I read an article in The Daily Telegraph (UK edition, not the Australian one) from Wednesday 5 Augutst 2015, entitled A Perfect Stay Rooms that reveal more of Singapore - I wanted to see if they featured any new hotels. Everybody has heard of Raffles Hotel near the MRT. Another group of grand hotels is overlooking the Marina. More are on Sentosa Island. If you walk into the lobbies of the grand hotels on the Marina you can enjoy looking up the atriums. If you are willing to pay high prices for a drink or a fun meal out you can enjoy the lobby, restaurant, bar and toilets for an hour or more, get a selfie, entertain a friend, even kill time in elegant surroundings before catching the plane home or onwards.
But what about the price of an overnight stay? I already knew the Ritz-Carlton Millenia with its octagonal windows. I gave a broadcast from there to London on my birthday and talked about Ritz and the octagonal windows, eight being a lucky number in Chinese (four unlucky). After the broadcast the PR had organised somebody to wheel in a trolley bearing a birthday cake.
In the Ritz-Carlton bedroom I was shown you could sit in your bath and look down on the street below (hoping nobody looked up with binoculars or binocular vision and could see you. Of course the Japanese would shower before getting into the bath. You could do the same wearing a bikini in the bath.
But what is the quoted price of this bedroom view? Double rooms from £240. I looked at the prices in the article and they quoted costs ranging from the lease expensive, £170 for the Westin, one of a group of three grand and great (in size) hotels with huge lobbies surrounded by bars and walkways, shops and accessible two way or discreet one way doors to shopping centres, and restaurants all with different menus, cuisines, opening times and prices.
The dearest on their list was the Capella Singapore, £350, on Sentosa island, with a three-tiered 'cascading pool'.
I don't know about your prices, I'm a Telegraph reader, but I have a mental ceiling of £100 a night for a top hotel, £50-75 for a budget hotel, £25-50 for an odd night when I'm feeling poor.
If you have a high budget and are looking for a long stay, just research views and location of each hotel and look for the best room.
If you are splurging for a special occasion, let the hotel know. You might want to keep this a secret on the grounds that you are likely to be charged higher prices for a wedding, or persuaded to order bottles of hotel price champagne for a celebration. (Expect that the hotel will include a dinky congratulations card from the hotel which may make you feel special - is that worth the extra money?)
If you are a frequent traveller it's worthwhile checking your airlines' offers or stopover deals, or checking that your credit card is accepted by the hotel and will buy you other goodies. Or join the hotel's own loyalty scheme. Or get an upgrade to club floor, with a lounge offering free cocktails. Some hotels charge a lot. But if you are getting free cocktails and can entertain a fried their every day of the week, or sit enjoying the view in company (if no friends - just watching others coming and going, or chatting to other solo guests), instead of 'alone in your room', it may be well worth the extra cost.
If one partner is out all day on expenses, but expects the other to be waiting dressed and ready to go out to dinner in the evening, whenever the meeting finishes, which could be 5 pm, or 10 pm, nobody knows, you need a bedroom with a delightful view. There you can sit at a desk and write or relax or watch the view, watch TV and listen to music. I remember sitting in a suite in a hotel in Shanghai watching the traffic below.
The suite hotel was cheaper than the five star hotel suites or even rooms. The suite hotel suite gave us more space. We could save and eat leftovers so we weren't tempted to over-eat at mealtimes. We could keep half-drunk bottles of wine for the next day instead of being tempted to consume more than our two/three units a day UK recommended limit. We could add healthy fresh fruit in a fridge, and snack all day or at odd times.
If you dream of going to a particular hotel but are on a budget, and want to save up for a birthday or anniversary, it may be worthwhile telling them your birthday. Some restaurants will send you a birthday offer, free meal for one if you bring a group, free wine for a table of six. Find out if they have any offers.
Another option is the off season deal. Rainy season can change prices. Do you want to risk being stuck in a hotel with the view obscured by mist and cloud? Or are you happy to spend all day in the marble bathroom with champagne?
Late booking sites are one opportunity. If you are retired and free to travel any time, you could just grab an offer when it comes up and enjoy the view of your dreams.
If you are flying towards Singapore, pick up the UK and Australian editions of newspapers, plus of course the Singaporean newspapers, and the airline magazines, to scan them for deals. If you note down a couple of hotels which are your favourites, you can keep a regular watch for deals on the internet.
