I admit that this property has not been on my list because I (think I) am too old for W. Maybe its those neon lights? Or maybe its because W Sentosa means beach, and beach means sun. ALOT of it. GAH.

Address – 21 Ocean Way Singapore 098374. Website.

Contact – Tel: +65 68087288. Email: welcomedesk.singapore@whotels.com.

Price – $359++ = $423nett booked via Hotelux which incudes breakfast and USDS100 dining credit, alongside the usual room upgrade subject to availability. I was also curious how the property treats Titaniums – I want a suite please? The Amex offer also came in time, enabling me to shave $60 off my stay.

Pre-arrival – no pre-arrival email but I did reach out to ask for early check in of 12pm and late checkout of 4pm (a guaranteed elite benefit) but was told the 4pm late check is not guaranteed at resorts but they’ll try their best.

Location – Located at the far far end of the island in the Sentosa Cove happenings, W takes a deliberate trip to get to. But I guess its a resort so you are quite meant to stay within the grounds and enjoy the stay rather than venturing out.

Check In – I hopped over from Fullerton Bay and arrived to a surprisingly occupied lobby at 12:30pm on a weekday. The lobby grounds are indeed very W with the all-round playful and cheeky vibes.

There is even a random Marriott booth of sorts in the lobby which has some slideshow of stuff you can look at – think its a seasonal display.

Alan at check in was very efficiently detailed – he even explained that no Suites are available for upgrades (which corroborates with what I saw on the Marriott app – do take note that the highest tier for Titaniums are Marvellous Suites so anything above requires a cash upgrade) so I had been given a Fabulous Room. I was also told that the Hotelux USD100 converts to SGD134 and given a bunch of letters including an invite for the WooBar Social (more on that later).

My room was not ready yet so meanwhile I skipped out for lunch at Kitchen Table. At 1:05pm, I got an sms (strangely from Away Spa) informing that my room was ready so here I go!

Even the lift lobby is funky hehe.

Room – My Fabulous Room, 634, was suitably spacious at 40-42SqM and well maintained for its age.

The main bedroom itself is…..very W and has a purplish theme (haha!) to it – those funky designs and neon lights are certainly very grabbing. But first, you enter into a walkway and there is a strange little space with a fake hand to greeting you.

To your left is the bathroom – a single sink with okay countertop space complete with cheekily-named toiletries, separate toilet and shower, and a bathtub. Toiletries are Skin Regime and MOMO branded — MOMO fared better because the hair conditioner rocks.

Right opposite the bathroom is your wardrobe which is nothing from the typical.

The main bedroom section contains a huge king bed with 2 bedside tables, one side containing a charging dock (but the one for iphones doesn’t work).

The bed faces the TV accompanied by a counter/ desk top with storage space options which can double up as a WFHotel spot if you need. And because no one comes to W to WFHotel, the chair won’t be comfy enough if you need to work long(er) hours.

Lastly, there is a chilling sofa facing off with a green stool in the adjacent corner of the room.

My balcony was a nice size and had one low sofa bench with a coffee table in one corner, and a set of outdoor table + chairs on the other corner. I had to wipe them down a little prior to use but this was such a nice spot for spacing out and working on your laptop like a digital nomad. The pool view was not that bad too, even at night.

I also received a welcome amenity of a plate if macarons later in the afternoon – not sure if every room gets it?

Breakfast (menu here) – Served at Kitchen Table (with SKIRT taking spillover crowds when necessary) with your choice of slot booking required:

• 6.30 am to 7.45 am
• 7.45 am to 9.00 am (my pick)
• 9.00 am to 10.15 am
• 10:15am to 11:30 am

The space enjoys plenty of natural daylight from the full glass panels with the high ceilings adding on to the spaciousness. I walked into a rather packed breakfast situation at 8am – resort people sure wakes up early! (photos of the space were taken day before when it was empty).

You can order unlimited items from the menu and because I was feeling particularly local that morning, I tried the Nasi Lemak (kosong), Siew Mai + Har Gow, and Laksa (kosong). All were just passable but the warm bread basket served in what looks like a cap(?) were so tempting that I had to take a bite of each. Coffee was great and service was excellent – the systematic team managed the crowd really well and the super efficient staff kept encouraging me to eat more.

WooBar Social (5:00-7:00pm) – [menu] Elites are invited to this special 2-hour session which is their version of an Executive Lounge’s cocktails hour, just without the canapes. The space is quite nice and offers a few seats overlooking the pool area so come early to grab them! Other seat options are quite nice too actually.

