Walk home to Woke Home

When I found out that there was a capsule hostel in Singapore, I wanted to give it a try. I had never stayed in one and was curious to experience how it's like. Woke Home Capsule Hostel, which only opened this year, had pretty good reviews and was offering rates comparable to regular hostels, so I promptly sent an email booking for three nights in a female dorm.



Thanks to Google Street View, I had no problems finding the place. Although Street View still shows the old building instead of the renovated one, you won't get lost, as the directions on the hostel website are very detailed. Woke Home is on South Bridge Road behind Boat Quay, in the same building as Five Stones Hostel. Clarke Quay and Raffles Place LRT stations are only a short walk away. A bus stop is right in front of the building.

Before you can get to reception, you need to call, as the floor cannot be accessed without an access card.

So what it is like inside? It's exactly like the website.

There's enough room to sit upright inside the capsule. You will still see the outlines of the people going in and out of their capsules when you close the roll down blinds. 

There's a TV, a lamp, a small fan and an electric outlet inside the capsule. There's a small folding table in case you want to use your laptop, but it's probably best to do that at the lounge. The mattress and pillow are comfortable enough. Beware of the orange blanket, though. It's soft, but depending on the fabric you're wearing, you might end up with a lot of lint on your clothes.

There are lockers for storage and a luggage room beside reception, but most of my dormmates left their luggage in the room.

There's cereal, toast, juice and tea round-the-clock. At the time I was there, only one Internet station was working. There are also two washing machines for your laundry (free!) but be prepared to queue up. The showers are cleaned often.

After this stay, I'd certainly pick a capsule hostel over a regular one. Although you can still hear your neighbors and have to share bathrooms (the one on my floor was mixed), it's as close to private as you can get, without the hotel price.