We absolutely loved our trips to Singapore. The fusion of futuristic architecture and old heritage shophouses, the constant connection to nature, the delicious food, and the energetic atmosphere make us want to plan another trip right now. But our favorite aspects from a tourism perspective? It’s one of the safest places we’ve ever been, it’s so easy to get around, and there’s a ridiculous amount of excellent places to stay – both neighborhoods and hotels.
Orchard was the first place Mark stayed in Singapore on a work trip back in 2016. It was brimming with families, business travelers, and people shopping in the area’s impressive network of mega-malls. Then together, we spent 2 months living out of a hotel in Katong in 2017 and 2018, which was close to the lab we worked at. We liked Katong, but it was too far out of the touristy neighborhoods for us to recommend for a first visit. During those two months we spent every minute of our downtime exploring Singapore’s top attractions, and figuring out exactly where we’d stay next time.
Hi, we’re Mark and Kristen Morgan. We left our scientific careers in 2018 to become travel writers and photographers, and since then our expert guides have helped millions of travelers take better trips. Read more about us.
Why trust us with your Singapore lodging? We travel the world and book hotels for a living, so we know what to look for. In total, we’ve spent 3 months exploring Singapore far and wide – we know the island city-state very well. As always, every photo in this guide is ours.
After leaving our science jobs and starting this travel business, we returned in October 2022 with our cameras, an action-packed touristy 5-day Singapore itinerary, and a solid mid-range budget. In an ideal world, we would have stayed at one of the city’s most prestigious 5-star hotels like Marina Bay Sands, Raffles or The Fullerton Hotel. Unfortunately, they didn’t quite fall into our mid-range budget! That said, hotel competition is fierce in Singapore, and we realized that mid-range can actually get you a very nice hotel.
Based on what we learned during those first few trips, we decided to book our hotel in Clarke Quay – right on the riverside and importantly next to the MRT. We ended up loving the central location and the lively evenings, but we would stay in a different neighborhood next time (we’ll show you where later). In this guide we cut right to the chase and show you the 7 areas we’d consider staying in Singapore, with pros and cons for each area based on our experiences, and a helpful map at the end. Let’s dive in!
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Our Favorite Hotels
If you’re in a hurry or don’t want to read this full guide, here are our top hotel recommendations for first time visitors to Singapore based on a perfect blend of location, quality, value for money, previous guest reviews and our own experiences. They’re all affordable hotels (relatively speaking for Singapore) that we’d happily book ourselves:
🏨 The Clan Hotel: We’d love to stay at this top rated modern heritage hotel on the edge of Chinatown, close to Marina Bay. It has a superb location between old and new, a tea welcome ceremony and a heritage butler – all for mid-range prices. It’s a real gem.
🏨 Swissotel The Stamford: If our first time in Singapore was going to be about ticking off attractions, we’d book this all-rounder hotel in the Civic District. It has a central location, instant access to City Hall MRT, easy walking distance to most areas, and amazing views without eye-watering prices.
🏨 ParkRoyal Collection Pickering: This “hotel-in-a-garden” looks so cool. It’s got a superb location between the nightlife of Clarke Quay and culture of Chinatown, with surprisingly affordable prices that make it a contender for our number one pick.
🏨 JEN Orchardgateway: There are plenty of 5-star hotels with 4-star prices in the shopping haven of Orchard, but we like this one because it sits immediately above Somerset MRT station and has an infinity pool with direct Marina Bay views.
🏨 Andaz: We really like the look of this affordable luxury hotel. It’s got a popular rooftop bar called Mr. Stork, the world famous Atlas cocktail bar is next door, and the trendy Kampong Glam neighborhood is on the doorstep. Andaz is one of our top hidden gem picks.
They are all excellent options with sky-high guest ratings, but we hope you love to research and learn about a place before you visit like we do – keep reading to see what makes each of Singapore’s popular neighborhoods a good or bad area to stay for your trip.
