As my husband and I leisurely pulled up to the hotel’s stone-paved driveway, we fondly recalled our incredible experience during our last stay here and were super excited to be back for the second time! Nestled on the island of Sentosa, this hotel is rich in heritage, beautifully and luxuriously restored with a conserved original facade. With just 40 rooms and suites in total on the property, one can expect a mostly tranquil environment, ample amounts of personal space and bespoke service from the staff. After our previous stay, I didn’t think we’d ever see a price as good as the one we got but unexpectedly, Traveloka proved us wrong, much to our delight!
- Inclusions:
- 1-night stay in Premier Room Pool Access (upgraded from Premier Room)
- Breakfast and evening cocktails at The Living Room
- Spent: SGD$397.97
Check-in
Upon arriving at the reception area, I was thrilled to see the our favourite Barracks staff, the friendly Adikin, again ❤ He warmly welcomed us, checked us in while we sipped on our welcome drinks and walked us to our room like he did the last time.
The other reception staff with him suggested for us to join the complimentary Heritage Tour but we politely declined as it would likely be a repeat of that 1.5-hour lecture of information overload we sat through last time. Not that it wasn’t interesting though, we just thought it’d be more value-added as a walking tour like the one we attended at Capella Hotel.
Room
This time, we were upgraded to a room with direct access to the pool on level 1 and located furthest from the bustling foyer area. It looked almost identical to the Premier Room we stayed in on our previous visit, except the fact that it had double vanities and an outdoor patio connected to the pool outside. We even had a little jacuzzi corner to enjoy, as with all the other rooms on this level, though some offered greater privacy compared to others. Rooms on the second level have a taller ceiling height than the ones on the first level, a trade-off we didn’t particularly mind.
The non-alcoholic mini-bar drinks are complimentary for all staying guests, including options of both sparkling and still water in glass bottles. They seemed to have replaced the two Schweppes soft drinks with two small cartons of coconut water (yay!). During our last stay, my usual firm pillow was astonishingly already in the room before we entered. Alas, I had to request for it this time round but to their credit, it was delivered really quickly. The bed was very firm too (:
Later in the evening, we came back to a room that was automatically turned down with a whole host of goodies waiting for us by the bed. One of them was the Poseidon Gold bath bomb supposedly inspired by the alluring beauty of the Singapore Straits. I used it there and then in the gorgeous black granite tub, which made the entire room smell divine with sandalwood, bergamot, lemon and lavender. It also made the bath waters turn a pretty turquoise colour. There was also a box of Awfully Chocolate truffles, lavender pillow mist (we got this the last time round too) and a bunch of snacks from The Living Room. Such pampering treats!
Facilities
For photos of the two large swimming pools and the Heritage Courtyard, you can refer to my previous post (: Since Village Hotel Sentosa was no longer a designated quarantine facility at the time of our stay, we could also access the four differently themed pools and the gym there as there is no on-site gym at this hotel.
Shortly after checking in, we headed to The Living Room, an elegant lounge space, to relax in the peaceful ambience. Guests can help themselves to all-day refreshments between 8am and 8pm so we ordered a mocha and cappuccino during our time there. The snacks on offer were the same brand of potato chips and nuts as previously but instead of shortbread, they now had Cartwright & Butler cookies which we couldn’t get enough of (our first encounter with these delicious cookies was at The Clan Hotel)! I just love how crumbly and melt-in-your-mouth these are.
Evening cocktails and canapes are available at The Living Room from 4pm to 7.30pm, with hourly slots up for reservation at the time of check-in. We opted for the earliest slot at 4pm as we wanted to check out the Sentosa Grill Fest happening at Siloso beach. The canapes are served as a set on a rustic wooden board but you can request for unlimited servings of specific canapes that you want more of. Menu-wise, it was exactly the same as what we had the last time so our ratings remain unchanged – go for the Hainanese chicken and shrimp wonton (:
According to Adikin, Jia Ming (the staff who graciously rescued us from the heavy downpour in a buggy during our previous stay) makes a mean iced caramel latte so we ordered one of that to try in addition to my usual mimosa. It was on the sweet side but I liked how the caramel wonderfully balanced out the bitterness of the coffee. Another staff, Arreeveenee, surprised us with a refreshingly light and fruity Barracks Rossini, comprising a mix of sparkling wine and puréed strawberries. We also managed to catch up with Tono, the Front Office Manager, who was as welcoming and approachable as we remembered him to be.
Once we were done with evening canapes, Adikin helpfully gave us a buggy ride down to the Beach Station so we could conveniently head to the Sentosa Grill Fest event. He shared that we could give the hotel number a call once we were ready to be driven back up. This was different from the previous time where buggy rides were only one way. It was a welcomed change and we were infinitely grateful that we didn’t have to fret over how to return to the hotel.
Breakfast is served at The Living Room from 7.30am to 11am. Similar to last time, we had to reserve a time slot and pre-order our breakfast sets (one starter and one main) at the point of check-in. This time, however, we were explicitly informed that we could order an extra starter if we so wished. We stuck with what we enjoyed previously, which was the nasi lemak (though the rice was a little bland) and went for the brioche toast with omega-3 eggs instead of the mediocre eggs benedict from the last round. This turned out to be a good decision as the brioche was light, buttery and crispy on the sides, plus the garlicky mushrooms were highly addictive. Everything else was pretty okay but not superb.
Veanny, a staff who assisted us during evening cocktails, was also present during breakfast service. It was really heartwarming that she remembered us and our room number. I find that it’s the little details like this that set hotels apart from their regular counterparts. During our dining time slot, there were only two other tables of guests, making for a semi-private, serene space to slowly relish our breakfast in.
After breakfast, I decided to chill by the pool as it was simply too inviting. There was practically no one around as well and the breeze was so constant I actually felt cold at certain points. Coupled with the rustling leaves and rippling blue waters, this was indeed a fantastic post-breakfast relaxation activity.
My overall rating of the experience: 5 out of 5 stars. This gem of a hotel is truly a spot of heritage luxury, one I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend if budget allows for it. Beautifully kept rooms with tastefully imbued elements of heritage, amazing spaces for repose and impressive levels of attentiveness from the staff. I must say that service was slightly less personal compared to our last stay during the pandemic as the staff seemed more tired and caught up in the busyness to have the same kind of personal conversations we previously did. Even so, their standards remained excellent and were still far above what we’ve experienced at many other 5-star hotels. Throughout our stay, we felt well taken care of (sending lots of love to the team! ❤ ) and the tranquil environment was a delightful respite from the pace of city life. I sincerely hope we get the chance to return to try out the various suites in future!
If this post helped you in some way and you’d like to buy me a coffee, I’d be incredibly grateful (:
Dania Experiences 