distance another cluster of first class hotels in Marina Bay. You would be doing yourself a disservice if you did not check a map for the World Trade Centre aka HarbourFront aka Singapore Cruise Centre (where the cruise ships dock), and Swissotel The Stamford, just to see the distances involved, and what lies around your hotel. These two points are about less than 8km / 10 minutes taxi ride apart. And so are all the other first class hotels within a 2 km radius.

Thanx very much for your help. Guess The Stamford is in a good spot then. Not too far away? :o) Thank you again. Cheers, Ann :o)

Your P&O Cruise should be docking in Singapore Cruise Centre (http://www.singaporecruise.com/), very very near HarbourFront Centre. The nearest Hotels are actually those in Sentosa, namely "The Sentosa" (formally known as Beaufort), and Shangri-La Rasa Sentosa Resort, both 5-stars hotels in Sentosa Island, a tourist beach destination. But if you are planning to do a lot of shopping, especially in Orchard, then staying at these 2 hotels may not be that good an idea. Swissotel the Stamford is about 15 minutes away from SCC by taxi and is in an excellent location, being literally above City Hall MRT Interchange. This makes going to various parts of Singapore really easy. Housed within Raffles City, it also has a rather large shopping centre (with supermarket, boutiques, lifestyle stores, electronics stores, restaurants, and a foodcourt) attached to it to keep you busy without really stepping out of the hotel. Just my 2 cents.... :-)

Wow!! Thanx Ray :o) I actually looked at Sentosa a while back and thought it would be a wonderful place for a stopover to relax on the way back from Europe. But that's a different story :o) Looks like the SwissHotel is definately a good choice. Probably catch a taxi :o) Thanx everyone again for your help. Cheers, Ann :o)

Actually Ray, think I've changed my mind. Us girls are allowed to do that you know hehee ;o) That resort in Sentosa does look more kid friendly. I was just thinking about all the shopping my eldest daughter and I are going to do lol :o) Thanx again. Cheers, Ann :o)

Hi Ann! Just in case you need them, the following are the Sentosa hotels' websites: 1. The Sentosa Spa & Resort http://www.thesentosa.com/ 2. Shangri-La Rasa Sentosa shangri-la.com/singapore/ras... The Sentosa in particular boast a very well known (but expensive) spa, Spa Botanical (spabotanica.com/home/index.h.... They also have some very nice but rather expensive treatments. I tried the flower ritual before and it was a super duper experience. :-) Just my 2 cents.... :-)

Well your 2 cents is definately worth it Ray!! Perhaps we should plan a vt meet in Singapore so I can shout you a beer or something for all your help :o) That Spabotanical sounds awesome!! Have you got a tip on it on your pages? I've been using the Do It Yourself Guides on vt to plan my holiday.

Hi Ann! For Singapore, since it is my home country, I prefer to answer questions in forums rather than just providing static tips. Thus, I do not have any tips listed for Spa Botanical. The spa is definitely of very high standards and my only complaint is that it is expensive by any standards. If you enjoy spa treatments, you will find it money well spent though. ;-) When are you planning to be in Singapore by the way? :-)

Oh cool Ray. Yes I noticed you didn't have it up on your pages. But you are very helpful :o) We are planning our cruise for the last week in April 2006. Will have 2 days in Singapore prior to that - 20 and 21st April.

Hi there Ann, Noted that you wanted to take a look at the spa botanical. Well, i spent a really decadent weekend there with the gals and we booked an entire villa that came with a private pool. No points for guessing whether we skinny dipped,lol. Whatever it is, i did take a couple of pix and did a write up. The hotel is great and so's the breakfast buffet there. Besides the villa, they have double and single rooms. Contacts details are in my webpage. Cheers, b

> No points for guessing whether we skinny dipped,lol. Woah! Too much information Glen. :-P

Hey thanx Glen :o) Well guess what? They've canned (stopped) all the cruises with that particular boat, so we're now busy looking at Star Cruises. I've just brought the brocure home and am looking at the cruise that goes to Ho Chi Minh or the one that goes to Saigon. Just notice all your wonderful pages....going to have a look :o) Cheers, Ann.

Ooops!!!! :p G

Just noticed on you page that Ho Chi Minh City is in Saigon haha....shows you what a blonde dummy I am ;o) Really enjoying your tips anyway. I think I might like this place more than Bangkok :o)

Thanks for checking out my HCMC page, Ann:) Yup, you might like it a lot there. They have really great food and fantastic shopping. Ooh, I can't remember how many handbags I bought over there now;p Having said that, I do prefer hcmc to bangkok but then again maybe it's because they have better coffee. Let me know if you have any queries about that place. Cheerios, b

Thank so much. Oh yeh, I liked the coffee tip too :o)

I stayed at the Swissotel the Stamford recently, and my 12th floor room was a huge letdown. It was nice and clean, but I didn't have a harbor view. For its price, I was a bit disappointed. Points for its central location, though. It's connected to the MRT, the Raffles City Shopping Mall is connected to it, and the CityLink Mall connects it to Suntec City, the Marina and the Esplanade. My Singapore office is at the HarbourFront, and cab fare costs about SGD6.00-7.50 (depending on whether the driver knows about the re-routing and the new entrance/exit points of the hotel). It's about 10-15 minutes away.

Thanks Kim and welcome to vt :o) Do you live in Boracay? I have a couple of lovely vt friends that live there. One day I'm going to visit!! We'll probably stay at the Carlton now as I have got a bit of a deal - stay 4 nights, pay 3.

Carlton is a wonderful hotel. Best 4-star hotel in Singapore in my opinion. A lot of time, Singapore's food leaves a deep impression on our visitors, and so do check out the open air food centre to the right of Allson Hotel across Victoria Street where you can try out some really good and authentic hawker fare such as frog leg's porridge, chicken rice, claypot rice, fried kway teow, etc.... The food at Carlton Hotel's award winning Wah Lok Cantonese Restaurant is also very good as well. At the ground floor of the hotel, there is a new Noogee (Noodles + Congee.... not the nicest name in the world) Restaurant which serves good and relatively cheap dim sums for lunch. If you need to have a drink, check out Chijmes, right opposite across Bras Basah Road or Raffles Hotel, also opposite another side of the hotel across North Bridge Road. If you need a map to orientate yourself, check out: streetdirectory.com/singapor... Just my 2 cents.... :-)

WOW Ray!! Thank you very much!! I've saved the map and I've saved this forum. ...and that 3 beer I owe you when we get there!! :o)

Hi, Think I'm in a similar boat to you & believe it or not, looks like the we might be on the same cruise, 22/04/06 Eastern Sunsets. I have been browsing for a 3night stopover after the cruise. Have been looking @ the York & the Allson hotels which seem mid range. Anyone who can help ?. Have just joined VT & still finding my way

Hi Yogadee, what are your options for the hotel? Currently, I will lean towards Allson more than York, and it should be cheaper too. Personally, I don't really like York Hotel's Mount Elizebeth location, but it is within the Orchard Shopping Area. York Hotel's service staff is a mixed bag. I was both at the end of very good and very bad service (worse, the manager's attitude was nonchalent). Just my 2 cents.... :-)