Here’s a summary of what we’re going to show you:
| Area | Price | Atmosphere | Near |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marina Bay | $$$$ | Modern / sleek | Gardens by the Bay |
| Chinatown | $ – $$$ | Heritage / cool | Maxwell Hawker |
| Orchard | $$ – $$$ | Busy / retail | Mega-malls |
| Sentosa | $$$$ | Tropical / relaxed | Universal Studios |
| Civic District | $$$$ | Historic / grand | National Museum |
| Kampong Glam | $ – $$ | Artsy / vibrant | Haji Lane |
| Clarke Quay | $$-$$$ | Lively / social | Riverside walk |
Marina Bay (Bucket List)
Okay, let’s kick things off with the futuristic, iconic and bucket list area that the majority of first time visitors to Singapore want to book a hotel – Marina Bay. This is the neighborhood we’re always drawn into like a gravitational pull because it’s got the sci-fi skyline and ultra-luxe everything. Hotels, malls, restaurants, attractions – they’re all plush, 5-star, over the top luxury in the best possible way.
Just walking around the area makes us feel like we’re in a giant outdoor 5-star hotel. The Shoppes at Marina Bay is a majestic shopping mall, the Spectra light and water show at night is cool, there’s theater shows and museums, Gardens by the Bay is immense, and the top of Marina Bay Sands has LAVO restaurant, Ce La Vie bar and a SkyDeck – and all have awesome views.
The problem? Hotel prices in this area make our eyes water. Sure, if we were visiting Singapore for the first time and had a massive travel budget, we would 100% book a ritzy hotel in Marina Bay. But there are also a few mid-range hotels that we’d consider if we desperately wanted that coveted bay location but didn’t want to drop SGD 500+ / night. What about cheap, low-budget hotels? There aren’t any here. Trust us, we’ve looked.
With a healthy mid-range budget, ParkRoyal Collection Marina Bay would be our top pick. It was Singapore’s first “garden-in-a-hotel”, which has since become a popular concept. Conrad Marina Bay would be another option, mostly because it’s home to the famous Golden Peony Cantonese restaurant. And finally, Pan Pacific has a sweet-looking skyline lounge and its Edge buffet breakfast is supposed to be amazing. These three are all located in Suntec, just over the Helix Bridge from Marina Bay.
Okay, here’s where it gets fun. Marina Bay Sands with its legendary curving infinity pool is by far the most popular and desirable hotel in Singapore. We’ll admit we regret not booking one night there (despite the fact it would have cost us SGD 600) just to say we’ve done it. We have done the SkyDeck and LAVO, so we’ve soaked up the views but we haven’t done the infinity pool or seen the rooms. That said, it’s always felt horribly busy, as touristy as it gets, and it never had any semblance of an intimate vibe.
The two alternatives we’d consider with a top budget in Marina Bay are The Fullerton Bay Hotel – which is intimate and sophisticated rather than like living in a city (this one has a beautiful lobby), or The Ritz-Carlton Millenia – which has stunning bathrooms with hexagonal windows above the bath directly overlooking the bay. Honestly, the way we’d probably do Marina Bay is to spend one night at Marina Bay Sands or The Fullerton Bay Hotel, then spend our other nights at the Parkroyal Collection with 50% cheaper rates.
Our verdict: If you can afford it, you can’t go wrong with Marina Bay on a first trip to Singapore. It’s high-end, safe, and perfect for families with a higher budget who want manicured and almost artificial surroundings. We love the bougie atmosphere and instant access to Gardens by the Bay, but we don’t love paying tourist prices at restaurants – and for us, it’s not “the real Singapore”.
Pros
✅ Top quality 5-star hotels
✅ Luxury all around
✅ Gardens by the Bay access
✅ Iconic, “the” place to be
Cons
❌ Incredibly expensive
❌ Lacks authenticity
❌ Very touristy
❌ Not central to attractions
Chinatown (Boutique & Foodie)
From artificial to authentic, Chinatown is the complete opposite to Marina Bay. It’s down to earth, real, energetic and perfect for foodies. We love the mix of heritage shophouses and ultra-modern skyscrapers, and the boutiquey accommodations here are all about character rather than manicured sterile hotels. Some lodgings don’t even have windows because they’re inside old heritage buildings.
