When we heard the entire hotel is made of recycled shipping containers we imagined it would look like a pile of cargo boxes at Singapore docks. Maybe a line of boring metal boxes plastered with logos?

But the containers were lined up in two neat rows, painted bright colours like red, blue, and yellow.

The check-in system was smooth and fuss-free. All we had to do was walk towards the end of the line of containers to reach the small office, where we gave our ICs for registration and were then led to our rooms. We also received two complimentary Wild Wild Wet tickets – every guest staying in a 20-footer room receives these tickets when they stay. Those that opt for the 40-footer rooms can get up to four! Not only that, but we received a set of vouchers as well. 

The vouchers were for stores at Downtown East and covered restaurants and lifestyle businesses. It was a nice surprise, and we were happy the hotel was supporting the mall. And extra discounts are always fun, right?

Do note, that if you want to grab a bite at D’Escape Container Hotel, you have to head to the mall or order in. The hotel doesn’t have a built-in restaurant. 

Containers look huge on a giant truck next to your car at the traffic lights. And they make for surprisingly spacious rooms. Of course, they’re not the size of a normal hotel room, but they were definitely more spacious than we thought they would be.

With a queen-sized bed against the wall and enough space for a desk and a clothes hanger area, the area was well-utilised to make the most of what space they had. 

Each of the container rooms is painted in different colours. Some have bright primary paints to energize you. We wanted somewhere to relax so we chose the 20-feet Minimalistic Room, decorated in soothing white grey and black. 

However, we wouldn’t recommend this room size for families, as there is only one bed and no space for a cot or additional bed (and they don’t offer them). If you want to bring children, the 40-footer rooms will suit you better – you will have an additional sofa in the room that can double up as a bed.

While we are talking about beds, let’s talk about the one we slept on. Soft and comfortable, the pillows could rival any normal hotel out there. The duvet was smooth and non-scratchy and kept us perfectly warm while not smothering us.

The toilet surprised us! It was large, with a gorgeous rain shower head in the glass-walled shower enclosure. You would not be disappointed to find a toilet of this size in a modern condo.

However, there was no shampoo or body soap provided. While a trip to the supermarket at Downtown East fixed that booboo, we expected to get toiletries on a staycation. The other thing is that the bathroom was hot when we first checked in – like really hot. We checked in at 3pm on a sunny day and the toilet felt like it was almost the same temperature as outside in the sun. But we left the door open and let the aircon into the bathroom. The aircon was powerful, so the toilet area was cool in a jiffy.

We may not have received toiletries, but we did have access to an LED+ Photon Therapy Mask and a Moshi Deep Purple UV mobile phone sanitiser that rids your phone of germs in just four minutes; almost an essential in this pandemic.

We also received a bunch of goodies on the table, and after checking, we can confirm that every guest that stays in the hotel will receive it too! These are what you will get:

● ECOM® Travel Size EA Mask Filter and Bion Spray
● A handy EFIL Disinfectant Spray
● Holistic Way Chewable Vitamin-C 500mg (Low-Acid)
● Allureskin Potions Invisible Defence Sunscreen SPF 50+ PA++++ and 24K Gold Luxurious Mask
● Healthier snacks from Shnack

These are all great for some self-care during your staycation and even afterwards, so we recommend taking them home and enjoying them.

The television in the 20-footer room is mounted on the wall and has access to Netflix, Disney+, Viu, and many other streaming services. All we had to do was input our information and get watching on the big screen. Of course, we made sure to log out of our accounts before we left.

For the 40-footer rooms, the television will be in front of the sofa instead, which can give the impression that you truly are staying in an actual hotel suite – what with a ‘living room’ and all.

The door and windows surprised us in the container hotel. During the day they are one-way mirrors – so you can see outside, but passers-by cannot see into your room.

However, to our surprise, the mirrors became fully transparent at night. 

It took us a while to figure this out because no one had informed us of this feature, but when we did, we quickly pulled down the blinds. 

We had not been informed about the transparent windows at night – although when we checked with a spokesperson from the hotel they said that their staff are trained to inform patrons of this feature.

Either way, just take note and make sure to close the blinds during the night.

Here comes the fun part. The container hotel is situated next to a carnival and has large bouncy castles, a big Octopus water slide, and games to play. During the evening, there were actually more people than we were expecting, with groups of friends, couples, and families all having fun.

Guests at the hotel will still have to pay for the rides and the games though, so if you are not big on carnivals, you don’t have to visit. For those that love some fun, though, they accept both cash and cashless payments for the games so don’t worry about not having any cash on hand.

One thing to note is that you can definitely hear the carnival in your room. However, the sound was muffled and wasn’t an issue for us. The noise also becomes non-existent at 9:30pm when the fun stops, so we had a peaceful night during our stay.

While we may be adults, we did not turn our noses up at the carnival games. If there is fun to be had, we always want in. We tried our hands at classic games such as the ball and basket toss where you throw balls into a container hoping they won’t jump out (hint: ours all jumped out). They also had a basketball-throwing game where they gave away human-sized soft toy bananas. We didn’t win any prizes, but we saw quite a few people hugging huge bananas as they walking around. 

The only game where we did get a prize was a play-to-win game. We scooped two rubber ducks from a vortex of toys and received a little giraffe. If you are luckier than us, you can get bigger soft toys.

The rides are more ‘fun-sized’ and children-friendly, but they do give you a chance to unleash your inner kid. The small Viking ship which swings into the air may not be as terrifying as a normal-sized ride, but it can still give you a thrill, especially if you are afraid of heights. The Viking also lasted exceptionally long, which was a plus for us. The turning cups ride goes at such high speeds it made our stomachs churn (but that was the fun of it).

At 11am the next morning, we slung our overnight bags on our shoulders and left our room. The check out process was as trouble-free as the check-in: all we did was tell the staff we were leaving and off we went back to our homes.

You don’t have to return a key because the doors to the rooms do not require a card. You just use a PIN number that you set when you first access your room.

For a short trip, our stay in this new container hotel in Singapore ticked all our boxes: it was fun, relaxing, and a much-needed reprieve from WFH. Despite the small mishap with the see-through windows, we found the stay enjoyable and fun.

If you are looking for a staycation away from home, prices at D’Escape Container Hotel at Downtown East start at $188 per night for 20-footer rooms and $328 per night for 40-footer rooms. Click here to book your stay!

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