You don’t have to suffer from inflated hotel rates in Singapore to watch the 2008 Formula1 Grand Prix

With less than two months to go before the historic 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, Formula1 fans and tourists alike are beginning to swamp Singapore hotels with room reservations.

So swamped with room reservations are the Singapore hotels, in fact, that rates have gone up and tourists brimmed over the island and turned their attention to nearby Malaysia for their hotel reservations.

Malaysia, a country that borders Singapore to the south, is connected to the Grand Prix host via the Johor-Singapore Causeway. With approximately 30 minutes travel time to Singapore, the Malaysian southernmost city of Johor Bahru gives visitors an alternative to the inflated rates of Singapore hotels.

Singapore-based newspaper The Business Times reports that a fraction of the country’s visitors are booking five-star hotels in Johor Bahru where prices work out to a mere fraction of what is being charged in Singapore.

At the five-star Puteri Pacific Hotel, bookings have started to come in recently from both individuals and groups. Rooms are going at RM500++ (S$209) per night, with a minimum of three nights, which is still vastly cheaper than the rates charged by some of the local hotels.

At this point, the Puteri Pan Pacific has 300 rooms taken up—an occupancy rate of about 60 percent. Other hotels in the area are getting their share of reservations as well. Below is a list of hotels in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, worth checking out for the Formula Grand Prix on Sept.28:

• Hotel Selesa, Johor Bahru
• Selesa Beach Resort, Port Dickson
• A Vista Melati Hotel
• Selesa Beach Resort, Port Dickson
• JB Central Hotel
• Hotel Selesa, Pasir Gudang
• Tropical Inn Johor Bahru
• Suria Resort and Hotel
• Grand BlueWave Hotel

Of the reservations received by Johor Bahru hotels in Malaysia, over 60 percent of the bookings are from Europe, while close to 30 percent are from Australia. Some of the hotels are planning to offer chartered private buses via the Tuas Link to ferry its guests.