sidii

will be in singapore for 1st time with husband and infant...and hotel wont let us check in before 2pm. we arrive at 1am in the morning?any ideas on where to stay and what to do between 8am and 2pm?

Guenmai

I'm confused...Where are you going to be between 1AM and 8AM? Anyhow, you need to just book the room for the day BEFORE you are to arrive and then it will be available for you upon arrival after midnight when you'll be arriving. Just tell them that you will have a late arrival. I do this all the time as many flights arrive into Singapore after midnight.You can't be out wandering around with an infant all of those hours.Plus, there's nowhere to go in Singapore between those hours. So, for example, if you are to arrive on a Monday at 1AM, then you make the room reservation for Sunday and the room is yours from 2PM Sunday until 12PM Monday. Although you won't be there at 2PM on Sunday for check in, you will have paid for the room and can arrive to it whenever.It sure beats being jetlagged to death at 1AM and with no room. Happy Travels!

sidii

sorry..in order to clear up all confusion...
arriving 1am on monday. to preboook for sunday night will cost me $s400 at oriental when monday check in cost me s$259.
Cannot afford to prebook at that rate.
would like a cheaper hotel to prebook for sunday night so infant can sleep comfortably when we arrive. At about 8am..would like to go sightseeing till time to check in at oriental at 2pm.
help pls.

mjs

Would it not be easier just to find another hotel you can afford so you do not have to change hotels? Singapore has alot of nice hotels.

Guenmai

mjs...I was thinking the same and especially with an infant. Anyhow, the Holiday Inn is nice....the one off of Orchard Road near Cuppage St. Happy Travels!

Elainee

I just went on Expedia and checked every Sunday now thru March and the highest the Singapore Oriental was $160 for that night. I looked at checking in on Sunday and out on Monday since you already had Monday reservations. FYI..Monday should not have been $259. Should be less. Check the rates again..if you are going after March the rates should not be higher unless they have not yet posted rates and are giving you rack rates. We stayed there and it was very good. Very convenient with infant...shopping right under the hotel, nice pool, lovely promanade in front of hotel, excellent service.

Rumrita1

I'm not a Singapore expert, but in researching my own upcoming trip I found good reviews for this hotel at the airport - good for a 1 am arrival.

http://www.airport-hotel.com.sg/

KimJapan

I wouldn't change hotels and I would just book the Sunday night, even if the rate were higher.

Book it on expedia.com if it's there for US $159 like Elaine found. Call or e-mail the MO and ask about the rate and ask about promo rates and packages. Check other websites.

Guenmai

I have stayed at the hotel inside of the airport.I stayed there in August. I vacation in Singapore regularly, but was on my way to Bangkok where I was going to start my vacation and end it in Singapopre.The airport hotel is an In-Transit hotel. I had a 9-hour layover in Singapore so bought a 7-hour block at the hotel. A 6-hour block costs about US$35.00. I slept, got up, had breakfast, and then went to the gate to fly on to Bangkok. Happy Travels!

KimJapan

The transit hotel in SIN is a great deal for those who are in transit. However, you cannot pick up your checked bags, they stay in the baggage area as "unclaimed" luggage. There have been reports that bags can be taken out of that area without any check of baggage tickets/id, so your bags are really not secure there. If you stay at the transit hotel, you must pick up your bags after your stay in the transit hotel. Once you clear immigration and baggage and customs, you can't turn around and get back into the transit hotel area.

So, if you are transiting and your bags are checked through, it's great. But if SIN is your destination and you need a bed for a few hours like this poster wants, I don't think the transit hotel is a good idea unless there are no checked bags involved.

Cicerone

The Oriental is part of a big shopping complex on a promontory on the water sort of off by itself so IMO there is nothing really “near” it. You could try the two other hotels in the complex, the Marina Mandarin, at http://www.marina-mandarin.com.sg/ (not affiliated with the Mandarin Oriental group), or the Pan Pacific at http://singapore.panpacific.com/. The other nearest hotel which would be lower in price than the price you were quoted for Sunday evening at the Oriental might be the Swisshotel Stamford, go to http://singapore-stamford.swissotel.com/. With luggage to transfer the cab ride would take about 5 minutes. There are some other hotels in the area, like the Raffles Hotel, but these are going to be more expensive than the Oriental.

JamesA

Sidii, which month / when are you going?

sidii

thanks for info so far...was actualy considering the transit hotel but now worried about luggage as we will have 5 suitcases between us....hmmm

arriving on the 1st jan at 1am..guess why so expensive!

checked expedia and mostly was exceeded max person in room cos of infant.
anyway...considering the ymca or ywca at present for the one night...cheap and cheerful or so i'm told but not sure how near they are to the oriental!

rkkwan

sidii - In every single post, you worry about cost. Have you considered what mjs suggested early in this thread?

Or do you get to stay at the Oriental for free?

If you really want honest suggestion, tell us what specific day you're talking about, how much you're paying at the Oriental, how many nights you're staying there, and how much do you consider "acceptable" for cost of one night of hotel or taxi/transfer.

You've started several threads and received many suggestions many days. Yet, we've gone nowhere with helping you. We're still stuck at the starting point.

Stop wasting the time of so mnay Fodorites on this board, and give us some specifics.

