I stayed in the Amara on my way to and from Vietnam in March and April 2007. I booked the hotel from the Singapore Stopover brochure and was a bit concerned when I read the previous negative review, But the hotel was a good choice. This was my fourth visit to Singapore. I'm not a shopper, and I was keen to explore Chinatown this time. The location of the hotel was great. It was also one of the quietest hotels I've stayed in. And it's close to the Maxwell Rd hawker stalls and the Blue Ginger restaurant where the food is excellent. There is an MRT a few minutes away. My rooms on both visits were clean and comfortable, though a lingering smell of smoke makes me suspect that people still smoke in the non smoking rooms. I found the concierges very helpful and the service excellent.

On our way to Sydney we did a two-day stopover in Singapore and booked through Singapore Airlines.
The room seemed a little dirty and old. The bathroom was old. You definetly didn't want to take a bath in the tub.
Housekeeping would wake you up early even if you put the sign not to disturb.
I had a pedicure at the Spa, which was very good.
The small pool was also god.
The Bar was alright but the cocktails weren't very good.
To summarize: ok for a couple of nights when you are out all day exploring the city, but definetly nothing fancy.

Stayed here on a Singapore Stopover from Singapore Airlines as part of our honeymoon, and it was wonderful. Impeccable Singaporean service, a lovely hotel, a a truly spectacular swimming pool. We stayed their twice and the first room we stayed in had a shower so big I could lie across it on the floor. (The second room had a normal-sized shower!) The rooms are comfortable and a reasonable size and very clean. But it's the Balinese style swimming pool that is really spectacular. Outside on the 6th floor, it is surrounded by tropical foliage. Fountains spurt into one side of the pool. Swimming at night is lovely.

The concierges at the hotel were the most helpful I've even encountered, particularly the evening concierge. His advice on places to eat, where to get genuine electronics bargains, what was happening on any particular night really made our stay great. Instead of directing us to the hotel's restaurant, or another venue paying him a commission to send tourists there, he told us about a street closed off that night for satay stalls and a firewalking event at an Indian temple.

Our stay at the Amara really couldn't have been better.

I have stayed at the Amara Hotel about 5 to 6 times already during 2004-2006, each stay spanning 2 nights or more. I used to get rates of S$99 per night as the hotel had special weekend rates for Singaporeans - this was pretty good value for money given its good location (near MRT station and Chinatown shops) and its reasonably new pleasant room interiors. I understand these rates have increased substantially now. Staff is generally also polite and nice, especially waiting staff at the ground floor cafe. However, I have at one time met rather inexperienced and clueless staff (a young short and plump Chinese lady with short hair) at the reception, and I can definitely identify with the posted comments about bad housekeeping. In particular, I was woken up by a telephone call from housekeeping one Sunday morning asking if I wanted the room cleaned. After I gave a time for the room to be cleaned, I arranged my activities so that I would be out of the room before that time. But when I returned in the evening, the room had not been attended to. The non-cleaning of rooms has happened more than twice. Also, many times, I find the "tin" that contains the toiletries to be wet or otherwise rusty. I have come to the conclusion that it is the inexperience of the staff and the at times bad housekeeping that would tarnish an otherwise pleasant stay at this hotel.