We’ve spent a lot of time walking around Chinatown, visiting temples like Buddha Tooth Relic, Sri Mariamman, and Thian Hock Keng, eating in famous hawkers like Maxwell Food Centre, Chinatown Complex and our favorite Lau Pa Sat (after 7:00 PM when it’s pedestrian only), taking photos of murals and seeing the shophouse museum called Chinatown Heritage Centre.
We’ve always found Chinatown to be a fun and vibrant place to explore, with tons of quality restaurants spanning the budget range. One thing we haven’t done yet but will next time is take a foodie tour like this one through the hawker centres. And we’d love to have a boozy night out bar-hopping around Ann Siang Hill and Club Street, but it’s very expensive to drink in Singapore.
In terms of where to stay in Chinatown, we would personally stick to the northern parts of the neighborhood. We love the area around Telok Ayer MRT because it’s in the older, more historic area with a bit more of a polished feel. And here’s a hidden gem tip: Telok Ayer MRT is just 5 minutes walk from Marina Bay and 15 minutes walk from Clarke Quay – a superb spot to be based. We’d avoid booking anything too far south on a first visit because it would be too far from any other attraction or neighborhood.
Chinatown has a lot of low-budget hotel options. Our first choice for a cheaper place to stay would be Heritage Collection on Chinatown. It has studio apartment style rooms, and a digital-first mobile check in. Hotel Mono on Mosque Street has an Instagram-friendly black and white theme but isn’t rated as highly. Or there’s Wink at Upper Cross Street, which we wouldn’t book, but it’s a highly rated capsule hotel next to Chinatown MRT that could be great for solo travelers who want hostel prices with hotel privacy.
If we had a mid-range budget for Chinatown, AMOY by Far East Hospitality would be our top pick for sure. It’s a small, intimate, hidden gem with a free mini bar. KeSa House has flexible living and a communal kitchen on Keong Saik Road, which has lots of bars and restaurants, so it would be great for groups or couples who like it lively. QT Singapore would be our hidden gem upper mid-range choice – it’s 5-star, has a great pool, and it’s right on the border between Chinatown and Marina Bay.
And if we wanted to treat ourselves in this neighborhood we would one-million percent book The Clan Hotel, which is perfectly located on top of Telok Ayer MRT. It has a tea ceremony on arrival, a rooftop pool, and we’d love to book a premier room to get a clan keeper (personalized butler). Mondrian Duxton looks like a high-fashion art gallery with a rooftop pool and bar, plus it’s surrounded by Michelin-starred restaurants in Duxton Hill. It has more of a younger artsy crowd and it’s too far south, but we’d definitely stay there if we were prioritizing a quieter stay on a return visit.
Our verdict: We like the idea of Chinatown for a first time trip to Singapore, especially the north side. It’s super authentic, lively and foodie-centric. We think this area works best for families with older kids, couples who like being in the thick of it, or anyone who wants to sample local foods at hawker centres. We love the energy and old shophouses, but it’s not as polished or immaculate as Marina Bay.
Pros
✅ Shophouse/boutique hotels
✅ Authentic, vibrant vibe
✅ Great MRT access
✅ Ultimate foodie base
Cons
❌ Not as polished
❌ Smells and crowds
❌ Loud and bustling
❌ Tourist trap streets
Orchard Road (Affordable Luxury)
We like to think of Orchard as being the “uptown” of Singapore. It’s basically one long road flanked by immense shopping malls both above and below ground, non-stop restaurants and food centres, excellent MRT access, and an obscene amount of 5-star hotels – but at far more affordable price points than Marina Bay or the Civic District.
