I stayed at Traders hotel in the period from November 15th 2011 until November 23rd – I booked this hotel for our Singapore vacation as I have stayed at Traders in KL (Malaysia) several times and I find it to be good and partially because I’m a Golden Circle member and about to reach Diamond status. You can get to the hotel in various ways – you can take the MRT and walk from Orchard station but it will be a bit of a walk if you are dragging along a big suitcase. The best budget way is probably to take a bus that goes to Tomlinson road which is basically just around the corner from the hotel. We arrived at night after a long flight from Europe so we decided to just take a taxi to the hotel and that cost 30 Singapore dollar at night (prices will vary if it is during the busy period or not etc).
Check in was fast and efficient and we got room 1513 on the 15th floor. The hotel was opened in 1995 and you can see that the hotel is starting to age a bit. The room we got was smaller than the rooms at e.g. Traders in Kuala Lumpur but I guess this is a general issue in Singapore. The room itself had a king-size bed with just one large duvet which worked out fine. The room was with light color wallpaper and a carpet on the floor. Due to the small room and the light walls you could see that people had bumped into the walls and left marks here and there. Apart from that there was room to put down one suitcase – the other one had to be placed on the floor. There was one chair but no table but there was also a desk and a chair. The desk included quite a lot of stationary and I don’t think I have seen that before (stationary like scissors, yellow pen marker etc).
The bed was quite comfortable and from the side it was possible to control the fan speed of the air con (but to control the temperature you had to use a knob on the wall) and the lighting in the room. There was a flat screen TV in front of the bed and some sort of strange “art work” hanging over it. The view from the room was to the pool on the 4th floor. There was also a mini bar behind a strange wooden door which sort of covered it – it contained just a few drinks but as we were staying on club level we could get free drinks in the club lounge all day.
The wardrobe included some hangers and some drawers and the wardrobe also contained a small safe. The bathroom was really, really tiny – and with one sink, one toilet and one bathtub there was basically just room for one person in there. The bathtub had a shower option and a shower curtain prevented water from splashing everywhere. This is not my favorite shower solution but it worked. As at Traders in KL there was also a range of amenities ranging from shampoo, body wash to a comb, hair band etc. There was also a bit of smell in the bathroom – nothing really bad but maybe it was the smell of a damp shower curtain?
We got several bottles of water each day complimentary but it is also possible to drink the tap water in Singapore. Internet is now free on all Shangri-La and Traders hotels and we did have to log in every day with room number and a password but it worked out pretty good even if we had several devices connected. The location of the hotel is not bad at all – located on Cuscaden road it is 650 meters from Orchard road. On Orchard road you have to walk another 400 meters to get to the Orachard SMRT subway station. But if you want to take the bus there are also bus stops nearby. There were always taxis around and they do run on meter. There is also a shuttle bus that takes guest to the Orchard road SMRT station every hour.
We had breakfast in both the lounge and at Cafebiz (on the ground floor). The lounge is located on 17th floor and the breakfast here is not as lavish as in Cafebiz. In the lounge you can get some cereal, bread, a few hot dished, eggs made according to your wish etc. It provides a breakfast with a view in more a more quiet environment. The lounge is also the place where you can get afternoon tea or evening cocktails if you stay at Club level. The evening cocktails were served from 5.30 to 7.30 pm and also includes some snack food – but remember there is a lot of good food to eat in Singapore so don’t eat too much in the lounge 
The girls in the lounge were helpful and nice but we didn’t really use the facilities that much. The lounge seems to be in need of a bit of an upgrade – and how about replacing those uncomfortable chairs by the window The breakfast at Cafebiz is more lavish and typical for 4 and 5 star hotels in Asia. Here you have a wide selection of basically everything that you can imagine for breakfast and a bit more It is of course much bigger than the lounge and nosier.
On the 4th floor there is a pool and it can be worth a visit if you want to cool down a bit as it is more or less always 30 degrees in Singapore. Right next to the pool is the gym and it contained new equipment it seemed like. There is also a spa connected to the hotel and a Swedish type massage for an hour cost about 100 Singapore dollar.
Conclusion
All in all I’m quite happy with the stay at Traders hotel. At 330 Singapore dollar (250 USD) + taxes, the hotel room was quite expensive but Singapore hotels are expensive it seems like. The room was on the small side and the bathroom was really tiny – but at least we had access to a good breakfast and the option of evening cocktails. The service at the hotel is very good and the location is not bad at all – but it would have been better if it was a bit closer to the subway station. I wouldn’t have any problems with recommending this hotel to friends and family.
Gard
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