I am not a big fan of staycations but when my girlfriend told me about this staycation deal on Klook, I was tempted. I have heard so many great reviews about Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort & Spa that I really wanted to try it out for myself.
Klook was having a staycation promotion of S$574.39 which includes breakfast, dinner and 1-hour spa treatment at Sofitel SPA for 2 persons. A one-night stay usually costs S$799 without breakfast, dinner and spa so this is quite a steal.
Getting to Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort & Spa
There is a free daily shuttle bus at Harbourfront MRT Exit D that comes every 30 minutes from 7am – 11pm.
It’s so weird that the shuttle bus does not drop off passengers at the hotel lobby. Instead, passengers have to alight outside the driveway and walk 5 minutes to reach the hotel lobby.
Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort & Spa: Check-in
Duty Manager Samantha attended to us for check-in. My girlfriend asked about our spa reservation, Duty Manager Samantha replied in an annoyed tone that we were supposed to make prior reservation. When my girlfriend asked if we can make a reservation then, she brushed us off with “it’s fully-booked for the whole week”. She didn’t even bother making a phone call to the spa to see if she could put us on the waiting list.
We asked if we could have early check-in, Duty Manager Samantha replied stiffly that the hotel will contact us once our room is ready.
We left our bags at the concierge and went to have lunch at The Cliff and dessert at Hard Rock Cafe.
We missed the hotel’s call at 11.40am and 12.39pm. My girlfriend called them back 3 times at 3.26pm, 3.27pm and 4.10pm but no one picked up the calls.
It was almost 5pm by the time we got back to the hotel. We went to enquire about our room and Executive Officer En Ci attended to us. When we asked about the spa appointment, she immediately called up the spa in front of us. The spa manager told us that the spa is fully-booked for the two days we were there. She will put us on the waiting list and let us know if there is any cancellation.
My girlfriend and I were really upset about the whole experience and we demanded to see the Duty Manager. Duty Manager Eric attended to us and listened to our complaint but he didn’t seem to quite understand our frustration. He thought it was all about the spa and he promised to try his best to help us.
Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort & Spa :Luxury Room
I love the whole tropical feel of Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort & Spa with its long winding corridors. The maze-like corridors are designed in French-Colonial style with ponds in between and at the sides which keeps the air cool.
The hotel room is 36 square meters and very spacious compared to many other hotel rooms. With two single beds in the middle, there is still enough space for wardrobe on one side and writing table on the other side.
Extra-thick Slumberland mattress and feather mattress topper makes the bed feel super soft and luxurious.
A white and light brown round cabinet houses espresso machine above and mini bar below.
I am absolutely in love with the bathroom. It’s not excessively huge but big enough for a sink, shower area, toilet and a 1.8 meter bathtub. I like that the toilet and showering area are separated by glass panels and doors so water doesn’t splash all over. The 1.8 meter bathtub is just long enough for me to submerge my whole body into the water.
Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort & Spa is in dire need of a renovation. The light night is hanging by the wires (which is so dangerous) and the knob on the wardrobe is falling off too.
Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort & Spa: Facilities
I really like the 33-meter long black pearlescent tiled pool. It is 2.5 meters at the deepest, which gives me good buoyancy. The black pearlescent tiles looks a little greenish during the day which makes it feel like I am swimming in a large natural pond.
The poolside loungers and cabanas are so comfortable I would have lazed there the whole day if not due to Covid-19 regulations. You have to make a booking for going to the pool, each room is limited to 1 booking per day with a maximum of 2 hours per visit.
The gym is housed in a stand-alone glass room opposite The Cliff restaurant. It has all the necessary equipment such as treadmill, weights, yoga mats and exercise balls.
There is a small pond between the gym and LeBar where you can get a free feet spa. We didn’t know that the feet spa was supposed to be closed. No one stopped us when we sat down at the edge of the pond and let the small fishes nibble on the dead skin on our feet. It was so ticklish but you get used to it after a while. Truth be told, my feet didn’t feel any different before and after the foot spa. When we went back the second day, the staff told us that the fish spa was closed due to Covid-19.
I was really looking to the 1-hour massage because I have heard so many rave reviews about Sofitel SPA. We didn’t know that we have to make a reservation for the spa and it was fully-booked for the week. They tried to slot us in but the timing was too late so they gave us vouchers so we can do it another day.
Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort & Spa: Food and Beverage
There are two restaurants in Sofitel Sentosa Resort & Spa, an Italian restaurant called The Cliff and Pan-Asian restaurant called Kwee Zeen.
