HOMIX Hotel

This was my first trip to Singapore, and actually my first time in Southeast Asia, traveling independently. After comparing several hotels online, I chose Homix Hotel. You can think of Singapore's hotel prices as comparable to Beijing's. This hotel has an excellent location in Balestier, not in a red-light district or an Indian-dominated area. Although it's about a kilometer from the nearest MRT station, it's very close to several bus stops. We primarily used buses for our entire trip, which was super convenient. Near the hotel, there's Ya Kun Kaya Toast, a popular Singaporean breakfast spot, and an affordable supermarket – a welcome change from the overpriced mineral water at 7-Eleven! There are also Bak Kut Teh and Hainanese Chicken Rice stalls nearby that seem to be frequented by locals, so the food there should be good, based on my observations. The hotel is newly opened and currently in a soft-opening phase. Wi-Fi is only available in the lobby on the first floor, not in the rooms. The rooms have bunk beds and plenty of storage space, plus they have proper windows, which is a great design – we could open them for ventilation when we went out. There was no formaldehyde smell in the room either. Currently, toiletries are self-service, but this might change once they officially open. If you arrive early or need to store your luggage on your last day, you can do so in the lobby. The front desk staff can speak Chinese, so no worries there. Even if you encounter staff who don't speak good Chinese, you can still check in with 'plastic English' (broken English), so don't be concerned. Overall, I highly recommend this hotel. If I come to Singapore again, I would definitely stay here.

It was okay, not as dirty as I expected. A 'mixed stay' means at least four people in one room. The bathroom was quite small, but the public transport was very convenient with a bus stop right outside.