Hotel classic by venue singapore review

Singapore is always rated as one of the most expensive countries to live in. The major contributing factor to this is the high real estate prices in Singapore. Singapore has a small land area that in combination with continuous population growth resulted in a sharp increase in housing prices over the years.

High real estate prices lead to higher costs of the hotel room which in turn makes a trip to Singapore more expensive than any other Asian country. Solo travellers still have the option to stay at relatively cheap dormitory beds in a hostel but the options are very limited for a budget couple or family travellers.

We spent many hours browsing the hotels, finding the right hotel which is not only decent but also easily accessible using public transport.

We finally booked Hotel Classic By Venue for 8 nights for about SGD 660 (~INR 37,000). We compared the hotel price on various booking sites and finally used Cleartrip to make the booking as it was showing the cheapest rate after applying the credit card offer.

Here is our in-depth review of Hotel Classic By Venue:-

Table of Contents

Room

We had booked Standard Double Room and it was very small in size. It had queen size bed which took up about 80% of the space in the room. There was hardly any space to walk or place the luggage. It took us a day but we got adjusted to the room dimension.

The bed can only accommodate only two people and it would be wise to book a triple or family room if you are travelling with a child.

The room had a hair dryer, kettle, bathroom slippers, a safe deposit box, and a mini fridge.

The bathroom was decent-sized and clean. The bathing area was also spacious enough to bath without getting your body parts hit against the wall. We are saying this because we had seen many hotel room pictures with a tiny bathing area and some of them were not even budget hotels.

Due to the small land area and a huge influx of tourists, rooms in all the budget or 3-star hotels are small to accommodate the demand. If you want a bigger size room, you will have to book a 4-star or 5-star hotel which is at least 3 times more expensive than Hotel Classic By Venue.

Room Service

The room was cleaned daily but not properly. We had seen the hairs lying on the floor on the day we checked in, and those hairs stayed with us throughout our stay.

Tea and coffee sachets were replenished regularly. The dental kit in the bathroom was also replenished regularly. The dirty mugs and spoons were replaced regularly except for a couple of days.

Food

The Hotel Classic By Venue does not have a kitchen and does not provide meals at any time of the day.

But there are many restaurants and food complexes close to the hotel. Joo Chiat Food Complex and Geylang Serai Market and Food Centre are within 100 metres from the hotel.

If you are vegetarian, there is an Al-Azhar restaurant just around the corner that has many vegetarian food options. We dined at Al-Azhar many times and ate Dosa, Chole Bhature, and Veg. Biryani, and Prata with Dal. All those meals cost less than SGD 10 (~INR 570)

There is another small food complex as you cross Al-Azhar restaurant and walk towards Blk 14 Mkt/FC bus stop where you can get vegetarian pizza and pasta from the stall named ‘Pasta Pizza’. The pizza was delicious and tasted like what we get in many restaurants in Delhi. It was also cheap and cost us only SGD 10.9 (~INR 620) We also tried Black Carrot Cake one day from the neighbouring stall ‘Hawkerman’ which was also delicious.

Location

Hotel Classic By Venue is located in the Geylang district which is the eastern part of Singapore. Prominent areas like Chinatown and Marina Bay areas are about 8 kilometres away from the hotel and Sentosa is about 15 kilometres away.

Is It Safe?

Geylang is the official red light district in Singapore. Geylang district is about 10 square kilometres in size and Hotel Classic Venue is located away from the notorious Singapore red light area. Prostitution is limited to the streets also known as Lorong in the southwestern part of the district.

We had once arrived at midnight and we never felt unsafe even once walking on the street. We never even once witnessed any act of solicitation during our 8-night stay.

Singapore is one of the safest countries in the world. Both petty, as well as violent crimes, are very uncommon in Singapore. And that is true for all the locations in Singapore including the Geylang district.

Public Transport Accessibility

If you are looking to book a budget hotel, then you would want it to be easily accessible using public transport. If you are going to travel by taxi, then it will be prudent to book a hotel in Chinatown where everything is only a few kilometres away. Do note that taxis are expensive in Singapore and frequently using them does add up to the overall cost.

Bus Accessibility

Joo Chiat Cplx bus stop is less than 100 metres away from the Hotel Classic By Venue. When going sightseeing to Marina Bay or Sentosa, you will have to board a bus from the Joo Chiat Cplx bus stop.

After a long day of sightseeing, you will have to deboard at either Blk 414 or Blk 416 bus stops which are about only 200 metres from the hotel.

There is even a direct bus (bus no. 24) connecting Hotel Classic By Venue and Changi Airport. When arriving from the airport, deboard at the Joo Chiat Cplx bus stop. Similarly, board bus 24 from Blk 416 bus stop to depart for the airport.

Metro Accessibility

Paya Lebar metro station is the closest metro station to the Hotel Classic By Venue. It is about 1 kilometre away from the airport. It also has interchange bus stops on either side of the road – Paya Lebar Stn Exit C, Paya Lebar Stn Exit B.

Bus or Metro

Singapore has an amazing public transport system. Both buses and metro run on time and all the places of interest are connected via bus or metro.

None of the buses or metro is directly connected to Chinatown or Marina bay from Hotel Classic By Venue. But there is a direct bus connection from the hotel to Vivo Mall which is a gateway to board the monorail (Sentosa Express) to reach Sentosa.

The bus has a distinct advantage over the Metro, that is bus stops are generally closer to attractions than a metro station. This is true not only for Singapore but for any other city in the world.

But you may need to use a combination of the metro and bus. Just check google Maps and take the best available route.

Final Thoughts

We enjoyed our stay at Hotel Classic By Venue. It was a full value-for-money stay. Although the room was small, we were all day exploring the city and only came back to the room to spend the night.

The best part of the hotel is its location. Everything from public transport to affordable food was just minutes away and that saved us both time and money.

Have you stayed in Hotel Classic By Venue or any other budget hotel in Singapore? Feel free to share your experiences in the comments below.