Back in 2016, Mark’s first taste of Singapore was arriving into Changi, taking a taxi to Orchard and checking into the Royal Plaza on Scotts for a week. It’s officially a 5-star hotel and the nightly price was something like SGD 150. That’s around US $110/night, which you often won’t even get at the cheapest motels in the States. Mark met tons of other people on business trips from all over the world at hotel bars in Orchard, and it had a very international feel.
In truth, compared to proper 5-star hotels that one was more like a 4-star, but there are tons more luxury hotels on Orchard Road that don’t cost an arm and a leg – which is why it’s such a popular neighborhood for first timers. This intense competition is why you can pick up an amazing room for bargain bin prices. And the mega-malls like ION, Paragon, 313@Somerset (especially the maze-like underground sections and food courts) are so much fun to explore.
If we were doing Orchard on a shoestring budget, YOTEL Orchard Road with it’s unique motorized beds that fold up into a couch would be a great option. But our top cheap choice here would definitely be JEN Orchardgateway (by Shangri-La). They run regular deals, have a rooftop pool and a sublime location right above Somerset MRT on the east side of Orchard Road. Finally, we’ll put the Royal Plaza on Scotts into our low-budget category because it’s a 5-star hotel with 3-star prices and Mark remembers a great breakfast carousel.
With a mid-budget we’d be looking to take advantage of some seriously swanky rooms at surprisingly affordable prices. We’d start with Pullman Orchard, which is high-end and high-tech with a pool deck and a perfect location. Next, we’d look at COMO Metropolitan, a wellness themed hotel. And finally, we’d take a look at Pan Pacific Serviced Suites for big rooms with kitchenettes and a top location.
On the higher end of budget (but still way cheaper than Marina Bay) we’d compare prices at four hotels to see which had the best deals for our dates. Pan Pacific Orchard is a unique “vertical jungle hotel” with four themed sky terraces (forest, beach, garden and cloud), and a beach club pool. Artyzen is a lush and green hotel with stylish rooms and a rooftop infinity pool with a transparent base. Grand Hyatt is a proper 5-star hotel with a top location, and the Four Seasons Hotel is an old but gold quieter option 5 minutes walk from the malls.
Our verdict: We’d say Orchard works best for families with younger kids (there’s thousands of places to eat and the malls have kiddie play zones), couples who wants a premium luxury hotel at shockingly affordable rates, or travelers planning to visit the Botanic Gardens and Mandai Wildlife Reserve (zoo, night safari) because they’re closer. We spent a few hours exploring Orchard’s malls during our latest trip to Singapore in 2022 and it was so easy to walk through Fort Canning Park back to our Clarke Quay hotel afterwards.
Pros
✅ Incredible shopping
✅ Affordable luxury hotels
✅ Unbeatable for families
✅ Thousands of food options
Cons
❌ Far from Marina Bay
❌ Tourist prices food/drinks
❌ Not as charming
❌ Lacks residential feel
Sentosa (Resorts)
Let’s talk about a completely different option that will either be exactly what you’re looking for or the last place you’d consider staying – the super touristy resort bubble of Sentosa Island. It’s basically an artificial hub of theme parks, tons of fun attractions, imported sandy beaches, and expensive hotels.
Sentosa is a place you go as a family with energetic kids, or as a couple seeking a true fly and flop holiday. And there are excellent hotels serving exactly those purposes. But we don’t think first timers who want to really see Singapore should stay on Sentosa. It’s too far away from everything else on your bucket list and you’d spend too much time on transport.
We spent a day at Universal Studios and Tanjong Beach Club for Mark’s birthday back in 2017, and it was good fun. But we haven’t stayed on the island yet. Maybe if we wanted a total touristy escape from the city, we’d book one night on Sentosa to avoid dealing with longer transport links back to the likes of Marina Bay or Orchard at the end of the day. Or if we went back when our kids were older we’d consider it.
