Singapore Staycation Guide: Our Experiences & Favorites!
Till date, Pigg and I have been on several staycations since 2016. Since we are unable to travel for now due to COVID-19, staycations is an alternative to get out of our homes and explore Singapore. Normally, our decision to choose certain hotels depend on two main factors: Price/promotions and Things to do in/around the hotel.
Hard Rock Hotel (Resorts World Sentosa) - 4*
Our first ever staycation is back in December 2016, where we had a 3D2N stay at Resorts World Sentosa's Hard Rock Hotel. At that point of time, we decided to go for a staycation as travelling overseas during the December holidays is quite expensive.
Price: $747 for a 3D2N Mastercard promotional package which comes with admission to S.E.A Aquarium, Adventure Cove and Universal Studios Singapore.
First Impression: The check-in queue was really long and we had to queue for 30 minutes before it was our turn
The Room: Our package came with a Deluxe Room, although we opted for a king bed, they gave us twin beds instead. Although the actual room does not look like what was illustrated online, it looks quite simple but the room is quite spacious and came with a view overlooking the adventure cove and the sea where we can see the cable cars and cruises.
Amenities: Back then there was no free WiFi in the room which was quite disappointing as most free WiFi is supposed to be a basic requirement for most hotels. They also have a music service which works better on the laptop rather than phones... Their signature guitar shaped vanity kit is also quite underwhelming as the amenities are quite basic with RWS packaging.
Facilities: The swimming pool is quite the highlight of the hotel as it has a tropical theme with lush greenery and even a man-made beach! However, we did not have a chance to go to the pool as we were busy visiting the attractions!
Dining: Breakfast was not included in our package, but since we stayed at Hard Rock Hotel, we definitely must check out the Hard Rock Cafe. We had drinks and enjoyed the live band jamming performance. Love the nachos!
Village Hotel Katong (Katong) - 4*
What was supposed to be a research for my assignment turned into a 2D1N staycation experience at Village Hotel Katong. Thanks to Pigg's Mum's contact, I was able to secure an interview with the marketing director and we were able to enjoy the club room with club lounge facilities at an affordable price.
The Room: The hotel and its rooms is Peranakan themed, inspired by Joo Chiat and Katong heritage. Our room - Peranakan Club Room (41 sqm) is also tastefully designed with Peranakan elements and decorations. A really spacious room with a huge in-room bathtub
Amenities: The highlight of the Club room is the club lounge benefits! Open 24 hours, we are able to access the lounge's minibar for soft drinks and snacks. From 6-8pm, we were able to enjoy light bites and cocktails at the lounge. We are also able to enjoy continental breakfast at the club lounge, where I had my second round of breakfast after having my first round at the Katong Kitchen.
Facilities: The swimming pool is kind of sad as it is a small round pool, as it was so small, we were kind of embarrassed to even go for a dip as there were quite a number of people suntanning around the pool. There's also a steam room which was under maintenance during our time of visit.
Dining: We had breakfast at the Katong Kitchen, where we ate as soon as they opened at 6.30am as Pigg had to go back to camp. Although the restaurant is halal-certified, they still have a variety of selection and live egg station.
Location: The hotel is not very accessible to any MRT station but there are a lot of F&B options to choose from within the vicinity
Ratings: 4/5
Siloso Beach Resort (Sentosa) - 4*
In 2018, as we were unable to travel to Osaka, Japan due to the unfortunate Typhoon Jebi, we decided to do a staycation in Sentosa instead, and this time at Siloso Beach Resort.
Price: $227.58 after a limited time 10% discount on Agoda. At that point of time, Sentosa Island does not have the Far East Hotels yet and the only four star affordable property is Siloso Beach Resort.
The Room: We went for the Superior Room which is quite simple and gave me some chalet feels. We also have a view of the Siloso Beach, although mostly is covered by trees. The resort brands itself as a eco-resort where there were nature pictures in the room. However, I'm not sure if the ants that I saw in the room is also part of the theme...
Amenities: I do not remember much about the amenities... wait... do they even have any?
Facilities: I think the highlight of the resort is actually the swimming pool which supposedly contains natural spring water harvested from the hill's underground reserve. It is also the longest landscape pool in Singapore. I like how the pool does not have chlorine and also has a waterfall, slides and hammocks for relaxation.
