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By Mario Ng  Entrance of Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort & Spa Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort & Spa has always been one of our favourite hotels in Singapore, with its location providing a feeling of privacy and tranquillity. This was not our first stay here, which says something about this hotel. We managed to get a night’s stay at the Prestige Suite, which equates to 64sqm of luxury. Check out our review below! Service: The service we received throughout our stay was fantastic, as we encountered friendly faces who were only too happy to offer us assistance. At check-in, as we arrived too early, at 1pm, the suite was not ready yet. Nevertheless, the concierge informed us he will contact us once the suite is ready, and that we should go enjoy the hotel facilities first. Although the official check-in time was 3pm, the concierge called me at 2.10pm to inform the suite was ready, and that our luggage was already on its way there. When we needed more amenities and drinking water at various times of the day (12am, 11am, 12pm), the concierge was always quick to tend to us, and we received them pretty quickly.  One of the fountains you see at the resort, which can also be seen from Le Bar. Hotel Facilities: Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort & Spa’s facilities are top-notch, to say the least. The entire complex is huge, and that translates into large spaces of gardens and greenery. Guests walk around the resort feeling like they are in the middle of nowhere, and the resort is really paradise. The swimming pool, which is amazing by the way, is located right in the middle of the resort, so all guests are able to make their way down quite quickly. Sunbeds are aplenty, while the pool is segregated into 2 parts. This way, children can swim safely while adults can make use of some serious depth and do some proper swimming. Free popcorn and a tended pool bar (which is not always the case at other hotels) are available so your children or spouse will not too bored while you swim!  View of the swimming pool at Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort & Spa Le Bar is a good place for families and couples alike to relax, regardless of the time. We saw families and couples chilling at the bar throughout the day and night, and the large space means it is not noisy like some fish market! Depending on when you head over, you can enjoy some afternoon tea or bar bites, along with some tasty beverages! During evenings, there is also live music, with a singer and her pianist belting out classics. As a Le Club AccorHotels Silver member, we received free welcome drinks that we used at Le Bar. The Piña Colada and Sentosa Sling were good choices!  View of Le Bar at Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort & Spa.  View of the water fountain from Le Bar.  Bar area at Le Bar. For those preferring a more exclusive experience, much like the hotel’s location, Sofitel’s signature SO Spa is available here. It is the largest in the world, where guests are provided with 14 indoor treatment rooms and six outdoor pavilions. The spa also has its own pool, a mud pool, and waterfall. What?! Not only that, it has its own restaurant, so you can eat healthily after working out! We were not able to fit this in during our stay, so we were not able to enjoy the spa and its facilities. However, we will be sure to check this out during our next stay! Tanjong beach, an almost private beach, is also located a five-minute walk away. Conveniently located below the hotel, guests have direct access to the beach, just 132 steps to the bottom. However, during our stay, the staircase was under maintenance. So the hope is that it will provide a better experience for future guests! The hotel must know that its location has one main con with it being quite far away from most attractions. Hence, it offers a complimentary bus service for hotel guests to Resorts World Sentosa and Vivocity every half hour. Even better, it provides another shuttle service to Paragon, located at Singapore’s main shopping belt Orchard Road, every 2 hours.  Shuttle bus schedule between Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort & Spa and Vivocity. Breakfast Buffet: Kwee Zeen, Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort & Spa’s all-day restaurant, serves the daily buffet breakfast service. Open for breakfast between 6.30am and 10.30am daily, this is quite the standard for most hotels around the world. It features both indoor and outdoor seating, and we do see the majority of guests opting for the outdoor option. This could be due to the rather low temperatures in the restaurant. Having said that, the indoor option suits guests who are simply not used to Singapore’s tropical climate.  Inside Kwee Zeen, where breakfast is served daily at Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort & Spa. Hardworking guests can get their hands on some newspapers, such as local daily The Straits Times. Having originated from France, it is fitting that Le Monde is available for guests’ reading pleasure, while The New York Times, my preferred reading material at Sofitel, is also available. When we arrived at 9am for breakfast, the newspapers were still available, so we believe there should be enough for guests.  Selection of international newspapers while having breakfast. Food-wise, we were quite pleased with the options. While it may not have the largest variety we have seen at hotel breakfast buffets, it is the quality that counts here. There are gluten-free bread and pastries, while there is also a self-service pancake machine that is suitable for children to have fun with. Waffles are freshly cooked and always in sufficient supply, so you can taste the crisp waffles doused in maple syrup and blueberry sauce.  Gluten-free pastries available at Kwee Zeen, at Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort & Spa.  