Bouncy bed, lipstick-stained pillows and strong smells: YouTubers visit $25 love hotel in Geylang for 2 hours

Some of us have heard of the exciting love hotel scene in Japan and South Korea, but did you know that Singapore has its own fair share of such accommodations? 

Yes, such establishments exist and there are budget-friendly ones too. 

Curious to know what one of these local love hotels is like without having to pay a visit yourself? You're in luck because YouTubers Randy Toh and Benjamin Toh, along with their producer Rachel, decided to check out one located at Geylang. 

The trio only disclosed the location of the hotel and not its name. They documented this intriguing experience in a YouTube video uploaded on Sept 10. 

Before heading to the hotel, they scrolled through some of its best and worst reviews on Google to see what they were getting themselves into. 

At the time of the video, the one-star accommodation had 3.6 stars and 145 reviews, which Randy described as "quite average". 

One five-star review praised the rooms and said these were "bright" with great views. 

Another positive Google review even said: "This is one of the best hotels in [Geylang] Lorong 10 area."

But, on the flip side, the one star reviews were polar opposites and even scared Rachel a little. 

One reviewer had shared that while the service was good and "friendly", the room itself was "absolutely disgusting". 

"There were foreign hairs and blood stains [on] the bed, there was hair on the floor and it was dirty," read the review. 

"After I read this review... guys, can we not go [to this hotel]?" Rachel begged Randy and Ben. 

Another guest also said that there were baby cockroaches running along the bed frames and floors. Yikes. 

Despite the terrifying ratings, they still went along and booked themselves a room via phone booking. 

The hotel staff who took their call told them that the hotel rooms are available either on a daily or hourly basis.

So, they opted for a two-hour stay, which cost just $25. If they had decided to stay the whole day, they would have been charged $96. 

Checking out the love hotel 

Upon first impression, the exterior facade of the love hotel wasn't actually too bad. 

"The exterior looks quite nice with the different colours and patterns," said an impressed Ben. 

But Rachel wasn't convinced. 

"It looks shady, I'm damn nervous," she said honestly. 

After collecting their room key, Rachel shared that the staff were a little suspicious of the trio. 

"So just now, the staff kept [asking] us a lot of questions. I think they didn't want us to film bad reviews of anything," she explained. 

"We just told them we are here to review the room," Randy added. 

They also explained that they were charged an additional $30 surcharge on top of the $25 since there were three of them instead of the permitted two pax. 

The good, the bad and the ugly 

Just before they entered the room, Rachel pointed out that there was a lingering "toilet smell". 

This didn't improve when they entered the room and the trio noted that the place had a "damp" and "very strong smell". 

But they did love the "flowery" decor and Randy even said that it was "so cute", while Ben pointed out that the room interior and the exterior of the hotel had a running colour theme. 

The trio were pleased to find that the room came well-equipped with a wardrobe, hangers, free drinking water, a kettle and small compartment to store your belongings. Its air-con was also relatively new and "working very well". 

Another plus point, the television even carried a substantial amount of channels like HBO. 

Ben pointed out that he did liked the basket-like lamp hanging over the bed as it was a nice touch to the room decor. 

"I think it's quite aesthetic honestly," he said, adding that it probably was his most favourite part of the room. 

However, Rachel noticed that there were several wet patches on the floor in different corners of the room. 

"It's like wet and sticky," she described. 

She also realised that the mosquito net over the bed had a massive hole in it. 

"The mosquito will fly in," joked Ben. 

Apart from that, the toilet wasn't the biggest and could only fit two people max. 

Of course, they had to talk about the "most important" aspect of the room — the bed. 

Randy praised the bedsheets as these looked like something one would have in their own home. 

"So if you come here, you will feel like you're at home," he added. 

The trio also appreciated how there were three pillows, which were "bouncy" and "quite comfortable". 

And to match, the bed was sufficiently bouncy too despite having a "springy sound".

"So guys, don't be too rough," Randy said cheekily. 

But to their horror, the sleeping set-up wasn't as ideal as they had anticipated. 

Upon further inspection, they found lipstick-like stains on the inside of one of the pillows. 

"I guess the person didn't remove their make up [before] they slept," said Randy. 

When they checked the bed with their naked eyes, they couldn't find any other obvious signs of dirt on the bedsheets and pillows. 

"It's really quite clean, there are no major stains, no lipstick or make up here. So that means [the hotel staff] really change the bedsheets," said Ben. 

However, upon closer look with a UV light, they made some nasty finds. 

The bedsheets were generally all right and "quite clean". 

But to their horror, they found a massive stain inside of the pillow. 

They shined the UV light on the walls and found some stains there too. 

Apart from the pillows and walls, they also noted that the provided towels had several hairs stuck to them. 

"But you know right, it's actually quite common to have hair on the towel. Even some five-star hotels also have," justified Ben. 

Verdict? 

While they did find some issues with the love hotel room, the trio felt that overall it was still a decent accommodation. 

"Personally, I think it's better than expected," admitted Rachel. 

Ben also pointed out that they didn't see cockroaches either. 

"I think the only thing that can be improved slightly is the cleanliness. If not, I think other than that, it's quite okay," said Randy. 

Ben added that for the price point, it was "quite reasonable" for a transit hotel. 

ALSO READ: Here are the best hotels in Singapore for you to have a romantic staycay with bae

melissateo@asiaone.com