If we wanted to do Sentosa as cheaply as possible, we’d look at Siloso Beach Resort which is built around trees, has a spring water pool, and is near the beach. We’d also consider the Travelodge Harbourfront at half the price (no “island taxes”), but it would mean a 10-minute walk or going 1 stop on the monorail. There would only be one winner if our goal was to visit Universal Studios – we’d book a bundle package at the immensely popular Resorts World Sentosa to save money on combining a regular hotel stay with park tickets, and packages even include food vouchers as an extra perk.
There are three affordable, resort-style hotels we’d consider booking with a mid-range budget. Village Hotel Sentosa has four themed pool decks, lazy river, adventure pool, and family rooms. The Outpost Hotel is adults only but shares the same pools. And Oasia Resort is wellness focused, with free yoga and meditation. They’re all located close to Imbiah Station cable car, which is super convenient for exploring the island.
If Sentosa was going to be our splurge, we’d love to stay at the private honeymoon favorite called Capella – a colonial building literally inside a rainforest with a three-tiered swimming pool, and every guest gets a personal assistant. The Barracks Hotel Sentosa is a restored 1904 British artillery outpost, it’s a small, “golden age of travel” type accommodation that looks fabulous. Our alternative would be W Sentosa Cove on the southeast coastline with high energy, underwater speakers, a Miami vibe near luxury yachts and the waterfront restaurants of Quayside Isle.
Our verdict: We think Sentosa is perfect for a couples escape resort-style trip and families who plan to visit Universal Studios or the island’s other high-energy attractions with kids. But if you want to see Singapore’s ethnic neighborhoods, eat at hawker centres, and visit temples, we recommend sticking to the other neighborhoods in our guide.
Pros
✅ Amazing for families
✅ Heaps of attractions
✅ Beaches
✅ Luxury resorts
Cons
❌ Very touristy
❌ Not authentic
❌ Not the real Singapore
❌ Expensive hotels
Civic District (Culture & History)
We think the Civic District is one of the most interesting areas of Singapore when it comes to figuring out where to stay. This part of the city has stunning colonial architecture, the most important museums, and the most central location of any place we show you in this guide. And yet, it’s not top of our wishlist to book a hotel.
The reason? We think it lacks soul – especially compared to the likes of Chinatown and Kampong Glam (which we cover next). The Civic District has some of the most luxurious hotels in the city, including the world famous Raffles, but it doesn’t have that same “hustle and bustle of daily life” vibe we got in other areas. That said, if we planned to spend our whole first trip to Singapore exploring non-stop, a hotel near City Hall MRT could be the best place of all to set up base because it’s so central and has two major transit lines.
At the risk of doing the Civic District a disservice, we do want to touch on the positives. This area is home to the National Museum, the National Gallery, Victoria Concert Hall, and Raffles which is on everyone’s bucket list. We love walking through Fort Canning Park (the tree tunnel photo is awesome and Battlebox is one of our favorite hidden gem museums). Funan is also a great shopping mall and Chijmes has some excellent places to eat. It’s just that the area doesn’t have much going on in the evenings.
Honestly, there aren’t many cheap hotels in the Civic District. The only real low-budget option we’d consider would be lyf Funan – a cool, co-living concept inside Funan Mall with communal areas that we think would appeal to digital nomads. Our backup would be Wyndham Hotel, but there’s plenty of better cheap options in different parts of the city.
With a healthier mid-range budget we’d take a closer look at Carlton Hotel (opposite Raffles), and the Capitol Kempinski Hotel which has a salt water pool, and easily connects to City Hall MRT. But our top pick in the upper-mid category would be Swissotel The Stamford – the views from floor 40 up look amazing and it’s right on top of City Hall MRT for instant access to the green and red lines. Oh, and Fairmont shares the same amenities as Swissotel, so we’d check to see which was cheaper.
Our splash the cash options here would be a toss up between two landmark giants. In the red corner would be Raffles, the famous all-suite hotel which includes a Raffles butler for every guest and is the gold standard for luxury. We spent SGD 50 each on Singapore Slings at the Long Bar in 2022, and it was a fun experience. In the blue corner would be The Fullerton Hotel which has a massive sunlit atrium lobby and views over the Singapore River or Marina Bay. We’d pick Raffles if we wanted a peaceful garden escape and The Fullerton if we wanted a livelier atmosphere with a better location for walking to Marina Bay.