Dining: Although breakfast was included in our room rate, it was quite disappointing as the cafe was quite small to support the morning crowd. They had to open up another area which feels more like a garage... As it was alfresco, there were also leaves falling from above... The breakfast spread was also underwhelming in a sense that the quantity of food is not enough to feed everyone, and variety also pale in comparison to hotels.
Location: The location is right smack in the middle of Siloso beach which is close to beach bars and the Mega Adventure Park where we had fun at the Megazip and Megaclimb rope course attraction.
Ratings: 3/5
Hotel Jen Orchardgateway (Somerset) - 4*
For my 23rd Birthday, Pigg booked us a 2D1N staycation at Hotel Jen Orchardgateway
Price: $218++ which includes buffet breakfast, Jen's signature cocktail at Baywatch@Jen, late checkout until 2pm, 20% off food & beverages purchases
Value-add: As our room was not ready by the check-in time, we were given a complimentary mocktail each while we wait at the lounge. As Pigg indicated that it was my birthday, they also prepared a mini birthday surprise by decorating the bed with balloons, card and cake. It was quite surprising as the items were not there upon check-in but only after we came back from lunch
The Room: We got the Superior Cityview room (27 sqm) which did not have much of a city view but more of a Singtel building view.
Amenities: Hotel Jen, being a "young" and "hip" hotel also has a robot butler named Jeno, however, we did not get to see it in action as we did not call for any in-room delivery
Facilities: Fell in love with the rooftop pool when I was previously doing site inspection, we enjoyed both the sunset view during our late afternoon swim and night time panoramic city view when we redeemed our Jen's signature cocktail at Baywatch@Jen. They also had beanbags and poolside cabanas for relaxation.
Dining: Pigg also reserved a dinner for us at Makan@Jen which served a seafood buffet on Fridays and Saturdays. The seafood spread consisted of huge prawns, crabs, crayfish, clams etc... however I felt that the grilled seafood was a tad too dry for my liking. The next day, we had buffet breakfast where I was easily satisfied with my go-to American style breakfast (bacon, sunny side up, sausage, hashbrown, waffles and baked beans)
Location: The hotel is located atop of the Orchard Gateway, which is also really accessible to Somerset MRT station. At night, we also shopped at the 24 hours Don Don Donki!
Ratings: 4/5
Outpost Hotel (Sentosa) - 5*
In 2019, Far East Hotels has opened 3 hotels on Sentosa Island and we were excited to try out Outpost Hotel, their adults-only hotel during their pre-launch period.
Price: $374.87 for Deluxe Room King Bed - Sea View (24 sqm) with breakfast (35% off). This is the most expensive hotel that we have booked so far but it was definitely worth it as the service is impeccable.
First Impression: The check-in process is very personal and comfortable as we are seated and served a welcome drink, The Palawan Dawn Mocktail
Value Add: As it was also Pigg's 24th birthday and our 6th anniversary together, the hotel prepared a lovely surprise with a cupcake, card and balloons on the bed. As Easter was around that period, they also prepared a little chocolate egg gift. Also, as we wanted to spend more time at the pool, we requested and was granted to extend our check-out by 1 hour.
The Room: The good thing about Outpost Hotel is that all room categories are the same, just different views. We got a corner room which overlooks the monorail station - beach station and also a good view of the Wings of Time fireworks. Too bad we did not get to catch it as we were out at night. Also love the toilet which comes with the bidet!
Amenities: After check-in, we are able to choose 5 complimentary mini-bar items from their selection of items and we chose 2 Starbucks Signature Chocolate Drink, Kettle Chips, Whittakers chocolate bar, Hudson's honey lemon jujubes. The in-room amenities are also branded - APPELLES Apothecary & Lab toiletries kit (Australian beauty brand) and Pryce Tea Blends.
Facilities: The highlight of the hotel is the swimming pools: Pamukkale Pool (adults only), Lazy River Pool and Adventure Pool. At that point of time, the rooftop pool on top of Outpost Hotel was not opened yet otherwise we would have access to 4 pools. In the evening, there is also movie screening by the pool.
