Hotel Name: 5footway.inn Project Boat Quay
Address: 76 Boat Quay, Clarke Quay, Singapore
[Edit: 5footway.inn Project Boat Quay has closed. This review remains as an archive.]
I stayed at the 5footway.inn Project Boat Quay in Singapore. I was hosted by 5footway.inn – an independent hostel chain in Singapore.
At the time of my stay there were four other 5footway.inn hostels in Singapore. There are three in the Chinatown area and one in Bugis. All of them are centrally located, and this property on Boat Quay is perhaps the best located of all. It is close to Clarke Quay metro, and Raffles Place for the EW/NS lines (the EW line linking you directly to the airport).
Like all of the other properties, 5footway.inn hostels are housed in historic shophouse buildings in central Singapore. All of the buildings have been renovated, so you get the benefits of a modern hostel in a historic piece of Singapore.
Boat Quay faces the Singapore River, not far from the historic point where Raffles first landed. Amazingly this stretch of river has been able to preserve the old shophouses, as behind the row is the modern downtown centre of Singapore. I think this area is one of the best places to stay in Singapore.
Arriving at the hostel the reception area feels like a modern hotel with a spacious lounge area. The hostel takes up a few shop rows and have been joined together. As a result you go up and down different stairs to connect between the buildings.
I was allocated a private loft room, which had a single bed and loft bunk. The room had a window and was quite spacious by Singapore standards.
As with most private rooms in hostels, my room had a shared bathroom. Keeping with the feel of the hostel, the bathroom was also clean and modern, though the funky design sinks left no room to put my bathroom items.
In addition to the nice lounge area in the reception, there is also a dedicated lounge area with a TV.
There is a free breakfast service of toast, fruit, and tea and coffee.
The breakfast is served next to a balcony that overlooks the Singapore river, with a view to the Marina Bay Sands. This is the best place to have breakfast, or just come here during the day for a coffee. A five-star view at hostel prices.
A beautiful and not-your-usual gift are these Peranakan tile magnets, which are the tiles that can be found on many of the old shophouses of Singapore.
There is free internet available at the hostel, with one login giving you access with no further logging in. I found the internet worked throughout the property.
Overall this was a great hostel stay in Singapore. The combination of location and being housed in an interesting old building make this a good option for hostelling in Singapore. For travellers who have arrived from guesthousing around Southeast Asia, staying in a private room at a hostel is a great alternative.
Also see my other reviews of other 5footway.inn properties – Project Ann Siang and Project Chinatown 1.
