We went for a staycation at a heritage shophouse! Here's what it's like at boutique Hotel NuVe Heritage

Hotel NuVe Heritage at Singapore's Purvis Street offers a charming boutique stay infused with local character and thoughtful touches, perfect for a family staycation.

When I’m looking for staycation options, I usually skip hotels. Most don't fit four and once kids hit their tween years, they’re counted as adults, so you either need two pricey rooms or end up without enough beds. So I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered Hotel NuVe Heritage.

Hotel NuVe Heritage is a boutique hotel with only 19 rooms, and that means it is pretty exclusive. While it counts kids 10 years and older as adults, it has a beautiful suite that comfortably fits four adults and the room rate is pretty reasonable. Will share more on rates later but for now, here's a review of our staycation at Hotel NuVe Heritage!

We arrived at 13 Purvis Street just before the 3pm check-in. This lovely row of shophouses is where Hotel NuVe Heritage is located. I really love the old-world charm of Singapore's iconic shophouses.

The hotel entrance doesn't scream "hotel" and in fact, if you walk by without seeing the signage, you might just miss it.

But that's really part of the quiet charm of NuVe Heritage. The moment you step inside, you can appreciate how quaint this boutique hotel feels. The first thing that catches your eye is a stylish bar called Dimple. Walk further along the earth-toned interior and vintage tiles, and you’ll arrive at the hotel reception.

Though we were a little early, lucky us - our Photographer Suite was ready! On our way to the suite on the second floor, I really appreciated the little touches, like the Peranakan tiles and bird cages cleverly repurposed as lights.

And we're at our suite!

By the way, there is only one photographer suite in NuVe Heritage, so we're really lucky to snag this during the March school holidays.

Once you step into the suite, the first thing you’ll notice is a vintage Polaroid camera display. (It is called the Photographer Suite, after all 😉)

We went up a flight of stairs...

...and what unfolds is a beautiful, spacious suite with one king-sized bed and one queen-sized bed. Yup, definitely enough room for a family of four to relax and sleep comfortably!

We absolutely adore the stylish decor, and it's pretty obvious why it's called the Photographer Suite. Look at the pictures displayed!😊

And this.

And this! Check out the old school phone 😉

Other than the space, the high ceiling also makes the room very unique!

There's no window in the room - just the panels near the ceiling - but given how huge the room is, it being quite windowless was the last thing I noticed. 😆

There is also a one-time complimentary minibar selection of soft drinks and snacks on check-in day. Ooh there's beer! 😄

Of course, there is also mineral water, coffee, tea, kettle and coffee maker.

The bathroom is spacious with a bathtub and all the usual hotel amenities, like toothbrush, toothpaste, shower gel and shampoo. We especially appreciate the double sinks (actually three, since there's another outside the toilet), which makes things so much easier when four people are staying in a room!

After marvelling at our beautiful suite, it was time to head out. On the way, we noticed the little touches that gives the hotel a Singapore vibe. There are local snacks guests can help themselves to.

And check out these cool postcards! Of course, we took some home for souvenirs. 😄

Guests at Hotel NuVe Heritage can also get a complimentary Sentosa Discovery Choice Pass which gives you access to a Sentosa attraction. At the time of writing, you can choose from Ultragolf, Wings of Time Fireworks Symphony, Axe Factor, Hydrodash and 4D Adventureland. Pretty good choices there, I would say! We did consider going to Sentosa on the last day of our staycation but alas hubs had something on, so we decided to just hang around the Bugis area for most of our staycay.

There are other guest perks like 15% off at Dimple (that's the bar we walked past when entering the hotel. More on that later!) and 10% off eatery, Treasure Toast, which serves kaya toasts and local delights along Purvis Street.

There isn't a pool or fitness centre at the hotel - it's a boutique hotel after all - so I feel the best thing to do during a staycation here is to explore the very vibrant area. There are many quaint cafes and eateries, and our favourite Bugis Junction, Bugis Plus, Bras Basah Complex and the National Library are all in the vicinity!

In fact I would say that if you have kids who love books and reading, this is such an ideal place to come for a staycation because Kinokuniya, Popular and the Central Library are all here! After tea at Oriental Kopi at Bugis Junction, we were off to all our favourite book haunts.

