Stayed: Value Hotel Balestier, Singapore, review

My parents bunked at Value Hotel Balestier when they came to visit in Singapore early this month.

I was looking for a place that fits three persons in a room because I wanted to overnight with them during the weekend to make it easier for sightseeing.

The room was S$129 on regular nights, and S$139 on Saturday nights. After the 10 percent service charge and 7 percent Goods & Service Tax (GST), the price comes to about S$150. Quite reasonable for three people.

value-hotel-balestier — Superior plus at Value Hotel Balestier

The room that we got, Superior Plus, has a queen-sized bed and a sofa bed. I didn’t pick the room with windows because who actually need a window? (Please tell me why you need one if you do.)

The room is small, as expected in Singapore, but I think there will be enough space for two large luggage.

value-hotel-balestier-001 — the extra sofa bed

The sofa bed was surprisingly comfortable. It was firm, unlike some foam beds which crush under any weight.

Amenities

At the dressing table, there is a plastic kettle, three glasses and three bottles of water which are replenished everyday. Hairdryer hidden in the drawer.

There was a DVD player, TV with cable TV programs (which weren’t half as scandalous as the stuff I watched on HBO in San Jose) but no mini-fridge (a pity!).

The bathroom is equipped with toothbrush sets, shampoo, soap and toilet paper which are all replenished daily.

I had to ask for a Wi-Fi password slip from the receptionist. It said it’s chargeable by S$10 but it wasn’t billed. Not sure if that’s the usual case.

Location

If you are familiar with the Singapore public transport, Balestier Road isn’t a bad location. There are buses to the shopping strip Orchard Road.

But the location’s not fantastic because it’s not near an MRT station, it takes a bus ride to reach Novena station.

Taxi fare in Singapore is relatively cheap (compared to Tokyo) so if you have more than 2 people in a group, taking a cab is often cheaper and faster than the bus.

Finding the place

On Balestier Road, there are THREE Value Hotels, a Fragrance Hotel and some Hotel 81’s. To get to the right Value Hotel *Balestier*, here’s what was included in my receipt:
“By taxi, inform the taxi driver to bring you to Value Hotel Balestier located at 218 Balestier Road (opposite the temple where durians are being sold)”

Summary

Stayed: Value Hotel Balestier, Singapore, review
Good for family of three
Pro: Not too expensive, comfy beds
Cons: Not central

Visiting Singapore? Here are some travel tips:

Follow me on Twitter or share a thumb up up on Facebook.

Stay: Ipoh Tune Hotel review

I’ve only stayed at Tune Hotel once before the Ipoh Tune Hotel stay. It was in Kelantan and the twin bed room wasn’t too bad. My parents who have stayed at Tune Hotel KLIA-LCCT complained that their room was too tiny they can’t even open their luggage.

Tune Hotel Ipoh opened in March 2012. They had a sale in mid-January and I snatched up two RM39 double-bed rooms.

Similar to AirAsia’s tickets, the bare price only includes the minimum “comforts”, so I had to pay an extra RM15 to buy a package of 12-hour air conditioning, rental towel and “free essentials toiletries kit”. All together, it was RM61.14 for the room, with service charge.

The hotel is in the “new town” side of the river. The location is not too bad as it’s within walking distance to a lot of the famous eateries nearby.
Continue reading “Stay: Ipoh Tune Hotel review” →

S$11 to S$100, rooming in Java

For the Indonesia trip, we did a daring thing and booked only one hotel for the whole trip. This worked well for Indonesia but I don’t recommend you do this for expensive cities where cheap rooms run out really quick.

We stayed in different types of accomodation–five different places to be exact. The ones which we booked on the spot was done after much consultation with the Internet and Lonely Planet (most of it was LP’s help, take that guidebook scorners).

Among the room, two of them had resident cockroaches which I killed with a shoe and a water scoop respectively. One was extra posh, another reasonably comfortable. Only three had hot water while the other two were cold showers. Continue reading “S$11 to S$100, rooming in Java” →

Hotel review: Riverview Hotel, Muar, Johor

Went to Muar during the Christmas weekend without making any hotel bookings (nor bus ticket bookings). I’ve only skimmed through the first page of Google Search and found this place’s Web site. It looked nice enough but I didn’t jot down the address.