You do get nuts with your drinks though, complete with a side of awesome staff. Its free flow and you can order anything you like within the 2hours, with the friendly bartender able to curate something for you based on what you like if you are lucky. It is also suitably occupied for a normal weekday (11 tables!) so come on time if you want to grab any favourite seat! If you want anything more than what’s on offer, you can order off their regular menu)

Other Dining – my credits from Hotelux + attempt to maximise the Amex offer meant I had quite abit of spending to do for a solo staycay so I tried my best, especially when Elites get a further 20% off dining (why no 30% anymore?).

Kitchen Table (menu here) – over lunches & dinner, I tried a couple of items:

• Ceasar Salad ($28++): surprisingly nice! Staff offered more cheese shavings and and I was even given a bread platter which was rather generous of them.
• Sauteed Spinach ($8++): tasted exactly like it sounds.
• W Superfood Salad ($28++): the combination of kale, sundried tomatoes, nyon olives, pomegranate, almond was super healthy (I asked for no Quinoa because carbs) but chef forgot to put feta cheese and chia seeds.
• Local Burrata ($30++): Biggish blob of tasty cheese with a generous portion of heirloom tomatoes.

SKIRT (menus here and here) – I lugged my beluga self over from WooBar Social to try their Pan Seared Scallops ($38++) and Flank Steak ($55++) – both were absolutely delicious and came in generous portions. Complimentary bread (oh what a giant loaf) and amuse bouche of the day (beef tartare – nice but I’m just not a raw beef person, sorry!) were offered too.

Maybe because I suaku but the service here wowed me with its personalization and professionalism (includes crumb sweeping – yay) – every single staff was stellar and the place did live up to its reputation of being a fine dining steakhouse. The place was also the perfect place for dates with its dark wooden interiors and cosy booth seats – so kudos to them for not making the solo me feel awkward and for taking care of me very well.

Facilities – The hotel’s Spa & Fitness overview paints a very promising vibe of the resort life facilities and are all located on level 1 of the property. It was actually quite fun exploring them!

WET Pool – THE pool to go to. Maybe its because it’s free-form? Maybe because its W? I would never know but I do know that this spot is instantly recognisable. And I now know it involves a lot of sun too. My photos don’t do justice to their website’s so don’t compare – the fear of freckles is real.

FIT (website) – the fitness centre is surprisingly big for a place where workout is not the priority and I think anyone will be able to fit in a good workout. A personal trainer is available for rental if you are up for some coerced discipline.

AWAY Spa (website) – the reception area of the spa is suitably posh for an atas hotel spa and decked out very nicely.

The facilities on the insides are all quite well maintained.

The wet facilities eg infra-red sauna, steam room, and the 2 whirlpools (Vitality and Immerge) are free to access for Elites even without a spa treatment and available for booking in hourly slot. I had the whole whirlpool area to myself on a weekday afternoon. The waters were nicely warm and I could even pretend-swim in one of them!

To use up my credits, I booked an eye-watering 30mins foot massage treatment. Priced at $95++, it was clearly overpriced and not something I would try if I had to pay cash. Do note that there is a 24-hour cancellation policy so any cancellations less than 24-hour notice will incur the full charge – you are sent an email this in writing so there is no dispute.

For any treatment booked, the wet facilities are blocked for you 1-hour before and 1-hour after your treatment which I thought was generous given that there were already limited capacity allowed due to safe distancing.

I arrived 15mins early as advised and was greeted by a friendly staff who asked me to complete a consultation form. She then led me to the Refuel Room – an intimate little area for pre and post treatment spacing out bathed in warm lights, with bottles of water available. Otherwise, the treatment room itself was clean and immaculate. The masseur, Rose, was flexible and offered me to try the back massage instead – I went for it and man, she kneaded the life out of me, in a good way!

Service – Every staff I have interacted with was super friendly and efficiently helpful. No complaints!

Check Out – Painlessly completed at 3pm on a weekday. The final charges were also correct as per what my in-room TV folio showed. No problem splitting payment using different credit cards too.

In Summary,

I actually didn’t expect myself to like this stay this much haha. I admit I still feel overaged for the W vibe and my impression of resort properties made me expect poor service and poor upkeep of hardware. But W Sentosa passed with flying colors and by the next day I was starting to get used to the resort life. Rainy weather and the late checkout also enabled me to laze on my balcony plenty much.

Would I return? Yes, and perhaps with a SNA to snag the elusive Marvellous Suite.