More hostels in Singapore as demand for cheap stay increases

A hotel room in Singapore costs on average $261 per night. So demand for hostels in Singapore is (not suprisingly) high. As of July 2013 there are 56 licensed hostels in Singapore. There were 46 licensed hotels by July 2012. Besides the increase in number, quality of the hostel stock also changed a lot. There are many hostels now in Singapore offering much more than bunker beds in dark and far corners of the island state. There are many centrally located boutique hostels in Singapore now offering relatively luxurious stay. ABC Premium Hostel and Bunc@Radius Backpack Hostel in Singapore Little India, Wink Hostel and Adler Hostel in Singapore Chinatown are just some to name.

More gap-year travellers, flashpackers are travelling to Singapore which is driving the demand for hostels. And price is not the only reason for many to stay in a hostel. Hostel offers a communal environment and a chance to meet more people compared to a hotel. Another group of hostel dwellers are people looking for a job in Singapore and students.

If you are looking for a hostel in Singapore, you can read our articles on the topic:

• Hostels in Singapore
  
• Singapore's First Pod Style Flashpacker Hostel
  
• Backpacking to flashpacking: Flashpacking hostels of Singapore and South East Asia
  
• Tree In Lodge Singapore’s first environmentally-friendly hostel
  
• Pod Hotels getting popular
  
• Boutique hostels in Singapore
  
• Adler Hostel in Singapore offers luxury hostel stay
  
• Wink Hostel in Singapore Chinatown: Upscale pod style beds in Singapore
  
• ABC Premium Hostel in Singapore Little India: Truly a premium grade hostel
  
• Bunc@Radius Backpack Hostel in Singapore's Little India

Bunc@Radius Backpack Hostel in Singapore's Little India

Cheap stay in Singapore has become very important thanks to the expensive hotel room prices. Luckily the demand created its supply and new breed of budget hotels and upscale hostels emerged in Singapore recently to address the needs of travelers who do not like to pay a small fortune to a Singapore hotel room but wants something more than a cold, crowded and often uncomfortable military dorm style hostels.

Bunc@Radius Backpack Hostel in Singapore Little India (or simply Bunc Hostel) is one of the brand-new hostels offering a relatively luxurious hostel experience. Bunc Hotel offers 272 clean and comfortable beds in two sizes: Singles and Deluxes. A deluxe Bunc bed is twice the size of the full-sized single, and is able to accommodate two people spaciously. Each Bunc bed is luxuriously appointed with duvet covers and plush pillows. The beds are located in 6 dorm types - 16, 12, 11, 10, 8 and 6 beds. The hostel also offers 2 private rooms.

Bunc Hostel caters to flashpackers and poshpackers (backpacking with more style and money). It offers full air-conditioning, Wi-fi, kitchenette facilities, recreation rooms with gaming facilities, an outdoor tanning deck, commercial washer-dryers, a ladies-only floor alongside the custom made roomy Bunc beds.

BUNC@Radius Backpacker Hostel has been ranked and reviewed consistently as a top brand-new boutique hostel located in Central Singapore at Upper Weld Road, Singapore. The hostel, which is located 10-15 minutes walk away from Little India MRT Station, is ranked in top 10 hostels by TripAdvisors and ranked as top in overall rating by HostelWorld.com guests.

Bunc@Radius Backpack Hostel in Singapore

In large sized dorm rooms, single beds start from 40 SGD per night per bed and double bed starts from 75 SGD per night per bed. You can read hostel reviews here.

Here are some other boutique style hostels in Singapore.

5footway.inn Project Chinatown	Wink Hostel	Adler hostel	Beary Nice!

Wink Hostel in Singapore Chinatown: Upscale pod style beds in Singapore

In Singapore's expensive hotel market, it may look like you need to choose among two options: Either pay expensive prices to stay in a Singapore hotel or pay less but stay in a typical army-style bunk bed type dorm of a hostel. But if you want something between what would you do? Enter Singapore's recent phenomenon to address this issue: Capsule hotel inspired boutique hostels. These new breed of hostels can feel the gap between hostel and boutique hotel. This type of hostel is first introduced by Match Box Concept Hostel at Ann Siang Road of Chinatown and there are now several hostels in this class like Bunc Hostel in Little India, Adler Hostel and Wink Hostel.

The cost of one night stay in a capsule or pod style bed starts from $40 at Bunc Hostel and $45 at Match Box Concept Hostel. This is significantly lower than the nearest best class of accommodation  a budget hotel with a box style room. For example room prices in Porcelain Hotel, which is in the same street with Wink Hostel, starts from $100 while a capsule bed can be rented for $50 in Wink Hostel.

