Hotel NuVe – a quality budget hotel in Singapore near Bugis/Arab Street

Hotel Name: Hotel NuVe
Address: 9-11 Jln Pinang Singapore

I stayed at Hotel NuVe in Singapore. I was here as a guest of the hotel to review the property.

Hotel NuVe is a 3-star hotel located in Bugis near the Arab Street area. Arab Street refers to the area around the Sultan Mosque, which has become one of the coolest neighbourhoods in Singapore. I have this area listed as one of the best areas to stay in Singapore.

The hotel is housed in an conserved old shop house that is typical of Singapore. There is a 24 hours concierge which is useful if you have a late arriving flight.

I was allocated a NuVe Classic room, which in this case had two single beds joined together. The TV is mounted on the wall on front of the beds, and there was enough space on either side of the bed to move about. The bed was soft and comfortable and I had a good sleep here. The power outlet was behind the bed here, so I had to move the bed to access it.

A trend in hotel rooms over the last few years has been putting bathrooms in a glass box rather than walling it off. This is particularly useful in small spaces and when the bathroom has no natural light. If you think about how thick a wall is, then replacing it with glass means you free up more space, which makes a big difference.

The only problem with this is that some hotels have just left the bathroom as a glass box so you can see the toilet from the bed. Sure, no problem if you are by yourself, but if you are travelling with someone it is kind of weird.

At the Hotel NuVe they have fixed this by making the glass opaque so you cannot see inside the bathroom, but the bathroom still gets more light in the room. The glass-walled bathroom makes it feel clean and modern as well. The shower was very nice so be able to walk into a separate space.

The room has a personal safe as well as tea and coffee making facilities. There is complimentary Mini Bar in NuVe Classic, NuVe Share and NuVe Family rooms. That means you can eat or drink anything in the fridge.

Something else I’ve seen pop up in hotels are these “Handy” devices. This is a mobile phone/internet device which offers you free calls in Singapore and to your home country. I didn’t use it seeing I already have my own device. I appreciate that this is an option, and hotels that offer this service are providing a great service to move away from the days when hotels would charge exorbitant rates to use the phone. The Handy would come in handy if you want to call family straight away, or for planning Singapore activities.

Having arrived in the evening from the airport I was running low on water. I was confused as to why there was no water bottles in the room. Instead there is a water machine in the hallway. I think this is a better idea than supplying plastic bottles. This hotel has 43 rooms, and if every room gets 2 small bottles a day, that’s 86 per day, or over 600 bottles per week. It’s only a small gesture but it is a step in the right direction that the hotel industry should consider. As a bonus the water machine also dispenses soda water.