Then plan your day's, week's, weekend's or month's or year's stay, so that you can take advantage of special offers, or book up for a wedding, anniversary or birthday, or simple to treat yourself when in a group, couple, single or simply solo.
telegraph.co.uk/ritzmillenia
telegraph.co.uk/capella
lateluxury.com
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/travel/travel-news/despite-a-falling-australian-dollar-there-are-still-plenty-of-places-you-can-get-luxury-on-a-backpacker-budget/story-fnjjv9zk-1227272399132
Angela Lansbury, B A Honours, travel writer, photographer, speaker.
But what about the price of an overnight stay? I already knew the Ritz-Carlton Millenia with its octagonal windows. I gave a broadcast from there to London on my birthday and talked about Ritz and the octagonal windows, eight being a lucky number in Chinese (four unlucky). After the broadcast the PR had organised somebody to wheel in a trolley bearing a birthday cake.
In the Ritz-Carlton bedroom I was shown you could sit in your bath and look down on the street below (hoping nobody looked up with binoculars or binocular vision and could see you. Of course the Japanese would shower before getting into the bath. You could do the same wearing a bikini in the bath.
But what is the quoted price of this bedroom view? Double rooms from £240. I looked at the prices in the article and they quoted costs ranging from the lease expensive, £170 for the Westin, one of a group of three grand and great (in size) hotels with huge lobbies surrounded by bars and walkways, shops and accessible two way or discreet one way doors to shopping centres, and restaurants all with different menus, cuisines, opening times and prices.
The dearest on their list was the Capella Singapore, £350, on Sentosa island, with a three-tiered 'cascading pool'.
I don't know about your prices, I'm a Telegraph reader, but I have a mental ceiling of £100 a night for a top hotel, £50-75 for a budget hotel, £25-50 for an odd night when I'm feeling poor.
If you have a high budget and are looking for a long stay, just research views and location of each hotel and look for the best room.
If you are splurging for a special occasion, let the hotel know. You might want to keep this a secret on the grounds that you are likely to be charged higher prices for a wedding, or persuaded to order bottles of hotel price champagne for a celebration. (Expect that the hotel will include a dinky congratulations card from the hotel which may make you feel special - is that worth the extra money?)
If you are a frequent traveller it's worthwhile checking your airlines' offers or stopover deals, or checking that your credit card is accepted by the hotel and will buy you other goodies. Or join the hotel's own loyalty scheme. Or get an upgrade to club floor, with a lounge offering free cocktails. Some hotels charge a lot. But if you are getting free cocktails and can entertain a fried their every day of the week, or sit enjoying the view in company (if no friends - just watching others coming and going, or chatting to other solo guests), instead of 'alone in your room', it may be well worth the extra cost.
If one partner is out all day on expenses, but expects the other to be waiting dressed and ready to go out to dinner in the evening, whenever the meeting finishes, which could be 5 pm, or 10 pm, nobody knows, you need a bedroom with a delightful view. There you can sit at a desk and write or relax or watch the view, watch TV and listen to music. I remember sitting in a suite in a hotel in Shanghai watching the traffic below.
The suite hotel was cheaper than the five star hotel suites or even rooms. The suite hotel suite gave us more space. We could save and eat leftovers so we weren't tempted to over-eat at mealtimes. We could keep half-drunk bottles of wine for the next day instead of being tempted to consume more than our two/three units a day UK recommended limit. We could add healthy fresh fruit in a fridge, and snack all day or at odd times.
If you dream of going to a particular hotel but are on a budget, and want to save up for a birthday or anniversary, it may be worthwhile telling them your birthday. Some restaurants will send you a birthday offer, free meal for one if you bring a group, free wine for a table of six. Find out if they have any offers.
Another option is the off season deal. Rainy season can change prices. Do you want to risk being stuck in a hotel with the view obscured by mist and cloud? Or are you happy to spend all day in the marble bathroom with champagne?
Late booking sites are one opportunity. If you are retired and free to travel any time, you could just grab an offer when it comes up and enjoy the view of your dreams.
If you are flying towards Singapore, pick up the UK and Australian editions of newspapers, plus of course the Singaporean newspapers, and the airline magazines, to scan them for deals. If you note down a couple of hotels which are your favourites, you can keep a regular watch for deals on the internet.
Then plan your day's, week's, weekend's or month's or year's stay, so that you can take advantage of special offers, or book up for a wedding, anniversary or birthday, or simple to treat yourself when in a group, couple, single or simply solo.
telegraph.co.uk/ritzmillenia
telegraph.co.uk/capella
lateluxury.com
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/travel/travel-news/despite-a-falling-australian-dollar-there-are-still-plenty-of-places-you-can-get-luxury-on-a-backpacker-budget/story-fnjjv9zk-1227272399132
Angela Lansbury, B A Honours, travel writer, photographer, speaker.
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