Perched atop a cliff overlooking the South China Sea and the beaches on Sentosa Island, this hotel has retained its colonial aesthetic since its establishment way back in 1930. The most recent and extensive refurbishment happened some time in 2015, so even though much of the landscapes were still pretty breathtaking, the hardware was certainly showing signs of age. Wanting to eventually try out all the nice hotels at Sentosa, I thought it would be a good time to check this one out since Trip.com had some ongoing promotions.
- Inclusions:
- 1-night stay in Luxury Room
- Breakfast
- Spent: SGD$376.45
Check-in
Entering the reception area, my husband and I were greeted by the friendly and chatty Giulio. After registering us as guests, he suggested showing us the Prestige Suite for us to consider the option of a paid upgrade. Regrettably, the room was facing a construction site (where I suppose the future Raffles Sentosa Resort & Spa will stand). It wasn’t an ideal view so we stuck with our original room category.
The hotel has two wings: the Peace Wing and the Tranquility Wing. The former is where the said Prestige Suite is located (this wing is further from the main lobby). While we traversed this lengthy distance, we fell into easy conversation with Giulio as he gave us a rundown of the facilities we passed by along the way. One of them was the fish spa that all guests have access to. All you have to do is find a seat along the pond’s edge, stick your feet into the water, then let the fish nibble at and rid your feet of dead skin cells.
As we turned the corner towards our assigned room, Giulio also pointed out a spot where we might be able to catch some National Day fireworks. Thanks to this heads-up, we actually managed to see a tiny bit of fireworks that night!
Room
Our room was located on level 4 (out of 5 levels) towards the end of the hallway. It’s a space that I wouldn’t exactly describe as luxurious or large but it sufficed for a night’s stay. I was puzzled why we had a worn out banquet chair instead of the lounge chair at the desk as depicted in the website photos. The view was nice though, full of greenery and skies. I was also thankful that everything was generally clean, but signs of wear and tear were very much apparent. As our stay coincided with Singapore’s National Day, we got to relish some complimentary sweet treats in line with the celebratory theme. The chocolates were really good!
Turndown service was available upon request (although the housekeeping staff did miss out clearing the trash in our bathroom). The firm pillow I requested for was promptly sent up but the bed was way too soft. The lush mattress topper made it feel like I was lying on a marshmallow, which might be a boon for some.
Inside the bathroom was a tub and a separate rainshower. Unfortunately, the shower and WC areas smelled like a mix of sewage and the afternotes of harsh chemicals. Very unpleasant indeed. What I did love about these same areas were the gorgeous tilework in various shades of green. I also couldn’t help but hum the tune of “I’m singing in the rain” while showering as that was the lyric etched on one side of the shower panel.
Facilities
Once we put our stuff down in the room, we had lunch at Kwee Zeen, the hotel’s all-day dining restaurant, situated right across the lobby and reception area. It was fairly empty with only a handful of guests but somehow, our order still took a really long time to arrive. I had the Hainanese chicken rice ($29.50++) while my husband had the wok-fried noodles with BBQ pork ($23++) and a flat white ($10.50++).
The food was very mediocre – the chicken was dry, the rice wasn’t fragrant and the noodles were just plain oily. Both my husband and I separately lamented to ourselves how we could be eating this same fare but better-tasting for so much cheaper, realizing our common conclusion only when we voiced it out lol. Even with a 25% discount privilege as in-house guests, it was nowhere near worth it.
After that abysmal lunch, I took a walk to check out some of the facilities. The swimming pool and gym can be found on level 3. Guests can also rent bicycles for free from the concierge for the first two hours (subsequent hours are chargeable).
Oddly enough, the hotel spa is not within the property itself. Instead, it requires a 3-minute ride via a complimentary shuttle bus to get to. However, the frequency of this shuttle bus was every 30 minutes, which proved to be quite inconvenient when I wanted to make my way back to the hotel. Guests from suite categories and above can enjoy free access to the spa facilities while guests in other room categories will have to fork out $40++. If you aren’t staying in the hotel, you can still access these facilities at a higher rate of $60++.
