Singapore - hotel suggestions and ideas of things to do

[Eminado]

Posting here for traffic.

Due to a last minute change of plans we have the chance to spend 4 nights in Singapore. Please advise me on what is good to do, where is nice to stay, with 2 kids in their own beds, not in ours ;-)

We don't get out much! Kids are 5 and 2.

Any suggestions for cool things for the daytime as a family and nice bars / adult only things to do as we may have 1 night potentially child free thanks to a very kind friend.

Thank you!

Ooh I love Singapore! DH lived and worked there for three years, ended last year and we had many trips there for holidays. I can thoroughly recommend Marina Bay Sands if the budget stretches that far. We had an apartment but still treated ourselves to a night there for the infinity pool mainly!,
Sentosa might go down well with children of that age. The Night Safari, Zoo, Flyer and Gardens by the Bay are all fabulous. The Botanical Gardens are beautiful. The ArtScience Museum is brilliant for young children too. You are going to have a brilliant time!

We went this year and loved it.

Hotels - depends on budget.

If you can manage at least one night in marina bay sands I would do it. We didn't but regretted it. We did go up in the lift though.

We stayed at Hotel Mi on Bencoolen. Fairly average mid-range hotel with a little pool but a good location and a free mobile to use while out and about! Maybe that was more of a bonus to my 16yo than it would be to your kids

We had one night at the YMCA at One Orchard when we first arrived. It was basic but cheap with a surprisingly good rooftop pool for a hostel.

I'd recommend Gardens by the bay and the light show.

Have fun!

Singapore Flyer, Botanical Gardens (gorgeous), Sentosa, Chinatown, Little India. The zoo is also good (apologies if you have ethical objections).

I found Singapore a bit sterile for my taste, but the above were all good.

For your night, I'd suggest the last part of it is the Night Safari..you can walk the trails and, highlight of my life to date is that I can now boast of seeing a sloth move !!! Ok, only one limb, and vair,vair,vair slowly, but...it MOVED

I loved Singapore - the one place I felt totally safe alone. children are treated with great kindness. And the Hawker Stall foods are just wonderful. Cabs incredibly cheap, plentiful and drivers who speak English.

What is your budget? Lots of choice but some seriously lovely hotels at higher end if you can afford. So much to do there.

Oh wow!!!! Thank you so much all i really appreciate all this info!!!

I am getting MAJORLY excited now!

Drinks at top of Marina Bay Sands always worth it. Go before sunset to see the change in view (not the sunset but nice to see the difference as night falls).

Paddle board at Sentosa. Lovely French lady rents boards. Water very calm.

Long Bar at Raffles Hotel. Throwing peanut shells on the floor and drinking Singapore Slings.

Obviously on your child free night though. 😄

Hotel -Marriott Tang just off Orchard.. get a pool room if you can....superb and great for kids. Underground station beneath building.. so convenient for everything...totally recommend the Zoo, hawker stalks, marina sands light show in evening, light show just before it at the gardens by the bay....awesome....aquarium at Sentosa, walks at the Henderson wave, I could go on but you only have four days. My favourite place ever and super for kids.

Oh yes, as other pp said, though public transport is excellent, taking a cab is v cheap, safe and friendly. Most drivers will have good English. Download the ComfortDelGro app. Dead easy. Also, posh dining in so many restaurants in the Marina Bay area but you really have to eat at Hawker Centres. They’re all over the place. Orchard and Singapura Plaza for shopping. Oh I’m so jealous! We actually have the chance to go to Singapore next week with DH but DD1 has to revise for her mock GCSEs.......quick someone tell me travel is more important than exams 😂

I stayed at the Conrad which was lovely, also went to the zoo at night and felt really loved seeing the elephants and the bar at the Raffles Hotel. I was on a work trip so didn’t see as much as I would liked to have done but I have memories of loving Singapore and wanting to return for longer one day.

Super tree Grove for the light show, and Gardens by the Bay. Singapore flyer, Chinatown for street food and the smell of durian fruit, Sentosa.
Raffles for Singapore Slings in the Long Bar. We loved it.

We stayed at the Ritz Carlton which was lovely. I was pushing 30weeks pregnant when I was there, so had a very leisurely trip.

Top of Marina Bay, the gardens behind it, the Flyer and Raffles were all good 🙂

Im from there - and i used to work for one of the top hotels there, my sister still works there and her BF is a manger in another top hotel. Tell me your budget and i can help as much as i can with places and what you can/should ask for....

P/s: The Raffles is closed until 2019. Just in case you wanted to stay there...

Don’t bother with the flyer - better and cheaper view from Ku De Ta (rooftop bar on top of Marina Bay Sands)

We loved Singapore when DS was a similar age. Sentosa for the beach- also huge lizards wonder around! Beach bars are reasonable and bring drinks to your lounger. Have swim shoes on in the water as there are stone fish! Only swim inside the shark/ jelly fish nets.

The bird park- lovely! Wear insect repellant.

Little India or Chinatown/ DS loved the stalls and a couple of the temples. They are fascinating even for young children as the art is bold and colourful. The food is great and good for picking at. Fruit skewers got a bit more fluid in too. (Lots of fluid needed for little ones- loads!).

Malls- air conditioning for a break, often there’s a playpark or water park on top. Food courts are good and cheap.

The water park itself- good fun. The rides close in the afternoon thunderstorm, so take that into account.

If your budget doesn’t stretch to Marina Bay Sands you could look at the Holiday Inn Atrium. It’s very nice and much better than your average HI. It’s a bit of a distance to an MRT (Outram Park is closest) but you can get the bus to the MRT. Suggest getting a YourSingapore card for $20 for three days which you can use for buses, MRT etc - it gets you unlimited travel. Echo pps who have said Sentosa and a nosey around Marina Bay Sands. Hawker centres are also a must. An unusual day trip would be to go to Changi village by bus and get the fishing boat out to Pulau Ubin for the day - a glimpse old fashioned Singapore before the skyscrapers! Wow, I’m so jealous - we were there last month and I’d love to go back already!

Not a place I had ever fancied going, but then I saw a program about the wildlife in Singapore, especially after dark and it was fantastic. I loved that despite all the modern buildings, there are lots of areas of green space filled with monkeys (stealing plastic bags!) and other wildlife.

We've really enjoyed the Swissotel Merchant Court. Fab pool with river views, just by Clarke Quay restaurants, walking distance to Chinatown, etc
Although, if your budget allows, a night or 2 at Marina Bay Sands is unbeatable

Eat satay in the street outside Lau Pa Sat hawker centre (every evening after 6:30ish), then from there you can stroll down to the river by the Fullerton hotel for a lovely nighttime view. Little India for amazing Indian food, the 24-hour shopping centre Mustafa's is an experience too!

I second Botanic Gardens (they often have live music on weekend afternoons too) & a day trip to Pulau Ubin. The National Museum has a lot of family events and activities.

I think MBS sky terrace is overrated unless you're staying in the hotel and have full access. 1-Altitude bar in the CBD is (allegedly) the highest rooftop bar in the world and has lower cover charge than MBS (or at least it did have last time I went!). Smoke & Mirrors on the roof of the National Gallery is another fancy cocktail bar with an impressive view!

Also I think Raffles Long Bar is still closed for renovation at the moment...