Making its debut in October 2011 in a nice Sino-Portuguese style Singapore shop house, Wink Hostel became one of the best hostels in Singapore. The hostel offers 72 "pod" style beds each built with sound resistant walls, closing doors, dedicated ambient lighting, anti-glare LED reading lights and complimentary WI-FI access. Wink Hostel also stands out with its great location in the middle of Singapore's Chinatown and surrounded with very authentic streets, activities, shopping options and food plus its proximity to public transportation (almost right next to China Town MRT Station).

"People want to stay in a nice, decent and clean place" says Cheryl Ou, co-founder of Wink Hostel. "They do not want to pay exorbitant prices to stay in a hotel and neither do they want to stay in a typical army-style bunk bed type space".

Ms Cheryl Ou had considered other popular locations such as Little India and Lavender before choosing Chinatown. The 29-year-old, who ran the now-defunct Habitat Hostel in Devonshire Road, says: “Here, it’s safe and you get a good mix of tourism and residential parts. That really reflects the Singaporean culture. Being in a shophouse – that’s something we can show from our past.”

Prices range from $50 for a single pod bed to $90 for a double pod bed. The hostel also offers Smart Cards enabling the guests to access only to their rooms and lockers. And when a guest enters his/her room, only his/her assigned pod is illuminated.

And do not think these hostels are only for backpackers who do not mind to pay $20-30 more to stay in a nicer hostel. Hostels like Wink Hostels get great reviews in online hotel booking sites such as agoda.com. For example, Wink Hostel has 251 reviews in agoda from business to solo travellers which sum up to an 8.8 (fantastic) review point. For example in a review "if they could have the actual capsules from Japan, this place will rock" says a solo traveler. "But it is as good as it gets in Singapore. Strangely enough I wasn't the only business traveller in this place."

And these type of hostels are not for holiday goers: Wink Hostel provides a great place to stay for the student or adventurous business executive trying to find work in Singapore during the transitional period of looking for more permanent housing in the area.  "An alternative to Singapore’s infamously expensive apartments, these long term guests can enjoy high-speed wifi to get their work done while paying a modestly discounted rate of  5-12% depending on the length of the stay" says Alex Ung in notatourist.sg.[2]
[1] - New Age Hostels
[2] - Upscale backpacking at The Wink Hostel

Capsule style hostels in Singapore

As far as I know there is no capsule hotel in Singapore but some of the hostels in Singapore offer capsule styled beds which provides more privacy compared to the standard dorm beds of a typical hostel. These capsule (or pod) styled hostels are also tend to be relatively luxurious in the dorms and common areas which caters to budget travellers who looks for something between a hostel and hotel.

Here is a list of hostels in Singapore which provide capsule style beds.

Wink Hostel
Equipped with sound-resistant pod beds, contained lighting, private nooks and located in a 3-storey historic shop house in the middle of Singapore's Chinatown, Wink Hostel offers one of the best pod-style hostel accomodation in terms of comfort, privacy and location convenience.

Pod style beds of Wink Hostel provides travellers their private sleeping sanctums. The hostel also provides queen-sized pods for couples travelling together, or the traveller who yearns a bigger bed. There is a Ladies dormitory, complete with vanity counters, provide female guests better peace of mind and a little luxury on the side.

Pod style beds at Wink Hostel Singapore

Wink Hostel is at 8A Mosque Street, Chinatown, a few minutes away from Chinatown MRT Station.

Woke Home Backpacker's Capsule Hostel
Woke Home Backpacker's Capsule Hostel, as its name suggests, capsule styled beds. The hostel has 88 capsules equipped with comfortable mattress, foldable table, 15 inch TV, a mini lamp, personal headphone, roll up shade/blinds and 24hr Wi-Fi access. Other than the privacy provided by the capsules, this hostel has one more advantage: its excellent location in the middle of Singapore center. It is a few minutes walk away from Boat Quay and Clarke Quay MRT Stations.


Considering that other capsule hostels in Singapore charge up to S$55 per night, the prices are Woke Home are a bargain. The rack rates are S$42 for a bed in the mixed room or S$45 in the female-only room.

The location is also extremely convenient – a five-minute walk to the riverside entertainment area of Clarke Quay or 10 minutes to Chinatown or Raffles Place. Proof that it’s the perfect location for a hostel, the same building is home to popular Five Stones Hostel, a traditional hostel with bunk beds and private rooms.
Review: Woke Home Capsule Hostel, Singapore

Woke Home Capsule Hostel Singapore

Matchbox Flashpacker Concept Hostel
Matchbox Concept Hostel in Chinatown is located at one of the most beautiful and central corner of Singapore. This is a beautiful boutique hostel and have capsule-like dormitory beds. And as far as I know, Matchbox hostel was the first hostel in Singapore offering pod style accommodation.