The Cliff
The Cliff is definitely the more popular restaurant thanks to gorgeous view of the sea in the distance. The cuisine defiantly plays a part too. I mean which Singaporean will want to have chicken rice or pork chop which can be found in every corner of Singapore?
The meal starts with a basket of freshly-baked sourdough bread which goes perfectly with the small dish of balsamic vinegar.
The Linguine & Clams [S$24] that my girlfriend ordered looked suspiciously like fried hokkien mee with spring onions and pork belly. I get that The Cliff was probably trying to combine Asian influences into pasta dishes, but this was definitely not working out. It was overly salty from the pancetta which totally overshadowed the chilli and white wine.
The Penne Carbonara [S$22] that I ordered was a much better choice. The cream sauce was normally made with parmesan cheese, guanciale, egg yolk and black pepper, but The Cliff used Italian pecorino cheese instead. It gave the cream sauce a more grainy texture that tastes pretty special.
Our hotel package included dinner and breakfast the next morning. We didn’t know that we were supposed to pre-book a timing for dinner and The Cliff was fully-booked. The counter staff reassured us that the menu is the same no matter which restaurant we choose to dine in so we agreed to dinner at Kwee Zeen.
We found out later at the restaurant that the menu was in fact different at the two restaurants. We were lamenting that we really wanted to have western food. The staff who attended to us, Roy, managed to get us a table at LeBar. He assured us that we can order from The Cliff’s menu and he will have the food delivered to us.
He even managed to get us welcome drinks even though it was not part of our package. I had Tropical and my girlfriend had Eye-Opener, both are very refreshing and delicious.
The dinner consists of an antipasti, a main course (pasta/pizza/secondi/contorni) and a dessert from this menu.
You can’t go wrong with Burrata and Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes. The cherry tomatoes are slightly roasted which brings out its natural sweetness. The creamy burrata cheese goes really well with the juicy tomatoes, aged balsamic and basil pesto sauce.
If you are feeling adventurous, try Baccala Mantecato which is whipped salt cod with tarragon and chilli aioli. The whipped salted cod is creamy and luxurious. The little black bits on top are squid ink tempura, giving the dish a little crunch.
The Roasted Barramundi is perfectly-roasted but I find it a tad too salty. Spicy tomato marmellata and chick pea purée are great accompaniments but they cannot make up for the saltiness of the barramundi.
Many people are scared of the gamey taste of lamb but it is almost negligible in Lamb Chop Scottadito. The charred peppers and cippolini provide balance to the otherwise meat-heavy meal.
The waiter who took our orders strongly recommended Raspberry Lychee Sensation, saying it was their new dessert. We took up his recommendation but we regretted the moment we took our first bite. The raspberry sorbet was so damn sweet I couldn’t taste anything else. The whipped ganache and lychee jelly wasn’t helping either.
Roy happened to pass by our table and stopped to chat with us. He looked puzzled when he saw our choice of dessert.
He returned moments later and magically whipped out a serving of Coconut Pudding with Mango from Kwee Zeen menu. This is so much better. The coconut pudding is aromatic and creamy, the mango bits on top gives the dessert some refreshing sweetness. The perfect end to a great meal.
Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort & Spa: Breakfast
The hotel breakfast is served at Kwee Zeen. Due to the Covid-19 regulations, it is in ala carte buffet style. You order from this menu and the food will be served to your table.
I asked for scrambled egg for my American Breakfast, the eggs turned out to be all watery and half-cooked. The bircher muesli is tasteless but I absolutely adore the assorted freshly-baked breads with butter.
It’s amazing how the omelette in my girlfriend’s Healthy Breakfast with Omelette is made with only egg whites. Coupled with avocado salad served in avocado shell, it is definitely the most healthy breakfast in the menu.
We also ordered from the kids menu, Le Petit Prince 95-11 year-old). Banana Pancake Stack is amazing with banana puree between pancakes but Belgian Waffle is downright horrendous. The waffles literally taste like cardboard, no amount of chocolate sauce, maple syrup, butter or mixed berries can salvage that.
All in all, Sofitel Sentosa Resort & Spa is a great place for staycation. The French-colonial style architecture makes it easy to imagine you are in a resort in Bali. The room and facilities are great, food at The Cliff is amazing (except for Belgian Waffles) but the customer service falls short of my expectation from a five-star resort.
