Hostel Hopping In Singapore

During our Singapore 2010 tour, we stayed in a total of 4 hostels. My dad thinks it's impractical to keep moving from one place to another because we had a lot of luggage to drag around. But I thought it was pretty cool to try different hostels in Singapore. My goal was to pick a hostel at different parts of the city. As it turned out, we stayed in one hostel in Arab Street District, one in Chinatown, one in Clark Quay, and one in Little India. So I'm listing here the 4 hostels we stayed in during the course of our stay in Singapore (5D/6N).

We arrived in Singapore at approximately 11:30 in the evening, so it was a choice between staying in the airport until daybreak, or booking a full night at a nearby hostel. Since we were tired from our flight, we decided to head on to the first hostel on my list.

1) FEEL AT HOME (Arab Street District) - It was the very first hostel I've visited in my whole life. We booked the 8 Bed Mixed Dorm for $23 SGD/night. We booked 2 nights in this hostel, for $46 SGD total. Okay, the first time I entered the place, I thought it was nice. You have to climb some stairs and then you'll get straight to the reception. Rick, the owner, was there when we arrived. We booked online, so we handed him our reservation printout then he led us to our room. Everyone was sleeping that time, so we tiptoed to our beds as quietly as possible.

Feel At Home Exterior

Verdict: Overall, I liked this place. It's very close to Bugis MRT, and just at a walking distance is the Sultan Mosque and Malay Heritage Museum. If you want to explore the Arab Street District, this is a great place to stay in. Check out their website to know more about their facilities.

Feel At Home Backpackers Singapore
7A, Jalan Pinang, Singapore 199139
Phone: +65 6293 9554
Email: mail@feelathome.com.sg
Yahoo: feelathome_singapore
Skype: feelathome_singapore

2) A BEARY GOOD HOSTEL (Chinatown District) - On our 3rd night in Singapore, we booked a Basic 10 Bed Mixed Dorm at A Beary Good Hostel for $26 SGD/night. The location of this hostel is right smack in the center of Chinatown. Just outside the hostel is the busy Pagoda Street, and the Chinatown MRT! Talk about convenience. If you want souvenirs, food, beer, massage, internet cafe, all you have to do is step outdoors. Just a few blocks away is Smith Street where you'll find the famous Chinatown Food Street. And just a few steps away, you'll find the Chinatown Heritage Centre. When we arrived in the hostel, we paid $15 deposit, refundable after we check out.

A Beary Good Breakfast to start the day...

Verdict: I like the location of this hostel better than our previous one, because it's right in the center of everything. Transportation is not a problem because you have the MRT just in front of you. I also liked the breakfast in this hostel. They have bread, jam, cereals, milk, and fruits. Their common room is very cute and they have cute netbooks that you can use too with free Internet. They also have WII games if you want to spend indoors playing. The receptionist was nice too. We booked at 10-bed room so we expected some noise from the other guests at odd times of the night. I think they have earplugs at the reception that guests can buy if they're sensitive to noise. If you want to make Chinatown the center of your tour, book this hostel, it's great. You can book online or just give them a call through the phone.

A Beary Good Hostel
66A and 66B Pagoda Street, Singapore, 059225
Phone: +65-62224955
Email: reservations@abearygoodhostel.com

3) RIVER CITY INN (Clark Quay District) - On our 4th night, we decided to move to Clark Quay, which is located just beside Chinatown. The hostel is located along Hong Kong Street. It's just within walking distance of Chinatown and 1 station stop if you take the MRT. We booked our beds in a 6 Bed Mixed Dorm room for 1 night. Actually, we had a hard time finding the location of this hostel. This is apparently one of the newer ones in the area, so at the time, there was no sign outside. We had to ask around for the exact location. When we finally arrived at the hostel, we were greeted by the friendly owners, and led to our room after a quick tour of the place.

River City Inn dining and Internet area...

Verdict: I liked this even better than A Beary Good Hostel. The difference is 3SGD but here, we only had 6 beds to our room, and the common room is bigger. I also loved the ambiance, and the guests here were friendlier. The only thing I didn't like was that we had to climb a 3 long flights of stairs to reach the hostel. So if you have a lot of bags with you, it can be quite a daunting task. And also the bed I got for the night creaked a bit. But other than that, I really recommend this hostel to anyone, as it's just across the famous Clark Quay hotspot, which is a must-see for all Singapore tourists, especially for those who love the night life and club enthusiasts. Book online or through the phone.

River City Inn
33C Hong Kong Street
Singapore 059672
+65-6532-6091
booking@rivercityinn.com

4) CHECKERS INN (Little India District) - For our last stop in our hostel hopping in Singapore, we booked at Checkers Inn located along Campbell Lane in Little India. We booked our beds in a 6 Bed Mixed room for $30 SGD/night. When we arrived in the hostel, there were no other guests checked into our room, so we had the whole room to ourselves! We also had a bit of a hard time locating the hostel, mostly because Little India can be quite confusing with its twists and turns, but once in Campbell lane, Checkers Inn is hard to miss. We were given the key to rooms, and this same key is used to enter the toilet. We were asked for a $20 deposit upon checking in, to be refunded when we checked out. Breakfast was provided as well, we helped ourselves to the assortment of bread, spreads, and coffee, my dad even cooked an egg for himself.

Checkers Inn Reception and Common Area

Verdict: I liked the interior of the hostel. It had a very relaxing atmosphere, not a lot of guests were booked at the time so we didn't see anyone in the common room during our stay. If you don't want a noisy hostel, I think Checkers Inn is a good place to stay. You can explore Little India right outside.

Checkers Inn
46, 48, 50 Campbell Lane Singapore 209922
(off Dunlop Street and Clive Street)
Tel: (65) 6392 0693
Fax: (65) 6398 0449
Email: enquiries@checkersinn.com.sg

I gotta say, there are a LOT of hostels in Singapore. I had to go through a lot of choices before I finally settled on my final 4. I had to consider the location as well as the amenities, and of course the price. Though really tiring, hostel hopping was one of the fun highlights in our trip to Singapore. I never even thought about hostels prior to this vacation, I've always thought hotels were better. Boy, was I wrong! And it took me this trip to Singapore to appreciate the convenience, inexpensiveness, and fun that staying in hostels can give you. If you want to meet fellow travelers and new acquaintances on your trip, stay in a hostel!