This was published 5 years ago
Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort & Spa review: Relaxing alternative to a conventional city hotel
By Anthony Dennis
Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort & Spa is within easy enough reach of the city centre and its attractions.
THE LOCATION
Sentosa Island, situated about five and a half kilometres from Singapore's city centre, was the focus of global attention this year due to the famous, or infamous, summit staged there between US President Donald Trump and North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un. Not only did it highlight Singapore, and for that matter Sentosa Island, it was also a fine advertisement for the five-star plus Capella Resort, the hotel where the two leaders were pictured strolling through tropical gardens between restored colonial buildings with distinctive red-tiled roofs. But to stay in the style of the Orange One and the Rocket Man, you'll need to pay at least twice what you would right here at the ever-so-slightly less-fancied, though still enticing, Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort & Spa.
THE PLACE
'Garden city' vibe: Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort & Spa.
Perched atop of a cliff face above Tanjong Beach, where a popular and fashionable beach club and golf course are located, the 215-room Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort & Spa, feels a little like a cross between an authentic resort and a country estate, albeit a tropical south-east Asian one, all within easy enough reach of the city centre and its attractions.
THE SPACE
When Accor, the French hotel conglomerate which owns the Sofitel brand, took on the management of the hotel a few years ago, it commissioned French designers Beatrice Martinet and Pierre Maciag to spruce up the 1930s colonial buildings in which it's located and to add the brand's signature Gallic touches including art and design. What hasn't changed is the resort's real sense of space and a relaxed tropical ambience emphasised by the hotel's tranquil garden setting surrounding a 33-metres swimming pool. It all sits in a quiet, conserved corner of Sentosa Island, which has been developed by Singaporeans as a designated "leisure island" to house theme parks and resort-style accommodation.
Room at Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort & Spa.
THE ROOM
After a sleepless overnight flight to Singapore from the subcontinent, it is a relief to be able to access my pleasant though unremarkable 36-square metres room. Tucked away in a fairly distant and even more serene corner inside one of the wings of the low-level hotel, the well-equipped and attractively-decorated room affords views of the surrounding tropical woodlands and city skyline glimpses.
THE FOOD
A cross between authentic resort and a country estate.
There's an indoors French brasserie, the little-too-cutely-named Kwee Zeen, but, ideally, here in Singapore, you'll want to be ensconced in the great, if at times sweaty, outdoors, albeit shaded, at a place like LeBar. It's a pavilion-style eating and drinking hole and a lovely place to linger over a casual drink, meal or snack across the swimming pool and garden with its lily ponds. LeBar is also the setting for daily afternoon teas and on Sundays a signature Champagne brunch. Better still, is ilLido at the Cliff, an outstanding Italian restaurant serving classical dishes in an unstuffy setting where you can dine al fresco, replete with views of the container and oil tanker ship-studded South China Sea viewed through a canopy of lush tropical vegetation.
STEPPING OUT
Despite its relatively removed location from the action, or what constitutes it in a languid and compact Singapore, the city state's major attractions, such as Marina Bay and Gardens by the Bay, are not too difficult to access. This is especially the case considering Singapore's efficient and affordable taxi system as well as the fact that the hotel operates a shuttle service to a nearby shopping centre where there's an MRT train station. A monorail also connects Sentosa to the main island. However, some Australian guests, breaking their journey in Singapore after the long flight from Europe, may elect not to confine themselves to quarters at this salubrious and seductively-located hotel, which also includes a luxurious spa.
THE VERDICT
Singapore is fond of portraying itself as a garden city, and considering the pressures of its physical size and population, it's done an amazing job of creating such a verdant identity. Unlike the city state's many, and perfectly good, high-rise hotels, Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort & Spa offers a welcome opportunity to engage with that aspect of Singapore. It all comes without the heftier bill and pretence at Trump's and Kim's preferred and slightly posher address elsewhere on Sentosa.
ESSENTIALS
Doubles from $327 per night. Sofitel Singapore Sentosa, 2 Bukit Manis Road, Sentosa, Singapore Ph: +65 6708 8310. See www.sofitel-singapore-sentosa.com
HIGHLIGHTS
The tropical garden setting is an appealing and relaxing alternative to the more conventional city-style accommodation elsewhere in Singapore.
LOWLIGHTS
Some guests of the resort may find that Sentosa Island is a tad isolated from Singapore's main attractions and amenities for their liking.
The writer was a guest of Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort & Spa.
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