We just returned home to Canada after a wonderful month-long stay in sunny Singapore & Malaysia, reviewing luxury hotels and fine dining restaurants for 9to5 Travel and Eating in Vancouver & the World. Yes, life is tough!
The initial leg of our journey took us from Vancouver to Hong Kong on Air Canada, followed by Hong Kong to Singapore on Singapore Airlines (stay tuned for those flight reviews…). After travelling for 24 hours, we ended up arriving at Changi International Airport in the middle of the night. So where were we going to rest our weary heads? Although we’re both quite accustomed to long-haul flights, jet-lag is inevitable when you’re flying halfway around the world. Therefore, we didn’t think it was wise to book a hotel review for the first day we arrived in Singapore since we’d be so exhausted. We wanted to be fully alert to take notes, film videos, capture photographs, and soak up all the glory of each stunning property.
Originally, our good friends from Suma Lifestyle offered their home on the East Coast, however, we didn’t want to disturb them in the wee hours of the morning. So we then considered the Transit Hotel that is located right inside the airport, but room rates are charged by 6 hour blocks for just under $100 SGD. We were planning on sleeping for considerably longer than that.
Instead, we hopped on trusty agoda.com while still in Canada and scanned through hundreds of Singapore hotels until we spotted something that looked promising — V Hotel Lavender — a relatively new hotel that was recently built in 2011. Reviews are mixed on both Agoda and TripAdvisor, but photos show the rooms and facilities looking quite modern. Also, its 4th floor Sky Terrace provides an outdoor pool, indoor gym, and al fresco café. Even though we were planning on taking taxis during our stay, we discovered that the hotel is conveniently located directly above Lavender MRT Station, just a 20-minute train ride away from Changi and minutes away from great shopping on Orchard Road. The hotel appeared to have plenty of positives, and at approximately $100 USD, guest rooms are reasonable for Singapore standards. Eventually, we decided take a chance made a booking through Agoda.
When we arrived, V Hotel Lavender was surprisingly bustling for such an early hour. Perhaps the busyness was to be expected considering the hotel does boast 888 (such an auspicious number!) rooms in total. After our fairly smooth check-in, we proceeded through the lobby, noticing its lovely glass chandelier, and made our way upstairs to our Premier Room.
At first glance, our room was very basic, yet clean, contemporary and quiet. Its size would be considered very small for North American standards, but for Asia, tiny hotel rooms are the norm.
Complimentary tea, coffee and bottled water are provided as are slippers and toiletries. However, we wouldn’t recommend using their shampoo or bodywash because they have an overwhelmingly unpleasant scent. Another thing to mention is that there is a $10 SGD charge for in-room wireless internet. Free wifi is only offered in public areas of the hotel.
Our particular accommodation had a decent view although we were too tired to enjoy it. We woke up around noon after trying to catch up on our sleep and made our way downstairs to the 24-hour air conditioned Kopitiam food court, conveniently located on the main level of the building, just around the corner from the lobby. We enjoyed a quick and delicious breakfast consisting of French toast accompanied by a hot cup of sweet ‘n’ creamy kopi.
If you’re looking for a no-frills, conveniently located, reasonably priced hotel in Singapore to meet your basic needs, then you could try your luck at V Hotel Lavender.
V Hotel Lavender
70 Jellicoe Road, Singapore 208767
Tel: +65 6345 2233
Email: contact@vhotel.sg
www.vhotel.sg
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