Our verdict: We think the Civic District offers a wonderful central location within reasonable walking distance of every other neighborhood in downtown Singapore. It’s quiet, attractive and grand – but we do think it misses that real, authentic, hive of activity you’ll find elsewhere. We usually walk through the Civic District, rather than hanging out there.
Pros
✅ Central, MRT access
✅ Great for families
✅ Luxury hotels
✅ Architecture, museums
Cons
❌ Lacks amenities
❌ No buzz at night
❌ Expensive hotels
❌ Open, exposed to heat
Kampong Glam & Bugis (Hipster & Heritage)
Bugis is kind of a mini-neighborhood on the north side of the Civic District, and Kampong Glam (Malay-Muslim Quarter) is the larger adjoining neighborhood north of Bugis. We’re combining them into one area in our guide because they overlap and are best explored together, but we think they offer totally different types of stay. Honestly, we think these combined areas are a bit of a hidden gem.
In Kampong Glam we love the vibrant, colorful, and creative independent stores, restaurants and bars. We ate delicious Turkish food at Cappadoccia on Bussorah Lane and took tons of graffiti photos along Haji Lane. It’s also home to the stunning golden domed Sultan Mosque. But while we think it’s a great spot for the budget conscious, solo or Instagram traveler, one downside is the lack of nearby MRT access.
Bugis is an area we admittedly haven’t explored as much, but will next time. We did walk through it once to see Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple and Sri Krishinan Temple, but we should have made time to see Bugis Street – one of the city’s largest street markets. It seemed like a fun, high-energy spot with lots of places to eat, high-end hotels and good MRT access. It’s only one stop north from City Hall in the Civic District, but it’s got a lot more “real life” going on around you.
On a tight budget we’d look at The Pod at Beach Road just 2 minutes from Haji Lane, it’s less a hostel and more a boutique capsule experience with queen pods for couples, female-only floors and free coffee. Right in the heart of Kampong Glam we’d definitely consider Heritage Collection on Arab, a digital boutique hotel just steps from the Sultan Mosque. Finally, we’d look on the southwest side of Bugis (not far from Orchard) at V Hotel Bencoolen for a quieter, cheap stay with a pool and MRT access.
If we had a healthier mid-range budget we’d book ParkRoyal on Beach Road near Haji Lane, which has a wellness floor and top ratings for the price point. The Sultan would be our next choice – it’s located within a collection of 10 heritage shophouses (book the “sultan loft” for a two-story colonial villa experience). Finally, we’d happily book Oakwood Bencoolen with a rooftop pool at affordable rates if we wanted to stay in a quieter part of Bugis.
With a bigger budget available for Kampong Glam and Bugis, we’d 100% book Andaz with floor to ceiling windows and a popular rooftop bar right above Bugis MRT. It’s one of our top picks for the city. But if we wanted something less cool and more heritage, we’d book Frasers House with its Peranakan style. Or, for something a bit more intimate and low-key we’d go for Naumi Hotel with it’s rooftop infinity pool and personal butlers for every guest.
Our verdict: We think Kampong Glam and Bugis are excellent areas to stay in Singapore, especially for younger travelers who don’t care about the standard comforts of a traditional hotel. Bugis is lively, authentic, more central and has MRT links whereas Kampong Glam has the charm, indie boutiques, fantastic foodie spots (here’s a top rated 5.5-hour food tour through Chinatown, Little India and Kampong Glam) and high-end bars like Atlas or Mr. Stork. This is the area we will book next time we visit Singapore, we’re super keen to learn more about these neighborhoods.
