Mandarin Orchard
| LAST UPDATED: 24 OCTOBER 2020 |
So you’ve seen Staycation deals almost every day for the past week. But are they really good enough? Given the current situation, a number of hotel experiences like breakfast buffets, executive lounges and swimming pool usage are understandably dumbed-down.
Bias disclaimer
I have shared in the past that I do not really see a point in staycations because of how tiny Singapore is. It’s not like you can take a 2-hours flight to the other side of the country where people speak a different dialect and eat different food.
The other reason was because of how cheap it was to travel to a neighbouring country. With all the border shutdowns right now, I thought that this mindset would change.
But that’s not happening. As much as I miss hotel stays and travelling in general, I just can’t justify spending over $400 nett for a “luxurious” night in a local hotel during a pandemic. Some hotels are getting very creative in charging more than pre-COVID rates while sprinkling rainbow funfetti in the form of complimentary breakfasts, early check-ins, late check-outs, complimentary $55 champagne bottles and F&B credits to justify the “special” packages. Some even went as far as wording it “2D1N stays”. *eye rolls*
I am:
Reluctant to spend over $300 nett on local hotels
Almost always expecting complimentary breakfast, given the current situation
The best deals right now
Given the above-mentioned bias, here are the approved local hotels that I would actually consider to celebrate a special occasion. I have done the work for you by only showing nett prices so that you don’t need to have a calculator beside you to add 7% GST and 10% service fee to everything.
| Hotel | Without Breakfast | With Breakfast | Free Cancellation? | Where to Book? | Sample Date |
| Ramada Singapore | $108 nett | $145 nett | Yes | trip.com via Tripadvisor | 9 Jan |
| Capri by Fraser Changi City | $113 nett | $162 nett | No | Agoda via Tripadvisor | 3 Jan |
| The Scarlet Singapore | $137 nett | – | Yes | Agoda via Tripadvisor | 9 Jan |
| Four Points by Sheraton | – | $198 nett (Incl $88 F&B credit) | Yes | marriott.com | 23 Nov |
| Hilton Singapore | $181 nett | $206 nett | Yes | hilton.com | 12 Nov |
| Andaz Singapore | – | $220 nett (Mon-Thu), $260 nett (Fri-Sun) | Yes | Email to: [email protected] | – |
Conclusion
I will be updating the above list whenever a noteworthy deal comes around. In the mean time, decide if watching TV in a nicely decorated hotel room is $300 better than your living room. If you like to enjoy some good food for that special occasion, you can always dine in 5-star hotels at 50% off all year long.
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I heard that Andaz raised their rates.
That’s right. The lowest category is now going at $220 nett as shown above.
As much as I’m a heavy spender for hotels, even in Singapore, I too believe it’s not appropriate to spend more than $300 for local hotels in a pandemic. The worst thing is local hotels are charging the same expensive rates if not more when they’re a dying breed in this new era.
Mhmm…I guess Singaporeans are keeping the demand high. Hotels in Singapore are not desperate enough as compared to literally everywhere else. Can’t wait to book Kuala Lumpur hotels!
As someone who doesn’t quite appreciate staycations too, I’ve been waiting for this post with truly curated good deals – it’s like a breath of fresh air compared to the majority of blogs out there that trumpet what hotels have been approved by STB for staycations.
Great to know that I am not the only one!
Ikr!! One miles blog comes straight to mind. That blogger might as well just name his website PressReleaseParrot.