Budget
There are a few hostels in the suburbs around Chinatown.
Beary Nice!
Sister hostel to the popular a beary good hostel. Friendly and very nice.
Sentosa View
Small but clean hostel located on the 23rd floor of a public housing block, the location is reasonably handy if you're coming from Malaysia by train but inconvenient for anything else, about 10 minutes walk or a short bus trip to Chinatown. Living room with TV, PC, free wifi, basic breakfast. No lockers.
Midrange
Hotel 1929
TIME Asia's Boutique Hotel of the Year in 2004, this renovated super-stylish shophouse is best known for its extraordinary collection of chairs, covering the gamut from designer masterpieces to a barber's chair a century old. Head and shoulders above the other hotels in Keong Saik, the rooms feature all mod cons including flat-panel TVs and free broadband internet in every room, but the "superior" rooms are tiny and steeply priced for what you get; you might want to consider splurging on one of the rooftop suites complete with outdoor hot tub.
Inn at Temple Street
1 minute walk from MRT and Chinatown shopping. Feels slightly shabby and uncared for: cramped rooms, peeling wallpaper, antiquated air conditioning. The upside is a great location.
Keong Saik Hotel
Probably the least bad of the midrange shophouse lot, the main draws here are pricing and location. All rooms have air-con and attached bathrooms shower only. Ask to see your room before you check in though, as some of the cheapest ones are windowless and dank.
Hotel Re!
Former primary school repainted with eyeball-blistering flourescent shades and thus now a 12-story, 140-room "retro boutique" hotel. Located on a hilltop Pearl's Hill Park and a 5-10min walking distance to Outram MRT station. Restaurant offers a variety of international cuisine and daily international-themed set meals at $18.80++.
Keong Saik Road, at the western edge of town, is a former red-light district which still retains more than its fair share of dodgy karaoke lounges — as well as a number of cheap, largely identical shophouse hotels, which look rather attractive from the outside but are all quite cramped, stuffy and dingy inside.
Top end
Amara Hotel
Classy, modern business hotel with its own large shopping mall.
Berjaya Hotel Singapore
Uluru, 36 Duxton Hill behind Berjaya Hotel, â +65-62233654, . Noon-2 PM, 6-10 PM weekdays, Sat/Sun from 10 AM. Now closed $55. editFaded grand old lady of a colonial hotel: rather in need of a renovation, but if you squint hard enough, it does look a bit like a pre-renovation Raffles. Central location, but rooms facing the bar strip in front may be noisy. No pool.
New Majestic
By the people who brought you Hotel 1929, this too is a refurbished shophouse, but the 30 rooms comes in four themes: mirror, hanging bed, aquarium and loft. Nice pool although in shade for much of the day, small gym, free wifi, good restaurant with views of the pool — from underneath!
The Scarlet
Beyond mere boutiqueness, this "personality hotel" in a stretch of converted shophouses is stuffed with more red plush and gold trim than a Parisian boudoir and does its best to encourage all 7 deadly sins with restaurant Desire, bar Bold, spa Sanctum and gym Flaunt. Rooms are small but comfortable, good location right next to Maxwell Food Centre and the heart of Chinatown.
M Hotel
Stylish business hotel in the commercial heart of Tanjong Pagar. The gym features a miniature climbing wall.
While there are a few ordinary hotels, the most interesting accommodation options in Chinatown and Tanjong Pagar are in renovated shophouses.