Our NEW New 7th Storey Hotel in Singapore: Times Have Changed

The Superior Room at the Wangz Hotel in Singapore is spacious enough that I can do my yoga exercises without bumping my head on a suitcase. 

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For the ten years that Dan and I have known Singapore, we've been staying at the New 7th Storey Hotel on Rocher Road. This eclectic hotel dating from 1953 was originally the tallest building in the area and leaned slightly, like the Tower of Pisa. It wasn't seven stories at all, but nine. Go figure. A chatty Chinese man, Mr. Wong, took you up to your floor in its antique manually operated caged elevator. Well known to budget-minded travelers, rooms were spacious for Singapore standards and competitively priced. I recall paying about $45 a night at a time when alternative budget hotels were around $80.

But that's all gone now. In 2009, the New 7th Storey Hotel was torn down.

In true Singaporean fashion, it was reported that the owner found out his hotel was to be demolished through the media. The Land Transport Authority determined that the building did not qualify for conservation status and it would be removed to allow for the expansion of the transit line. (Coincidentally, the hotel also sat on prime central real estate). Dan and I have always loved its location. We could walk to great shopping and entertainment or take the MRT from the Bugis station, just across the street. We accepted the rock hard beds and the shower that wet the whole bathroom floor as trade-offs.

But times have changed. And Dan and I have grown older, getting a little worn like the iconic hotel itself. Truth to tell, the last time we were in Singapore, we only stayed one night at the New 7th Storey just for old times sake, and to pay our respects to Mr. Wong. We're not only older now, and I have to pay attention to lower back issues, but we have more resources with which to travel in comfort.

So now, in 2011, Dan and I had to ferret out another hotel that would hopefully become our new base in Singapore. Our research came down to a handful. Given that even two-star budget hotels will cost upwards of $100 S, we psyche ourselves for doubling that amount for something more up market. 

The trouble with Singapore, however, is that a lot of good hotels will triple that amount.

The one we settled on is the Wangz Hotel. Coincidently, this boutique hotel is seven stories high. Also, it's "new" on the Singapore hotel scene opening its doors barely two years ago. I take these things as good omens.

We feel lucky as well since we're able to get the Wangz Hotel for around $200 S before tax in a special from Agoda in December (though the price goes up according to the season). Importantly, it offers free WiFi in the rooms which is not as common as I was expecting in Singapore (several upscale hotels in this range charge for access in the room). And the Superior Room at the Wangz is spacious enough that I can do my yoga exercises without bumping my head on a suitcase. The ultra-modern decor is arty, although more businessman friendly than woman-friendly in that there's no plug for the hair dryer in the washroom. But I can make do.

The Wangz Hotel is a ten minute taxi ride away from Orchard Street but just a five minute walk from the Outram Park MRT. The hotel is new enough that we found it easier to tell the driver to take us to the grey, circular hotel next to the Link Hotel on Outram. Everyone knows the Link Hotel next door.

Although we usually try to cut food costs in Singapore by hitting the food courts, we splurged one night at the hotel's Nectar Restaurant. The warm seafood salad is one of the chef's signature dishes and it was excellent and I'm very choosy about where I eat salad when I travel. A bit pricey, but that's Singapore. Besides, it was Christmas time. Back to the food courts next month.

So the Wangz Hotel, for us, is our NEW New 7th Storey Hotel. It's not anything at all like our old New 7th Storey Hotel. But we've changed. We're now mature travelers and no longer back-packers.

That's life.

The Superior Room is essentially the standard

Oddly Shaped Hotel