The Daulat, Singapore

The Daulat is an interesting boutique hotel located in Little India.

In Dec 2013, riots by foreign workers from the Indian subcontinent broke out in Little India and shocked the tiny island.state of Singapore. With emotions fueled by alcohol, ambulances and police cars were overturned and set on fire. Law enforcers were also injured. Riot-free for decades, the incident rocked the island. In the aftermath, shops and retailers in the Little India area are not allowed to sell alcoholic drink on weekends when migrant workers congregate at Little India.

There are all kinds of shops in Little India. There are goldsmiths (Indians love gold), traditional green grocers selling fresh fruits and vegetables, provision shops selling spices, electronic stores selling all kinds of appliances as well as many restaurants selling very affordable and filling North and South Indian food. The Daulat’s neighbours include many backpackers hostels, pubs aimed at backpacker tourists and Bangra pubs such as Chennai Angels. There is even a tapas bar nearby. A couple of streets away, you have a French restaurant Cocotte. Lastly, next to the Daulat is a rather abysmal mall The Verge. You can find a pharmacy, a supermarket, an ATM as well as a few other shops. A 15-20 min walk or a couple of bus stops way, you will find Mustafa Shopping Centre. Mustafa Shopping Centre offers literally 24-hr shopping and you can find literally everything there. Let’s say you have a flight out of Singapore at 4am. It might be a good way to spend your last hours in Singapore shopping at Mustafa from 12am to 2am and then make a mad dash to the airport to check in. A more unusual sightseeing itinerary might be to check out Desker Road, a notorious red light district, just a couple of streets away from Mustafa and also within distance from The Daulat.

During the day, Little India is quiet with the leftover revelries from the night before. In the late afternoon, more shops open. By the time it gets dark (7pm), Little India comes alive. Migrants workers, finished with their day’s work, make their way down to Little India to shop for groceries, produce and electronics or to socialise with their friends.

The rooms in The Daulat are small, windowless but adequate. As with small boutique hotels, there are no bathtubs, only shower stalls. The walls of the bathroom and toilet are glass and there are no curtains for the shower stall nor toilet, so I’m not sure what to do if you are shy around your companion. The sense of space is maximized through an open closet. The tea, coffee, hair dryer and iron are stored in a cupboard that slides away so that nothing is seen. There is a nespresso machine in the room and the coffee pods are generously refilled. Though the room is small, there is quite of lot of luggage space—-there is a luggage bench in the open closet. Next to the bed is a ledge where you can put more luggage. The Daulat generously provides Penhaligon toiletries.

Breakfast is taken at the communal table next to the reception.

You can choose between white bread and whole-meal bread and make your own toast with the toaster provided. You can also choose eggs done to your choice. The eggs come with a sausage and a small piece of ham. There are two options for cereal. Finally, there is a free flow mini-bar in the reception where guests can help themselves to soft drinks all day.