Singapore for a conference — where to stay, and how the city works

The venues, and the hotels that go with them

Venue	What’s held there	Walkable hotels
Sands Expo & Convention Centre, Marina Bay	The big tech, finance and medical congresses	Marina Bay Sands; Ritz-Carlton Millenia; Conrad Centennial; Pan Pacific; the Fullerton
Suntec Singapore Convention Centre, Marina Centre	Exhibitions, mid-size conferences, trade shows	Conrad Centennial and Pan Pacific (attached); Swissôtel The Stamford; JW Marriott South Beach
Singapore Expo, Changi	The largest trade shows and consumer fairs	Hotels near Changi or along the East–West MRT; most delegates stay in town and ride the MRT
Hotel ballrooms — Shangri-La, Grand Hyatt, Marina Bay Sands	Company events, dealer meets, incentive groups	The hotel itself

The two city venues are one MRT stop apart, so a hotel at either end works for both. The Singapore hotel page has the full list by area.

Where to stay: three answers

Marina Bay — for Sands Expo and the CBD. Marina Bay Sands is the venue, the view and the hotel everyone photographs; it is not the quietest or the best-value stay, and our Singapore page says so. The Ritz-Carlton Millenia and Conrad Centennial give you the same walk with better rooms for the money; the Fullerton puts a senior visitor in the old colonial building on the river.

Marina Centre and City Hall — for Suntec. Pan Pacific and Conrad are part of the Suntec complex. Swissôtel The Stamford at City Hall is the tall, practical choice with the MRT interchange underneath, and the JW Marriott South Beach is the design-led one.

Orchard Road — if the evenings matter more than the venue. Shangri-La, Grand Hyatt, Hilton Orchard and the mid-range Holiday Inn and voco. Fifteen to twenty minutes to either venue by MRT or taxi, with the shopping and the restaurants on the doorstep. The right choice for a company event held in one of these hotels’ own ballrooms.

The trip

• Before. The visa takes three to five working days through an agent — start two weeks out. Register for the conference, and if the organiser has a hotel block, tell us; we’ll compare it with the open rate.
• Arrive. Immigration is quick; the MRT or a taxi gets you to Marina Bay in half an hour. Singapore is 2.5 hours ahead of IST, enough to feel on day one.
• During. The city is walkable and the MRT covers everything; a taxi between Marina Bay and Orchard is ten to fifteen minutes. Indian and vegetarian food is a non-issue anywhere — Little India is one MRT stop from Bugis for the evenings.
• After. Two nights on Sentosa or Orchard Road if you can; the airport’s Jewel is worth an hour on the way out.

Groups and company events

For a dealer meet, an incentive group or a company conference of 30 to 300, we quote the hotel’s ballroom, the room block and the airport coaches on one sheet, manage the rooming list and the visa paperwork for the group, and issue one INR invoice with GST on our service. Tell us the dates and the headcount.

• More on the destination: Singapore hotels — Marina Bay, Orchard, Sentosa · all Worldwide destinations