Dining: As the rooftop bar was not opened yet during our stay, we had the option to have a semi-buffet breakfast at Ola Beach Club which is more exclusive as compared to eating at the Native Kitchen, where the guests from Village Hotel will also dine at.
Location: The hotel is nearby to Imbiah station and the Palawan beach (accessible by the back entrance). At that point of time, Sentosa had the Pokemon Go Safari Zone event at Palawan Beach which we attended.
However one downside of the shuttle service (20 seater) which comes every 30 minutes, is that it is shared with Village Hotel guests which are mostly families with kids, and hence not everyone will be able to board if multiple families board...
Ratings: 5/5 - officially my favorite hotel and surely recommend couples who want a getaway
Village Hotel Changi (Changi)- 4*
For the National Day long weekend, we booked a staycation at Village Hotel Changi as we wanted to explore Pulau Ubin the next day.
Price: $132.84 for 1 night (member's only price) in the Superior room (24 sqm). Officially the cheapest rates out of all our staycation experiences, but of course it does not include breakfast as we could just eat at Changi Village.
Value Add: As we booked direct on the Far East Hotels website, the front desk asked if we have previously stayed in other Far East properties, and as we had previously requested for a higher level room with better view, we were given a room at their highest floor (7th storey).
The Room: The room is quite simple and quite dated as the hotel is quite old. However, we had a good view of the sea as we were on the highest level.
Amenities: The toiletries provided were quite simple and sufficient for those who don't bring their toiletries. However, they are not worth bringing home as I normally bring my own toiletries kit.
Facilities: There are 2 swimming pools in the hotel, an infinity pool on level 8 and a creek pool at the ground floor. We went for the infinity pool as it had a better view (of the sea and also planes flying by) and we need not jostle with families with kids at the Creek Pool. There's also a jacuzzi at the infinity pool.
Dining: The hotel has a few restaurants but we did not dine in as there are many other options nearby such as Changi Village and Jewel Changi
Shuttle service: Thanks to the Airport shuttle service which we pre-registered for, we are able to go to Jewel Changi for dinner.
Location: The hotel is in close proximity to Changi Village and the ferry terminal where we were able to to head over to Pulau Ubin. However, the journey from home to the hotel and back takes more than 1 hour as we had to change buses.
One downside is that I had left behind my iPhone charging head in the room which I had sent an email to the reservations team after I had checked out, but did not receive any reply...
Ratings: 3/5
Oasia Hotel Downtown (Tanjong Pagar) - 4*
Finally, for our latest experience, as we have to cancel our two overseas trips due to COVID-19, we decided to do a staycation at Oasia Hotel Downtown.
Price: We got quite a good package deal at $170++ with a bunch of benefits:
Value Add: We were upgraded to the Club Room (but without the club benefits) from the Superior Room and it was on one of the higher floors - 24th storey (the hotel has 27 storeys in total)
The Room: Absolutely love the look and feel of the room! We also have a good view overlooking Chinatown. One of my favorite part of the room is actually the toilet - not only there is a 1-way mirror (inside can see the outside and not the other way round), we can play Spotify music from the smart TV and the music can be heard from the speakers in the toilet!
Amenities: The bath toiletries are from Biology (Australian brand) and the tea selection is from our favorite TWG tea brand. As the hotel branding is about wellness, there is also a yoga mat available in the room for those who want to do a few stretches.
Facilities: There are 2 Rooftop pools and a Infinity Pool on the Club floor. I'm glad that we were upgraded to the Club room and be able to use the Infinity Pool as the 2 Rooftop Pools are quite sad and the water is quite shallow. However, the pool water is super cold!
Dining: Marmalade Pantry is the hotel's only restaurant and we practically had 3 meals there - breakfast, lunch and high tea. As part of the hotel package, we get to enjoy 1-for-1 main course where we had
The next day, we also had high tea (worth $48++ for 2) to officially end off our hotel staycation. Marmalade Pantry high tea is very British afternoon tea style and quite simple with sandwiches, scones and cakes, and of course tea.
Location: Just located right across Tanjong Pagar MRT station and nearby to 100AM Mall where we shopped at Don Don Donki, and also lots of cafes and restaurants within walking distance
Ratings: 5/5
Comments