Grayling

Some of the best food can be found on the Hawker stalls and food courts (one under virtually every shopping centre).

Very cheap as well.

There will, no doubt be plenty of more expensive restaurants but the food will not be any better or more authentic.

G

Grayling

There are some nice restaurants down at the boat quay.

G

UKEagle2Aus

FWIW

I stayed in the Swisshotel Stamford in March and it was so good, we are staying there again this Friday on our way out to Brisbane for good.

Cost was about $300 per room so bang on £100 and the place was stunning.

Shame I didn't know about the SIA scheme as both times with them, but no bother the taxi drivers last time were brilliant and informative.

Good luck for the future and congrats on your marriage.

All the best

Eagle

Rosscarbery

The Marina Mandarin is lovely and there's a great nighttime food court just across the road beside the river. We've always got the best price by going direct, but I think it's usually included in the SIA stopover deals.

sunburn

Miramar hotel suited us, 3 star I think, reasonably priced and friendly staff. We booked through a UK agent for our stopover before landing in Aus.

It had a pool, gym and was fairly close to the city but not right in it. Taxis are cheap and good way to get round so it didnt pose a problem.

Lord Lionheart

Frog legs porridge................. yum

Lord Lionheart

In answer to the OP. I used to stay here the 3 or 4 times I went to Singapore, decent hotel close to everything. But Singapore is small. Looking up the specials they have a king sized room for 100 quid

http://www.marina-mandarin.com.sg/

brissydeb

We spent 2 nights in Singapore on our way to Australia, spent hours on www.lastminute.co.uk before booking a hotel, managed to book a bargin at the Marina Mandarine, worth a try...

Debbie

Kooky.

Grayling is right, the best local food is on the streets. I would recommend Laksa, Char Kway Teow, Prawn Mee...actually the list is endless You really can eat well for S$3.50 or so.

For satay go to Lau Pa Sat near Chinatown late at night. It can get a bit touristy and the various stalls are quite aggressively competititve but it's quite an institution.

For Indian, well you can get great food on Boat Quay or Clarke Quay but if you go to Little India you will get more of an atmosphere. We love Delhi on Racecourse Road but you could go for a Banana Leaf curry for a more unusual experience, where they stick a banana leaf in front of you for a plate, and come round with various pots of stuff and you just say yay or nay. Beware they will come round with the most expensive stuff first, e.g., prawns, so you say yes to it all because you're not full. It's still pretty cheap anyway. Cutlery is optional so if you eat with your hands, remember to use your right hand only. (Singapore is very modern and cosmopolitan but in certain areas there is still a need to be culturally sensitive.)

Never had clothes made here, Thailand is much cheaper. I think they're all much of a muchness as they probably use the same tailoring workshops. You can spend S$500 on a decent suit but that wouldn't be a 24-hour one.

Taxis are great and relatively cheap although we are now having problems from about 9pm every night in the city. Drivers are illegally touting and also ignoring street pickups in favour of callouts 'cos they get a call out fee. Street pickups are totally legal and they are not supposed to ignore you. Please don't fall for the white mercedes "Limo" drivers' tactics - some are evil and they pick on tourists and ang mohs (white faces). You should be able to get from one side of the island to the other for S$20, no more.

Buses and the MRT (underground) are ridiculously cheap and efficient too.

If you use a trishaw, be sure to pay him or you might end up on youtube.

niknak01

have you tried the changi hotel its not far from the airport . the asean sumit is on at the momment so hotels in the city are pretty full. im living in singapore at the momment so you can pm for any advice you may need.

Kooky.

Changi Hotel is miles from anywhere apart from the airport! The spa is nice though - we had a dirty weekend there once when we couldn't spare the time to go further afield.

Yeah, the summit is a pain. I had to climb over concrete blocks to get to the gym at Raffles Plaza yesterday

Bernieboy

Cheers Eagle and all the very best in Brisbane,have a good flight and tell the bar staff at swisshotel they might need to start restocking the bar cause Bernieboy is on his way

Issie

We are staying at the Merchant Court Hotel........£ 65 ( uk ) per night for 4 of us

Kooky.

We lived in the Merchant Court for a fortnight when we moved here. It's a Swissotel too and I actually think the pool is nicer than the Stamford's - it overlooks Clarke Quay and there is an outdoor jacuzzi too. The Ellenborough Cafe is a favourite among locals for Peranakan food.

The only downside is, it's now enveloped by a shopping mall. Plus side, it's staggering distance to a lot of bars and restaurants and there is now an MRT station right next to it.

Issie

Cool.......thanks for that info

How far is the zoo from the hotel ?

Also is the weather similar to Australia's climate?