Matchbox Concept Hostel

Adler Hostel in Singapore offers luxury hostel stay

Hostel in Singapore was a rarity just until a few years ago but thanks to increased number of budget travelers and runaway cost of renting a simple hotel room in Singapore, many hostels emerged in the past few years. With the opening of  The Matchbox Concept Hostel and Wink Hostel, we have also started to see increasing number of relatively luxurious hostels offering some privacy to its guests in the form of cabins or pots.

One of these luxury hostels offering much more than basic bed + shower combination of a standard hostel is Adler Hostel in Chinatown. The hostel calls itself "The First Luxurious Hostel in Singapore". I have doubts about that they are the "first" but the property is really luxurious for a hostel. In fact, Adler Hostel has been at the top of "the best value for money" accommodation in Singapore list in Asia's leading hotel booking site Agoda.com with a rating of Fantastic (9.0).

Adler Hostel occupies a newly renovated traditional shop-house which is conveniently located in Chinatown, just behind the Temple Street. It is a short walk away from Chinatown MRT Station. The hostel features cabins dorm beds separated by panels from each other. The beds in Adler Hostel are housed in two 16-bed dorms. Add these dormitory beds a curtain that can be pulled, they provide a lot of privacy while sleeping. The comfort level it provides to its guests in its class has also put the hostel in the best room comfort/standard list in agoda.

He could have actually squeezed in 46 beds in the Chinatown hostel but Adler Hostel’s young founder, Mr Adler Poh, 25, decided to have a conservative 32 beds. This decision provides extra space for the hostel guests with more privacy and quiet environment:

"Adler Hostel is not your usual hostel, and it is our aim to create a niche that other hostels cannot replicate. Adler Hostel is deliberately kept small to offer a boutique feel. Differentiation also lies in our guest services. For instance, we have a concierge that will recommend off-the-beaten-track attractions and activities in Singapore, tailor travel itineraries and offer attraction tickets at discounted rates" says Adler Poh (source : Adler Hostel makes debut in luxury scene).

Adler Hostel in Singapore provides private cabins with curtains. In this photo the Ivory Room at Adler Hostel 

Daily rates are S$60 (US$49) per night, which is higher than what other hostels in Singapore are charging but since no-frills budget hotels in Chinatown can easily fetch 100++ SGD per night per room, if you really want to stretch your dollars and save on accommodation in Singapore while not downgrading so much, Adler Hostel provides a very good alternative for you in Chinatown.

"For instance, there’s a hostel in this area that charges S$50 per night. Despite the higher rate, occupancy has been very good. We welcomed our first guest on November 12, and up till (mid-December) the hostel is running at 70 per cent occupancy" says Adler Poh (source : Adler Hostel makes debut in luxury scene).

Here is how to get to Adler Hostel

• Take MRT Purple Line and alight at Chinatown MRT Station.
• Exit from Exit A (towards Pagoda Street).
• Walk straight out to the main road of South Bridge Road 
• Turn right when you see Temple Street
• Adler Hostel is on the left.

Customers book direct with the property or through OTAs such as Agoda. “Due to the demographic of our target market, it is natural that we work more closely with OTAs,” says Poh.

Adler Hostel is one of the nicest hostels in Singapore with a great location, classy facilities and value for money. You can read some reviews of the hostel here.

Here are some other boutique style hostels in Singapore.

5footway.inn Project Chinatown 2	Wink Hostel	Bunc hostel	Beary Nice!

Fernloft City Hostel - East Coast

I met Fernloft City Hostel on East Coast with a very absurd twist in my accommodation in Singapore. We had to stay with some distant relatives of my wife for a month when we were in between two rental apartments. And just during this time, a friend of mine came to visit me in Singapore. He was staying short and was on budget so I have decided to place him to The Matchbox Concept Hostel for a few days before heading to Bali. But unfortunately, just for that week, Matchbox was closed so I have decided to check this small hostel at a very nice location on East Coast. I see its sign while going to work by bus so I have just dropped by and checked.

The hostel is just ok with basic facilities you would expect from a hostel. The place is 20 minutes away from the Singapore Changi Airport and 15 minutes away from the Singapore downtown. Other than standard dorm rooms, it also provides two double rooms with a little bit more privacy (no attached bathroom). I have paid (yes I was the one who couldn't provide a bed to friend so I have paid) 20 SGD per person per night. The hostel is quite small but has a very friendly environment and I liked the warm meeting space to chill out.

Fernloft hostel group has 4 hostels in Singapore and Malaysia: Fernloft Chinatown, Fernloft East Coast and FernLoft Liddle India are in Singapore and Fernloft Kuala Lumpur is in Malaysia. Fernloft City Hostel on East Coast is the original Fernloft, where it all started.

