Great Stay: Holiday Inn Express Clarke Quay Singapore Review

Rating: 4/5 (Great modern property, small bathroom and avoid interior rooms with no views)

Price Paid: $183 per night (booked with my Capital One Venture X, which earns 5x on hotel stays booked through the portal. I also used my annual $300 travel credit on this booking so I only paid $66 out of pocket).

Introduction

While I did love Vietnam, at this point in the trip, I was excited to be able to drink tap water and eat food without worrying about food poisoning. Enter Singapore; the utopian money watering hole of the elite, land of clean streets, low taxes, and no crime.

This was my first time in Singapore in over a decade. I was only staying here for two nights, and wanted a central hotel where I could explore the city from. This hotel was perfect for that, although it is a medium walk (10 minutes) from the nearest MRT (subway) stop.

After flying into Changi airport, I took the MRT straight to the city center. The MRT actually takes around an ~hour to get to downtown, whereas a taxi is much faster (20 minutes). However, unlike taking the train back from JFK, you’re much less likely to be robbed / step in human waste, so I opted to save money and take the train. The nearest metro stop to this hotel is Fort Canning, on the downtown line.

In this post, you’ll find:

1. Introduction
2. Property Tour
3. Things to Do Nearby
4. Conclusion

Check – In and The Room

The entrance of the hotel is tucked away on a quiet side road. The property is huge and takes up the whole block.

As far as Holiday Inn Expresses go, this one is quite expensive, but it’s Singapore and it’s quite a nice property for what it is.

Check in was fairly quick, despite booking through Capital One vs. IHG directly. The lobby is very airy with lots of natural light.

The hotel has a very cool indoor / outdoor layout. I was on the fifth floor for my stay.

However, I ended up getting an interior – facing room. I’d definitely push to get an exterior facing room if you can, otherwise your view will be…of other rooms.

The room is decently sized by Singapore standards, which isn’t saying much. The bed was super comfortable, though.

The biggest downside is that the bathroom and shower are pretty cramped:

Overall though, the room was great for what I needed: a nice place to crash at night and being centrally located.

Property Tour

The property has an interesting modular / wavey design. The property in general is advertised as being super eco-friendly / energy efficient, which probably has something to do with its architecture that is beyond my understanding.

You can actually get IHG points as a “reward” if you put on do not disturb and elect out of housekeeping. I received 500 points at the time for doing this (I made sure to put my IHG number in my Capital One booking). I would love if more hotels did this, given I actually prefer not to have daily housekeeping.

The property also has a very large and nice rooftop, with a decent sized lap pool:

Sunset views from the roof were solid, although it’s not a prime view of the Singapore skyline:

The property also has some nice outdoor seating options where you can grab a drink from the bar or just hang out:

And last but not least, every Holiday Inn comes with complimentary breakfast. I was shocked at how busy this was in the morning. I didn’t eat anything here given Singapore has so much good food, but there’s a usual continental breakfast spread if that’s your thing:

Things to Do Nearby

I’ll have a guide on Singapore coming soon, but Singapore is one of my favorite cities on earth. While it does have a reputation of being sterile, there’s so much good food and cool sh*t to see in the city:

You have to go to Lau Pa Sat (central business district hawker center) for a few meals if in Singapore:

Gardens by the Bay is free and beautiful:

And Marina Bay Sands is insane. Would definitely recommend walking into the Casino with SGD 100 and playing the minimums at the roulette table just for vibes. You will lose all your money though but hey that’s the cost of fun.

There’s so much more to do in Singapore, but another post on that for a later day.

Conclusion

All in all, the Holiday Inn Express is a great property to use as a central launch pad for exploring Singapore. It’s definitely one of the nicest hotels for its tier out there. Don’t expect much in terms of luxury, but if you’re looking for a nice, well air-conditioned place to rest at night in Singapore, look no further.