When I entered the spa reception area, I was warmly invited in by one of the staff who then offered to show me around. Outdoors, there were pools (one with a cascading waterfall) and a meditative labyrinth, while the hot and cold plunge pools were located indoors. I wasn’t able to view the steam room and volcanic mud pools during my visit as they’ve been closed since covid hit. She wrapped up the impromptu tour with the offer of a hot cup of ginger tea to ride out the long wait for the next shuttle, super thoughtful (:
Alas, the warmth of the service staff could only do so much. The sense I got as I walked the spa grounds was that it truly is but a shadow of its former glory. Splintered wooden floorboards, dead leaves piled up on the pathways, forgotten debris decaying in corners, even the meditative labyrinth was overgrown and unkempt. I can only imagine how beautiful this place must’ve been in its heyday but right now, some areas just look downright dilapidated and abandoned, a real pity.
Rousing my husband from his slumber in the room, we made our way to LeBar for our welcome drinks courtesy of the Accor membership. We could choose from a small selection of alcoholic (basic cocktails, beers and house wines) and non-alcoholic (juices and soft drinks) options. I went for the strawberry lemonade, which was quite delicious and not overly sour, while my husband had his classic ginger ale. The bar is an open-air environment so we did see a few birds flying about and landing on some of the lounge chairs.
Come dinner time, we headed to The Cliff restaurant for some Italian fare. As with The Barracks Hotel, do expect to see peacocks and peafowls walking around as you dine. I opted to sit indoors after seeing a peafowl defecate on the floor amongst the outdoor seating. If you’re able to overlook such a detail, the outdoor seats actually have the best panoramic sunset and sea views!
On to the food! We were brought two complimentary bread rolls to start, followed by our orders of beef ragu bolognese pasta ($30++) and saffron risotto with porcini mushrooms and parmesan cheese ($36++). My pasta was supposedly made fresh but we had our doubts about that. Generally, the whole dish tasted rather average. The risotto, on the other hand, was more flavourful and had a nice texture despite its less-than-appealing presentation. My husband concluded the meal with a cup of espresso ($8.50++).
Breakfast the next morning had us back at Kwee Zeen again, where we sat outdoors this time as the tables indoors were fully occupied. If you find yourself in this same situation, I highly recommend having at least one person stay at the table to “guard” the food as the birds perched overhead are brazen and opportunistic. Despite my husband sitting right across the table, they still boldly landed on my chair the moment I left my seat. One peacock even swooped down in front of a lady, causing her to jump and spill some food on the floor. It then proceeded to eat the spilled food, very sneaky indeed.
There was a decent variety of buffet dishes, don’t forget to check out the extra booth positioned outdoors. In terms of taste, nothing really stood out. The laksa, fish congee and bread and butter pudding were okay, but the only thing I took more of were the small orange slices.
My overall rating of the experience: 3 out of 5 stars. The wide open spaces and beautiful nature scapes throughout the hotel truly evoked restful resort vibes. A simple walk along the open-air corridors of the common areas was a calming endeavour in itself. It really is a shame that the hardware isn’t too well-maintained, including the rooms and spa. The food we sampled from the two hotel-operated restaurants were mostly unimpressive and exorbitant as well. What they did have going for them though was the excellent service. I requested for a mosquito patch as I was bitten after visiting the spa but the phone operator said they only had insect repellent spray. When the housekeeping staff delivered the spray, she also took out two mosquito patches from her pocket, saying it was from her personal stash. I was immensely grateful and touched by her kind gesture ❤ Not forgetting the warm hospitality from the spa staff and the great tips Giulio gave us too! All in all, we might consider a return stay should the hotel undergo another round of renovations to remedy their ailing hardware.
If this post helped you in some way and you’d like to buy me a coffee, I’d be incredibly grateful (:
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