Circular House - 5 Circular Rd

Horrible receptionist who refuses to provide his name. Refuse to confirm my booking and kept hanging up on me. Thank goodness I am able to cancel booking thru agoda!

I rather to give zero rating for this. Honestly horrible receptionist. Called to check whether got bed availability. Not even answer me but started to questions a lot of things. When I repeated my question, she talked about rules & said don’t have bed available and then hang off the phone. Show anger to me for what?

The receptionist was too slow in processing my check in. She kept on entertaining other people instead of just quickly keying in the details she needed from me and handing me the key. I literally had to tell to finish my check in first because i really wanted to rest already. When she showed me where the female room is, i was so taken aback at how dirty it was. It kind of stink as well. Then she showed me where the bathroom is, it was damp and with that distinctive stink and with flickering lights. The pod itself was worse. It stinks even more inside and the bed felt itchy i had to use the blanket as bedsheet, and even then, i still got rashes on my legs, back and arms. Definitely not going to recommend this place to anyone.

A fantastic option for solo travelers! If you're traveling with your mom or sister, there are also queen beds available. Well, I was upset on my first day in Singapore because it was my first trip overseas, but the excellent service at Circular let me forget about my exhaustion and difficult time. The receptionists are kind (particularly the Malay one, who was quite courteous to my mom!) and helpful. They were quick to answer to all of our requests. However, if you are uncomfortable living with individuals of varied personalities, you should not stay here even for a night! During my stay, another visitor was constantly complaining about everything!!! Circular is also located in Clarke Quay, which is an upscale area, but the hotel maintains a modest pricing. Bonus: just walk less than a minute and you get to see the spectacular night view of the skyscrapers around Singapore River :) I intended to prolong my stay but had to cancel due to unforeseen circumstances. I ended up relocating to Geylang. Considering that Geylang is more of a suburb area, I expected that with the same price, I would've been given better service. Yet, I was quite aback when I discovered that the second hotel was not nearly as wonderful as Circular. Free-refill mineral water, tea, coffee, complimentary bread for breakfast and laundry (for $ 5) available. They lent us two socket connectors which I was very thankful of! P.S: I don't usually write long reviews so you can grasp that this hotel is truly worth it. ------- Only some notes: the bathroom was a bit dark, the lamps were not bright enough and probably burning out/dying, giving off "horror" vibes LOL I saw several reviews concerning staff cleaning the bathroom during rush hour, which I didn't mind as long as the sanitary facilities are maintained clean and free of germs and bacteria. When the lamp inside my pod died, the receptionist assured me that it would be fixed by a technician the next day (we had to wait until tomorrow???!) and when I notified another receptionist about it, she stated, "There is no technician here today." However we were fortunate enough to be given permission to move into another pod.

I stayed there for 20 days and i felt like home. Loved the hospitality, very kind staff and very clean surroundings.. the staff were my favourite part.

I'll start with the good. Friendly courteous staff. Accommodated an early check-in for me at an unholy hour of the night/morning. Capsule beds are cozy and snug. Nice that there is a sliding hard door for personal privacy. The bad: It's shared accommodations. That speaks for itself. No shared facilities are going to be nice. Especially when they're shared with sketchy-looking Indian cheap laborers essentially living at the hotel while they're in Singapore on their work permits if they're not in the country illegally. I was basically the only tourist there. Room constantly smelled of a mix of body odor, old deodorant, and dirty laundry. It's hard to describe it, but it's that basic college dorm/locker room smell. It was always dim and dark in the room, making it hard to see anything, even during the daytime. The windows were dimmed too. In fact, all areas of the hotel were badly lit and dim. Even the common area at the top floor. It was like the lightbulbs had gone out eons ago and no one changed them. No privacy in the bathrooms. Everything out in the open. Sink okay but big vanity mirror makes it so that you can see people's reflection behind you, right where people are getting in and out of the shower. Wooden beams on the shower floors meant to "absorb" water do just that, and then stink. Surprised the wood hasn't rotted by this point. Staff constantly cleaning the bathroom in the morning when most people are getting ready for the day, staff member got water all over the floor and walls of the bathroom right when people were using it. It all made it much harder to use and maintain privacy. Only stayed here because it was all I could afford and was cheap. I wish the friendly staff the best but I will definitely not be back when I return to Singapore.

I understand that the backpacker hostels survived very hard during the pandemic, but have to say that it is not close to the top 5 backpacker hostels that I've been to. It was not as good as the Google photos presented. The photos you see on Google or other booking websites are newer than the rooms actually are. Most of the rooms including the common room are very dark. The private room I booked did not have any window and it did not smell very good, and I can hear the guy next door snoring in the night. However, if you are just looking for a place for a few days' stay, Circular House does provide great convenience where it is very close to CBD, Chinatown and many public transports. It is cheaper than other star hotels for sure, you get what you pay.

Location is very good. Easy to find good food. Close to MRT & bus stop. Close to many tourist attractions. Room is clean. Staff is friendly. Although they’re not coordinated well enough, but they’re opened to feedback.