Pros
✅ Authentic and local feel
✅ Trendy, artsy vibe
✅ Amazing food scene
✅ Vibrant but calm nightlife
Cons
❌ Not as polished
❌ Loud at night
❌ Can be very busy
❌ Many hotels lack comfort
Clarke Quay (Nightlife)
Okay, we’re going to close out our best places to stay in Singapore guide with the area we booked for our 5-day touristy trip in 2022 – the neon-lit, high-energy, nightlife hotspot Clarke Quay. During the 2+ months we spent exploring the city on work our visits between 2016-2018, we really liked walking this picturesque riverside route: Robertson Quay > Clarke Quay > Boat Quay > Merlion > Marina Bay. (If you don’t want to walk it, take this 40 minute river and bay cruise to see it all from the comfort of a Singaporean bumboat.)
We ate at excellent restaurants in Robertson Quay (Bakalaki Greek Taverna was a favorite) and we had a few lively – and expensive! – nights out in Clarke Quay. The area felt very Western and commercial, so we knew it wasn’t going to be the most authentic place to stay. But it was super central, within easy walking distance of Marina Bay, Chinatown and Orchard (through Fort Canning Park), and our hotel had instant Clarke Quay MRT access on the purple line.
The hotel we booked called Paradox was great, and the area was excellent for what we wanted at the time. We’d happily recommend Clarke Quay for a first visit if you want that Western vibe, but we wouldn’t stay there again because it felt less like we were in southeast Asia and more like we were in Europe or Australia. That’s not necessarily a bad thing – we booked a hotel in Clarke Quay for a reason – but it’s a one and done area for us.
If we wanted to stay on the riverside with young kids and a tight budget, we’d book Furama RiverFront because it has a massive play area that looks ideal for toddlers. Or if we were 10 years younger and wanted a cheap, cool, couples hangout type of stay, we’d book M Social or Studio M Hotel for loft living right in Robertson Quay. They have similar ratings, prices and location.
With a mid-range budget we’d be spoiled for choice. There’s the old classic Holiday Inn Express – but this one looks pretty legit, it’s a smart hotel with a glass walled rooftop pool, decent free breakfast and top ratings. Next up we like the look of Grand Copthorne Waterfront which has a 5-star look at 4-star prices. Finally, we’d be happy booking the Park Regis by Prince because it has a great location between the nightlife of Clarke Quay and the culture of Chinatown.
Visiting with a bit more cash in the travel budget would allow us to book the ParkRoyal Collection Pickering. It’s got that famous “hotel-in-a-garden” vibe and infinity pool close to Clarke Quay and Chinatown for best of both worlds. Paradox is where we stayed and we certainly didn’t pay top dollar, it’s good value with a massive pool on top of the MRT. But to be honest the main challenger to ParkRoyal here would be InterContinental Robertson Quay for 5-star luxury away from the tourist noise.
Our verdict: We enjoyed our stay in Clarke Quay and think it works best for social travelers or groups of friends. The nightlife is unmatched in Singapore and there’s heaps of great foodie spots all along the riverfront. It’s also an easy walk to most of downtown Singapore’s other neighborhoods, so it ticks a lot of boxes. It’s just whether or not you want to stay in a totally Western part of the city.
Pros
✅ Top nightlife spot
✅ Western comforts
✅ Amazing mid-range value
✅ Pedestrian friendly
Cons
❌ Loud at night
❌ Not authentic Singapore
❌ Tourist prices food/drinks
❌ Robertson Quay lacks MRT
Singapore Neighborhoods Map
Map key:
- Green – Cheap hotels
- Red – Mid range hotels
- Blue – Luxury hotels
How to use this map: Click the map above to activate, then tap any hotel icon to see more information and book (hotel link in description). See a list of all hotels and arrondissements by clicking the arrow icon in the top left, or see a full version of the map by clicking the “view larger map” icon in the top right.
How to save this map: Click the small star next to the map title – this will add the map to your Google account. Open your Google Maps app, tap “saved”, then tap “maps” and open this map.
Where To Avoid Staying
Changi Airport: Unless you’re only visiting for a quick 24-48 hour work trip or conference, don’t book a hotel near the airport or expo center. No matter how cheap the hotels are, you’ll spend the whole trip in a taxi or riding the MRT if you want to actually see any of Singapore.
