Posted Monday, November 15, 2004; 21:00 HKT
If your idea of cut-price accommodation in Asia is a narrow bunk, a wheezing air-conditioner and bugs for roommates, then Singaporean Loh Lik Peng has a pleasant surprise for you. In late 2002, the 32-year-old lawyer turned innkeeper set out to prove that cheap need not mean nasty—and today rests his case on Hotel 1929, the acclaimed budget hotel he opened in the outskirts of Singapore's historic Chinatown.

Comprising five colonial-era terraced houses artfully joined to create a 32-room property, Hotel 1929 exemplifies what can be achieved with a soupcon of good taste and a lot of imagination. Rooms are tiny but individually styled, and all are equipped with a flat-screen television, broadband Internet access and a designer shower. Guests also get to enjoy a rooftop Jacuzzi and Loh's private collection of vintage designer chairs, which are scattered throughout the guest rooms and public areas. The surrounding district is another plus: Chinatown is rapidly gentrifying, with trendy nightclubs, bars and restaurants cropping up beside more traditional shops and eateries. Says Loh: "There's no reason why an affordable hotel couldn't be very chic. We never wanted to project a very élitist kind of image. We always thought of ourselves as a very cheap budget hotel." With rates from just $59 a night, cash-strapped visitors to Singapore can now bid a joyful adieu to stuffy dorms and queuing for the bathroom.

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