Carlton City Tanjong Pagar

In our lengthy survey of Singapore hotels, Carlton City Tanjong Pagar is one of the properties that really surprised us. The hotel is still quite new (it opened in 2013), and is situated in our favorite part of the city—close to the restaurants and bars of Neil and Craig Roads, and basically in the heart of Singapore's Central Business District.

But what stood out here was the hotel's spacious and well-designed rooms. Nearly all are 32sqm and come equipped with Herman Miller ergonomic desk chairs, high-end Molton Brown bath amenities and posturepedic beds. And it gets better. In a city of overpriced hotels, Carlton City Tanjong Pagar offers great value.

While Carlton City Tanjong Pagar tries hard to be a cutting-edge design hotel, we don't see it winning too many design awards. We didn’t really focus on the faux design accents in the rooms, but chose to enjoy the comfy bed, expansive views from the tall windows and the nice amenities, such as in-room Nespresso machines.

As with the trend in hotels today, the bathroom and bed area are separated by a window (a feature we would like to see disappear), but (mercifully) there is a draw shade to bring things back to the natural order.

The two basic rooms types, Deluxe and Executive, are hard to tell apart—the Executive comes with free local calls and complimentary in-room mini-bar. High-speed WiFi is free in all rooms, and was actually one of the best we encountered (it’s a business hotel, after all).

The pool and fitness center are nothing to get too excited about, but they are more than adequate (be warned that the hotel is surrounded by construction sites, so it can be a bit noisy during the day).

Dining options are a bit limited at Carlton City Tanjong Pagar, with a coffee pastry shop called Tuxedo and the all-day dining/breakfast restaurant, Plates. You’re better off exploring the amazing food and drink options within a few minutes' walk of the hotel. For coffee, try Nylon in Everton Park, and for the best Mexican stret food west of the border, hit Lucha Loco on Duxton Rd.

If we had to pick one "go-to" hotel that fits basically any budget, and that offered the best room product for the money, Carlton City Tanjong Pagar would get our vote hands down. Don't confuse the hotel with its sister property across town, the Carlton. It's also a decent hotel, but it lacks the newness and location of the brand's latest addition.