Opening its doors in 2019, The Barracks Hotel actually used to be a British artillery barracks constructed way back in 1904. There is a ton of history behind this location, as well as the entire island of Sentosa, but I shall leave that to the hotel’s heritage tour team to expound when you visit (: Most hotel stays in Sentosa don’t come cheap, and this hotel is no exception. I didn’t think I’d get a chance to try out this gorgeous property until a Traveloka sale came along, where prices were pretty decent compared to their regular rates!
My first point of contact with the staff was already such a positive and welcoming experience. The very bubbly Adikin called to inform that my husband and I had been accorded an early check-in at 11am and asked if we were keen to join a floral arrangement workshop that day. He then proceeded to make the necessary arrangements and bid me goodbye in the most cheerful way possible. That interaction really put a smile on my face 😀
- Inclusions:
- 1-night stay in Premier Room
- Breakfast and evening cocktails at The Living Room
- $50 dining credit
- Spent: SGD$557.64
Check-in
As we entered the open-air foyer of the hotel, we were warmly greeted by Tono, the front office manager, and Jun Sheng (aka JS). We also got to meet Adikin in person as he happened to be the one checking us in! Firdaus, another staff, brought us cold towels and welcome drinks (tea-based mixed with a hint of grapefruit), super refreshing. Adikin then walked us to our room and explained the different room features there, as well as our package inclusions (we were pleasantly surprised to find out that we had a $50 dining credit included). He even took a commemorative photo of us, which he then printed out for us as a farewell gift the next day during check-out. What an amazing start to our stay (:
Room
The hotel has two levels housing just 40 luxurious rooms and suites in total, with our assigned Premier Room located on the second level. As we strolled along the corridor to our room in conversation, Adikin pointed out that the external door frames here are all original as part of the conservation efforts to preserve the building’s history.
When we first stepped into our room, I was blown away by the interior! Reminding me fondly of Raffles Hotel, it too retained rustic elements from its heritage as a military barracks, like the rattan drawers and leather strap buckles, but in a completely modern fashion. The mini-bar is complimentary for all guests except the small bottles of alcohol. Oddly enough, it took me a while to realize that the room was actually not as large as I initially thought it was, probably because the high ceiling made it feel so much more spacious. Some unique features in the bathroom include the elegant bronze fixtures and the black tub made with a granite finish, very cool.
What was a very impressive first was that they had already prepared a pair of firm pillows in the room even before we arrived at the hotel! When I expressed my incredulity at how they knew this preference of mine, Adikin shared coyly that they did their due research. Not only that, he also specially arranged for a bottle of Prosecco and some Lady M cakes to be sent up to the room as a Valentines’ Day surprise. Upon mentioning that we don’t really drink, another staff proceeded to bring a jug of chilled orange juice either as an alternative drink or to use as a mixer for making our own less-alcoholic mimosas. Just, wow.
Turndown service was automatically provided, though it seemed that they missed out replenishing some of the amenities. They did leave some extra stuff like a small bottle of lavender pillow mist, as well as bath salts and rose petals by the tub.
Facilities
Given the relatively small number of guest rooms, the two sizeable, mirror-imaged swimming pools along both wings of the hotel provide more than enough wading space for everyone. However, there is no gym on-site so during the period we stayed, guests had to make their way over to Oasia Resort Sentosa to use a tiny gym there instead. Another space worth highlighting is the Heritage Courtyard, a wide open lawn at the hotel entrance that looks absolutely enchanting at night with fairy lights.
After putting our bags down in the room, we headed to the foyer where our flower workshop was held. For 30 minutes, Jennifer (the vendor) taught us and another couple various techniques to create our own floral arrangement bouquet. Once we had our bouquets, she got us to do something heartwarming: Look our partners in the eye, thank them for something in particular and hand them the bouquet we made (awww). Of course, that sparked a whole lot of laughter but the spirit behind it was commendable. Although the workshop is a fairly simple one, I really enjoy such activities as it just value-adds to the complete stay experience.
Since we were right next to The Living Room, a cosy lounge space flooded with natural sunlight, we swung by to pick up two cups of hot chocolate before making our way back to the room. Between 7am to 10pm, guests can help themselves to the all-day refreshments such as potato chips, nuts, shortbread and beverages. Breakfast and evening cocktails are also served here.
We rested briefly in the room before rendezvousing with our guides for the Heritage Tour in a small seating area next to the Mess Hall drop-off point. A staff handed each of us a complimentary hat to wear in keeping with the heritage vibe of the tour. There were 3 sessions on the day we were there (1pm, 2.30pm and 4pm) – we opted for the 2.30pm slot. Our guides were actual combat engineer veterans, Mr. Winston Wong and Mr. Khor Sing Hong, who lived and worked here back in the day, so cool!
