Boutique Hotel Near Me at Robertson Quay: A 37-Room 1895 Spice Godown

Lim Ho Puah built the riverside godown at 320 Havelock Road, Singapore 169628, in 1895, and since January 2017 it has held The Warehouse Hotel, a 37-room boutique hotel on the Singapore River at Robertson Quay. Check-in is at 2pm, check-out at 12 noon, and every room has a single king or super king bed. Anyone typing boutique hotel near me along the quay will find it directly next door to the Four Points by Sheraton, with Po restaurant and The Warehouse Lobby Bar on the ground floor.

The hotel's own directions name Havelock MRT station as the nearest stop: leave by Exit 4 and walk about seven minutes, or ride a single stop on any bus from the Havelock Station Exit 4 stop, code 06149. Fort Canning MRT is roughly 800 metres away, about a ten-minute walk, and Tiong Bahru station is around fifteen minutes on foot. From Changi Airport, the hotel puts the taxi ride at about 30 minutes.

There is no airport shuttle, but the front office will book a private car transfer if you email frontoffice@thewarehousehotel.com before you arrive. Tell drivers 320 Havelock Road in Robertson Quay, and Grab or Gojek work just as well. Parking on site is limited and first come, first served, with overflow at the Four Points by Sheraton next door or King's Centre. Two free bicycles wait at the front desk for guests, also handed out first come.

In the 1890s, as trade through the Straits of Malacca boomed, businessman Lim Ho Puah inherited the shipping company Wee Bin & Co. In 1895 he put up this godown, with peaked roofs and shuttered windows, right on the riverbank. The road outside was known in Hokkien as Chiu Long Lo, or Spirits Shed Street, for the arrack, tuak and toddy brewed in its alleys, and Havelock Road was then the city's red-light district, ruled by Chinese and Fujianese secret societies.

Design writers in 2017 traced three lives for the building: a spice warehouse, a base for underground spirit distilling and, finally, an infamous disco. The Lo & Behold Group restored it as its inaugural hotel, a project it called owned, designed and operated 100% locally. Homegrown agency Asylum added double-height ceilings under the peaked roofs, kept the original industrial details and brought in rattan and natural leather. The hotel now belongs to the Design Hotels portfolio.

That shady past is on display at reception, where Gabriel Tan Studio and Supermama curated Objects of Vice, an installation and small shop of pieces alluding to the building's sordid history. Local makers stock the rooms too: Mud Rock's handmade mugs in a matte grey glaze, A.Muse Projects teas named The Bouquet, Asian Sunset and Pekoe, seersucker robes by In Good Company and hand-pleated totes by GINLEE Studio, the last two sold at the front desk.

The 37 rooms come in six types, and the river is what you pay for. The River View Suite, the largest open-plan room at 57 square metres, sits on the top floor with a super king bed and a living area facing the Singapore River. The River View Mezzanine, at 45 square metres, adds a reading library on its own mezzanine level, while the River View Loft gives 34 square metres under high top-floor ceilings.

The River View Room also measures 34 square metres but sits on the ground floor, and the two Warehouse categories, both 27 square metres with a king bed, face away from the water. The Warehouse Loft takes the top floor with a skylight or windows. Skip the Warehouse Sanctuary if daylight matters to you: it is on the ground floor and windowless, lit by warm ambient lamps, which suits jet-lagged sleepers far better than anyone planning to work from the room.

Every room carries the same kit: Ashley & Co bath products, which the hotel says it was the first in the world to stock, a Bang & Olufsen Bluetooth speaker, a rain shower, an electronic safe, artisanal tea and coffee, and a minibar of local treats. Wi-Fi is free, needs no password and works on several devices at once. Room service runs from 12pm to 10pm daily, and the concierge returns personalised suggestions within two to three business days of receiving your booking number.

Po, named after popo, the Mandarin word for grandmother, is the hotel's flagship restaurant and serves modern Peranakan cooking at marble tables beneath 1970s-style globe pendant lamps. It opens daily for breakfast from 7am to 10:30am, then from 12pm to 10pm with last orders at 9:30pm. The signature popiah is rolled at the table from paper-thin wheat skins and a pork, shrimp and jicama filling that the menu says takes more than four hours of stewing.

