Staycation @ Shangri-la Rasa Sentosa [Hotel Review]

Our family had an overnight staycation at the famously known Shangri-la Rasa Sentosa over the weekend.

We've heard rave reviews about the resort and how they were so kids friendly so we decided to try it over the weekend.

The resort does not seem to operate at full occupancy when we were there but there were good crowds of families with children like us.

It turns out so good that my wife and kids love it so much that they've been talking about it even after we left.

We made our first stop at the Siloso Point from RWS and had the buggy fetched us right to the door of the entrance. Immediately, we had a first good impression.

We were early when we arrived but we managed to get an early check-in at about 12 noon. The official check-in time was 3 pm.

Hotel Room

We booked the family package directly from the website itself and so we were given the Deluxe Ocean View room.

The room that we occupied had a king bed and a pull-away sofa that can be turned into a bed. In total, it can easily fit 4 adults and 2 kids if you want to. Just be discreet about it when checking in because they do charge additional per head if they find out.

There was also a bathtub in the bathroom which Oscar was so excited about that he spent his time at the bathtub even after swimming for 2 hours.

The resort boasts a lot of activities for the kids so they remained busy throughout the stay.

Since it was still sunny hot in the afternoon, we decide to venture to the kids club first for some running and climbing. For kids who are above 5 years old, there's also the main kids activities area where parents can leave their children inside under specialized care and enjoy their time together.

We'll certainly do that in the future when our children are older!!!

There is also the arts and craft room for kids who are more into drawing and creative arts. The drawing and coloring is free but I think the arts painting requires a bit of charges there.

And then of course, you have also the game room which sorts of like the arcade room and x-box where kids can battle their wits out.

The weather was getting less hot in the evening so we decide to head outdoor and play in the playground for a while before heading to the pool area.

The swimming pool area is huge. They have the main pool area for the public and they had a separate one for the children with the slides. They even had the one for the adult only for those who wants a peaceful rest inside the pool.

I was actually quite surprised that the requirements for the slides are pretty strict. Adults are not allowed to accompany their kids to play the slide for safety reasons but I thought it was strange they do that. This doesn't happen in most of the resorts we've been to and also the Palawan Pirates so it's unusual for us.

After swimming, we went back to our room to get a nice hot shower before heading for our long awaited dinner.

Our dinner is a sumptuous buffet spread which serves international and local cuisine such as bbq lamb, beef steak, prawns and squid. We also had an unlimited servings for juices, wines and house pour beers, which I had a few nice sip to it and got a bit dizzy after that...Duh

There were the KIDS ZONE area where kids are able to take their own food and servings within their reach.

The next morning, we head down to the same area for our breakfast buffet before heading down to the beach which is just located next to the resort for some sand playing and walk in the beach.

We have a good overall stay at the resort and would love to come back one day should my pocket allows but it's been a very nice retreat to end off the weekend.

Staycation @ Festive Family Hotel Sentosa [Hotel Review]

We went to Resort World Sentosa a lot and we've always been fascinated to have an overnight stay at one of those hotels located right smack at the front of RWS.

So when the opportunity opens up, I took it right away by purchasing them from a trusted online person at Carousell which was selling at a very affordable rate at one of the weekdays.

Festive Hotel

We had a 1 night staycation at the Festive Family Hotel.

Among all the hotels available at the RWS, Festive Hotel boasts the only kids friendly environment with a family room that can accommodate up to 5 people, including a loft bed and a pull-away sofa.

Check-in and check-out were relatively easy but as the hotel was experiencing 100% occupancy (impressive) during the weekdays we went, there was a bit of waiting time at the queue.

Check-in time was officially at 3 pm but we got our room slightly earlier at 2.30 pm. Standard check-out time applies at 11 am.

Oscar was so happy to see the room and he rushed straight to the window which he was able to see the cable car.

There were standard amenities provided by the hotel throughout. Things such as complimentary mineral water, safety box, ironing board, a cell-phone were all available for use throughout the stay.

We had also requested for a baby cot, which the hospitality desk sent it to the room.

Facilities

We were most excited to check out the swimming pool of every hotel or resort that we stayed at.

The swimming pool is located at the level 3 and before we reach the area there was this huge vending machine which is really tempting.

The swimming pool area was huge and beautiful scenery throughout surrounded by palm trees and many seating spots available.

There were the adults pool, the jacuzzi, the children's pool and also the children's water playground to run and roam around.

The weather was perfect when we had our swim there and we swam for about 2.5 hours before we reluctantly had to go for our dinner. The crowd started coming in at about 4pm and there were many mainland chinese tourists.

Dinner

We have our dinner at Pappamia, which is just conveniently located right at the lobby.

