SINGAPORE - If not for the Covid-19 pandemic, cyber security consultant Kenneth Lim, 30, would have taken a trip to Osaka and Kyoto in Japan with his fiancee this year.
With travel on hold, millennials like him are forming the bulk of staycation guests at boutique hotels in cool neighbourhoods on the city fringe. Many properties are offering discounts of between 20 and 40 per cent to draw young working professionals hankering for now unattainable holidays abroad. Few mind that there is no pool, gym or free breakfast, when there is lots to do, see and eat in the neighbourhood, sometimes with tie-up discounts too.
If you want a comfortable, fuss-free stay on the doorstep of Kampong Glam, you could do worse than spend the night at The Sultan hotel - an elegant row of conserved shophouses in Jalan Sultan. Before Covid-19 struck, this was my annual getaway in Johor Baru. With borders closed, I find similar adventures in the up-and-coming neighbourhood of Jalan Besar, with a stay at Hotel Yan in Tyrwhitt Road.