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

ABC Premium Hostel in Singapore Little India: Truly a premium grade hostel

If you are looking for a modern, clean, comfortable and safe hostel in Singapore, do not forget to check  ABC Premium Hostel in Singapore Little India. Located a few steps from the exit D of Farrer Park MRT station, this brand new hostel is well located to easily access everywhere in Singapore through public transport. The ABC Premium Hostel has collected very good reviews up to now. It is, for example, ranked #24 of 122 Speciality lodging in Singapore (including hostels and serviced residences) in TripAdvisor and has a Fantastic (8.4) in Asia focused online hotel booking site Agoda.com.

Each bed in ABC Premium Hostel comes with a security key card which gives you access to your own personal locker, personal luggage storage and personal shoe storage. The hostel also provide complimentary, stable high speed internet access, use of their PCs, daily breakfast and fully air-conditioned rooms. The beds options are The Solo (single bunk bed) and The Duo (queen sized bunk bed). The hostel has an  8 Bed Female Dorm, 10 Bed Mixed Dorms, 14 Bed Mixed Dorms and 28 Bed Mixed Dorms. The prices in the hostel starts from 29 USD per solo bed per night.

The ABC Hostel group manages 3 hostels: ABC Hostel (3 Jalan Kubor Singapore 199201), ABC Premium Hostel (91A, 93A & 95A Owen Road Singapore 281903) and ABC Hostel Hamilton (7A Hamilton Road Singapore 209178). So if you are going there by taxi do not forget to mention which hostel you are going to or better give the hostel address to the taxi driver.

ABC Premium Hostel in Singapore Little India

How to get to ABC Premium Hostel

The most convenient budget access from Changi Airport to the hostel is to take the train (MRT):

• Board the MRT train at Changi Airport Terminal 2. This car will go to Tanah Merah MRT station.
• Alight at Tanah Merah, board the train towards Joo Koon (you will see the "To City" sign). 
• Go all the way to Outram Park MRT Station on Green Line.
• Board the train towards Punggol and alight at Farrer Park.
• Exit D from Farrer Park. 

You can also take taxi from the airport to the hostel directly but this would cost $20 - 30 SGD. The taxi driver may ask PIE or ECP. Both are fine.

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

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!

Matchbox The Concept Hostel is open

We have written last month that Singapore's first pod style flashpacker hostel, Matchbox The Concept Hostel, will be opened in August. Matchbox Hospitality officially launched this only boutique flashpacker hostel with pod-style dormitory in Singapore and Southeast Asia in August and on August 16th 2011. They were very kind to invite Asia Singapore to media open event.I will write a larger first hand review of this new hostel soon. Below is from the press release:

"Singapore, 16 August 2011 - Responding to the calls of a new generation of travellers, Matchbox The Concept Hostel appeals to flashpackers who have vastly different ‘wants’ from the typical backpacker. The only one in Singapore and Southeast Asia to feature exclusive custom-made pod-style dormitories, Matchbox is also the only hostel in the world to feature couple bunk beds within a dormitory."

The hostel offers three rooms, Sunkiss is 2 single bed mixed dormitory, Flamingo is 12 single bed Ladies’ dormitory, and Spring Mist is 18-bed mixed dormitory (2 double beds and 16 single beds). As I have written before in Singapore descent hotels prices range between expensive and very expensive, and hostels like The Matchbox are great to spend less on a bed and more on everything else. It is indeed better for young people to share a dorm with travellers from around the world even they can afford to lock themselves privately into a hotel room.

Matchbox The Concept Hostel Facade

So with its 45 SGD per night per pod, this hostel is flashpacker, affluent backpacker who is backpacking with a bigger budget. With this extra prices comes extras, a more luxury than an average space, cosy location with a soul and history, free all day breakfast, Wi-Fi, laundry facilities and custom designed pillows. Below photos would give you more idea about the hostel. What I will add for now is I especially like its location, Ang Siang Road, greeting you with its elegantly restored shophouses (Matchbox is in one of these shop houses) at the end of gentle slope of Ang Siang Hill is a very nice place to stay in Singapore.

Matchbox Lobby - Source : Hostels.com

Dormitory with pods  - Source : Hostels.com

Here are some other boutique style hostels in Singapore.

5footway.inn Project Chinatown 2	Wink Hostel	Bunc hostel	Adler Hostel

Singapore's First Pod Style Flashpacker Hostel

In a place like Singapore where descent hotels prices range between expensive and very expensive, hostels are good options to spend less on a bed and more on everything else. Many backpackers on tight budget prefer hostel and hostels are also very good places to make friends. Instead of locking yourself into a single room it may be more fun to share a dorm with strangers from around the world even if you can afford to live in a hotel.

With the increase of budget travelling option as well as the appetite for adventure among youngster, more and more backpackers are coming to Singapore. In the last 2 years, the number of backpacker hostels increased 1 every month showing the increasing interest for cheap accommodation, something not very readily available in Singapore.

The price difference between hotels and hostels has a large room for hostels to spread into, and some backpackers hostels in Singapore are charging more, sometimes  40% more than the usual price in exchange of additional comfort and services.

For example backpacker hostel Rucksack Inn 2 in Hong Kong Street provides private double room with cable TV for 95 SGD per night. This price is still cheaper than many hotels in Singapore and comes with a friendlier environment of a hostel.  In the Lavender Street outlet of this hostel, backpackers can borrow netbooks for free.

Who would pay for these extras? An emerging type of backpackers called flashpackers. A Flashpacker is basically an affluent backpacker who is backpacking with a bigger budget.  And next month, a concept flashpackers hostel will open its doors at Ann Siang Road: Matchbox the Concept Hostel. Already at a good location (a Chinese shop house just right next to Club Street and China town) it offers more than location. This new hostel will have capsule-like dormitory beds priced at 45 Singapore Dollars per night. According to MyPaper Matchbox hostel will be the first hostel in Singapore offering pod style accommodation:

“It will feature 3 types of pod dormitory: a woman only boudoir, a premium two bed dorm and a 17 bed mixed dorm. Prices will start from 45 Singapore Dollars per pod per night and includes an all-day breakfast.”

Pod Style Beds In Matchbox The Concept Hostel Singapore

For August 2011 there is a promotion and the prices will start from 35 Singapore Dollars per pod per night. It is good to hear that there are more accommodation options and competition in this end of the hospitality market with boutique hostels. But no worry if you need to count for every dollars throughout your holiday, no frills type of hostels are going nowhere and actually increasing in number and capacity.

Here are some other boutique style hostels in Singapore.

5footway.inn Project Chinatown	Wink Hostel	Bunc hostel	Adler Hostel