Family Retreat @ Sentosa

I took Jas and Cherise for a short retreat at Sentosa last Thursday. I've been wanting to do this for the longest time but was unable to get my leave approved due to the shortage of manpower at work. But like they always say, "good things come to those who wait", I managed to get a pretty good deal for a 2 days 1 night stay at the Siloso Beach Resort.

A first of its kind in Singapore, this eco-friendly hotel is a heaven for folks who wish to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life and just pamper yourself in the midst of nature. You can tell that a lot of effort has been made in the design of the hotel to preserve the original flora and fauna as much as possible. Instead of cutting down trees to make space, they build the walkways around them. It's almost like staying in a treehouse.

We went for the Roof Garden Suite because they were having a relaunch promotion. The main draw of this suite is that it features a private open air roof top garden that comes with a jacuzzi. Needless to say, that was the best part of our stay...nothing beats a nice warm bubble bath with your family under the stars...

If you are naughty, you can peek over the ledge to spy on your neighbours ha ha!


It's not as small as it looks...it's meant for 2 adults, so the 3 of us managed to squeeze into it quite comfortably.

Ok, this is not an advertorial for the hotel but I always believe that good things must be shared, so here's what I like about the place other than those I've mentioned.

1) Accommodating service Staff
Official check in time was 3pm but we arrived really early (before 12 noon) cos' we wanted to make the best out of our day in Sentosa, so we requested to leave our bags with the hotel while we go "jalan jalan". The staff upon seeing that we had a sleeping baby in tow, told us that we could check into our rooms immediately for our convenience. How thoughtful indeed.


2) Location
I love the fact that the hotel is just behind Cafe Del Mar, our other most favourite spot in Sentosa. It is also within walking distance to the Underwater World...the only attraction that Cherise could appreciate at this point.

3) Swimming Pool
They use natural spring water...erm...makes me ask this question - Singapore got natural spring meh??? But who cares? Once you dip into this pool, I gurantee you will never want to use those heavily chlorinated swimming pools again. It's really very refreshing.
Check out Cherise in her new hat...
Our pictures cannot do justice to the pool, so just go the website to see more of the pool if you want to.

But the place does have it's cons too:

1) No room service between 0700H to 1100H.
So if you don't like the buffet breakfast, too bad. Wait till the kitchen opens at 11am. Oh, there are also VERY limited items in the room service menu between 2300H to 0700H. It'll be wise to bring your own cup noodles if you need supper.

2) No shelter from Reception area to the accommodation area.
The two areas are linked by an uncovered suspension bridge, so you will be at the mercy of the elements. They do provide umbrellas though.

3) The Roof Garden Suite haa a VERY small toilet
Understandably so because they have to make room for the private stairwell that leads you to the roof top garden. So if you are anything like me, you'll let the exhibitionist in you run wild and bathe here...


Overall, it was a very pleasant stay. We would have been more rested if not for the fact that Cherise had a mild fever that night (due to her MMR jab 10 days back) and we (ok lah, mostly Jas) had to keep waking up to sponge her. I'm glad Jas enjoyed the stay, though I suspect she may have preferred Rasa Sentosa. But for the refreshing pool and the hot tub under the stars...we may just come back again next year...maybe without the kids ha ha!