Standard yet essential breakfast fare at Kwee Zeen. For more conventional breakfast options, there is an abundant supply of bacon, baked potatoes, hash browns, and sausages. The health-conscious can also get their hands on salads, yogurt, and freshly squeezed juices, including concoctions that promise detox and anti-aging! Of course, one should always get their hands on some brie after all that healthy eating.  Cheese and salami: always necessary at hotel breakfasts.  Always important to detox after an early morning run around Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort & Spa. Guests who fancy some local delights will not be disappointed, as nasi lemak, prawn noodles, and curry are available. The choices may seem quite limited, but Sofitel once again makes up for it with the quality of the food. The nasi lemak comes with all-you-can-eat hard boiled eggs and sambal chili, while the broth used in the prawn noodles was really tasty.  You have got to try some local delicacies while in Singapore. Although the official breakfast timing was until 10.30am, and we do see staff beginning to clear the tables at that time, there were still quite a number of guests having their breakfast. It is worth noting that staff did not chase them away, but continued to serve them, with quite a lot of food options still available. This is once again proof of Sofitel’s top-notch service, where customers’ needs are consistently met.  Our very own cheese platter. Hope this looks presentable!  Our first round of breakfast at Kwee Zeen. In case you were wondering, we finished all the food we took! And read the newspaper! Room: When you enter the suite, you are first faced with Sofitel’s signature art piece. You can then turn left to the bedroom or turn right to the living room. The living room was clearly designed with an intent to make guests feel at home. When we stepped into it, we immediately felt as though we were at home, feeling very cosy and all. The rocking chair is also a nice touch, although it took some effort to sustain the rocking.  Prestige Suite - View of the living room. It is also spacious enough to fit a three-seater sofa, with an office table situated behind. This is specially good for families, so you can focus on doing some work while your children watch some television, ensuring you can still watch over them and spend some quality time with them. The sofa is really comfortable, as it provides you with that satisfying sinking feeling when you sit on it. That the television is a 47-inch one does not hurt either!  Prestige Suite - Another view of the living room. The coffee-table books on the shelves suit tourists, as they are mainly about Singapore. I know I spent some time reading “Over Singapore” despite being local! The coffee machine is from illy, which is not what one might expect from a five-star hotel. Do not be too quick to judge though, as we thoroughly enjoyed the espressos made from this coffee machine. It is clear how much we enjoyed the living room, as we almost did not want to leave it to head into our bedroom when we were watching television late into the night!  Prestige Suite - Good choices of coffee table books.  Prestige Suite - Automated coffee machine by illy.  Prestige Suite - View from the living room. The bedroom itself is unquestionably spacious. In fact, it is so spacious that it can fit both a lounge sofa and another chair. In the bedroom is also another 47-inch television, so you do not have to fight with the missus over what channel to watch. After all, the hotel room is meant for watching television.  Prestige Suite - View from the bedroom. The king-size bed is immensely comfortable, with the height of the television just right so you can watch CNN, or any other news channel, the moment you wake up. If you prefer, you should head to the equally comfortable lounge chair and watch some television too. The choice is really yours.  Prestige Suite - The bedroom.  Prestige Suite - Definitely a good idea to have Coco Chanel while travelling.  Prestige Suite - Lounge chair in the bedroom. The bathroom is large enough to fit a bathtub and standing shower, which is the standard for most five-star hotels. I personally like the floor tiles chosen for the standing shower. Its colourful tiles reminds me of being amongst seashells at the beach while the rough edges prevent falls. Functional and aesthetically pleasing! The standing shower is quite big, with both a conventional shower head and rainforest shower. It is also actually big enough to fit 2 adults in it. Just saying.  Prestige Suite - The bathroom.  Prestige Suite - The bathtub that fitted all 1.80m of me.  Prestige Suite - A nice touch that encourages guests to relax while showering. Singing in the rain... Sofitel uses Lanvin products so we were expecting them. In the Prestige Suite, we received 2 bottles each of shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, and body lotion. Which is really sufficient for a night’s stay. What I really like is their bathroom slippers. Not many hotels get this right (even the five-star ones!), but Sofitel hits the spot. Properly padded, it is really comfortable to walk around. We observed quite a few guests walking around the hotel in these bathroom slippers, a testament to its quality!  Prestige Suite - Lanvin toiletries available for use at Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort & Spa.  Prestige Suite - The really fluffy and comfortable bathroom slippers. In conclusion, in case you have not realised by now, we thoroughly enjoyed our stay at Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort & Spa. We really felt as though we were at home whenever we walked around in either the living room or bedroom. It was certainly cosy enough for families, while more than spacious enough for couples to chill and relax. One thing’s for sure, we will be back!  Published by Mario Ng Mario enjoys travelling around the world but finds himself visiting the same cities again and again. At this rate, it is unlikely he will travel "around the world" any time soon. He also has a dream to spend one year catching all the Formula 1 races live. |
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