Days Hotel Singapore in Zhongshan Park
"Hi I'm Fran and I'm a staycation-holic."
Days Hotel in Zhongshan Park opened sometime in 2012 and it's one of the nicest budget hotels that I've been to here in the Lion City. We got the room for only S$120 a night via Agoda on a spur-of-the-moment-let's-go-have-a-staycation kind of thing. Given the name, it's located right beside a nice park that links the hotel and the Zhongshan Mall beside it. It obviously got a perfect score in terms of convenience as the mall houses a really big Fairprice Finest, a couple of restaurants and fast food outlets like Subway, Thai Express, Crystal Jade and even a Convenience Store!
Take a peek inside our room, it's 18sqm big small but having stayed at small boutique-like hotels before, I have to say that the room doesn't feel cramped at all. In fact, we were able to freely walk around and if you noticed, none of our beds were pushed against the wall. I really have to give props to whoever designed the room as you can really see how each space was maximized without forgetting comfort at all. My favorite area in the room is the daybed. I just enjoy pulling my legs up here as I relax after a full day spent outside. Our room overlooks the city so we can see the whole stretch of Balestier Road from here. Not much of a happening place so do expect it to be very quiet during the evening.
As for the amenities, we got a small refrigerator, an iPod dock/alarm clock, an iron and an ironing board, a safe, a nice closet with a lot of hangers, a kettle with cups and saucer and of course, a flat screen TV. I have to say though that the channels were very limited but who needs to watch TV if they got unlimited WiFi access right?
My only complain was the absence of small plates and utensils. Paul and I have this habit of buying some groceries like fruits, bread or sushi and eating this in our hotel room for our midnight snack or breakfast the next day. I have to repeatedly call the Housekeeping Department every night to ask for these as they would take it away whenever they'd come to clean our room the next morning. It also doesn't help that their response to our request takes quite a while too.
Inside the bathroom, I love how the toilet flush was designed and they even have a handheld bidet! You all know how important I think that all hotels should have a washer/bidet for hygiene reasons. The shower area wasn't very big but at least I don't get to bump into the wall which is a big yucky no-no for me. Giving them my two thumbs up for the efficient space planning and the good quality fixtures too.
A few weeks ago, Paul and I checked in at Days Hotel Singapore in Novena which is located pretty much the opposite of town from where we live. I have to admit that getting around the area was a bit of a challenge on our first night but come our second, third and fourth (!) night, we were so used to the bus routes that passes in front of the building and even enjoyed checking out the restaurants nearby.
During the morning, we would take the shuttle bus that comes every 30 minutes and it will take us directly to the Novena MRT Station. The shuttle bus operates from 7AM to 1030PM. This makes it very convenient for hotel guests who needs to go somewhere either early in the morning or late at night. This is definitely the hotel's way to make up for its location as it's not within walking distance to the MRT station. For those who would like to try the bus though, there's a bus stop right in front of the hotel that can take you to all part of Singapore for a cheaper fare.
The hotel has an in-house restaurant called 21 on Rajah where breakfast buffet is served. Unfortunately, our room package doesn't come with complimentary breakfast so we just resorted to having breakfast at Dr. Coffee Cafe located outside the hotel. However, I was able to take a quick tour around the buffet area and noticed that the offerings were quite limited. There's an egg station, a cereal table, some servings of fried rice, sausages, bacon and waffles. That was about it. For S$18++ we just find it a bit too expensive.
For those who wants to burn some calories during your hotel stay, Days Hotel Singapore also has a gym. I wasn't able to check it out but the photo from the website shows that it has the basic exercise machines overlooking a nice garden.
We enjoyed our staycation at Days Hotel Singapore and would gladly recommend this to visiting friends who are looking for budget accommodations to stay in.
Days Hotel Singapore in Zhongshan Park is located at 1 Jalan Rajah Road, Novena District in Singapore. Visit their website here.