After going to Kinokuniya at Bugis Junction, next was Popular at Bras Basah...

...and then to Central Library, where we took our time to browse books given that there was no rush to go home since we stayed so nearby😆

Of course, if you aren't bookworms like us, there's still much to do in the area like shopping, going to the cinema and karaoke - the choices are endless! For instance, when we were there, there was a Disney Pop-up Breakfast selling Singapore-themed food plushies at Bugis+ and for the first time, we got check out the gorgeous Danish lifestyle store, Flying Tiger Copenhagen, which opened at the mall in July last year!

While we chose to hang around the Bugis area, Hotel NuVe Heritage is within walking distance to City Hall and Suntec. So there's actually so much more to explore!

We ended the day with dinner at Scrambled Egg Rice Keisuke at Bugis+.

We walked by Liang Seah Street at night and I really didn't know it is so happening at night with a wide variety of eateries bustling and open till late. A bit of an eye-opener for my girls who are seldom in this area at night. Haha!

BTW, do note that there’s no on-site parking at NuVe Heritage. While there is street parking along Purvis Street, it gets pretty costly if you’re leaving your car there all day and overnight. For overnight parking, Beach Centre nearby is a good option as it charges a flat per-entry rate of around S$4. Since there’s no on-site parking and petrol prices are high these days, we opted for public transport instead, and it turned out to be really convenient given how central the area is.

Anyway, back to our hotel. Suite stays at NuVe Heritage come with two complimentary signature cocktails at Dimple. So after checking in, we let the girls head up to freshen up while hubs and I stayed at the bar for our drinks. This was the delicious cocktail we had that was made with rum, kaya, and coconut! It was really nice to hang at Dimple with hubs as it has been a while since we chilled at a bar.

Then it was time to wind down for the night.

For room entertainment, there is free wifi and a TV with some cable channels. There was nothing interesting on, so we all retreated to our books.

Again, here's a view of the impressive ceiling from our beds 😆

The beds are really comfy and we had two pillows each - all very important for a good night's sleep when at a staycation!

Here’s the same ceiling that greeted me in the morning. Quite a dreamy sight when you have light filtering in through the window panels and casting a glow across the slanted ceiling and its main feature.

Check out is at 11am so we had a nice breakfast at Starbucks first. There are quite a number of breakfast places in the area but Big E wasn't keen on the more traditional local breakfast, if not, would have loved to try Treasure Toast, especially with the 10% discount for NuVe Heritage guests.

And with that, we have sadly come to end of our staycation!

You might be wondering about prices. Hotel prices can vary depending on peak periods - whether it’s weekdays, weekends, or public holidays - and how early you book. At the time of writing, a quick check on NuVe Heritage’s website shows the standard rate for the Photographer Suite we stayed in is S$480 per night (before 10% service charge and prevailing government tax) for a non-public holiday weekend in April.

The good news is, the hotel offers early bird promos with a 35% discount when you book directly. For the same weekend we checked, that brought the price down to just S$312 (before 10% service charge and prevailing GST), which I think is really reasonable for a suite of this size. If you already have dates in mind, definitely go for the early bird deal. The terms aren’t restrictive either. It requires full prepayment, but you can cancel up to seven days before your stay, plus enjoy perks like early check-in and late check-out.

If you’ve got a smaller family, there are lower-priced options too. For example, the Explorer Suite accommodates up to three guests, and with the early bird promo for the same April weekend, it was only S$273.

All in all, this was a truly unique staycation, full of local flavour and boutique hotel charm, right in a part of Singapore we absolutely love.

For more pics and vids, do see my Instagram post and IG Stories in my IGS highlights at VivianTeoWriter!

Thank you, Hotel NuVe Heritage, for having us! Hotel NuVe Heritage is located at 13 Purvis St, Singapore 188592. Tel: +65 6250 4024.

Disclaimer: This review was made possible by Hotel NuVe Heritage through a media invite. As always, all opinions expressed are our own.

©Vivian Teo. All content and photos are copyrighted to Vivian Teo unless otherwise specified.