My wife and I (and her parents) would like to spend a couple of nights (including New Year’s Eve) in Singapore. Can anyone recommend a good hotel – something clean, comfortable, and interesting, but not crazy expensive? Thanks.
My only permitted bump… Help me, fellow dopers! I know that at least a few of you have traveled in Southeast Asia. (**Brazil84 ** is probably not one of them…)
When my family and I visited Singapore, we were recommended to stay in the YMCA. No, seriously, we did. It was pretty nice. Very utilitarian, nothing special but it was also pretty cheap (around $70 or so, I think, it’s been 4 years or so since we last went) and relatively comfy. There weren’t any windows when we stayed there since we were in the rooms in the middle of the building, but we just needed a place to sleep. My family likes to rough it when we travel, I guess. 
Depends what you mean by crazy expensive. The Intercontinental in Singapore is very nice (stayed there a few times on stopovers between the Mid-East and Australia) and my quick search indicates they have rooms over New Years starting from US$150/night.
While I have never stayed at the YMCA, I have heard that it is a good budget location. Very basic, though: you won’t experience any of the exquisite luxury and attention to detail that SE Asian five-star hotels are justly famous for.
Hotels in Singapore are generally not cheap. However, they are quite gratifying. My favorite was [http://singapore-plaza.raffles.com/z882/email.html](this one) although I see it has changed hands again (it was a Westin, then a Swissotel, now apparently Raffles across the street has acquired it). Hard to imagine it is anything but dazzling under the new ownership.
However, it is insanely expensive - $200+ per night I suspect. A room on the 52nd floor is worth it, though. I might recommend spending an extra hundred dollars or so for one night in the most incredible surroundings.
I used to stay there a fair bit and loved it. There are big windows with an incredible view at night of Singapore and the ocean sprawled below you. Honest to god, I’d drag a blanket and pillow over to the window and sleep there just so I could look out over the enthralling view. In addition, the food is exquisite (of course, virtually all food in Singapore is exquisite, so I suppose that is not a unique draw).
Last but not least of its virtues, the hotel is attached to a wonderful plaza with good shopping of every kind. We used to wander down to the Sogo (big Japanese grocery store), get their fresh sushi to go, and return to our room to pig out in luxury.
Those were the days. We were DINKs in Indonesia then. Now we live in Egypt and have a child. No more luxury for me. 
We stayed at the Orchard Hotel which cost about $140USD a night. It was clean and had a nice swimming pool. It’s on the end of Orchard Road so it is a bit of a walk or taxi ride down to the waterfront area.
There are some great, and not very expensive, boutique hotels in Chinatown. If you’re not looking for 24 hour room service and a pool, but rather places with character in antique buildings, you’ll enjoy them.
I stayed in the Keong Saik which was very convenient, quirky and cute. I also spent a night in the slightly more expensive Hotel 1929 which has the tiniest - but incredibly cleverly designed - rooms I’ve ever seen.
Though I’ve never been there, The Scarlet Hotel also sounds neat - a boutique hotel with an emphasis on seduction!
Thanks, all of you! We’ll raise a toast to the SDMB as we watch the fireworks over the Straits of Malacca.