Touring the Lion City: A Beary Good Hostel

Hotels in Singapore can be very costly and fitting a group of 5 persons into a twin room to save money is not a good idea at all. I must admit I am such a cheapo when it comes to booking for accommodations. I'd rather spend the money on food and shopping than pay for an expensive accommodation since most of the time I'm out and about anyway.

Good thing there are hostels/guesthouses available for budget travellers like me. I only have a few criteria - clean, good location and cheap, but good value for money. Service doesn't have to be five star but at least the staff should be helpful and accommodating. Free breakfast and WIFI is a plus.

After browsing through hostel sites and shortlisting some of the good hostels, I finally chose A Beary Good Hostel. I made a reservation with them two months prior to our trip. At the time of booking (April 2010), their rate is at 20SGD/bed on weekdays and 23 SGD/bed on weekends.

A Beary Good Hostel has met my expectations. I've posted a review at the tripadvisor and shared some of the photos in this post. The hostel has a very good location. It's right in the middle of Chinatown along Pagoda street. It's about 10 steps away from the Chinatown MRT station exit. Once you go up the escalator and out on the street level, you can already see the hostel's signage on the left (as seen in the 1st photo).

The entrance is located at the back of one of the stalls selling clothes. At the entrance, you will be welcomed by a flight of stairs leading to the reception area. Obviously, this is not good if you have big luggages with you.

At the reception area, we were welcomed by the very accommodating staff. Checking in was a breeze. We had our passports scanned then paid the key deposit then voila.

Each of us were handed out our keycards and were led to our dorm which is just beside the reception area. We shared the 10 bed dormitory with other 4 Caucasians and one fellow Asian.

view from the dorm window

Aside from your own bed (complete with beddings, pillow and quilt) with two electrical outlets on the side and, your locker,  everything else is shared.

from the wash room...

and shower areas...

to the use of kitchen facilities...

to the common area - where you can watch TV or available DVDs, play PS3... 

read books or magazines...

 surf the net (at least 3 netbooks were provided)

If you're bringing a laptop with you and opting to stay inside your room, just ask for a WIFI access from the reception area. If you're thirsty and too lazy to go down to buy from the nearest convenience store, water is available at .60 SGD.

Breakfast is free and unlimited til 10am but don't expect too much cause it's only toast with butter and jam

cereal,

and milk everyday.

But coffee, tea and hot chocolate are unlimited for the rest of the day.