Unfortunately, this “tour” was more like a 1.5-hour sit-down lecture supplemented with some photos and diagrams from a clear folder. I’m not sure why they didn’t bring us around as was the case in other reviews I read, but I was certainly not expecting this. In fact, they were sharing so much information verbally that every session ended late (they were at the tail-end of their sharing with two guests when we arrived and the next guests already came while we were finishing up). I guess I was looking forward to learning about and actually seeing the historically significant aspects of this property, as well as hearing about our guides’ first-hand experiences here instead of being overloaded with information about far-removed events from the 1300s.
The hotel provides one-way buggy service to the beach on a first-come-first-serve basis. As there was an Eevee Adventure Mission treasure hunt event going on in Sentosa, we requested for a ride to the beach to check it out. We stopped midway for snacks at iFly courtesy of our Fun Pass tokens (5 per person) to fuel up before continuing our hunt.
Alas, it started pouring suddenly and we were stranded at Beach Station. After trying to make our way under shelter in the direction of the hotel, we hit the last point of shelter at the bus stop outside Palawan Kids City. Desperate and seeing no end to the downpour, I phoned the front desk to check if they could buggy us back up (which technically isn’t part of their service offerings). To my utmost relief, they said they’d send someone down immediately to get us! I was so immensely appreciative when Jia Ming came to rescue us, while also feeling terribly apologetic as his nice suit and shoes got utterly drenched in the process. His arrival was truly like a ray of hope and I was just incredibly grateful (‘:
Even though we completely missed our evening cocktails timeslot, the staff were really understanding about it, allowing us time to freshen up and inviting us back down at a later timing. The rotation menu that day comprised shrimp wonton, beef rendang vol-au-vent, jellyfish salad, Hainanese chicken and assorted cheeses, all of which could be ordered unlimitedly. Our unanimous favourite was the shrimp wonton (warm and crispy, perfectly cooked prawn with fragrant garlic chilli mayo sauce), followed by the Hainanese chicken (encompassed all the essential flavours of chicken rice in just one bite). Looking at the drinks menu, I found out that the refreshing welcome drink we had earlier was a mocktail version of the 1904 Barracks Spritz, so we ordered one of this and added my go-to mimosa too.
To utilize our $50 dining credit, we did a walk-in at Oasia Resort Sentosa’s Bedrock Origin. As our decision to dine here was last-minute, they didn’t have any available tables until about 30 minutes later so we took a stroll around the area.
Shortly after we were seated, a staff brought us a flat bread starter with whole garlic and butter. It wasn’t the typical bread starter we’re used to but it turned out to be quite tasty. As for the mains, I ordered the line-caught tuna collar ($58++), which was melt-in-your-mouth creamy. My husband remarked that it was the best tuna he’d ever tasted, although after a while, I felt it needed something else to cut through the oiliness (the chips were equally oily so those didn’t help). His dish was the three-cheese ravioli ($32++), which was too cheesy and heavy, even for a strong-cheese lover like him. He gave up halfway and couldn’t finish the dish.
During check-in the day before, we already had to decide on and place our breakfast order as it was officially one set per person only. We had the nasi lemak (flavourful and fragrant with sambal chilli that had just the right amount of heat for me) and the salmon eggs benedict (eggs were perfectly runny but the salmon was a little salty). Thankfully, the staff very kindly agreed to our request for an additional basket of black sesame buns (because yums) and a small portion of pancakes to try (do reconsider if you’re thinking about choosing this as your main). The 1904 signature tea served here is specially curated by local artisan tea brand, Pryce, one of my favourites ❤
With a very generous extension of our check-out time to 3pm, the team of staff still weren’t done with their delightful surprises! On top of a nice hardcopy commemorative photo, Adikin also presented us with a super cute teddy bear called William as souvenirs. Jia Ming then gave us one last buggy ride down to Siloso Point (as our next destination was HeadRock VR) and we shared a wonderfully genuine parting conversation that rounded up our experience here beautifully 🙂
My overall rating of the experience: 5 out of 5 stars. Fantastic heritage rooms that capture the property’s significant history in a contemporary fashion, gorgeous architecture and hotel spaces, outstanding service standards from staff who go the extra mile, what more can I say? The entire experience here felt magical with a hint of nostalgia, coupled with the comforting sense that the staff are taking good care of you. I was exceedingly amazed and thankful that they took the effort to anticipate and personalize their service responses based on our needs, resulting in what felt like a truly bespoke stay that was uniquely ours. Besides the format of the Heritage Tour, which I believe should revert to an actual walking tour, we fully enjoyed our time here and all the little surprises that came our way (: I’d definitely love to return if the opportunity presents itself!
Dania Experiences 