For months I had a meeting scheduled in Singapore, and originally my plan was to first visit Singapore and then continue on to Thailand for about a week (Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, specifically). So while I had a ticket booked reflecting that schedule, I unfortunately had a schedule conflict on both ends of the…
Continue reading: Singapore for the Weekend: Introduction
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Looking forward to the report as SIN is a top contender for my next big trip (vs. HKG). If I head to Singapore, the Intercontinental was on top of my list so I can't wait to see the review.
It seems that now LH would never release their first class reward ahead of time, and they even don't release their "new" first class rewards before a few days of departure. So how did you get those LH first class award booked? Did you use M&M miles for standard award? Thanks:)
@ New Girl in the Air -- Stay tuned for the report, though if the choice is between Hong Kong and Singapore, definitely go with Hong Kong, in my opinion.
@ Palmtenor -- I simply booked only a few days before departure. 🙂
Not sure I agree with Lucky on 'definitely go with Hong Kong,' they are two very different cities and I take a very contrarian view about Singapore, it isn't just a stopover and it isn't just 'Asia light' although English is one of the official langauges there so it's more widely spoken than in Hong Kong.
Singapore is my favorite food city in the world, at most ends of the spectrum. It outstanding high end dining, outstanding midrange, and probably among the very best at the lowest end. I can think of few things more pleasant than an evening at the East Coast Lagoon Food Village hawker stalls, since they're great food at a great price in an open air setting on the beach. Perfect.
The Intercontinental Singapore can be a really good value, but I don't especially like it. I found the club too busy, too impersonal. The hotel needs updating.
But a Royal Ambassador on a weekend paid stay it's hard to argue against 🙂
Still, independent of location I prefer the Grand Hyatt over the Intercontinental. The Conrad is a good hotel as well. And of course the St Regis is outstanding.
what kind of points balances do you guys have? All of you bloggers are jetting about every week in F class it seems like to places all around the world. I have a few hundred thousand points and miles which are enough to last me through a couple of years of travel since I only have time to take one big trip per year. But if I was flying so often they wouldn't get me far.
As friends of mine know, I am a shameless fairmont promoter. And while their perks aren't as slam dunk as say Hyatt, they do offer nice perks for repeat visiotrs (4upgrades, 1 free night, and $100 in dining credit annually for plats) but the point I am coming to here is: In Singapore you can't do better on location* than Fairmont / Swissotel at CityHall (Adjacent to Raffles) and above the metro station. These properties were originally a Westin, but have been Fairmont for 10 years and have been recently renovated.
When in Singapore, I stay at the Fairmont.
*I guess you could stay at the Marina Bay Sands Casino Hotel (The iconic one with a sky bridge) That might be the best location.
@lucky & Gary, Appreciate the insight. The choice is more complicated than SIN vs. HKG as both will just be the first stop of a 2-week trip (either China or Indonesia from there...) Don't think I can go wrong either way!
@Gary, thanks for your take on the Intercontinental. The Conrad is also a possibility, but I don't have any Hyatt points so will probably forego that option.
Are there dates throughout the year when LH does not have last minute availibilty?
Lucky, will you include the Sheraton Tribeca? Considering staying there this summer.
Just the mention of SIN/NRT brings back good memories of Chili crabs at SIN Do 1 and 2. It also brings back memories of sitting upstairs on a 747 in row 15 on UA. Sigh.
I've done SIN/NRT seven times now, all but once in economy, and it feels like a fairly short flight. After a 13 hour flight from ORD or LAX, I get it, but even after my 9 hour flight from SEA to NRT, it just felt short.
You're so right about the NRT/SIN length, Lucky. When I fly BOS-ORD-NRT-SIN, after the layover at NRT (even in an F lounge), the trip to SIN seems like the LONGEST. FLIGHT. EVER.
@ Panda -- Nowadays all the availability they release to Star Alliance partners in first class is last minute.
@ Josh -- Absolutely, stay tuned, it'll be coming up in a separate report shortly.
I was actually wondering what days there will be no F availibilty at all.. i.e. Christmas Eve, etc..
@ Panda -- Whoops, sorry. No, there are no dates they have blackouts or don't release space. Usually as long as there's a good amount of space they'll release award availability close to departure.
@ flyer708 -- They sure do close to departure, especially between FRA and NRT (as well as SIN and PEK).
Hey B,
So when all was said and done how many miles had you expended for this entire trip? Was all of this mileage you had previously flown??
x
@ ThunderStorm -- 70,000 United miles, 62,500 American miles, and 51,000 KrisFlyer miles. The American miles were mostly earned through flying, while the other miles were earned from credit cards.
@ Simon -- Correct, as long as you don't stop for more than 24 hours it's the same price as a US to Asia first class award via the Pacific, which is 70,000 miles one-way.
@ Simon -- Booked it online, and it actually came up as a natural connection when searching JFK to SIN.
RakSiam said: "what kind of points balances do you guys have? All of you bloggers are jetting about every week in F class [...] to places all around the world."
I would like to know the answer as well. How are all these trips possible? 🙂