tax recovery

was thinking about booking a hotel, seemed reasonable price until they added 拢106. tax recovery charge on..whats this? and do they all put this charge on when booking?

thanks

tax recovery

Hello,

I bet that was a shock. Which hotel, how many nights accommodation,and how are you booking - with the hotel directly, or via a hotel booking website?

Singapore does have some service charges and taxes, but I have never heard them called ';recovery charge';.

tax recovery

Just a thought to add to my previous posting, are you sure it didn%26#39;t have ';+++'; listed after the initial good/reasonable price you saw. +++ means about 10% service charge and 7% GST (Goods and Services Tax) was still to be added. This is standard practice in Singapore.

You usally if you book directly with the hotel the price quated is less tax which comes to 17.7% or so. If you go to one of the hotel consolidators, or if you pre pay, the price quoted is usually the net/inclusive price.

拢106 %26#39;%26#39;tax recovery%26#39;%26#39; ? It%26#39;s a new one on me, It%26#39;s certainly something I%26#39;ve never knowingly paid. Alan.

Wasn%26#39;t that the name of charges hotels levied during the Grand Prix to recover the extra taxes charged at the time? When are you travelling, mardibum?

get to singapore on 6th april, leave on 12th april..maybe have to look at something cheaper with all this tax nonsense,,hotel was pan pacific...anyone know any good 3 star with pool

Well that timing isn%26#39;t when the Grand Prix is on, so its not that extra tourist tax.

Where were you booking - as if its direct then expect the GST and so on to get added after and since only governments technically charge taxes they might phrase the cost to cover that that way.

I%26#39;ve never seen such a separate charge from a UK agent, but then they%26#39;d get a single costing to you - but I have seen jumps in prices from direct booking websites before after viewing rates, again not with that phrasing but it does fit charges for sales tax and similar - if there are several taxes then its probably easier for them to lump them into one charge than list each separately.

who to book hotel with

which is the best uk travel agent to book singapore hotels with,,does anyone know of any special deals /

thanks

who to book hotel with

I%26#39;m afraid you have to do your homework. Compare like with like, travel agents with travel agents. All have different targets, different offers, different expertise.

There%26#39;s no %26#39;%26#39;one size fits all%26#39;%26#39; Try checking with on-line companies, Asia.com, Expedia, etc, or even the hotels direct, or the airlines that do %26#39;%26#39;packages%26#39;%26#39;. Make the research part of the fun. Remembering He/she who does their research, WINS.

Hope this helps. Alan.

who to book hotel with

If you are comfortable with on-line agents, I have successfully used www.wotif.com and www.expedia.com in the past.

Hi,

wotif.com and its country specific sites, eg. wotif.com.au have always been reliable for my hotel bookings.

Thaqnks for your help, I will try it

asiarooms and asiatravel worked very well for me. never had problems, even for last minute changes on my booking.

thanks,,

I usually book directly with the hotel, as I feel like I have more leverage as opposed to a 3rd party vendor. :)

looked online ,booking direct with hotel, always appear that the hotel rates are moe expensive han the online agents?

From what I have seen there are a few more variables than just price, that may or may not be important.

I think the hotel has some discretion on what room to assign. Most hotels have a few small rooms that are close to a noisy elevator, or look out to a building a few feet away. Sometimes you can%26#39;t know all the details about a room from the 3rd party website. (or the hotel website either)

I would prefer not spending time on my holiday contacting the 3rd party vendor to resolve my dispute. For what it is worth, just my opinion though.

I tend to book through one of Kuoni, Trailfinders or Premier Travel - depending on exactly what hotels each offers any given year, and whether Im going to Singapore alone or attaching it to other travel.

I%26#39;ve not used Expedia, Travelocity or similar but I know people who have and they have always been happy with them as agents, although they don%26#39;t always get the best deals these days - they%26#39;ve always been beaten for flight costs to Singapore by the travel agents above whenever Ive been booking, which is about the only reason that I haven%26#39;t used them.

There can be considerable variance between them for a given hotel as it all depends on who they get the best deals with, so its shop around for the hotel you want, or reasonable alternatives. Deals change with time, so again its shop around. The more flexible you are on hotel and location the better the deal.

Another option is go direct with Singapore Airlines on their Stopover deal if it fits your needs. I find you need to book a fair way in advance if you are looking for more than a 3-5 day stay as they fill hotels on the odd day that can break up a longer stay. Again check the comparative prices and what you are getting for them.

Shopping around is the key to it...being sure that lower prices are getting you the same things is important too.

Need travel agency in Singers...

I plan to buy a ticket inter-Asia from Singapore once I arrive in Singapore for a 6 night stay. I have read that it is much cheaper to buy the ticket for a short flight within Asia in Singapore as opposed to my home country.

Can anyone recommend a good travel agency close to Clarke Quay?

Need travel agency in Singers...

