Hotel rates were expected to be skyrocket-high but voila; I found a boutique hotel at Jalan Besar, priced at just S$163.80 for deluxe double room. I have been wanting to stay in this area as there was a great amount of food, aside from the amazing Cheng Mun Chee Kee Pig Organ Soup.
This is the beautiful black and white boutique hotel, Hotel NuVe Urbane. Converted from a colonial era building built in the 1950s, it was revamped as a hotel in 2018, featuring just 62 rooms. Let's pop in for a better look!
p.s. there's even a small rooftop pool on the 5th level.
Reception lobby was quite tiny although hardly surprising given that it's bot a big establishment with less than 70 rooms. We arrived earlier at about noon, with the intention to leave our luggage at the reception so that we can grab lunch before checking in at its official 3.00pm timing.
Turned out a room was already ready!
Don't you just love the two posters at the lift lobby? Well, the Singlish might be an overkill given that most hotels are going for the local market given the pandemic but the visual representations of local coffee was a nice touch. I recently heard a local ordering kopi kosong!
I am just happy it's brightly lit.
Outside Room 402. Customary of Chinese customs, we were mindful of the taboos when staying in a hotel, regardless of whether it's local or overseas. Read more here!
Maybe we were just too pampered with our stays at Marina Bay Sands; at 14 square meters, the room was a bit claustrophobic, and reminded us of UNIZO Inn (Sapporo, Hokkaido).
Wide-angled shot for your reference; personally, I am fine with the size as the main objective was to try the food in the area and to me, a hotel is merely a place to sleep at night. I have different thoughts for Marina Bay Sands though as I work from the hotel in order to save some annual leave.
The queen-sized bed was comfortable and I had such a great sleep that night! Special thanks to the weighted quilt blanket, which should be a given in any good class hotels.
Cleanliness was a bit tardy; I found a wrapper behind the curtains and dust on the decorative piece in front of the mirror above the bed. Frankly, I almost wanted to help clean up the dust and have to remind myself that I am only here for a night.
Complimentary snack bar which included two bottles of water, two packs of Oreo biscuits and a pack of cheetos. There's also a Nespresso machine with two free capsules.
Wardrobe, and strangely, the mini fridge was inside!
Safe was on the lower drawer of the bedside table; another weird placement but there didn't seem to be any power and it was a tad too tiny for my electronic devices.
Drew apart the curtain to reveal the view outside the window. Nothing much as it was just an old office building. Better to keep the curtains closed if you prefer to sleep shirtless.
Now the washroom; it has frosted glass but if you are not close friends with the person you are bunking with, it might still get a bit awkward. I can totally see a translucent Alex when he stepped out of the shower.
One thing I hate having in a hotel; shower curtain as I know it's not easy to clean up and in a restricted space, there's a tendency for your skin to keep touching it!
Love the rainfall shower though.
Hair dryer was displayed outside! You get handwash, shower gel and shampoo in dispensers; so much more eco-friendly. There were disposable toothbrushes and vanity kit though. There are two of us, and only one face towel.
There's nothing unconventional over this toilet bowl. However, it has a handy spray that would do since there's no bidet around. I wish for the day when most hotels around the world would adopt the Japanese standard in installing electronic bidets for all their toilet bowls!
It has been raining since the eve of 2022 and while it's nice to have such cool temperature, the constant drizzle means I can't really enjoy the roof garden as much as I would love to; e.g. getting a bottle of beer and just chilling out the last sunset of 2021.
Don't think I will see much of the sunset anyway since the view faces south.
In case you are wondering, there were a few rooms just inches away from the pool. Noise might be of concern but if it's any comfort, the pool closes at 10.00 pm.
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In a nutshell, my one-night stay was acceptable except for the cleanliness issue I raised earlier. C'mon, I don't think I should complain for the price I was paying for on New Year's eve.
Alex was way more negative; there's a smell in the room he disliked and given the rain, it's quite hard to move around as such old buildings are not usually connected with sheltered walkways / underpasses etc. Anyway, Alex pretty much told me he would pay for the difference in the future for better hotels, and I absolutely don't mind accepting his offer.
Address
3 King George's Ave,
Singapore 208582
Map
As above.
Website
Additional Information
Some information about the building before its revamp.
Bored in the room? You can rent monopoly, jenga, uno and HDMI cables at no charge. For Nintendo and a galaxy laser projector (which will transfer your room into outer space), there's a S$5 nett charge a night.
Feeling adventurous? There's a Muslim cemetery nearby although not near enough the hotel for us to feel freakish / eerie. Most people wouldn't even notice it.
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