Oh the fabulous places you can stay in Singapore! Have you checked out the Ritz-Carlton Millenia? And of course there’s the Marina Bay Sands. Or are you the more classic, Raffles type? What is that you say? You have strict budgetary constraints? Well then, we’ve got the place for you: Hotel 81 - Orchid. It’s not going to be fabulous, luxurious, or just about any of those big words, but it’ll get the job done.
Behold the imposing presence
At least you know just looking from the outside that the hotel is going to have elevators! And there is some landscaping, and it looks clean enough. In veritable fact, it is clean, which is really what should be at the crux of your decision making process when considering hotels with low, low, low prices. How low? So low that you won’t even bother asking how far it is to the nearest subway station (ten minutes’ or so walk), or how big the rooms are (read on).
It’s all about the people
Because clearly it’s not about the grandiosity of the front desk, the friendly staff rises to the occasion and makes sure you are checked in smoothly, and that your questions are answered with a smile. Any problems that may arise during your stay (like a fuse being blown, or the hot water having a hiccup) are deftly handled by the staff to the best of their abilities, and without an attitude. All for a low, low, even lower price.
The room is clean, and it will do
Without resulting to trick photography, the above picture is just about as panoramic a shot as you’re going to get once you consider the room’s humble dimensions. Instead of talking about thread counts and finely upholstered lounge chairs, it would be best to think in terms of solid air conditioning, mattresses that are not pillow-topped (but are indeed topped with pillows, albeit somewhat ascetic in nature), and a TV. There’s probably even space to partially unpack.
A bathroom bigger than a Boeing’s
Though a measuring tape may be required to validate this assertion, it does appear that Hotel 81 - Orchid’s bathroom is indeed larger than the one on the plane which you probably rode to get to Singapore. It is of the budget Southeast Asia variety, where the shower stall is the entire floor of the bathroom, so you should make considerations and accommodations as befits you. It’s well lit and clean, and, to belabor the point, the rates for this hotel are somewhere between rock bottom and the cost of breakfast (rates for two people were recently spotted at around 52 SGD, or 38 USD) at one of those fancy hotels mentioned above.
It’s best to smile when on a budget, because crying just won’t do
All joking aside, the hotel really is a solid choice in this ever-expensive city-state. For those of you – and there’s no reason to be ashamed of this – who prefer to spend your travel money on adventure or dining but not lodging, Hotel 81 - Orchid is a perfectly good choice. When one of the Singapore glitterati asks you where you’re staying, just say you forgot the name.
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