You Dun need a Travel agency to book Ur travel within asia; Depending on which of the asia country U are going, U can try this few budget website:

http://www.jetstar.com/sg/en/index.aspx

http://www.tigerairways.com/sg/en/

http://www.silkair.com/mbe/en_UK/

singaporeair.com/saa/鈥lights_singapore.jsp

Most likely, U can do it even before U leave US, otherwise U can do it here when U arrive at an Internet cafe (If U did not have Ur laptop with U). Like buying on Jetstar, U can pay at the Singapore Post Office (No need for credit card). At clarke Quay there is a Internet cafe just next to swissotel Merchant Court.

If U still prefer a travel agency (Which would be more expensive; U can try Chanbrothers which is just behind Chinatown Point near Clarke Quay:

www.chanbrothers.com/contact_us.cfm?a=fne

or CTC holidays:

http://www.ctc.com.sg/contact.php

Need travel agency in Singers...

Agree that it is much better to DIY. Travel agencies are not that great in Singapore and many of them break their contracts with credit card companies by charging you an extra fee for using a credit card (so it is often more expensive to use agency vs DIY).

email

over night

Hi Guys, Please I have one small question we are travelling to Singapore on the 9 may 09 at 5.30 pm till 10.30 the next day stopping over on our way to vietnam. do we need a visa to enter singapore. would be greatfull for any advise thanks lorraine

over night

hello Lorraine,

Austalian passport holders don%26#39;t need to apply for a visa when entering in Singapore.

Here the countries where a visa is required: www.ica.gov.sg/page.aspx?pageid=96%26secid=94

over night

Thank you very much for the imformation

Lorraine

Hotel Rendezvous sgd 200

I%26#39;d be staying in Hotel Rendezvous (near Dhobi Ghaut MRT stn)in singapore in for 4 nights in end of feb. I booked this hotel through phone by calling hotel in singapore direct for sgd 200 per night plus taxes. its deluxe king room for me wife %26amp; 5 yr old. do u guys think its good deal as i wanted to be near little india %26amp; shopping. thanx for any help.

Hotel Rendezvous sgd 200

Another option for the neighboring hotels is the Bayview (been updated not too long ago), near raffles hotel and City Hall MRT, no lack of food and shopping choices.

Good Luck

PS. check the other post for the deal with price.

Hotel Rendezvous sgd 200

Hi,

This hotel is not at all a bad deal.Very close to Dhobby Ghaut MRT.I would suggest you that you buy ';ez link card'; from MRT Staion worth S$ 15 per adult.And with this you can travel allot within the singapore MRT%26#39;s and even by Buses.Any area is not that far from each other once you travel through MRT.From dhobby Ghaut i think little India is the first staion. Please check at this website';Smrt.com.sg'; Network map.

Hope this helps.If you need any otheradvise please dnt hesitate.

HAve a Wonderful Holidays!

Asia travel has Hotel Rendevous for $160 inclusive of the 17.7% taxes, so that is $75 a night cheaper.

Infect even, i would suggest if you can try booking with jet airways.We did this way and trust me we have got the BEST deal.We were in singapore from 31st Jan to 6th jan 2009.I hope the rates will be much cheaper than waht you are currently booking at.

rimmel

Singapore and Kuala Lumpur - How many nights?

I was planning on spending 2 nights in each city, but then thought about adding a third night to one of the cities. Which one could use a third night more than the other? Thanks.

Singapore and Kuala Lumpur - How many nights?

If you want to take some tours from KL, then its better to add your extra day to KL. Sites are futher apart and coach tours need half a day at least. In Travelling to sites takes longe. Singapore you can see easily, on your own, using public transport and taxis and its a much smaller place so you can get more done in a day.

Singapore and Kuala Lumpur - How many nights?

I was just going to enjoy the cities on my own. Do you think 2 nights in each is sufficient? Thanks.

Best cruise for families with small children

HI! We%26#39;re thinking of going to Singapore for a cruise this December. Can you please recommend a cruise that will be great for families with small children.

It will be our first cruise so it will be nice to start with a 3-4 night cruis.

We would like to leave from Singapore OR end up in Singapore because we want to stay in Singapore for a few days to visit the zoo, Sentosa, shops, etc.

Thanks in advance!

Best cruise for families with small children

Ooops... I also forgot to ask if you knew a website/travel agency that can give us the best deals.

Thanks again!

Best cruise for families with small children

well, you have to check with your agent that which cruise will sail by the time you are in singapore. We were in singapore for 4 days and star cruise was sailing from 4th feb to 6th feb.I would suggest you can directly contact Royal Carribean or Star Cruise.For better deals contact your local deals.As you are travelling with kids and family so you just have to go with their food timimgs as their are very particular about timimgs.You will be having Veg and Non Veg food like anything,lots of dishes in breakfsat,lunch and dinner.