Hotel 81 - Gold, Singapore

...mean to stay in a Hotel 81 hotel. I was planning to be in transit through Singapore at my own expense for a day or so.I tried three four-star special offers.The first two came back after about 12 hrs to inform me that their hotel was full on the dates in question.

The third hotel was also full but offered me a hotel, Hotel 81 Geyland on Lorong 20, which they recommended for a cost of about £20 per night. Time was a bit tight ,but the ...
...year.

This hotel is not for seekers of de-luxe accommodation. The rooms are completely basic and quite small. My room had an air-conditioner (which did not cost extra to use), a small bathroom with toilet and shower and a welcome bag with toothbrush and paste etc in it. It was spotlessly clean and quiet (I had asked for a quiet room which was unusual as we shall see later. ) It also had asmall UK Channel colour TV and Internet connection ... more

I did not mean to stay in a Hotel 81 hotel. I was planning to be in transit through Singapore at my own expense for a day or so.I tried three four-star special offers.The first two came back after about 12 hrs to inform me that their hotel was full on the dates in question.

The third hotel was also full but offered me a hotel, Hotel 81 Geyland on Lorong 20, which they recommended for a cost of about £20 per night. Time was a bit tight ,but the photo looked OK on-line and the price was fantastic so I booked it and this is where I stayed, and stayed again on two further visits later in the year.

This hotel is not for seekers of de-luxe accommodation. The rooms are completely basic and quite small. My room had an air-conditioner (which did not cost extra to use), a small bathroom with toilet and shower and a welcome bag with toothbrush and paste etc in it. It was spotlessly clean and quiet (I had asked for a quiet room which was unusual as we shall see later. ) It also had asmall UK Channel colour TV and Internet connection which I successfully used.

"Hotel 81" have a chain of low-budget hotels throughout the State of Singapore, all pretty much the same, I stepped into the foyers of a couple more and they use the same formula. Anyone checking hotel81.com.sg on line will find 15 hotels to choose from and 10 more offline.

Now for the exciting bit as far as I was concerned. I hadn't really got a clue what to expect when I left the airport in a taxi. The ride cost me $16 Singapore and, not having seen Singapore since 1968, I was of course enthralled and amazed by what had been achieved under two wise Presidencies.

Now for me personally, I can wallow in the luxury of 5 star food and accommodation. But there is a rougher side to me which relishes the chance to see the seemier side of life, see local life (in this case oriental) as it really is, all the yells bells and smells of working class Singapore.

I was therefore extremely surprised to see, as the taxi driver was approaching my hotel, that I was into something seemy here and I was a bit worried. I needn't have been because, once I was inside,the staff on the reception desk were just too polite, and helpful. Questions like where do you recommend to eat (these hotels don't have eating facilities), how to get cheaply into the city centre etc were all answered in detail in impeccable English and with sincerity.

It was mid-afternoon and I decided to go for a stroll - this was the old Singapore; turning right out of the hotel the road rose gently uphill for about 50m to the start of a whole collection of sidewalk cafes and a variety of restaurants. By 6pm people were gathering outside for a drink so I decided to do the same and sat down and ordered a beer. I had just visited a cash point (ATM) which was only a 150 yds along the main road at the top. Buses poured along this road but I never tried them - they were probably very efficient and super cheap - all mass transportation is in Singapore, including the excellent Metro system.

This accolade also includes Hotel Certification. Every hotel is rigorously inspected by their equivelent of the Tourist Board and high standards are required.

If your proposed hotel is billed as 2-star - then that is exactly what it is. There are no doss-houses any more with a star rating. The 81 Geyland is 3*** and yes - that is what it is - well just about !!

It had never occurred to me until now - as I type - that Geyland is a very appropriate, yet unintended I am sure - play on words.Yes the whole area is teeming with prostitutes and Transvestites, better known locally as "Billy Boys." I have luckily been around the hotspots of the world,including the seamer areas of Rio de Janiero and I just love the vibrancy of these placeswhich you cannot replicate in Eurpope with the possible exception of Hamburg I suppose.

I have never felt threatened by them as I always follow some golden rules - I dress down, I only carry the money I need for the evening, I might carry one credit card but no passport which I keep secure in my room and I keep a card of my hotel in my pocket out in case. I control my drinking and I am always polite.

The latter is often the most difficult especally when well-meaning people sometimes tag on to you - it pays so much to be understanding, and try not to cause offense.

I had some interesting company including visiting American sailors and some tourists, as well as some local Chinese and Indians. All of my three seperate evenings in this little part of Singapore were highly memorable, and I ate well.

This cannot be a review of Singapore as a whole but I did go to the city centre and I would recommend a visit to the Raffles Hotel, a bastion of the old Colonial days, but throughly modernised with an interesting shopping and eating interior which welcomes casual visitors.

I walked around the Singapore River, with lovely pedestrian free precincts and I discovered , much to my pleasant surprise, a large and beautiful sculpture of a large black bird by the world-acclaimed Colombian artist,Ferdinand Botero, by the waterside.

The old Padang, where I once played rugby, is still there, but is surrounded now of course by high rise buildings; I was happy that it has been left intact.

The big hotels of the world all offer a wealthy window on the world but concentrate on providing a standard that you can find anywhere, some more than others. Go to an 81-Hotel in Singapore and you will see the real orient, and if you do, I am sure your memories will be far happier than those in a five star hotel 

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