Fernloft City Hostel on East Coast

If you choose to stay here, do not forget to visit the area where East Coast Road and Joo Chiat Road intersect. This area is one of the most beautiful and authentic places in Singapore with peranakan style shop houses and is famous for its peranakan cuisine, countless eateries and colorful nightlife. The bus number 14 can directly take you from the hostel to the area.   The East Coast are itself is also known as a multicultural food paradise and you can find a belt of eateries nearby, offering the best of local cuisines such as Chinese, Indian, Malay, Peranakan and best of local exotic seafood.

As it is written in travel fish blog, with a backpacker budget, Fernloft City Hostel on East Coast is the best choice for people looking for a hotel/hostel near Singapore Changi Airport.

Here is my friends review of the hostel: Fernloft: A cheap option to stay in Singapore

You can check the room and bed rates in the hostel for some bargain deals here.

[1] - Hotels near Singapore’s Changi Airport

Hostels in Singapore

Just a couple of years ago, you had very limited choices in terms of budget short term accommodation in Singapore. I only knew two hostels and directed friends there (back then I was in a studio with no place for guests).

Since hotel rates in Singapore are quite high the demand for hostels are also high. And now it looks like supply is catching up the demand for this type of accommodation and there are many hostels in Singapore. And there is a wide range of hostels now from traditional dorm and shower only no-frills hostels to relatively luxurious boutique hostels. Many of them provide single bed, double bed or even family rooms to rent for about 60+ SGD per night (although bathrooms are still shared). Here is a complation of my favorites (not in any order).

Wink Hostel
Housed in a 3-storey historic shop house in Chinatown, Wink Hostel offers one of the best flashpacker accommodation in Singapore with sound-resistant pod beds, contained lighting and private nooks.  Communal spaces like café, entertainment lounge and kitchenette are quite clean and modern. Location, which is very closed to Chinatown MRT Station, is very convenient.

Matchbox The Concept Hostel
Matchbox The Concept Hostel is not your typical hostel. It is the first pod style hostel in Singapore opened in August 2011. It offers capsule like beds in its dormitories. These capsules give guests more privacy. The hostel offers single bed capsules and double bed capsules. The hostel is in a conservation shop house in Ann Siang Road, right next to the Club Street and China town. Beds priced at 45 Singapore Dollars per night. Backpackers who are looking for a little luxury and convenience, this hostel is a must check.

A Beary Good Hostel

A Beary Good Hostel is one of the newest hostels in Singapore. I is opened just less than a year ago (April 2010) but they have already opened their second facility just a few weeks ago. Both facilities are in Chinatown and one facility is just next to China Town MRT. It is referred in Best Hostels In Singapore article of CNNGo as below:

Cheesy name aside, A Beary Good Hostel is good value for money if you don't mind the overly generous placement of stuffed bears throughout. The conservation shophouse exterior belies a homely and relaxed interior in primary color tones that is surprisingly more uplifting than annoying. The unbeatable location on Chinatown's Pagoda Street also means a wealth of photo-ops and authentic Chinese food.

It's location is great. It is just next to an MRT station so commuting around Singapore is not an issue (as they mention it in their web site "hostel is located just 10 sheltered steps away from the MRT (a.k.a. subway/tube/metro/MTR/LRT/sky train/U-Bahn… ok you get the point) - your gateway to all other attractions in Singapore i.e. Sentosa, Orchard Road, Clarke Quay, Little India, Marina Bay..."). This one only offers dorm style rooms with 10 to 12 beds, 26 SGD / night.

Bunc Hostel
Bunc is a brand-new 233-bed, 3-stories hostel located at Upper Weld Road Little India Historical District. The hostel offer full air-conditioning, Wi-fi, kitchenette facilities, recreation rooms with gaming facilities, an outdoor tanning deck, commercial washer-dryers, a ladies-only floor and most of all, the custom made, roomy Bunc beds that maximizes personal space and privacy.

Bunc Hostel

Bunc beds come in two sizes: Singles and Deluxes. A deluxe Bunc bed is twice the size of the full-sized single, and is able to accommodate two people spaciously. Each Bunc bed is luxuriously appointed with duvet covers and plush pillows. Singles and Deluxe Bunc beds are designed in conjunction and share a dormitory-style arrangement.

Rucksack Inn@Lavender

Rucksack Inn@Lavender is at 280 Lavender Street with a lounge area decorated with a comfortable sofa, 40-inch TV set with Xbox 360 Kinetics and a DVD player: more like someones living room than a hostel lounge. Hostel offers a reading corner, 3 computers to surf the web for free. The hostel provides free all day breakfast. The rates start from 28 SGD per night, a little more expensive than a typical hostel but well paid.

This one in Lavender is the third location of the hostel chain. The other two are in Hongkong Street.

Here are some relatively luxurious boutique style hostels in Singapore.

5footway.inn Project Chinatown 2

ABC Premium Hostel

5footway.inn Project Chinatown 2

Adler Hostel