I visit Singapore often and have watched hotel prices increase a great deal over the past few years.

I've decided to rebel against high hotel prices, and now I search long and hard for better value.

And that's exactly what I found at the Bayview Hotel.

I booked this hotel for an overnight stay during a 24 hour layover. I got what I felt was a great deal on a last minute booking site - US $117 for a double room and breakfast for two, inclusive of all taxes (which are steep in Singapore).

Our room was compact and simple, but spotless, modern, and very comfortable. It was decorated in light woods, had a cotton duvet on the comfortable queen sized bed, flat screen TV, desk, safe and mini bar/fridge. The bathroom had a shower over the tub and the vanity was nicely decorated with red tile and black accents. Good water pressure and nice amenities too.

The room looked recently refurbished. I particularly liked the soft lighting, the overlapping blackout curtains and the air conditioning, which kept us plenty cool, just the way we like it.

I'd requested a room away from the elevator, so we had a quiet evening and a good sleep before our long international flight.

Breakfast wasn't anything to get excited about, but hey, I didn't choose this hotel for its food.

The hotel is located a five minute walk to the Dhoby Ghant MRT station. There's a Kopitiam food hall right around the corner, and we had two very good, inexpensive meals there.

The staff was friendly and helpful and even lent us an umbrella for the day. We were also able to get a 2 pm checkout without paying an additional fee. I would happily return to this hotel again.

Central location only 10 minutes walk from Raffles, Orchard road & MRT train station (Dhoby Ghaut).
Poor view from hotel window, but room good basic standard. Shower curtain dirty.
Lovely roof top pool with gym, sauna, plus washing machine.
Reception staff not very knowledgeable, but friendly.
Very cheap food centres on either side of the hotel for purchase of meals. 7/11 shop also nearby.
Taxi is about 25 singapore dollar each way from the airport, but train is cheapest by far 1.7 singapore dollars.
MRT is currently being extended so new station (Bras Basah) will only be 3 minutes from hotel.
Internet is free at the airport so you are able to send email, etc.. on arrival or departure.

This hotel was recommended to me by a colleague as a comfortable stop-over hotel. I was travelling from the UK to Australia and wanted to break my journey. It is located pretty centrally & is within (slow) walking distance from several attractions (Raffles Hotel; shopping areas etc). The staff were welcoming & efficient - they are very used to tired travellers arriving late, I think. The room was very clean and comfortable. It had a great 'wet-room' style shower which I used within minutes of arriving - so relaxing.

Within a one minute walk is a great Kopitiam or food hall with a great variety of local cooking. Freshly cooked, very tasty and so inexpensive.

Breakfast in the Bayview is basic but tasty and caters for most tastes. There is a very nice pool on the roof, and when I was there I had it virtually to myself.

The hotel is also very well-practiced at storing luggage for guests who have to check-out but have a late flight. This was very reassuring and allowed me to see more of the City.

I've been back to the Bayview again - with family this time, and the standard is high every time. It's also very well priced. I will always choose this hotel for stop-over stays.

Read all the positive reviews (negative reviews were too few) and pushed an online travel site to obtain reservations at City Bayview. Obtained a fabulous deal, inclusive of breakfast and airport pick-up and drop. My 72 yr old Mum and I arrived at the Hotel to be greeted by a smiling Haroon who picked up our bags and escorted us to the Reception. The Reception ladies smiled (they always had a smile on their faces whenever I saw them)listened to my request for a street-facing non-smoking room and in 2 minutes we were in room 905, once again escorted by Haroon. The room and beds were clean and very comfortable. The Coffee/Tea maker was a boon. The view from our room of the street below was good. We could see right upto the street crossing.

The breakfast spread was good. We found some dishes empty on day 1 but after I completed the little card placed on all tables and handed it over to the General Manager, the dishes were never again empty the next 5 days of our stay! The "Roti-Prata" was our favourite.

The elevator - which seems to be a point of complaint for many - is a Misubishi, Japan elevator with a smooth/swift speed. I asked an elderly gentleman who had a room opposite the elevator if the sound disturbed him and he said no.

We bought the SGD23 Hippo Tours tickets and enjoyed 2 wonderful days of sight-seeing at our own pace hopping-on-and-off (and also did loads of shopping). A pick-up/drop-off point was just 2 minutes from the Hotel. The Cathderal, CHIJMES, Raffles, SAM and Orchard Road were all within walking distance.

We really enjoyed our meals at the KOPITIAM food court (next door to the hotel!)- our favourite counter was "Roast Duck". The SGD18 set meal for 2 persons was our favourite. For the famous Singapore Chilli/Pepper Crab we turned to the various Hawker Centers.

The highlight of our holiday was being able to board the "Singapore Flyer", which opened on March 1. We boarded a 7pm 'flight' which gave me some great daylight panoramic photos on the way up and stupendous evening shots on the way down.

We'll definitely return to City Bayview Hotel for our next holiday.