Hotel Bencoolen at Hong Kong Street

Let’s start with a positive: the location is fabulous. A five-minute walk to Boat Quay gives you easy access to many of Singapore’s iconic landmarks, including the Merlion, Clarke Quay, Marina Bay, Little India, Raffles Hotel, and CHIJMES.

Now for the property itself. This is not a hotel, it’s a very basic hostel pretending to be one. The moment we walked into reception, I had a feeling we were going to be disappointed. The lobby was dull, dark, and completely lacking any sense of warmth or welcome. The woman at reception seemed thoroughly uninterested, although thankfully another staff member eventually stepped in and was friendlier. She quickly informed us that the room was “compact” and offered an upgrade, which really translates to pay more if you don’t want the worst room available.

The room itself was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced, and not in a good way. There were no opening windows and no natural light whatsoever. Beyond the window was just a dark access corridor, yet there were no proper curtains, only netting, meaning we had to keep the lights on constantly and anyone walking past could see directly into the room.

The bed was a standard double and, to be fair, it was clean. But there was nowhere practical to hang clothes apart from a tiny rail awkwardly positioned above the tea and coffee station. The bathroom was equally ridiculous, the door wouldn’t properly close, and you had to squeeze past the main entry door just to use the sink or shower comfortably.

The air conditioning sounded like a Singapore Airlines A380 preparing for take-off. The only alternative was to slowly roast in what felt like a dark, coffin-like box. Even coffins probably have more appealing interiors than the plastic faux panelling in this room. At several points during the night, death almost felt preferable.

Thankfully, we only stayed one night, though I suspect the experience will haunt me for much longer. Singapore is such a beautiful city, I genuinely didn’t realise places like this still existed.

Avoid at all costs unless you’re a crime novelist looking for inspiration.

So we arrived early, 0930 12/03, and asked if there was early check in but didn't expect the room to be ready so sat in the small reception area with another couple who were in the same position. The receptionist lady was very very miserable and spoke very little. We sat in reception in front of the lady for thre and a half hours. The other couple got up and asked if a room was ready at 1230 and were told no rooms were free. At 1300 the receptionist changed and a nice guy sat down behind the reception, as another third couple arrived who had arrived even earlier than ourselves, and they asked if a room was ready. It was. We asked, the room was also free. The remaining third couple asked for room and their room was also ready. Ask the rooms cleaned and ready. It transpired the lady receptionist simply couldn't be bothered and had three couples wait between 4 and 5 hours for rooms that at some stage had become ready. In spite of the large room, nice reception guy and free breakfast I cannot recommend this hotel. And that is primarily because of the awful lazy attitude of the female receptionist. For £108 a night there are much better places.

Next to a building site. Atmosphere ok. Rooms basic, but called delux?? Value poor. Cleanliness needs attention.
Never a 4* hotel, not really a 2*.
Previous reviews were not accurate.

Excellent location

Good location

I have booked a room category Deluxe Superior, I‘ve got a room with a size of a prison cell - no daylight. I have never stayed a room like this and had to pay for it. Asked for a change but they wanted SGD 160 upcharge for 2 nights. Be careful!

Midden in de stad

Close to attractions

Central location close to business district, Chinatown, Raffles Station, riverfront etc. Rooms are nice and clean. The jacuzzi is nice on hot afternoons.

The bathroom was nice

The room was pretty small with not much space to put something, but was exactly als pictured in the photos. Very nice bathroom with great shower.
The small spa pool on the roof was an absolute treat after a hot day walking through singapore.
Breakfast was really nice if you don't expect a full western breakfast buffet. There was a choice of 3-4 warm dishes every morning (all asian style) plus toast, jam, fruit and cake.
Next time we will choose a lager room, but all in all we had a very nice stay.

Zentrumsnahe Lage, guter Preis, voll ausgestattetes Zimmer und sehr freundliches Personal sind die positiven Punkte. In der Nähe sind viele Restaurants und man kann gut zu Fuß in die Innenstadt gehen. Es gibt auch eine kleine Dachterrasse mit Pflanzen. Und außerdem gab es etwas Frühstück. Das Fenster des Zimmers, das wir hatten, ging auf einen Innenhof und bekam keine Sonne. Das Fenster ließ sich nicht öffnen. Wir durften unsere Koffer dort unterstellen bis zum Nachmittag. Es war leise.

Hotel Bencoolen is very conveniently located & the breakfast was very good. Do not do your booking through the hotel website but choose a reputable booking agent. We booked through a Deluxe Superior Room through the hotel website. We found out later that their website does not accommodate online payment so our payment was delayed & payment only arrived the night that we did. We had to pay for another night before we could check in even though we had bank transfer documents to prove our payment. The extra payment was fortunately voided. Our biggest disappointment was our room. Instead of a Deluxe Superior Room as advertised on their website we were given a Deluxe Inferior Room. The room was tiny & dingy, we had nowhere to put anything and no outlook. We were to meet friends for our holiday who actually were given the Deluxe Superior Room and it was lovely. They booked through an agent and paid much less than us. In fact we paid 3 times as much. We talked to the reception staff while we were there and they could do nothing. On arrival home we emailed reservations and while very apologetic refused any compensation. This is the only time we have been to Singapore and the Hotel Bencoolen was very disappointing for us.

La piscine

This is a great hotel! Checkin was efficient and friendly and showed to the hotel room in side annex. Yes room is small but completely functional for 2. Bed was amazingly comfortable and the best pillows I have ever slept on. Lovely powerful shower, aircon so a comfortable temperature and very quiet to ensure a great nights sleep. Basic breakfast, coffee with scrambled eggs on toast, but sufficient to start the day. Pool small but nice to cool down after a days sightseeing. And best of all is the location, central to everything and walking distance to subway and top tourist sights. Can thoroughly recommend for the price