Wangz Hotel

The Wangz Hotel's barrel-shaped aluminum facade cuts a strange shape against the backdrop of the old historic district's typically Art Deco architecture. The curving interiors have an equally modern feel that's lightened up by playful cutouts of birds, forrest animals, and sea cretures on the walls. Plants add vibrance to the lobby lounge and the rooftop restaurant was renovated in 2015 to include a grassy outdoor garden terrace.

Wangz Hotel is situated between two main roads right off of a major freeway and outside Chinatown in the historic district of Tiong Bahru Estate. This neighborhood was originally built as a housing project, but its 1930s architecture and status as a protected heritage site have transformed it into a bastion of hip markets and eateries. While the location is charming, none of Singapore's main attractions are within walking distance. The thoroughfares provide great access to the rest of the city by car, and public transportation options are within a two-minute walk. The hotel also operates a free shuttle to nearby shopping centers. Business travelers can get to the Central Business District in about ten minutes by car and Changi International Airport is 25 minutes away.

With just a few stylish rooms per floor, the hotel's 41 rooms feel like a serviced apartments. Even the smallest options are large for a local boutique property and have sitting areas and plenty of room to stretch out. Decor is sharp, with gray tones and frosted-glass accents with large works of art depicting wildlife. All rooms come with work desks and office chairs along with designer seats and lamps providing pops of color. Amenities include iPod docks and minibars with free non-alcoholic drinks, and suites also come with Nespresso machines. The big bathrooms have huge walk-in rainfall showers with benches and additional handheld showerheads plus Molton Brown toiletries. 

The Wangz Hotel's crowning feature is its rooftop restaurant and bar -- Rabbit Stash -- which opened in early 2015. Half of the seating is indoors behind floor-to-ceiling windows, and there's additional seating on an outdoor garden terrace. The restaurant's seasonal menu is built around experimental French cuisine with Singaporean influences. Creations with names such as "Soil goodness of lamb" and "Confit of morning catch" are presented artistically on small plates and are best experienced in the seven-course tasting menu. The lobby restaurant, Nectar, serves both Western and Asian cuisine all day in a more casual lounge (which received new seating after our visit) with some extra seating on an outdoor patio. Guests have access to free non-alcoholic drinks anytime and breakfast is included in room rates. The lobby also has an Internet corner with a single Mac and free Wi-Fi is available throughout. There's no pool or spa here and the tiny fitness room consists only of a treadmill, an exercise bike, a resistance-training machine, and a rack of free weights.