CBD: Don’t book a hotel around Raffles Place or Shenton Way near Lau Pa Sat hawker if you’ll be in Singapore over the weekend. These are the skyscraper-heavy business areas that are basically devoid of life between Friday evening and Monday morning.
Outer Areas: Honestly, we straight up wouldn’t book a hotel in any other area than the seven we’ve covered in this guide. We spent 2 months living out of a hotel in Katong, but despite enjoying the area for food and being well off the beaten path, it’s not the right place for a first trip. We spent a lot of time in taxi’s and MRT’s.
Vibe: For us, Singapore’s neighborhoods are easy to distinguish based on vibe. Orchard is busy, touristy and filled with malls – if that doesn’t sound like you don’t book a hotel there. Marina Bay is artificial, over the top 5-star everything and not authentic – not your cup of tea, book somewhere else.
Our Top Tips
MRT: The best tip we can give you about booking a hotel in Singapore based on our 3 months exploring the city is to pick one within a 5 minute walk of an MRT station. The humidity and monsoon rains are a killer, so a long 15 minute walk to the closest MRT just doesn’t cut it. We’ve been to most major cities with underground trains – Singapore has the cleanest, safest and most comfortable we’ve ever experienced.
Seasonality: Singapore doesn’t have a typical winter off season and summer peak season. Instead consider events like F1 in September, Chinese New Year in January or February, and the monsoon season from November to January. We’d avoid F1 and Chinese New Year totally. During monsoon season we’d prioritize booking a hotel with direct underground access to an MRT station.
High floor vs low floor: Singapore is a busy 24 hour city with lots of noise. The first month we stayed at Hotel Indigo in Katong we had a low floor near an elevator, and the second month we had a high floor far from an elevator. What a difference it made. And this was Katong, so in Chinatown, Kampong Glam or especially Clarke Quay, we would be requesting a high floor nowhere near an elevator.
Weekends vs weekdays: Hotels in the CBD around Raffles Place are cheaper on weekends when business travelers have left. The area would be dead, but you could pick up a 5-star hotel for lower nightly rates. On the flip side, resort areas like Marina Bay and Sentosa are significantly more expensive on weekends when locals do staycations and visitors from nearby countries take weekend trips.
Laundry: Here’s a great tip from our experiences – for some reason, laundry services are astronomically priced in Singapore. On our business trips at Hotel Indigo, they were charging something like SGD 10 per shirt. So we took our laundry to a nearby self-service coin laundry in the Holiday Inn next door! If you’re staying for a week or more, save money at a walk-in laundry spot.
Move hotels: Next time we visit Singapore, we will 100% stay in more than one hotel. We’ll do Marina Bay Sands for a night, either The Fullerton or Raffles for a night, then we’ll book Andaz in Kampong Glam for a 5-star experience at 4-star prices. The point is, you can do the ultra-luxe stay for a night, then book a more affordable place for the rest of your trip.
And finally, we travel for a living so take a look at our guide on what we do to book cheaper hotels and grab yourself a cheaper stay in Singapore.
Next Steps
We hope our neighborhoods guide helps you figure out where to stay in Singapore.
If you’d like more personalized help, we offer expert travel planning consultations where we answer any questions you have, help you avoid tourist traps and find you the perfect hotel. Book a 1-on-1 call.
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- Don’t miss these top Singapore attractions
Happy travels,
Mark and Kristen
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Mark and Kristen spent 6 years traveling the world, visiting over 40 countries across 4 continents and more than 30 US states. They created Where Are Those Morgans in 2018 to help others plan the best possible vacations by writing authentic travel and hiking guides based on their real experiences.
Since the arrival of baby Maya in late 2024, Mark and Kristen’s extensive travels have slowed down but they still take plenty of trips. Where Are Those Morgans now helps millions of travelers each year to visit new places and hike new trails through information-packed blog posts and expert travel guidebooks. Read more about Mark and Kristen.