JamesA

Ok so we are talking about the night od Dec 31st, i.e New year's Eve, that could be why the hotel is that price for that night.
I would not stay in the transit hotel as it is blocks of hours and as someone said your baggage would be down on the baggage belt and could end up in some unclaimed location.

Firstly, any hotel you book for that night ensure that they understand your arrival would be about 2 a.m-2.30, give them your flight details.
Taxi would be about SGD 25-30 including surcharge, maybe a few dollars more.

So,mewhere like the Allson should be in the SGD 180-200 range and that is an established good 3 star plus hotel in Bugis area. Orchard near orchard Road around SGD 215, Traders Hotel around or Novotel Clarke Quay both around SGD 220, Raffles the Plaza SGD 330. Thos all showed available for dec 31st ( night of ) and are available for instant confirmation under Asia Hotel rates on www.asiaoz.com

Traders, Novotel, Allson all fine ok hotels, I would take the plunge and just go for something that 'is' still available so you can relax.

There is Le Meridien Changi Village but as that is abour 20 mins from the airport anyway you might as well just get downtown in one go. Have a good sleep and then head over to the Oriental after lunch.

sidii

james..thanks for that....will check out the site u mentioned and book. allson is probably the closest if i remember the map correctly to oriental.

and for ur info rkkwan..no i am not staying at the oriental for free. I am paying SGD 259 per night plus tax and i think its only sensible to worry about cost of where to stay since we are still flying on to dubai.

the extra night wasnt planned so was not in my budget(and i'm sure people still have budgets when they go on holiday)and i'd rather spend my money on shopping for my daughter.

and if u had read the various threads properely u would have noted that James gave a helpful hint on how to reword the 1st thread to get "good advice" and the 2nd thread is on what to do and see in singapore.

thanks to those who gave helpful suggestions...

sidii out.

rkkwan

sidii -

Yes, you did state you'll arrive early 1/1/07 in the reply preceeding mine. My mistake and I apologize for that.

Now, let me get back to my problem with your posts and rations, and why I said what I said.

First, it's your own mistake for not budgeting hotel for 12/31/06 in the first place. Yes, you definitely need a hotel for that night.

Second, many of us have suggested you don't stay at the Oriental if budget is a concern, and just go with another hotel for the whole stay if you don't want to switch hotels, and you have mentioned more than 2-3 times you don't want to switch.

That's why I ask how much you're paying for the Oriental and how long you're staying there. For example, if you're staying there for 4-5 nights, you can switch to a slightly cheaper hotel and add a night for virtually no cost. That way, no switch, and no waste of time. And no need to go to a YMCA, like you're saying.

And really think about the logistics. You want to go sight seeing on the morning of 1/1. Most hotels will require you to check out by 11am or 12noon. So, basically you have to pack everthing early, move them to Oriental and store them there, then go sightseeing, and come back to properly check-in. Or go sightseeing early, then come back to pack, move to Oriental, which may or may not have a room for you at 12-2p; and you may still have to store luggage and come back later. Seems like lots of trouble with an infant on the morning after arriving late the night before.

That's the reason some of us think you should stay at the same hotel the whole way and not switch. But seems like that's not an option to you for reasons unknown to us, and that's why I wonder if you got to stay at the Oriental for free. Well, maybe your reservations is non-refundable. Only you know.

sidii

welll one of the reasons i am so keen on the oriental (apart from having prepaid and having to think of the hassle of cancelling after the hassle of getting the booking sorted in the first place....dont let me get started on that...)
it got ranked the no 2 hotel to stay at in www.tripadvisor.com and all the reviews seemed to love it... plus other reviews from other sites also gave it the thumbs up.

and yes,my mistake not to think of prebooking the night before but it wasnt necessary for dubai where we also have an early morning check in so i assumed singapore would be the same.

recommendations for a top 5 star hotel for that price anyone for next trip?

KimJapan

Are you saying your hotel in Dubai is letting you check in at 1:00 AM and not charging you for the night? I've never heard of that. What I have heard of and have done on many occasions is arrived at a hotel in the real morning hours, like at 8:00 AM, and checked in, though totally not expecting my room to be ready and not expecting to be able to access it at that early hour....95% of the time, my room has been ready and we have been allowed to use it early as a generous gesture by the hotel. But I really think that is a totally different situation than arriving at 1:00 or 2:00 AM...that's clearly an overnight stay and must be booked and paid for.

For your one night 12/31, if you can't possibly pay for the night at the Oriental, then I'd really advise that you book your whole stay elsewhere instead. The process of checking in, checking out, moving, checking into the Oriental itself will take up a fair bit of time, not to mention you want to sightsee and shop. Honestly, that process of changing hotels will be more hassle than it is worth I think. You will enjoy your holiday more if you spend your energy now reorganizing to another hotel, or just resign yourself to adding the cost of the night, which you should have included in the first place.

There are plenty of places in Asia where rooms in excellent hotels are under US$200.00/night. That is our typical price ceiling, though we do splurge in some places and stay more simply in others to balance it out. Where are you thinking?

mjs

I agree with kimjapan on her thoughts. As to your question about 5 star hotels in your price range elsewhere.......It will probably have to be in Southeast asia as 5 star hotels in Europe, North America, South America and Aus/NZ are much more expensive than the Oriental in Singapore. Consider Bali and Malaysia.