Fort Canning Lodge

The YWCA Fort Canning Lodge tends to attract budget-conscious tourists looking for value, who don't mind staying well outside downtown. The hotel is a vast, angular concrete-and-brick high-rise set around a triangular courtyard. There are floor-to-ceiling windows in the lobby and a few modern couches, but the space otherwise feels bare. The hotel’s buffet restaurant is a large and low-ceilinged room, with garishly patterned carpet in crimson and orange, and wooden stacking chairs set around round tables. Outside, the hotel has a large pool on a sunny terrace several stories up, with views over the lush, verdant Fort Canning Park.

The YWCA Fort Canning Lodge is located right next to Fort Canning Park, an area of green parkland richly fragrant with spice trees, and home to a number of historical sites, as well as the National Museum and the Peranakan Museum. A 15-minute walk through the park leads to Clarke Quay, and it's roughly 10-minutes on foot to the Orchard Road shopping district. Farther afield, downtown Singapore is an eight-minute drive away or 30 minutes on the MRT, which can be caught from the nearby Dhoby Ghaut station, an eight-minute walk from the hotel. The Marina and the Gardens By The Bay are a 15-minute drive away, or 30 minutes by public transport. Expect between 20 to 25 minutes by car, or 50 minutes by bus to Changi Airport. 

The hotel’s 175 guest rooms are basic, but are all large and awash with natural light from floor-to-ceiling windows and walls painted in a subtle dove gray. Deluxe rooms have dark-wood floors and two single beds with crisp, white linens, and desks with chairs, while Executive rooms have either queen-size beds or two singles, and room for another bed. Suites, meanwhile, have separate bedrooms with king-size beds, and living rooms with sofas and armchair set around coffee tables. All units come with AC, flat-screen TVs, lightly stocked minibars, electric kettles, slippers, and safes, but there's no in-room Wi-Fi. Bathrooms are tidy, with small walk-in showers with removable rainfall showerheads, hairdryers, and toiletries. 

The YWCA Fort Canning Lodge’s most impressive feature is its large pool terrace, several stories up, with views over Fort Canning Park. Guests rate the hotel’s buffet breakfast highly, but it comes at a cost, and the restaurant also serves Singaporean dishes for lunch and dinner. There's a business center in the lobby with two desktop computer, and there's also a large laundry room with washers, dryers, and ironing boards. Wi-Fi is free in common areas.