We reached Muar around 8pm, and it was raining. Good thing the hotel sign is high up the building because we saw it while our bus drove pass.

The hotel is just a less than 10 minute walk away from the bus terminal, thank goodness.

I think our room was the last one in the hotel that night because the concierge told someone on the phone that there is no more room available.

Our room had a queen-sized bed, bathroom with hot shower, TV and plastic kettle. It was RM85 per night, the walk-in rate, I suppose.

Extra pillows for watching TV.

When we got into the room, there was a puddle near the curtains. It seems that rain seeped through the windows.

We called room service and a man came in to mop and put a towel at the bottom of the window to keep water from coming in.

D thought the bathroom smelled of urine so she washed it up. I guess most bathroom smell of urine from people peeing in the shower.

Something funny about the hotel is that it has ads for a particular chicken processed food.

Our keycard

Best chicken

The stay was nice, we extended an extra night. The bed was so comfortable that I sang and talked in my sleep, it seems. haha

Internet: There is Wi-Fi in the room, remember to ask for the code from the concierge.

Another good thing about this place is that it is next to a dimsum coffee shop (breakfast!) and a Chinese food court (dinner, supper!). You know how much I love my food.

I would return here again, just because it is near the bus terminal. (But then there’s a Hotel D’99 also near the terminal. Maybe I’ll check that place out next time.)

Website: http://www.riverviewhotel.com.my/index.php?page=aboutus.php

Location: 29 Jalan Bentayan, Muar 84000, Malaysia
Price: RM85 per night
Pros: Cheap. comfy beds, strategic location.
Cons: Smelly bathroom, wet floor–which were all fixed

Follow me on Twitter or share a thumb up up on Facebook.

Stayed: Capsule Ryokan Kyoto

My mom and I stayed at Capsule Ryokan Kyoto for 7 nights during our 10-day trip to Japan in late-October.

This is my second time in Kyoto, during the last trip, my friends and I stayed at a hostel where the sheets smelled like the last occupant. I decided to switch accomodation this time.

After trusting my guts, I booked the Ryokan Ensuite at Capsule Ryokan Kyoto. The room includes two futon, a fancy space shower and a toilet cubicle right next to the entrance. It is really amazing how they manage to save space.

Mom and I stuffed our luggage under our bed. We kept the futon rolled up when not sleeping to watch TV, do book keeping, eat rice balls.

We reached Kyoto at 6am as we came on a night bus. The hotel officially opens at 10am so we hung around the station. While it opens at 10am, we could only shift in at 3pm so we kept our luggage and went off.

The lady at the counter spoke perfect English, in case anyone is worried.

Nishi Honwanji (西本願寺) is just around the corner of the ryokan so that makes it a great first place to go.

Price
7,980yen per night for two persons. Not a bad price for Kyoto.

Location
The ryokan is indeed within walking distance to Kyoto Station but I would rather take the bus. If you bought the 500yen Kyoto bus pass, take the buses that stop at Shichi-jo-Horikawa (七条堀川), the ryokan is just nearby.

The location is good for sightseeing sites and there’s a direct bus to Gion area.

Internet
Internet connection is one of the most important criteria for me when choosing a hotel. This place does have Internet, but Wi-Fi connection is limited to the ground floor. Inside our room, we have a LAN socket (they have LAN cables).

While I brought a netbook, there are things that felt better on the phone. During the nights when I update Facebook/mobile blog/check my horoscope on my iPhone, there was a family of what I guess are Brazilian-Japanese folks having dinner, being merry. I’m not the sort to mingle quickly with people so I kept to myself all the time.

Laundry
There is also some washing machines and one dryer at the fire escape landing. If all machines are full, there is a self-service launderette opposite the ryokan which charges a few hundred yen more.

If I go back to Kyoto, I would like to stay there again. But since the New York Times covered it, I seriously doubt whether I can get a room.