Only in a city as obsessed with order and cleanliness as Singapore would you find a backpacker’s hostel with custom pod beds and designer touches. That’s exactly what Matchbox is: a concept hostel appealing to ‘flashpackers’ who like to travel on a budget, but with a little luxury.

The name Matchbox surely derives from the design of the dormitories, where the beds are neatly stacked in the manner of a compact spacecraft. One of the hostel’s exclusive features is its couple bunk beds, which can sleep two together and are apparently the first in the world to be featured in a hostel dormitory. That could potentially be an exhibitionist’s dream but we shall refrain from giving your overactive imagination any more stimulating scenarios. There is a choice of three types of room: a two bed mixed dormitory, a 12 bed ladies’ dormitory and an 18 bed mixed dormitory.

There is also a sitting room and an entertainment loft, furnished with designer beanbags from Ministry of Chair. Meanwhile, paintings by Singaporean students with disabilities are displayed on the walls, bringing a more local touch to a place that might otherwise feel adrift in the anonymity of its futuristic design. The hostel provides free WiFi, laundry and all-day breakfast. Elise Low