The current menu prices the Chargrilled Prawn Hokkien Mee, cooked in seafood and pork bone broth with homemade sambal belachan on the side, at S$32, and the Sotong Masak Hitam, squid braised in its own ink with crisp tempura tentacles, at S$30. Iberico secreto pork satay with Hainanese peanut and pineapple sauce is S$21, and the Chempedak Crème Brûlée is S$14. On weekdays from 12pm to 2:30pm, the Tok Panjang set lunch costs S$35++ per person, for at least two.

The Warehouse Lobby Bar opens from 12pm to midnight Sunday to Thursday, and until 1am on Fridays, Saturdays and eves of public holidays. F&B director Joseph Haywood, formerly of Barbary Coast and Sago House, runs it with Jaemin Shin, and the signature Tongkang Drift is a dry pour of strawberry, raspberry, orange blossom and rose. From Monday to Friday, 3pm to 7pm, Social Hour sets house wines and beers at S$12, or two for S$20, and classic cocktails at S$15, or two for S$25.

The bottle list runs deeper than a hotel lobby suggests. Dassai 23 sake is S$220 a bottle and Juyondai Original Junmai Daiginjo is S$440, Brewlander's Joy session pale ale is S$17, and the bar says it is one of only five venues pouring a rotating selection of Scotch Malt Whisky Society single-cask drams. Bar bites include six DIY kueh pie tee for S$18 and a sweet and spicy chicken sando for S$24. Bar prices exclude GST and service charge.

The hotel is fully cashless and takes Visa, Mastercard, Amex, JCB, UnionPay, GrabPay, PayLah and PayNow. At check-in the full room charge is held on your card alongside an incidental deposit of S$100 per night, released 48 to 96 hours after check-out if nothing else is charged. You must be 21 with photo ID to check in. Smoking in a room brings a S$250 cleanup fee, and pets are not allowed, although certified guide dogs are welcome.

Families should plan around the beds. Every room has one king-sized bed, and there are no rollaway beds and no connecting rooms, so a family of three with an older child needs two rooms, ideally requested as adjacent. Cribs are available for children up to four years old. A late check-out of up to two hours is free when a room is available; beyond that, a half-day charge applies until 6pm and a full-day charge after it.

There is no gym and no spa. Instead, the 1.2-metre-deep infinity pool on the second-floor rooftop looks over Robertson Quay from 7am to 10pm daily, with no lifeguard on duty. Packages are worth reading before you book: A Heritage Experience needs two nights and adds a pair of tickets for the Singapore River Cruise or the Chinatown Heritage Centre, while Work and Wander takes 30% off the best available rate for stays of seven nights or more, breakfast included.

Walk the river path to the Alkaff Bridge, a footbridge shaped like a traditional tongkang boat and painted in bright colours by artist Pacita Abad in 2004. STPI Creative Workshop & Gallery, a print and papermaking studio in another restored riverside warehouse at 41 Robertson Quay, Singapore 238236, opens its next solo show, Yoo Hyun Mi: The Blank Puzzle (The Image Yet to Come), on 31 October 2026, running to 12 December with guided tours and a Sigma Contemporary Dance response on opening day.

Plan B, if all 37 rooms are taken, is Lloyd's Inn at 2 Lloyd Road, Singapore 239091, a 34-room boutique hotel with eight room types in Somerset, about a five-minute walk from Orchard Road. Rather than a hotel buffet, its stay includes complimentary breakfast at two local eateries within walking distance, and its booking calendar is open for October 2026.

The Warehouse Hotel, 320 Havelock Road, Singapore 169628, at Robertson Quay. Check-in 2pm, check-out 12 noon. Nearest MRT: Havelock, Exit 4, about seven minutes on foot. Six room types from 27 to 57 square metres, each with one king or super king bed. Cashless, with an S$100 per night incidental deposit. Lobby Bar Social Hour weekdays 3pm to 7pm. Pool 7am to 10pm. No pets.