Pommie Travels

Hostel Review: Prince of Wales Hostel, Singapore

The Prince of Wales hostel was recommended to me by, well, everyone. Located in Little India, the hostel is positioned in a more colourful district of Singapore so if you’re looking to avoid the expensive restaurants, shopping malls and the squeaky clean boulevards and stay somewhere a little more exciting and vibrant, then I recommend staying in Singapore’s Indian community.

Walk out of the hostel doors and you’ll see colourful street stalls filled with vegetables, flowers, clothes, luggage; just about everything you can think of. Smell the burning of incense and the spices coming from the tasty Indian food in the restaurants and watch the crowds of Indian men buying gold and standing on the streets holding hands.

The hostel itself is an Aussie pub which attracts expats, locals, and backpackers young and old. The drinks are relatively cheap for Singapore and there is usually something going on in the bar whether it’s a live music act, a BBQ or a special event. If you’re staying in the hostel then beers are $5 and if you buy 9 you get the 10th free. The accommodation is clean and cheap at $18 per night, with one large dorm split into blocks of 8. Outside is a courtyard where there’s a free breakfast in the morning; coffee, tea, fruit and eggs and bread to cook yourself. Laundry is $3 for a wash and $2 for a dry, and it was possible to rent a towel for $2 too. If you don’t want to drag your bags on the MRT to the airport then you can book a shuttle bus for $8 at the reception.

The only downfalls were that I could only access the wifi downstairs in the bar which was a bit frustrating, and for the number of people there were only three showers and a couple of toilets which are used by non hostel-goers too. I didn’t have to queue too often though and overall the bathrooms were kept really clean.

If you’re a sucker for hostel pets like me, you’ll love the hostel dog Jessica!

The relatively small size of this hostel means it’s a really good place to meet people and socialize so if you’re staying in Singapore and want to do it cheaply, I would definitely advise anyone to stay here!