The food there is seriously cheap (under-priced) and so good, especially the special laksa that we tried. We also ate their ice-cream which was fantastic.

I think in terms of value, this is by far the best value I can find at RWS.

Strongly recommended.

Universal Studio

The hotel is located right just minutes away from the happenings at the Universal Studio which I thought was pretty crowded considering that it's a weekday.

Minions are getting traction so there were plenty of minions activities when we were inside.

The sunset was beautiful as we sat down watching the ships sail by during the sunset.

There were also the crane show which took place daily every night at 8 pm and luckily for us, we managed to squeeze in to get the seat right at the back. The show is located at the Waterfront and it lasts just about 15 minutes. It's also free so grab your seats early.

Overall, we had a memorable stay at the Festive hotel and I am glad to have this trip out because it's a great time to spend some real quality time together on the activities we all loved.

It'll be fun when Oliver gets a bit older and we can do some exciting activities together.

Staycation @ Hotel Jen Tanglin [Hotel Review]

The long weekend is here and our family was raring for some great activities getaway together. Unfortunately, as our baby boy little Oliver was only 3 months old, we could not plan for a hectic overseas trip.

Staycation next came to mind, as we spent our time together at the newly refurbished 4 Star Hotel Jen at Tanglin.

Hotel Jen @ Tanglin

Hotel Jen Tanglin is conveniently located alongside Orchard Road, to be more precise Cuscaden Road which is right beside the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and the Tanglin mall. It is also not too far away from where we live, so we could conveniently leave the house at 1pm and reach there within the next 10 minutes.

When we arrived, we were kindly greeted by Kristin who ushered and assisted us with the check in procedures, which was swift and simple. She also explained briefly the various facilities that the hotel provides while the staff was finalizing the key to our room.

Hotel Room

The hotel management was kind enough to upgrade both of our rooms to a Deluxe room. They were side by side as the connecting rooms were all fully occupied so I had to split the room with my wife to take care one kid each.

The room was pretty spacious which allows Oscar to roam around and explore every single details that the hotel provides, including some of the impressive night lights beside the bed that he claimed proudly.

The standard amenities were all checked.

The room has a mini fridge, steam ironing board, safety box, hairdryer, cable television and a free Wifi. What impressed me most was that the hotel provides a smartphone which users can use and bring around with free mobile data and a free unlimited international calls to various countries.

The toilet which we have has no bathtub but it was compensated by a solid shower water that runs from the top. I am usually quite particular on this because I like running water shower with a hard solidified intensity. Together with my elder son, we ended up taking more than a 30 minute shower.

Facilities

The hotel provides a business center function rooms for corporate travelers who are coming over for meetings. We explored the area and think there was at least 5 different function rooms that could be used for such. It is becoming increasingly common these days for hotels to integrate facilities that are to be used for corporate travelers.

One of the things that our family are crazy of when we travel are always to check out the beaches and swimming pools.

So upon checking in, we wasted no time further and before we know we were off to the pool area which has a decent crowd when we started swimming at about 3pm. 

We swam for about 2.5 hours and the crowd started coming in by about 5pm.

Nearby Attractions

The hotel has a connecting link to Tanglin mall from level 2 so we also explored the area as it's been ages since I've been to the mall. We went to a few children shops like Chicco and Lego which Oscar has found his favorite sticker books for cars.

The hotel is also within close walking promixity to the famous Botanic Garden, which is honored as one of the UNESCO World Heritage site.

Dining

The hotel has several dining options in the premises itself.

Ah Hoi's Kitchen for instance has an alfresco dining options with a Singapore flair and served several menus such as the famous Chilli Crab.

J65 provides a dining themed buffet option. At the time we were there, there was a Seafood theme with selection that includes the Boston Lobster, Alaskan Crab and some others. They have different themes at different days at night and are priced at SGD 65++.

We had breakfast at the same premise which serves a delightful international buffet that makes us go for more than we usually eat for breakfast.

The spread was one of the better ones for an international buffet and I say this because we've traveled to a lot of countries and stayed at various hotels and this definitely doesn't lose to the ones we've had at City of Dreams at Manilla and the Legoland hotel at JB.

Family (Mother's Day) Promotion

To commemorate the upcoming Mother's day on the 14th May, the hotel is offering an upcoming promotion for a family getaway, which includes a 50% discount on a second room booked during the abovementioned period.

Each room per night is priced at an approximately SGD260/night before the discount rate is applied.

If you'd like to book a relaxing weekend staycation for your family, you may want to consider Hotel Jen Tanglin.

CLICK HERE - OFFER BOOKING

Thanks to Hotel Jen Tanglin for for hosting us. All opinions stated above are based on our own independent review.